p. 746 | GOD IN HISTORY by Prof. E. A. Sutherland

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 19, 1901

GOD IN HISTORY.

By Prof. E. A. Sutherland

PROF. E. A. SUTHERLAND.

“A God in history? Gibbon, seated among the ruins of the Capitol, and contemplating its august remains, owned the intervention of a superior destiny. He saw it; he felt it: in vain would he avert his eyes. That shadow of a mysterious power started from behind broken pillars. . . . Shall we not discern amidst the great ruins of humanity that almighty hand which a man of noble genius—one who had never bent the knee to Christ—perceived amid the scattered fragments of the monuments of Romulus? . . . and shall we not confess it to be the hand of God? . . .

“And see what luster this great truth (God in history) receives under the Christian dispensation. What is Jesus Christ if He be not God in history? It was this discovery of Jesus Christ which enabled John Müller, the greatest of modern historians, fully to comprehend his subject. ‘The gospel,’ said he, ‘is the fulfillment of every hope, the perfection of all philosophy, the interpreter of every revolution, the key to all seeming contradictions in the physical and the moral world; it is life and immortality. Since I have known the Saviour, everything is clear to my eyes; with Him there is no difficulty I cannot solve.’”

Thus wrote an eminent historian; and is not this great truth, that God has appeared in human nature, in reality the keystone of the arch, the mysterious link which binds all earthly things together, and connects them with heaven?

The recognition of this principle—God in history—has rendered immortal the work of D’Aubigné, from whom the preceding quotation is made. Men who have searched deep into the annals of nations find there the hand of God. “The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” Who of all people upon earth should know this fact, and not only know the fact, but be able to interpret the handwriting of Jehovah as seen in past and current history,—who, if not the people who are looking for the Saviour’s second coming?

The value of the study of history is theoretically acknowledged by those who have had their minds turned toward the prophecies; nevertheless it is true that comparatively few understand the philosophy of history. This weakness is one cause of inefficiency on the part of the ministry. God’s voice is to be heard on every hand, speaking in trumpet tones; but to the majority it is but as the sound of thunder, and the multitudes pass on unwarned to the day of final reckoning.

In the hand of the man who has a knowledge of God in history, the subject becomes a power in the proclamation of the message for to-day. How sad the fact, then, that so little use is made of the historical works which have been prepared for our people! I have reference especially to the histories prepared by Elder A. T. Jones, with great labor, after years of study, with the one purpose of pointing out the truth that God is in history, and of placing in the hand of the student a key to the interpretation, not only of prophecy, but of current events as well. I say it is a lamentable fact that so little time is devoted to the study of the three volumes, “Empires of the Bible,” “Empires of Prophecy,” and “Ecclesiastical Empire.”

The golden thread of truth is, in these volumes, followed from the days of the theocracy in Israel to the present time. The philosophy of history is given in clear statements, and principles are illustrated by striking historical facts. Cause and effect are so carefully compared that the thoughtful student is furnished with a key for the interpretation of facts wherever they may be encountered. These books were prepared for our ministers and our advanced schools. It is a mistake that they do not receive universal recognition.

Many realize their deficiency and inability to meet men of education and culture, but they are unable to enter a training school for a better preparation. For such Emmanuel Missionary College will open a Correspondence Study Department. The study of the Bible, and history in the light of the Scriptures, will be one strong feature. The three histories written by Elder Jones will be the basis for this work in the Correspondence Study department. Moreover, Elder Jones himself will outline the work to be pursued by students of history, and will furnish test questions for the lessons. Work done by correspondence will be carefully graded by the secretary, and as the faculty of the Correspondence Study department is largely made up of members of the College faculty, the work done by correspondence will affiliate with class-room work. Credit will be given for all work satisfactorily completed. The independent student will find in this department real help to self-improvement. The department opens Jan. 1, 1902.