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The Present Crisis

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Oct 1, 1914

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 91, No. 41.

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The Present Crisis

There is no doubt about the crisis; the very nerves of the world have been tingling over this crisis for more than a month. Six weeks ago the first page of the morning paper was taken up with what seemed to be important news,—a great strike somewhere, or perhaps the latest word concerning the home rule question, as people were waiting from day to day to see whether there would be a revolution in Ulster; or very likely it was the Mexican war, and we were almost breathless at times to see whether this country would be involved. But for the last month industrial troubles, the home rule question, and the Mexican war have been altogether subordinate; they have been given little space on the inside of the newspaper, and the first page has been filled with glaring headlines of such news as we have never read before. It has not been a local crisis; it has not been a special trouble in one nation; many nations have been involved. The calendar for the last month is certainly very striking; just let me give you a sketch of it: War has been declared among the nations during this month as follows: August 1, Germany against Russia; August 3, Germany against France; August 5, Great Britain against Germany; August 6, Austria against Russia; August 8, Montenegro against Austria; August 10, France against Austria; August 13, Great Britain against Austria; August 23, Austria against Japan; August 28, Austria against Belgium. It is no wonder that with remarkable unanimity the papers, both secular and religious, have put that word Armageddon over their accounts of this war,—no wonder, I say; for in all its history the world has never seen a conflict like this. One writer in speaking of this matter closed his article with this brief statement: “We face perhaps the most awful winter that mankind ever faced.”
There is one thing very striking about this situation, and that is that the most terrible conflict of all the ages comes after years of prophecies of peace. And it certainly was almost ironical that some of the delegates who went to Europe this summer to attend the Peace Conference were unable to reach their destination on account of war. It is no wonder that a cartoonist has pictured the Peace Palace at The Hague with the sign in large letters, “For sale on account of war.”
What have been some of the reasons given for these peace prophecies? They are worth noting. You have heard them; you have read them. A writer in the Bible Magazine for September, sums up the matter in these words:—
“The reflective reader of history has found his mind returning again and again from the sensational features of the situation, and from the immediate issues of conflict, to the exploded theories, striking anomalies, contradictions, and surprises incident to the upheaval. Ever since the Franco-Prussian War peace lovers have been giving assurances of the unlikelihood of another great struggle among the nations representing Western civilization, assurances that had come to have almost axiomatic force. What now?”
“The doctrine of the brotherhood of man was advancing, they said; the world was becoming one; a great war would never come again. But the first shot sent race hatred to a white heat, and expressions of national pride became absurdly extravagant.”
“Modern civilization, we were told, was too far advanced to tolerate a great conflict. It was actually found less advanced than the preparations for war.”
“An international peace tribunal, housed in a magnificent peace temple at The Hague, surely marked a distinct stage in the peaceful adjustment of international disputes. Today it is even suggested that this newly dedicated edifice be used as a military hospital. . . .”
“The magnitude of international commerce must simply forbid such a disturbance of the world’s business; for were not the affairs of nations chiefly commercial today? Already international trade has lost its tens of millions, but its voice is scarcely heard in the uproar.”
“Since the world’s bankers controlled the ‘sinews of war,’ without their permission armies could not make a hostile move. The armies moved first, and the bankers have been adjusting themselves to the situation as best they can.”
“But there was the balance of power, so completely developed since the Triple Alliance was paralleled by the Triple Entente. The balance was too nicely adjusted; the assassination of one man upset it all.”
“In the presence of such immense armies and armaments, what government would dare to start a great conflict? But the burdened nations had come to feel that the only way to rid themselves of the intolerable weight was to settle the question of supremacy by war rather than by the never-ending strain and tension of costly preparation for it.”
“Solemn alliances and treaties between nations should weigh heavily against the opening of hostilities. What became of the Triple Alliance after Germany and Austria became involved with other powers? Did the opposing powers really believe it would hold together when the test came?”
“The neutrality of Belgium and of Luxemburg was an additional factor on the side of peace. But the treaties that guaranteed the security of these small states proved as frail as the paper on which they were spread.”
