things come to pass,” but with “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” This discussion brings up another point concerning this same sixth chapter of Revelation. Those who oppose the doctrine of the pre-tribulational rapture of the saints are wont to argue that the disasters mentioned in this and subsequent chapters of Revelation are the result of man’s wrath against man or calamities caused by the action of men. To one who has gone through a famine caused by man’s inhumanity to his fellow creatures in exacting levies for war far beyond possible production, it is easy to realize that these supposedly natural dis asters are and will probably be induced by man. And by the way, that famine was so terrible that in our area which was on the fringe, the police, after it was over, went about collecting skulls in great baskets, two men to a basket, in order to assure the victims at least some bit of a burial. The fact that inhuman men have had a part in causing these adversities does not mean that God does not use these as a judgment on the evil in man. The sixth chapter ends with men fleeing from the wrath of the Lamia, not the wrath of man. To those who will avoid the implication by saying that the wrath of the Lamb is to be displayed at the end of the tribula tion, we would point out that the opening of the seals comprehends the entire period and sets forth our Lord’s judgment on those who deny His royal rights. Further more, let us compare verse eight of Revelation six with Ezekiel 14:21, where we find God’s “four sore judgments” set forth. Do these not •correspond with the four judg ments mentioned in Revelation 6:8? In Ezekiel they are “the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence.” In Revelation they are mentioned as “with sword, and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” This comparison shows that while the immediate active agent will be man, yet it is still a judgment sent from God. It is truly hard to see how some wish to take the greater part of the tribu lation period as the wrath of man against man, and yet perhaps even in the day of fulfillment men will give a naturalistic explanation, when in reality these are all God’s “sore” judgments upon men. How easily we could burden you with detailed ob servations from our own experience in seeing at least three of these “four sore, judgments” visited upon men in the Orient. It is hard for us who live in peaceful, luxuri ous America to realize the terror of these judgments. It is beyond our understanding who know little more than the depression of the early thirties to understand what it means to be facing death by starvation. The terror of these visitations from God should help us to realize what that day will mean when the populations of the earth would rather die than face God’s wrath. Surely, these movements, with their accompanying dis asters, arise from alnong men, and men will bear re sponsibility for them, yet we cannot deny the truth that they are God’s judgments upon men, God’s “four sore judgments.” Despite all of this, men will not repent. They will not have this man, our Lord Jesus Christ, to rule over them. They will not recognize the truth of their position, the hellish inhumanity of their actions, nor their responsibility to the Lord of the heavens and the earth. They will not repent but will flee from His face into the holes and caves of the earth if by some means they may escape the consequences of their evil and sin.
unknown, because God has chosen to reveal to us causes, conditions, and circumstances rather than a detailed historical account. Those who attempt to find in a con temporary person the man of sin fail to realize that we are warned against this in the second chapter of Second Thessalonians. There we are told that this personage is to be revealed when the hinderer has been taken out of the way. This should preclude any hope of our recogniz ing him before the time of his revelation. It is, of course, possible to recognize manifestations of the spirit of the anti-christ for John tells us that it was in the world in his day. Thus it is with much that is prophesied. If we are determined to deal with that which is unique or solitary, as though discovering its meaning would open up the prophetic word, we will miss the real picture and often bring disrepute on the study of prophecy and in: the end stir up profitless questioning and endless quib- blings. Some time ago, I read an article discussing the rider on the white horse in Revelation, chapter six. The au thor utterly rejected the idea as unworthy of discussion, that this rider represented a movement and presented the old question as to whether he represented Christ or the anti-christ. I have long followed Dr. Harry Ironside in the view that since the other riders represent move ments among the nations such as war, famine and pesti lence, even so this white horse rider must likewise depict to us some such movement. Experience in the Far East under the communist regime has more than ever con vinced me of this position. We have been able to ob serve how communist peace appeals have been used to bolster their propaganda drives. We have seen how they employ a supposed desire for peace to set forth their position and attitudes as righteous in contrast to the evil “warmongering” of their truly peaceful opponents. While among them, it was impossible to avoid noticing that their ardor for peace and their use of symbols of peace, such as the Picasso dovè, were a part of their propaganda machine, stopping all criticism and forcing their minions to accept their position as the only right and logical one. Yet in reality, so evil is their intent and purpose as well as their methods, that we are forced to believe that they are hellish in their inception. This recalls to mind that before World War I, we were told that we were usher ing in “the century of peace.” And again just before World War II we were assured of “peace in our time.” We in this part of the globe cannot calculate the propaganda value of the Stockholm peace appeal in a country like China where everybody had to sign. The solidarity of the people for peace became an important factor in their attitude toward what they were allowed to know of world events and even in their interpretation of the actions of the leaders of their nation. To one to whom a good motive is more important than the charac ter or result' of an action, no purpose is better than working for peace. Just think how wonderful conditions would be in our beloved country if we did not have policemen to harass those with whom officialdom is dis pleased! To me these are all part of the order of this day when man is on the throne and true peace is denied mankind. The intensifying of these movements is that which tells us the hour is near when our Lord will gather us unto Himself. Let us not be so enamored of the trees that we cannot see the woods. The book of Revelation does not conclude with “Even so, let these
. . skulls
w ill
be
collected
in
baskets”
AUGUST, 1963
19
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker