SheüSibleTamlïÿ Üttajja^me PUBLISHED BY TH E BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES
Bible Institute of Los An geles Broadcasts Thru Its President, Louis T. Talbot. Jo inTh is Congregation TODAY ! The Gospel—clear, complete, convincing! The good news of the Saviour’s love—in all the power of His atoning death and glorious resurrection—can be heard IN YOUR HOME almost daily as preached by President Louis T. Talbot of BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES. Hear the ringing story of salvation in all its compelling power, in the vibrant voice of a great preacher. Gaze with him from the heights of scriptural prophecy upon a world which, though today sin-sick and weary, is nevertheless destined for a future glorious beyond imagining. Drink
Louis T . T a lb o t , President Bible Institute of Los Angeles
with him at the ever-flowing fountain of spir itual blessing. Share his intensive study of the Word, and experience the grace which always follows earnest preaching and a true witness of the divine Scriptures.
RADI O SCHEDULE * THE PROPHETIC HOUR— KMPC (7 1 0 KILOCYCLES) 11 TO 11:30 A.M. TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRI DAY MORNINGS. One of the few radio b ro a d c asts in th e U nited S tates th a t specializes in prophecy from th e p o in t of view of th e Fun- dam ental C hristian. C urrent events are view ed as ful film ents of S cripture P rophecy an d th e g reat p rophetic books of the Bible a re reverently in terp reted . THE PROTESTANT HOUR— KMPC (7 1 0 KILOCYCLES) 9:30 TO 10 P.M. SATURDAY NIGHT.
A b ro a d c ast w hich is intended to close th e b u sy week w ith a review th a t will prep are th e h earer fo r Sunday w orship. M atters of su rp assin g in terest to P ro te sta n ts a re stressed in th ese b ro ad casts.
BIBLE INSTITUTE’S MUSICAL HOUR— KFAC (1 3 0 0 KILO CYCLES) 1:30 TO 2 P.M. WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.
A m usical h o u r conducted by H erb ert G. Tovey, D irector of M usic, Bible In stitu te of Los A ngeles. R equest num bers fo r old hym ns and gospel songs are given w ith pipe o rg an accom panim ent. Y our fav o rite hym n will b e sung by Mr. Tovey if you will send your req u est to Bible In sti tu te of Los A ngeles, 558 South H ope S treet, Los A ngeles, C alifornia. TUNE IN ON THESE BROADCASTS
B ible I nstitute of L os A ngeles , 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California. W ithout obligation of any sort, I would like to have President Talbot’s radio ter ritory extended to include my state, and thus render it possible for me to listen in. My most convenient hour for radio listening is.:-........'......-.............o’clock on the following days: I p ....... -..................................................... '~M' .........I S jgk ^ M Address.....................................- .................................:........................................................--......................... To Those Unable To Tune In On Station KMPC: S o g r ea tly has President Talbot’s radio ministry been blessed ot God in Southern California that BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES is planning to add new territory to the region served, as soon as possible. To this end it asks your prayers and would be glad to have an expression of your wishes in this matter. Please fill in and send us the attached coupon, or write fully on your own stationery.
“To The JEW FIRST” This is the bedrock upon which we predicate the Jewish Mission ap peal to every Bible-believing soul. “To the Jew first” is as basic in Missions as. faith in Christ is basic in Salvation. Every January brings to us an increasing number of gifts “to thè Jew first.” And many letters tell us, “Thank •you so much for calling my attention to my duty and privilege. I want to start the New Year right.” Think it over. For some day you too will join this blessed host and you too will say, “I want to preach God’s Gospel in God’s way—to the Jew first.” And while you think it over, just bear in mind that there are today nearly 2,000,000 Jewish souls in New York City who have never even been given the gospel “to the Jew last!” Our work merits your every con fidence. Our field is not only the 2,000,000 Jews of New York, but the 4,000,000 Jews of America. And through co-operating mission aries we are represented, and our Yiddish publications are being dis tributed, in the important Jew ish centers of the world. In Amer ica, branches are being established in the larger cities as the Lord gives us the means and the workers. Your help and prayers are always needed. “The Chosen People” loved by many Bible students for its help ful information on Prophecy and the Jews, is sent to all contributors. May we hear from you? American Board of Missions to the Jews Inc. 31 Throop A ve. Brooklyn, N.Y. I f interested in annuities ask for our free booklet Jewish Mission Bonds”
She Sidle Tantiíy T tay^ ine Motto: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood ."— R ev . 1:5.
Volume XXV
January , 1934
Number 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS .. J
I , Around the King’s Table—Louis T. Talbot.................... ................... 3 The Mastership of Christ—William Evans...... - ........................... 4 The Mount of Olives in History and Prophecy—H. V. Andrews.... 7 Reaping Amid Manchurian Storms—Rosalind Goforth................... 8 Venezuela’s Crisis—Helen R. Carder................................................. 9 On Earth Peace, But When?—John E. Brown................................. 10 J Lawlessness: The Knell of our Closing Age Louis S. Bauman.....12 Girls’ Query Corner—Myrtle E. Scott-....................... .......................13 In the Jewish World—J. A. Vaus....................................................... 16 Junior King’s Business—Martha S. Hooker....................................... 17 Helps for Preachers and Teachers—Paul Prichard......................... 19 Bible Institute Family Circle.............................. .................................20 Our Literature Table............................................................. -.............22 International Lesson Commentary ............. — ................-................. 23 Notes on Christian Endeavor—Mary G. Goodner............... ............32 Daily Devotional Readings......... ......——......................................... -36
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POLICY AS DEFINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES (a) To stand for the infallible Word of God and its great fundamental truths, (b) To strengthen the faith of all believers, (c) To stir young men and women to fit themselves for and engage in definite Christian work, (d) To make the Bible Institute of Los Angeles known, (e) To magnify God our Father and the person, work and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and to teach the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our present practical life, (f) To emphasize in strong, constructive messages the great foundations of Christian faith.