“And so on through the list of obstructions that humanity had vainly placed in the way of the great historical forces.”
These are some of the prophecies of peace, and they have all failed, and today the world faces a situation which it is impossible to describe in words. We get brief glimpses of it; but we can hardly imagine what it means to have lines of actual conflict extend for hundreds of miles; to have machine guns in operation that mow down whole ranks of men as a mowing machine cuts down the blades of grass. And the war is not confined to any one element; we have contending forces on the land numbering millions on each side; we have contending forces on the water with dreadnaughts and superdreadnaughts, and destroyers of all kinds; and wonderful to say, and new to tell, we have conflicts in the air. No one has ever known of such a situation.
This situation is not confined to the Old World; that is to say, the crisisitself is not confined there. I was reading in the morning paper today a report of a discussion in Congress only yesterday when the leader of the majority party of the House of Representatives used these words: “The American people are facing a crisis—one of the most serious crises that this country has faced since the Civil War—brought about by conditions over which they had no control.” The whole world is involved in this crisis.
And now I want to ask you one simple question: Why have all these prophecies of peace failed? why have they come to naught? It is because these prophecies were not founded on the Word of God; it is because they were human speculation. There has been a sentiment created—a false sentiment—that the world is growing better, that we are approaching a millennium of peace and good will, and that there can therefore be war no more. And while these words were, as it were, upon the lips of the peace prophets, this terrible struggle broke out. Mark it and remember it, these prophecies of peace have failed because they are contrary to God’s Word. This emphasizes the importance of the prophecies of the Bible and a proper understanding of them. I know very well that there have been absurd, illogical, fantastic interpretations of prophecy; I know very well that for a generation, again and again, somebody has risen and set a definite time for the world to come to an end, and has based his prediction upon a so-called interpretation of prophecy; and just as these peace prophecies have utterly failed, so have these other prophecies come to naught.
But there is a safe and sane interpretation of the prophecies of the Scriptures. They are given for our benefit; they are not given to tantalize us, merely to arouse false hopes, to set false ideas afloat. They are given for our instruction. In 2 Peter 1:19 we read as follows: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy: whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.” This is the estimate placed upon prophecy in the Scripture, and there is no effort better worth the attention of intelligent people at this time than to seek prayerfully, intelligently, an understanding of the prophecies of the Scripture.
In order that we may be able to make a correct interpretation and application of prophecy referring to the present situation, I propose to call your attention briefly to an outline of this world’s history extending over a period of over twenty-five hundred years. Necessarily this must be a mere outline. I think many who are here have heard a more definite exposition of these prophecies in this tent. I shall be obliged to take for granted some things. But I want to call your attention to a sweep of the prophetic word which will take you down through history until this very day, and I do this in order that you may see in a clear way that there are scriptures that apply to this very hour,—scriptures that explain this very situation far differently from these prophecies that I have read here. Let us notice, then, first in the book of Daniel, chapter 2, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar:—
“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.”
The head of gold is Babylon; the breast and arms represent the Medo-Persian kingdom, which succeeded the Babylonian kingdom in 538 B. C. The thighs represent Grecia, which succeeded Medo-Persia in 331 B. C. “And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron.” In this you at once recognize what Gibbon has called the iron monarchy of Rome. The fourth kingdom was to be divided. Mark the situation which existed in Europe when the present war broke out. The marriage relation bound together nearly all these large kingdoms; they seemed to be united as one brotherhood. “But they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Now mark the outline of this prophecy,—Babylon, then Medo-Persia, then Grecia, then Rome, then divided Rome, and an effort to unite these divided kingdoms in one. “But they shall not cleave one to another. . . . And in the days of these kings [in the days of this divided state of the fourth kingdom] shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.” The record does not say that it shall gradually absorb and convert all these other kingdoms, but, “It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” No basis there for looking for a millennium of peace at the close of this world’s history! It is more in harmony with that scripture in the second psalm, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” That is the picture that the prophetic word gives of conditions and experiences at the close of this world’s history.
In the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel, an outline is given again of these four kingdoms, with an added specification; and I read concerning the fourth beast: “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” The interpretation of this prophecy is given in this very chapter, in the seventeenth verse: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” Then the prophet desired to know more about the fourth beast, and this answer was given him: “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, . . . and the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise.” Here we have a very definite prophecy of the division of the four kingdoms into ten kingdoms. And this whole prophecy closes with this prediction: “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” These prophecies carry us down from the time of Babylon in one grand sweep of the world’s history until the close of earth’s history and the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God.
We have prophecies in the New Testament that cover the ground from the first advent to the second in a more definite way, filling in, as it were, the outline of these prophecies. I can only refer to them.
The second and third chapters of the book of Revelation record the prophecies of the seven churches, covering the experiences of the church from the time of the first advent to the time of the second advent. I wish to note just the closing words concerning the last church: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3:21. The seventh church, or the period covered by it, closes with the overcomers on the throne. That corresponds exactly with the prediction in the seventh chapter of Daniel, where it says the saints shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom. Mark that it is a question of a kingdom, of what kingdom shall be established on the earth; whether it will be these world powers, or whether they shall be cast aside and another kingdom set up on the earth which shall stand forever. The conflict closes with the overcomers on the throne.
In the sixth chapter of this same book we have the prophecy of the seals, and there are seven of these seals. The sixth seal is the last one describing conditions on the earth. Let me read it: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” Rev. 6:12, 13. That earthquake was the great earthquake of Lisbon, in 1755; the sun and moon were darkened in May, 1780, and the stars fell in November, 1833. We are under the sixth seal, the last one describing earthly conditions.
“And the heaven departed as a scrollwhen it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Verses 14-17. Those are the events under this sixth seal. The seventh seal introduces us to heavenly experiences.
Chapters 8 and 9 of this same book of prophecy give us another line of history under the symbol of the seven trumpets. Note the fullness of these prophecies. The seven churches cover the time from the first advent to the second advent, and give the spiritual side of the church. The seven seals cover practically the same time, and give the history of the church under oppression. The seven trumpets deal with about the same period, and give the history of the political powers used as a scourge against the church because of apostasy.
We have four trumpets mentioned in the eighth chapter. These four trumpets represent the attacks of the barbarians upon the Western Roman Empire. The first trumpet represents the attack of the Visigoths under the leadership of Alaric. This trumpet begins with A. D. 395, when these invasions began. Then came the Vandals from North Africa under the leadership of Genseric, from 428 to 476; meantime we have also Attila, who called himself the “Scourge of God,” leading the Huns against the Western Empire; and the history of the Western Empire as one empire, closes with the downfall of Western Rome in 476, with Odoacer of the Heruli, as the new ruler. This brings us to the year 476, when we find that the prophecy in the second chapter of Daniel, “the kingdom shall be divided,” and that in the seventh chapter of the same book, that out of the fourth beast should come ten horns, are literally fulfilled.
In the ninth chapter of Revelation we have the fifth and sixth trumpets, and these deal with the invasion of the Mohammedans against the eastern division of Rome, whose capital was Constantinople.
The fifth trumpet describes the campaigns of the Arabian Mohammedans, beginning with their earliest operations after the rise of Mohammed, their prophet. The period assigned to them after “they had a king over them . . . whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon,” is the symbolic period of five months, or 150 days, or 150 years of literal time. This began with the invasion of Nicomedia under the leadership of Othman. This period, beginning in 1299, would end in 1449. The fifth trumpet was followed immediately by the sixth trumpet, which describes the work of the Turkish Mohammedans, and the period assigned to them is in prophetic time “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year,” or 391 years and a fraction. Reckoning this period from 1449, it would extend to 1840, at which time the power of the Mohammedans “to slay the third part of men” would be restricted.
We have now covered in outline the time from that first prophecy in Babylon, about 600 B. C., to our own generation, A. D. 1840. There may be some in this audience who can remember what happened in 1840, when Turkey really lost its power and became subject to the world powers. From that time until now Turkey has been known as the “Sick Man of the East.”
