The Lesson of the War by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 5, 1914

The Lesson of the War

By Editor

Not alone to Seventh-day Adventists, but to Christian men and women of other denominations as well, is the great European conflict appealing as a notable sign of the times. Some striking articles have appeared in various church journals. The Sunday School Times devotes its issue of October 17 to a discussion of the lessons of the war and its relation to the great field of prophecy. Some striking comments are made in this number. Regarding the standpoint from which the present conflict should be considered, the editor, under the heading “Can the Great War Be Explained?” says: “The truth is that the only persons who are on the vantage ground from which clear judgment can be pronounced here are they who accept the whole counsel of God as revealed in the Scriptures.”

Answering the charge that Christianity has proved a failure in not being able to avert the present conflict, the editor declares further:—

Men are asking why a loving God can permit such tragic and widespread suffering. The church has a Word which reveals to her a God who, because of sin, must deal just as he is dealing with the nations today. Why is it, again is asked, that civilization, built up by Christian nations, is now failing at the very points where it was thought to be strong? The church of Christ has a word of prophecy, that shows that the present chaos is inevitable, and but the foreshadowing of the ultimate, complete downfall of a man-built civilization, Christian only in name. The church has a word of promise that gives her the glad tidings of how men may escape these sin disasters, and may cooperate in God’s own plan for bringing about the golden age which men have dreamed and which prophets have accurately described.

God’s Word shows us that no form of human government,—autocracy or limited monarchy or republic,—supplemented by never so many peace conferences, will ever avail to bring final peace and good will on earth. God’s Word makes it unmistakably plain that only when Christ comes to establish his kingdom, which shall take the place of all present forms of Gentile rule on earth, shall peace come.

Many argue that it makes no difference when Christ will come; that if we are only ready, that is all that will be necessary. An understanding of God’s teaching on the return of Christ has a bearing upon everyday life and duty. Now as never before we need to know truth.

Many Christians think that all theories about the Lord’s return are unprofitable or even fanatical. Many other earnest Christians feel that it has little practical bearing upon their Christian service whether the Lord comes before the kingdom is set up, or afterward. Yet the question of how the church is to serve in bringing in the kingdom is determined by the question whether Christ comes before or after the kingdom is established.

While many consecrated evangelists have labored earnestly for the upbuilding of the kingdom of Christ, they have never taken time to study the prophecies relative to the setting up of the kingdom. These men are at an utter loss to explain the present situation. Of this situation the editor declares:—

But God would not have a single child of his in bewildering fog or darkness at this moment because of the relation of the world’s greatest war to God’s program. To many students of God’s Word there is nothing surprising in this war. To them there is nothing disheartening in it. It is indeed perhaps the most awful expression of sin that the world has seen since Christ first came. But our Lord has foretold such warfare, and he is so much mightier than the power of sin, that he can and will by his arbitrary might sweep aside its wreckage and ruin when he returns to reveal himself in glory, the King of the world that he has redeemed.

It is not then merely a question of whether or not Christ may come to earth while we still live. . . . But to know that he is to come before his kingdom can be set up will prevent the shaking of the faith of thousands of Christians in this stormy day.

Of similar import are words from other prominent men in this war number of the Times. In an excellent article contributed by Prof. Griffith Thomas, consideration is given to the futile efforts made by many well-meaning but misguided religionists to bring in the kingdom of God through social betterment, peace conferences, etc. Of this work Professor Thomas declares:—

Perhaps the supreme lesson to be learned at the present time is that the kingdom of God is something vastly different from what is taught in many quarters today. Some people seem to identify the divine kingdom with the introduction of a new social order; others regard it as associated with the coming of civilization and international peace. But neither of these is the New Testament conception of the kingdom, and this war will do some good if it reminds many, even among preachers, that all the transformation of the social order and all The Hague conventions in the world will not usher in the kingdom of God. That kingdom is nothing less than the rule of God over life. The circumstances of the present war will open the eyes of many who have been “sidetracked” in their preaching of a social gospel and of an evangel of international concord. After twenty years of The Hague convention, when civilization may almost be thought to have reached its consummation, and when Europe has apparently been leavened with the principles of peace, this war suddenly takes place. It shows that in spite of everything, civilization and the kingdom of God are not synonymous terms.

The effect of the present catastrophe upon Christian people generally he believes will be to make them “turn their attention all the more earnestly to the ‘sure word of prophecy,’ and make them look for deliverance to the imminent advent of the King, and not to any gradual amelioration of social and national conditions.”

It is gratifying to see a journal like the Sunday School Times lend its widespread influence to an endeavor to lead men to study the present situation in the light of prophecy. The quotations given above might be supplemented by many others from various religious journals and writers, which indicate that the spirit of inquiry after the meaning of the things that are coming upon the earth, exists now everywhere. This is our golden opportunity to present clearly and distinctly the truths of the prophetic word. Providence has placed within our hands much excellent literature bearing upon the fulfillment of prophecy in these times in which we live. Let us scatter this literature like the leaves of autumn.

But while we take advantage of this spirit of inquiry in the world, let us not be carried away with the spirit of the

times, or even with the consideration of the issues of the war, to the exclusion of the proper representation of the truth in all its phases, and to the development of Christian character in our own experience. Professor Thomas concludes his article with the following excellent suggestions which we commend to the careful, personal consideration of every reader:—

Meanwhile, as we ponder the present and look forward to the future, what is to be our attitude as Christians? The answer can be given in the words of a motto now being used in English commercial life: “Business as usual.” Christians everywhere must go about their Master’s “business as usual.” John 9:4. Hearts are still longing for Christ, and some of them more keenly than ever. John 6:68. The comfort of the gospel is as much needed and as potent as before. Rom. 1:16. The truths of the Bible call for emphasis and instruction just as they did three months ago. 2 Tim. 3:14. Prayer will be found as great a necessity and as real a strength today as aforetime. Dan. 6:10.

It is recorded of Garfield that during a terrible crisis in the American Civil War he quieted a large and excited crowd by quoting these words: “Clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.” Ps. 97:2. On this great truth we, too, can rest; and even though we walk in darkness and have no light, we shall yet trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon our God. Isa. 50:10.