5 5 4 -5 5 8 So. H ope St., BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Los Angeles, Calif.
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etc
ew heaven . . . new earth . . . new Jerusalem” ! The words apply to that long awaited day “when God shall wipe away all tears . . . and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Glorious tomorrow, when the One on the throne shall have made “all things new” ! This prospect, all-resplendent, is often in danger of being lost to view in the murky haze of present things.
to exalt the Word of the living Lord. He would limit the efforts of thousands of present and former Institute stu dents who live to make Christ known in every land. The increased power of this vanquished foe, in view of the soon appearing of the Conqueror, is one of the new things with which believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have to contend. Only those who face these stern facts squarely will know the full meaning of the truth: “Greater is he that is in
So God graciously and re peatedly gives to His short sighted little children new things today to remind them of the new things of to morrow. Again and again, He mantles a sin-soiled earth in the glistening whiteness of heaven, that He may, in pic ture language, speak of the day when He will robe the whole universe in right eousness.. Again and again, the
you than he that is in the world,” for the One who is greater is the Christ of God. The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, in common with many an individual Christian, faces the new year hemmed in by diffi culty. How to provide for the needs of a student body, which is larger than that of any year since 1922, in a •school where tuition is al ways absolutely free, consti tutes a practical problem of
world around, whenever a yearning heart reaches out for God in Christ, divine revelation and personal regeneration combine to make one more “new creature,” one more to swell the number of those who will sing a new song in praise of Him “who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” Time after time, to the child of God there come new trials—sharp, piercing, inexplicable. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But re joice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings,” for the trial today looks forward to the “glory which shall be revealed” tomorrow. Added to all else, God now gives another new year. Its setting is a field of conquest, not a fragrant glade. Hard warfare lies ahead, for the adversary, who knows his time is short, would, if he could, drench with blood every spiritual battlefield of 1934. He would silence the testimony of every evangelical Christian. He would, through financial stringency, hinder the ministry of every institution like the Bible Institute of Los Angeles that seeks above all else
no small proportions. But assurance is found in the fact that for just such a situation as this, God has provided “a new thing.” The words are prophetic, and their literal ful fillment is unquestioned, but their present-day encourage ment cannot be overlooked: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring fo rth ; . . . I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” “A new thing . . . a way in the wilderness . . . now”! On the strength of the promise, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles goes forward rejoicing, realizing that the new volume of prayer, the new army of friends, the new willingness to sacrifice—all of which are necessary to the fulfillment' of the divine word, God Himself will pro vide through His own. For you who love the Lord and revere His Word, whose passion is to make Christ known, whose hope is “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” God has some definite part in the outworking of His own marvelous “new thing” at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. What part will yours be?
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roun c/THE KING’S TABLE
B y L o u is T . T albot
f Facts to Face in 1934 XF
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sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” In Russia, where men have set out to rid themselves of God and conscience and the Bible, where it is a crime to believe that man is made in the image of God, human life is cheap. Years ago, one of the leaders of this anti-God move ment declared: “When I kill a hen or a rat, no one says any thing. Why do you say anything when I kill a man? He belongs to the animal creation.” That is no light remark. It is something to think about. If what he believes of man is true, then his logic is perfectly sound, and it is not for us to cry out against the killing of a man. If man has no immortal soul, he is only an animal; therefore, kill him if he is in your way. This is the reasoning of Russia, and this is the practice there. But mark you : Wherever you see men scoffing at the Bible, you may put them down as being among those who are abetting the crime wave. In his book, What o f the Night? Dr. Arthur I. Brown gives such statistics as the following: In ten years, crime has increased 400 per cent. In thirty-five years, it has increased 1200 per cent. In 1850, the proportion of prisoners to population was one to 3,000; in 1890, one to 800; in 1932, one to 375. (Continuing at this rate, it will not be long before every one will be in jail!) Divorce has increased 125 per cent since 1890, while sex crimes have jumped 700 per cent since 1900. The World War cost $1,000,000 a day to wage, but the crime bill of the United States has reached the staggering total of $2,000,000 a day. There were 20,000 suicides in 1931, and every year the number of murders increases, while lawlessness holds the reigns of authority. I P Christian people are to protect their boys and girls from this onrushing tide'vif’fiehooves them to build into the character of their children those things that make for righteousness. It is very difficult for a boy or girl to go to hell, if he has lived in a home for eighteen years where the Bible has been consistently honored in daily life as well as read at the family a lta rj. The memory of a godly father and mother and the early acceptance of Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour constitute an insurmountable barrier be tween the youth and those damning influences that are abroad in the world today. It is significant to note that after the Apostle Paul gives a description of the end time, with all the lawless ness, intrigue, and human wreckage that combine to make that time “perilous,” he gives to Timothy this secret of victory: “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” In an other passage, he speaks of Timothy’s godly mother and grandmother from whom he had received his knowledge of the Word of God. ^ 10 is in the youth of today that the principles of right eousness must be implanted, if the rising generation is to be enabled to breast the tide of crime and wickedness that is rapidly rising and engulfiing the u n w a r 3-S3 / > / fi- 2 We are_ facing a new year. Only Goa knows what it shall contain—but He does! Tremendous issues are in volved. [The world is seething in unrest, rushing blindly to destruction. It is time for every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ to be alive, alert, active, snatching brands from the burning while he 3 ~ s i / , | />. i
o n e wants to know the signifi cance of the movements of men today, the best place for enlightenment is the Word of God, for[God has given in the pages of His Word a perfect outline of the march of the ages and the trend of the t i m e s Z - 2 0 / / / /»• ^ This fact is illustrated in the life of our Lord. Hundreds of years be fore He came into the world, the Spirit of God drew a portrait of the Son of God—of His character, His ministry, His death, and His resurrection—and every detail was minutely fulfilled. It is illustrated also in the great Gentile empires. Hundreds of years before they came into existence, God foretold the close of the times of the Gentiles and the conditions that would prevail in the empires that would be prominent in those times. It is demonstrated also in the Jewish nation. What God has written aforetime in regard to the Jew has been and is being fulfilled to the letter.
