THE ROYAL SEED IS PLANTED IN BABYLON.
By William W. Prescott
Jesus, in his reply to the definite question from his disciples, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” It is therefore both the sign of the Lord’s coming and of the preparation for that glorious event, that it should be proclaimed everywhere that God in Christ is “the King eternal, immortal,” and that “the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.” Ps. 103:19. When this truth shall have been fully made known throughout all the world, and all shall have either yielded themselves as obedient servants to the rightful King, or have rejected him, and said, “We will not have this man to reign over us,” then will be heard the “great voices in heaven,” saying, “The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15, R. V. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Those who have rejected the gospel of the kingdom, and have persisted in their allegiance to “the god of this world,” will perish with their chosen king, in the downfall of his kingdom. Every person in the world ought therefore to give earnest attention to this announcement of the gospel of the kingdom. It is not a question of creed or church, a mere subject of theological controversy; it is not a question of weight of argument in the settlement of some religious dispute, which may well be left to those who enjoy such soul-destroying pastime; it is an intensely real and practical question, which affects the whole tenor of our lives. By this announcement of the gospel of the kingdom we are informed of the true state of affairs in this world; we learn of the original rebellion against the authority of “the King of heaven;” how Lucifer, the light-bearer, became Satan, the adversary; how through deception he turned man away from his allegiance to God, and by usurping his dominion became “god of this world;” how God in his great love has made provision through the gift of Jesus—his life, his death, his resurrection, and his priesthood—that we should be rescued from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of his dear Son; how in Jesus Christ, the Son of man, the Son of God, who “loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings” (Rev. 1:5, 6), the dominion will be restored, “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.” Dan. 7:27. This gospel of the kingdom is the one topic of the Scriptures. It is set forth in precept, prayer, and praise; it is the teaching of the prophecy, the history, and the biography of the Bible; it is the keynote of the life and teaching of Jesus, who began his ministry by “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14, 15. It covers the working out of God’s eternal purpose concerning man, from the first chapter of Genesis, where we find him made in the image and likeness of God, and in dominion over the works of his hands, through the experience of sin, when “we see not yet all things put under him,” until we find him, in the last chapter of Revelation, again a faithful servant of the rightful King, having God’s name in his forehead, once more a king, who “shall reign forever.” The gospel message goes forth “with a loud voice,” saying, “Behold your God;” “Fear God, and give glory to him; . . . and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Isa. 40:9; Rev. 14:7. Thus each one is brought to face and to settle the question, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” What is the nature of this kingdom of God? Is there any clear evidence that “it shall stand forever”? Upon what principles is it established that it should be “an everlasting kingdom”? The history of the world, read in the light shining from the Scriptures, will give a clear and decided answer to all these questions. It is not a matter of theory or of philosophical speculation, but an experience that has been wrought out in the centuries of human history. But in order to trace with profit the lessons taught in the apparently tangled course of events of these centuries, we must read the history from God’s standpoint, opening this storehouse of knowledge with the key that he has placed in our hands. And it is especially important that this should be done in this generation, because the history of the past is being repeated in the history of to-day; and the true interpretation of present history is given to us in the Lord’s own interpretation of past history as the guide in the correct understanding of his prophecies concerning this time just before the coming of the King.