After 1840 comes the seventh trumpet, and I read its announcement: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15. Away back, over six hundred years before Christ, Daniel, the Hebrew captive in Babylon, made an outline of history and looked forward to the time of the division of the fourth kingdom. And he said, “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom. . . . and the kingdom shall not be left to other people.” And away down in the stream of time the prophet John was given his vision of the seventh trumpet, and there was a voice in heaven answering, as it were, the voice of the prophet in Babylon, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Next the prophet gives a picture of what goes on in connection with Christ’s taking the kingdom that he might reign forever and ever. Let me read it: “And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come.” A madness seizes upon the nations. What better evidence can we have of such madness than we see at this very hour? It hardly seems that the cool judgment of sane men would lead in such a conflict as this. “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come,”—a time of judgment, a time of reward. Daniel the prophet looked forward to this same time when he said, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time;” and he adds, “Thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
Every pulpit in the city of Washington ought this very day to be resounding with these prophecies. Why is it that those who ought to be expounding the Word to the people to give them clear vision concerning this time—not human speculation, not fantastic, illogical interpretations, but the simple, clear interpretation of God’s Word that the people may know the time—are not doing it? No matter what any one may say to you, if you find light and evidence of God’s leading and God’s interpretation in what you hear under this tent, give it serious and candid consideration.
But what is the apparent cause of this situation? A Servian student shot Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, of Austria, as they were on a trip in Bosnia. Austria interpreted that as meaning that there was a Servian conspiracy against the Austrian monarchy. You will remember that it was only a short time ago that Austria seized upon Bosnia and Herzegovina. No wonder that there was a spirit of unrest. Servia really humbled herself in the dust before Austria, but declined to yield her very life, and Austria declared war. What was at stake in this? It was this question of the kingdom. Austria thought there was a conspiracy against the kingdom. It must be put down at all hazards, and Austria declared war on the basis that there was a conspiracy against the kingdom to overthrow the government.
Sin is a conspiracy against the government of God. Have you ever analyzed sin to make it mean to you that sin involves the dethroning of God and the putting of oneself in the place of God? That is what is involved in sin. Sin, if allowed to go on, would mean simply the dethronement of God and the taking of the kingdom by another. The whole question is a kingdom question. In the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah there is a description of such a rebellion, and mark that the leader of this rebellion is Lucifer: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”
Sin means to dethrone God and put another government in the place of the government of God. That has been the purpose from the time sin was introduced into the world. The whole conflict from that time to this very hour is over the question of the kingdom. Shall it be a kingdom in defiance of the law of God, or shall it be a kingdom of peace and righteousness, the kingdom of God? That is the question that is being tried out upon this earth. This battle began in heaven, and was transferred to this earth. In the twelfth chapter of the book of Revelation, the seventh verse, we read: “And there was war in heaven! Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.”It was Satan’s plan to obtain a foothold here by usurpation, by deceit, and to become the god of this world. Our Saviour recognized him. He said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” At the very time of his crucifixion he said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” That was through the cross of Christ.
I should like to have you note, in passing, that the law of the kingdom of God is the very foundation of his throne; it is the very constitution of his government; it cannot be overthrown and the world survive. And the weakness of the world at this present time, in this most fearful of all crises of the world’s history, has come upon the world because it has rejected God and his law.
The foundation of this world is the law of God; justice and judgment, righteousness and truth, are the very foundation upon which the government of God rests, and the security and stability of this world actually rest upon the firmness of this law. To reject this law, to set it aside, to attempt to substitute something else in its place, to attempt to put church legislation in the place of the law of God, means treason, rebellion, and finally absolute ruin. Here are the words of the prophet:—
“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. “. . . And the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” Why?—They have transgressed the everlasting covenant. They have broken God’s law, therefore these things come necessarily.