L ouis T. T albot “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize” (Phil. 3:13, 14). Herein is the secret of Paul's remarkable life. He concentrated on just one thing. He cultivated a wise forgetfulness. Like a trained runner, he kept his eye always . on the goal—the judgment seat of Christ. There is need today for men and women to share Paul’s secret! This is a good time to put real concentration into the task of forgetting the past—and of pressing for ward in the strength of the Lord.
The cause of the present crime wave is also clearly shown in the Word of God. Jesus Christ said that as it was in the days of Noah, so should it be at the coming of the Son of man. The days of Noah, described in the sixth chapter of Genesis, were days in which the earth was filled with violence. There were men of renown in those days, but not one of them, evidently, was able to cope with the violence and crime that surrounded him. Similar condi tions exist today. We have great scientists, great states men, great politicians, yet every one of them stands im potent before a wave of crime, the like of which the world has never seen. What are the underlying causes of these conditions? The first cause, from which the others spring, is the system of teaching called rationalism. The advocates of this per nicious teaching—the men and women who are attacking the Word of God and taking from the youth of our day all fear of God—are among the chief producers of crime. When a man rids himself of God, all restraining influences are immediately withdrawn, and it is easy for the devil to lead him into a life of crime. [Look at Germany. Luther turned that nation back to God, and during that period, it prospered and God honored it. But later the philosophy of Nietzsche crept in. It turned Germany in the direction of barbarism, and forged the sword that put ten million boys beneath the so ij5 -3 a /> /» Loeb and Leopold, the notorious Chicago slayers of r' Bobbie Franks, admitted that they had accepted the philos ophy of Nietzsche—that man is just a brute beast with a little higher intelligence than other beasts. Our President today is seeking to raise the value of the dollar. What is needed more sadly is a rise in value of a human life ! And the latter is possible only through the realization that man was created in the image of God, and that so serious a crime is murder, in God’s sight, that He has given as the first governmental law : “Whoso
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o f CHRIST “One is your Master, even Christ” C h r is t as M a s t e r i n C h r i s t i a n T h i n k i n g
By WILLIAM gVANS Los Angeles, California
“But be not ye called, Rabbi : for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the earth', for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters : for one is your master, even Christ” (Matt. 23:8-10).
“G ood M aster , W h a t S h a l l I D o ? . . . J e s u s . . . S aid U nto H im . . . F ollow M e .” Let us look at the first group : Christ’s supreme mas tership over the intellect. We are not surprised that Christ should demand suprem acy in the realm of Christian thinking. He claimed that when He was here on the earth : “Call no man your teacher. One is your teacher, even Christ.” T h e C laim C hallenged Jesus’ claim to mastership in religious thinking was challenged. He had competitors in this realm. First of all there were the scribes. “And they were astonished at his doctrine : for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mk. 1:22). The
“And Peter answered, and~stiid unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us build” (Matt. 17:4). “But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Master” (1 Pet. 3:15).* 1 have selected these three passages of Scripture because they represent the different spheres in life in which Christ is Master of the Christian. T h e W ord “M aster ” The word “Master” in the Revised Version is the trans lation of seven different Greek words, and these words fall
scribes were the duly appointed teachers in Christ’s day. Since Ezra’s time, the nation had recog nized the scribes as divinely ap pointed tea ch e rs . They were looked upon as the ultimate word in matters of faith and practice. When, therefore, Christ differed from the scribes, He came into conflict with the authorized teach ers of the day, with the result that when the scribes saw that the multitudes hung upon His words, they said, “What shall we do, for the multitude goeth after him?” They determined to kill Him ; which, finally, they did.
into three groups, the first con taining three words; the second, two; the third, two. It is re markable to note that these three groups of passages re p re s e n t Christ’s mastership over the whole of the Christian’s life.
The author, Rev. W illiam Evans, Ph.D., D.D., at once the beloved and profound Bible teacher, is at present in the British Isles conducting a six-months’ Bible teaching campaign, which will conclude on May 27, under th e auspices of the Bible Testimony Fellowship of London, England. The blessing of God was manifested in so signal a manner upon a similar series of meetings held by Dr. Evans in the spring of 1933, that this re turn engagem ent was urged. The series of three articles, of which this is the first, which Dr. Evans has generously given to THE KING’S BUSI NESS, makes available to every reader th e same rich truth drawn from the depths of the Word with which his audiences are always refreshed.
The first group centers in the intellect—the mind, the brain, the thinking: Christ is didaskalos, “teacher” ; rabbi, “my teacher” ; rabbonì, “my very dear teacher.” The second group refers to Christ’s supremacy in the realm of the heart—affections, love, de sire. He is kurios and despotes — the One who stands at the door of the heart as Master, determining what loves, what affec tions, what desires, shall enter there. The third group has reference to Christ’s mastership over my hands and feet—my service and activities. He is epistates —one “set over” me : “We. have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, Master, at thy word, we will let down the net.” He is kathegetes, “superintendent,” the One who has power to command and superintend the building : “Master, let us build three tabernacles.” So the word “Master” concerns the Christian’s intellect, thought, brain; his heart with its loves, affections, emo tions ; his hands and feet with their service and activities. Christ is Master of the Christian’s entire being. *The Scripture quotations give the reader the real meaning of the original, rather than that of any one version— E ditor .
Then there were the Pharisees. They built their whole doctrine of life upon the teaching of the scribes. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith : these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matt. 23:23). They, also came into conflict with Christ when He claimed supremacy in the realm of thought. iTben came the Sadducees. They were the elite, the “highbrows,” the intellectuals, the higher (destructive) critics of that day. “How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Saddu cees? Then understood they how that he bade them not
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they do, to dare to ask raison d’etre more than they do. We confess that we tremble when we think of the harm that destructive higher criticism is doing to Christian faith; but we tremble more when we think of the harm that is being done to it and the Bible by Christians who do not know either well enough to criticize. This is not a thinking or a teaching age. It is an age of short stories, of amusements. To “muse” means to ponder, to think. An “amusement” is a clever device to keep people from thinking—and perhaps that is why most of the amusements of the world are in the hands of the devil -—because he knows perfectly well that if he can keep people from thinking, he will keep them from God: “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testi monies” (Psa. 119:59). “And when he came to himself, he said, I will arise and go to my father” (Lk. 15:17-20). It is the sinner that is eccentric ( off the center): the Christian is concentric (he is on the center). Then there is what is called the modern mind. One finds difficulty in defining just what is meant by “the modern mind.” Perhaps an illustration will suffice. A certain pro fessor of Christian theology (note that word “Christian!” ), in a leading university, wrote a book entitled, A Guide- Book to the Study of the Christian Religion, in which he says: In the light of the new historical criticism, the Bible is a natural, and not a supernatural, book. A religion for the Twentieth Century must be made by Twentieth Cen tury people. It was the Bible writers who adopted the myth of the God-man. Our belief in the Godhead of Christ is a myth. There is now more appreciation of Christ as man and less emphasis on His Virgin Birth, and , His supernatural nature. The statement in the Scriptures that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, is both foolish and futile. That is a fair expression of the so-called “modern mind.” ; Everything that is supernatural and miraculous, according to the modern view of natural law, must be ruled out of the Bible. If, however, you begin by denying the virgin birth, and close by denying the physical resurrec tion of Christ, it will not be very long before you will be denying all that lies between these two supernatural events, for a sinless human being in the midst of a sinning race is as much a miracle in the moral realm, as a virgin birth or a physical resurrection is in the physical realm, and you then have no Christ worthy of trust. C hrist and E volution There is another competitor to the mastership of Christ in the realm of Christian thinking, and that is evolution. Say what we will, evolution (in some form) is king in the realm of education today. I presume it is fair to say that there is scarcely a book on biology written that is not evo lutionary in its teaching. There are so many conflicting definitions of the theory of evolution that it is difficult to define what it is. We do know, however, what the effect of the teaching of evolu tion is upon Christian faith and Christian thinking. Here is an illustration. A professor in a well-known college is reported to have sent out 5,500 questionnaires t© leading scientists, teachers in biology, psychology, geology, and history. After tabulating the results, he found that more than half of the prominent scientists (answering the questionnaire) had abandoned belief in a personal God and in immortality, as the result of their study of evolution. The professor, as reported, goes further, and says that he sent out questionnaires to students in nine leading uni versities, asking them what effect the study of evolution had upon their faith, and with this result: that 15 per cent of the freshmen, 30 per cent of the juniors, and 40 to 45 per cent of the men graduates in the universities and col leges had discarded their Christian faith. Furthermore,
beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of Jlje/' Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matt. 16:11, 12)TjThe Sadducees never went to the synagogue, but only to the temple, . We can readily understand that when Christ’s teaching came into conflict with theirs, and the people recognized it, the Sadducees also determined to put Christ out of the way—which, ultimately, they did. C hrist and P aul This claim of the mastership of Jesus Christ was chal lenged on through the days of Paul, for when he stood on Mars Hill and preached to the great scholars the simplicity of the gospel, they said, “This man is a babbler” (Acts 17:18, 19). By the word “babbler” they referred to the birds that swooped down on the Areopagus and picked up seeds here and there. They said, in effect, “This man has a mere smattering of knowledge. He has picked up a seed of knowledge here and there.” This sarcasm they cast into the apostle’s face—a sarcasm before which many a modern preacher has found himself unable to stand. But you cannot always listen to such critics. Such men said of Jesus that He did not know letters, that He did not have enough learning! “How knoweth this man let ters, having never learned?” (John 7:15). They said of Paul, in this instance," that he was without learning; but when he stood before Agrippa, the king said that he had too much learning, and that it had made him mad (Acts 26:24). And yet Paul was a scholar. You may remember that after the officers had arrested Paul, and he was allowed to speak to the people, he addressed them in Hebrew, On another occasion, when he desired to address another group of people near to the tower of Antonia, the officer asked him, “Canst thou speak Greek?” “Speak Greek!” said Pau l; “I was born in Tarsus, no mean city of Cicilia.” You may remember also that when they were about to’scourge b Paul, he asked the officer, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a Roman?” (Acts 21 :37; 22:2, 27). It was a great day for Christ and His gospel when Saul the Pharisee—the Hebrew with a passion for religion; the Greek, with a passion for scholarship and the classics; the Roman, with his world outlook and power for world- evangelization—bowed his neck and took upon it the yoke of the Christ and the simplicity of the cross, and became Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles! The supremacy of Christ in the realm of the mind has always been challenged, down through the centuries, and there come times when a man must recognize the fafct, as Paul did. C hrist and R ationalism When we come to our own day, we are face to face with the challenge of the supremacy of Christ in the realm of thought. [There are the rationalists. They say, “Whatever appeals to the reason wewill accept. Whatever does not appeal to the reason we will throw overboard, The miracles are not reasonable. The virgin birth is not reasonable. The physical resurrection of Christ is not reasonable.” What ever does not appeal to reason, is thus cast aside. Reason challenges the place of ChristJ/^/y- /V / / P* We are not against true reason. God deals with men on the basis of reason, as He deals with beasts on the basis of instinct. Reason and philosophy, illuminated by the Spirit of God, may be able to approve, approximate, and apply the information presented in the Word of God; but it cannot anticipate it. The true Christian is the true rationalist. It is the sinner that is irrational. Sin is not only moral obliquity; it is mental aberration. The sinner is not merely a rebel; he is a lunatic. He is beside himself. Would to God that we could get Christian people to do more thinking than
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ably true that eminent men of science are insisting, and with a kind of strange enthusiasm at that, on the fact that science gives us but a partial knowledge of reality, and we are no longer required to regard as illusory everything that science finds itself able to ignore. That “science has ¿imitations” is now proclaimed from the housetops—and that by scientists themselves ! This is amazing, for it is not yet sixty years since Tyndall claimed that science alone was competent to deal with all man’s major problems. Certain it is that the attempt to explain nature in mere terms of matter and force has broken down. T he H oly S pirit And it is just at this point that that spiritual intuition which the Holy Spirit gives to the believer plays its part in the knowing of the will of God and the answering of the problems of man and the universe. There are some things that “flesh and blood” cannot reveal : they are made known alone by “the Father in heaven.” ¡There are some problems in life which “the natural man” cannot perceive ; they seem “foolishness” to him; but the man that is “spirit ual” is able to discern meaning where the natural man otherwise sees nothing but confusion and chaos. Here is room for the display of faith. Faith is a sixth sense. It is fallacious to assume for a moment that knowledge comes to us only through the five senses-—even science itself now disclaims that assumption (or presumption). TBles^d are they that have not sèen, and yet have believedTj/^j./^, (, That is not to say that Christianity is against scholar ship. Far from it! Christianity opposes no philosophy or science that accepts God in Christ. Any science or philosophy that opposes Christ is not true to fact, hence must expect opposition from Christianity. All theories of the universe and life must leave room for God in Christ. The Christian religion puts no premium on ignorance, t nor does it place a ban On intellectualism. What we are maintaining is that Christianity is not absolutely dependent upon intellectualism; that it recognizes the great dangers that come from the attempt to solve the problems of life and of the soul from the standpoint of mere science and philosophy. Riches in themselves are not wicked, but they often lead to wickedness.’ So it is with scholarship. Nor are we unmindful of the fact that ignorance, also, has its dangers. People perish for lack of knowledge. We know, too, that the glory of the kingdom of Christ is when “the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it” ; when such men as Saul of Tarsus—with his Hebrew passion for religion, his keen knowledge of thè Greek classics, and his Roman passion, for world domination— bring their wonderful accomplishments of intellect and lay them at the feet of Jesus Christ. Christianity needs the man of the university as well as, perhaps more than, the man of the slums, the intellectual as much as the “bum,” the college as much as the rescue mission. “Christ receiv- eth sinful men” ; we know that, for Zaccheus found the Saviour. But He receives Saul of Tarsus—university honor-man as well. It is a greater trophy of grace to save an “intellectual” than a “bum.” Sin may be mental as well as physical : “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” There are mental as well as physical strongholds that must be cast down. There are plans, schemes, philosophies, reasonings, that oppose Christ and rob the soul of its peace, power, and tranquility. Such mental activities must be “pulled down,” and re manded to their dungeon. High things, high brows, all high things that contend with and challenge Christ, are to be renounced: “Casting down imaginations [reasonings], and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5, R .V .).