The purpose of the gospel of Christ is to restore in this world the supremacy of this law of God,—that law just as it was given on Sinai. I have here a statement which I think is worth reading, because it presents in a few words the principles involved. I ask you to give it careful thought:—
“Revelation exhibits the restoration and establishment of the supremacy of the moral law. “Herein it crowns the system of nature with perfection and completeness. The law of subordination leads up, step by step, to the supremacy of the moral law. But though in the world system the moral law is supreme by right, it is not supreme in fact. Its rule is disregarded and overthrown. The Bible unfolds the plan, and traces the story of the restoration of its supremacy. “The Bible is the story of a rebellion vanquished and subdued. It is the account of the victory of the divine goodness. In its course evil is overcome by good. The cross conquers. Love overcomes. The hand that holds the scepter was pierced on Calvary. The universe worships at the feet once fastened to the shameful tree. The anthem of its praise is, Worthy the Lamb! Through Jesus Christ all things are subjected to God. And when that subjection is complete, the Son himself shall give up the kingdom to the Father, ‘that God may be all in all.’”
“Thus the natural and the spiritual form one system. One law of subordination reigns throughout:— “1. Inorganic nature subserves the organized world. “2. In the vegetable kingdom inferior forms of life subserve superior forms. “3. The vegetable kingdom subserves the animal. “4. Lower animal races subserve the interests of higher. “5. The material world subserves the mental. “6. The physical subserves the moral. “7. In the realm of mind all is subordinated to moral law. “8. Moral law, though supreme in the world by right, is not supreme in fact. “9. Revelation exhibits the restoration and establishment of the supremacy of the moral law.”
Thus you see, step by step from the inorganic world up to the very highest intelligences, all are linked together, and are therefore sustained by the eternal, immutable law of God. The inevitable consequence of disregarding that law is that from the highest fallen angels down through man to the very lowest inorganic nature, the creation itself suffers, goes to rack and ruin; because at the head, angels and men have disregarded God’s law, the very foundation of his whole government. This is why the earth becomes weak; this is why it staggers to and fro like a drunken man; and it shall fall and not rise again, because of the disregard of God’s law.
Now this restoration of the supremacy of God’s law involves the whole work of Christ,—his incarnation, the first advent, his sacrifice on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension on high, his ministry in the sanctuary at this very time, and his second advent in glory. From the book of Genesis to the last book of the Bible we have prophecy upon prophecy foretelling this order of things, up to the very last step, the second advent. Of the first advent we have the time predicted. Daniel the prophet said, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” The time of the first advent was so well known, so well understood, that when John the Baptist appeared, men mused in their hearts whether he could be the Christ. Our Saviour’s life upon earth, his rejection, his death, are foretold in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. There are prophecies concerning the second advent, not telling the day or the hour, for “of that day and hour knoweth no man,” but telling the very generation that should see the event; and that generation is our generation. To his disciples, who saw him taken up into heaven, it was said, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him.”
The conditions of the world that foretell his second coming, the conditions in the professed church of God, conditions in the social world, in the political world, the strife between capital and labor, the wars and rumors of wars,—all these things are set before us in this word of prophecy, not as predictions that cannot be understood, but as what every prayerful student of the Bible may know for himself. Let me ask you at this time, this time which may be called this awful time, What can be more important to us than to know what these things mean according to the sacred Word of God? Let me tell you the time is very near—I do not prophesy how long, but the time is very near—when everything will give way before us, when the social order will crumble and fall; confusion will reign in the earth; no man will know what is his own, and no man will be sure of his life except as it is hid with Christ in God. I hope I can say a word that will lead you to consider seriously this time, and to realize that the greatest problem that faces every one of us is, What preparation shall I make for that day now so near at hand?
This great war is not Armageddon. It is not surprising that that word appears in the papers, but it is not Armageddon. This war is not the end. This war is a decided beginning of the end. There is yet time for us to face the situation and prepare for what is just before us. And what is the preparation needed? Not something fanciful or sentimental, but a straightforward, honest, and intelligent acceptance of the gospel of Christ, which writes the law of God in the heart and leads to obedience to that law in the life. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” We are to be judged by this royal law of liberty. Faith in the atoning work of Christ leads to acceptance of him, and “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That same faith brings the indwelling Christ into the heart, to rule in the life, to reveal the divine character, to give victory over every evil thing. “That is Christianity.
Now God calls upon us to establish peace; not that false peace that the false prophets foretell, but that peace which shall rule in the heart through Christ, that peace which comes from harmony with God, that peace of which the angels sang when they said, “Glory to God in the highest.”