jjt is reported that 75 per cent of the boys and girls who go from Sunday-school and church to college, return to their homes never again to darken the door of the church and Sunday-school. I affirm that if this is the result of such teaching—and the professor says it is— then evolu tion is not Christian. By its fruits it shall be known^^yA I do not say that a man who believes in evolution (in f some form, Theistic evolution for example, although that is a misnomer, for evolution proper admits of no outside help whatsoever, not even from God) may not be a Chris tian. It is not my place to say th a t; but I do say if evolu tion makes one think less of Christ, less of God, less of the Christian faith, and takes out of the heart the desire for God, the wish for prayer, and relish for the Bible, then evolution is a competitor of Christ’s supremacy, and a destroyer of faith in Him, and therefore is anti-Christian. F acing the I ssue What is there' in the whole world of education that can compensate for the loss of faith? In the last analysis, the choice is up to us. We must face the matter. We must not close our eyes to it. We mqst bring the claim of Christ face to face with the claim of modern education and mod ern thinking, and if we find that the books we are reading, the education we are receiving, the studies we are following rob us of our faith in Christ and our desire to pray, fill our minds with doubts, take away our hope and leave us without any firm, definite conviction of God and Christ, I say that there is no other thing left for us to do but to make the choice, and declare, “Lord Jesus Christ, thou art Master in my thinking.” God be in my head, And in my understanding; Even now, although it may seem to be at a late moment, we are finding quite a change—perhaps we might call it a revolution—in the realm of science. To our great amaze ment, science is about to discard Newtonian theories. ?Io longer are we to be held by the scientific dictum that “the scientific method of approach” is the only valid method of acquiring knowledge about reality. It is unquestion God be in my heart, And in my thinking.
m n o i h e r Q/< e a r Another year! The future path lies hidden, And shadows seem to fall across the way. Press on! A light before thee shineth
Yet more and more unto the perfect day. Another yearl The days are growing evil, And Satan’s threat’nings dark forebodings send. Fear not! Thy God hath surely spoken: “Lo, I am with you . . . even to the end!” Another year! The land is parched and thirsty; Our souls are faint; low droops the precious grain. Plead on! Elijah’s God will answer And pour, in mighty floods, the latter rain. Another year! We wait with eager longing; The hour is late; midnight comes on apace. Look up! Redemption’s day is dawning; Perhaps this year we’ll see our Bridegroom’s face. — M. D. A.
7
January, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
THE (Mount o f 0 L IN HISTORY AND PROPHECY lives^
B y H. V. ANDREWS Western Springs, 111.
l ì,
while conversing with His loyal followers and blessing them, that He was parted from them and ascended to the Father who sent Him. His mission fulfilled, His work of redeeming men finished, He returned to receive the Fa ther’s welcome. Then it was that heaven lifted up its gates, even its everlasting doors, to receive the King of Glory, the conquering Hero. A t ' th e L ord ’ s R eturn There is a very significant fact about this sacred moun tain, one that should bind it closely to every follower of Him who crowned it with many sacred memories, and one that should fill the thoughts with joyful anticipation. It is th is: The Mount of Olives was the last place to feel the pressure erf the feet of Him who walked its pathway, and it will be the first place His feet will touch when He comes again, all His holy ones with Him, for “his feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives.” The prophet Zechariah has given us a foreview of the last battle to be fought before the coming of Him who shall cause all wars to cease. This battle is to be fought at Jeru salem (Zech. 14). We read and hear much about the bat tle of Armageddon, which, as many believe, will be the final battle of this age. The only place in Scripture where the name is found is in Revelation 16:14-16. The Revised Version uses the word “war” instead of “battle” as in the Authorized Version. The word “war” suggests a campaign rather than a battle, and is evidently the correct word, for the passage refers to Armageddon simply as the place where the armies will be assembled. Nowhere in Scripture is this place referred to as the place of the last battle. The armies of the nations are to be gathered together there, on the plains of Esdraelon, a famous battle ground of ancient times, with the definite purpose of fighting against God, of carrying to a finish Russia’s present threat and boast, that of dethroning God. From this great plain, the armies will move south, spreading over the land and concentrating on Jerusalem, where the great battle described by Zechariah will be fought. This is in full accord with Ezekiel 38 and. 39. In these chapters, little is said about the battle, but much about the coming of Gog and all his hordes against the land of Israel, and the falling and burial of this great host on the mountains of Israel. The two accounts should be studied together. The great army will not fall until it has fought the bat tle foretold by the prophet. It will come against Jerusalem with all the equipment of modern warfare. Its big guns from the rear will rain shells, death, and destruction on the city, then the armed men will rush forward and take the city. While they are rejoicing over the all but complete vic tory, and gloating over the spoil, suddenly a blaze of great brilliancy will light up the sky toward tbe east. The figure of the descending Son of God, followed by a great host of glorious beings, will soon become discernible. Every eye will turn to behold. The revelry will be stayed in an instant. The warriors will forget their lust, their prey, and in terror [Continued on page 15]
O T U N T I L Jesus came and hallowed it, d id the M o u n t o f Olives have any place of note in the h is to r y of God’s people, nor any spiritual sig nificance to give it p rom inence. Being on the east side of Jerusa lem, it was away from the march of commerce and of war. Men of
J er u sa lem from t h e M o u n t of O lives trade and men of war usually came from the north or south. The road east ward from the city was not traveled sufficiently to warrant much protection from thieves and robbers. I n O ld T estament H istory ' The Mount of Olives is a ridge rather than a mountain. It extends for about two miles across the eastern side of Jerusalem, and is separated from Mount Zion, on which the city is built, by a deep ravine, called “the brook Kidron,” but known later as “the valley of Jehoshaphat.” It rises 300 feet above the temple site, its total height being 2,700 feet above sea level. When David fled from Absalom to the country east of the Jordan, he and his loyal followers left by the eastern gate of the city, crossed the brook Kidron, and ascended the Mount of Olives, a sad, weeping army of men (2 Sam. 15). This is the only incident mentioned in Old Testament history connected with this mountain. I n the D ays of O ur L ord Jesus was a frequent visitor in Bethany, a town just over the top of Olivet. There He raised Lazarus from the dead. During the passion week, He spent His nights there, descending in the morning to the city, and climbing its slope on His return in the evening. From its brow, He viewed the city that had killed the prophets, and that was about to kill H im ; and as He gazed, He wept over it, knowing its doom, and over its “house” now left desolate by the rejected Lord of the house. Here also, during the passion week, He delivered the advent messages, called “the Olivet dis courses.” On the side of Olivet is the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus frequently resorted, where He spent a part of the last night before departing for the city that knows no night, where He fought His greatest battle as the God- Man, and where He submitted to the kiss of the traitor and the rough hands of His captors. It was from this mountain, back from the brow far enough to be hidden from the gaze of the wicked city,
January, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
8
The FIELD
fY)f\ ItJCWS&l ß -s- r/j / 5 S / 0 /D S
REAPING MID MANCHURIAN STORMS By ROSALIND GOFORTH Szepihgkai, Manchuria
[For nearly half a century, the author and her husband, Dr. Jonathan Goforth, distinguished missionaries of the Canadian Presbyterian Church, have been sowing and reaping among the Chinese. They continue still, with marked blessing,, although obliged to "carry on under severe handicaps." Referring to these, Mrs. Goforth says: “My husband lost his sight last March, and I am becoming increasingly deaf, but God is able for this! Pray for us and our band of fifty evangelists.”— E ditor .] feven years ago, Dr. Goforth and- I, accompanied by three other workers just arrived from Canada, came to Manchuria seeking a field for our Canadian Presbyterian Church. There were great regions, practically untouched, lying to the north of the Trans-Siberian Railway, but our choice of a field was a vast region bordering for some seventy-five English miles on the South Manchurian Rail way, but reaching westward an almost unlimited distance into Mongolia, and as far northwest as the border of Russia. While parts
T he N eed S upplied Seven years have passed since that step of faith was taken. Workers came in answer to prayer, and the money was received in proportion to the need aind advance in number of workers. We have never seen the “bottom of the barrel” in the freewill donations for the support of the workers, although we have been at times (-as now) sorely tempted to wonder how the needs could be met. We praise God with full hearts, not only for the supply of the financial needs of this aggressive work, but also even more for the manifest blessing and divine seal on this plan of work. Twenty-;four centers throughout the field have been opened, where daily evangelism is going on. Already several of the centers are almost entirely self-supporting. The donations from the Christians in the- various centers amounted to over $4,300.00 (Mex.) last year. We expect
this sum will be doub led this year. The adv an ce to w a rd s e l f - su p p o rt dur ing this pres ent year has been a s u r prise and joy to all of us. T he R eaping P e rh a p s a
of th is field near the rail way had been t o u r e d by other mission- a r ies, a n d small groups of Christians c o u l d b e found h e re and there, yet one fact will
brief sketch of our most recently opened center will be interesting and helpful. Fan-chia-tun is a town of about 20,000 inhabitants, and is three hours’ run to the north of us on the South Manchurian Railway. At this place lived a Mr. Tung, who had been baptized before the Boxer troubles. He had become an extensive and wealthy prop erty owner, but had backslidden. Opium, cigarettes, drink, and gambling all had a strangle hold of him. Not far from Fan-chia-tun was a very live center where aggressive evan gelism was in progress. Mr. Tung, hearing of what was going on elsewhere, must have had a stirring of the Spirit of God in his heart and a return of the old longings for higher things, for he sent a message to us urging that evangelistic work be started in his town. He offered to pro vide the necessary buildings free of rent. Last March, work was begun at Fan-chia-tun, with two evangelists in charge. Revival meetings were held at Szepingkai the early part of April, to which Mr. Tung was persuaded to come. The man received a tremendous shaking up, for the Spirit of God seemed to search him as by fire and to give him a new outlook on life. He returned home, and calling his family together, he told them that all such things as opium, gambling, and other vices on which they had been wasting over $1,500.00 yearly, must be put away, and that the money thus expended must, in future, be put to the saving of others. - - - [Continued on page 111
show how the field was practically untouched: On reach ing Taonanfu, a large important city in almost the center of the field, about a year after our arrival, we were told by the old Christians there that it was six years since they had seen a missionary. When we took possession of the field, making Szepingkai our headquarters, we were the first missionaries in that vast region to reside in any part of it. F acing the N eed Try to visualize our weak band, which gathered day by day for prayer. We had a' street chapel open on a busy street, and this was crowded all day with listeners to the gospel message. To keep the preaching going in order to reach these crowds taxed our strength to the utmost. How could we hope to reach the multitudes in the vast region for which we had made ourselves responsible ? W,e begged our board to send us thirty missionaries, but the reply was, “We are not able to send you even one for an indefi nite period.” This message, which at the time stunned us, proved to be. the greatest possible blessing. I t cast us upon the Omnipotent One! We had looked for Canadians to come; they had failed, but human channels must be found. We were constrained to look to the Lord to send us Chinese channels—Chinese men and women for widespread broad casting of the gospel message—and also for the money for their support. Did our God fail us? Oh, no!
9
January, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
the WO R L D
(VVV s 5 VENEZUELA’S
( c r i s i s
By HELEN R. QARDER Glendale, California
[The writer, with her husband, J. L. Carder, who was a graduate of the Institute in the class of 1926, is detained in the homeland for health reasons. The family is longing to return to Venezuela .— E ditor .] T: h e recent action of the Minister of Foreign Relations °f Venezuela, South America, in prohibiting the entrance of
wealthy family near Piritu. But after Domingo found Christ and had won his brother, “Peter,” the two lived radiant, changed lives and were used of God to raise up and care for two groups of believers in still another region. Poor, ignorant Damian Cumana, with his little wife, had such a holy boldness to confess the Saviour in a new neighborhood, that several others there, already convinced of the truth of the gospel through reading the New Testa ment, came out firmly for the Lord. Since then, through the testimony of these, there have been over fifty confes sions of Christ near Guanta. Pedro Velasco, father of thirteen, honorable, kind, but a sinner, found Christ through reading a Bible sold by a colporteur. He has been the means of winning between 200 and 300 souls to his Saviour in an otherwise unevangelized
a pottery M aker
men missionaries, new and old (except those who own land), leads to a startling crisis which calls for the intense and united intercession of God’s people. Pray that God’s will may he done about opening: this, door—“the. gates.-of brass and . . . the bars of iron.” And pray the Lord of the harvest that H e will raise up. unpaid, native.,helpers,,, evan gelists, and witnesses, that He will give them some means of a practical Bible training, that He will fill them with the Holy Spirit, and that He will send them forth with unction from on high to take the message of the only Saviour to their own people. In these natives, we believe, lies the only hope of rapidly evangelizing Venezuela. Consider “what hath God wrought” in the past several years through a consecrated, unpaid native ministry in one field alone—that of the Orinoco River Mission in Eastern Venezuela! As you read, see the converts of that field; hear their stories (in b rie f); and be encouraged to pray. The following are a few of them. Fonten, a converted murderer, and Antonia, his wife, a converted street woman, went to visit in the hills beyond Carupano, expecting to stay three months. But they have remained for three years and have won 199 souls. Ten couples have married out of concubinage, a number of children have been dedicated to the Lord, and thirteen Christians have been baptized. Santos Evans, idolater, devotee of the Virgin Mary, beat his son for confessing the Lord Jesus Christ. The son prayed for him, and has seen that father live to win many souls near Maturin, where, like a true soldier, he endured terrific opposition. The clever musician, Antero Millan, in demand with his
valley beyond Barcelona,, and is now a faithful overseer of an organized . church, with, about sixty of these men and women baptized. His work is spread ing to other valleys and villages. Uneducated Fulgencio Bri to, “just a bum” before being born again, married Antonio Vasquez, also rescued from sin. They were sent by the Master Harvester to Quiri- quire, and there, through great zeal and unfeigned love of the Lord, they have gathered to gether a congregation larger
L atin A merican F lower G irl
than that of the mother church at Maturin. They have built a chapel, are building a parsonage, and are showing themselves workmen that need not to be ashamed, faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God. Maria Dominguez (an upper class, refined woman),the only Christian fpr a long time in another place, withstood the attacks of fanaticism against her and her Lord, faith fully witnessing to Christ in season and out of season, until many in that town now own Him as Lord. The eternal records alone will tell how many souls have been won directly or indirectly through the faithful
violin at dances and drunken feasts, was in-« vited to a meeting. He went, and found® Christ. He has eagerly studied all tracts and Scripture portions given him, has stood firm under great persecution and sorrows, and has been an evangelist in a large district beyond Rio Caribe. He and his family have endured keen privation and hardship for Christ’s sake. Although old Manuel Vargas, over sev enty years of age, had his “ups and downs” for some time after his conversion, he yield ed himself to the Lord, and has been used to raise up and teach a congregation of over fifty in Rio de la Silla, beyond Cumana. Few young men of the sinful cities of our civilization lived worse lives than did Do- mirgo and Pedro Arriojas, sons of a once
testimony of these mentioned and many others—deacons, Sunday - school teachers, “pillars of the church,”-men and women who themselves have been called out of great darkness, ignorance, idolatry, and supersti tion, into the glorious light of salvation, through the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. In view of the facts that God can thus use the consecrated native Christians, and that there still exists so much “land to be pos sessed,” pray, again we plead, for God to c a l l f o r t h w o r k e r s ; to grant them zeal and knowledge; to keep them faithful; and also to sustain them through these dark days, till He come.
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