The Third Angel's Message in Syria
By W. H. Wakeham
IN a former communication I gave an account of my visit to eastern Turkey, and our Armenian workers' Bible institute at Aintab. Leaving Turkey November 24, I returned to Beirut, the chief port and largest city in Syria. Here I visited the American Press, which does most of the Arabic printing for Protestants in the East. Most of the Arabic Bibles used in the Orient are translated and printed here. Thus this is one of the great agencies for preparing the field for the spread of the last message. I also visited the large American college located here, and found over seven hundred native young men and boys enjoying educational advantages in no way inferior to many of our American institutions. More than one hundred of these young men are Moslems, who are thus brought daily under the direct influence of Christianity. What a grand opportunity the teachers of this school have of showing the true Christ-life to those who, if not hating him, at least deny his divinity. Here I met Dr. Bliss, one of the pioneer missionaries of Syria. He received me cordially, and as it was the thirtieth of November, I was invited to attend an American Thanksgiving service in their beautiful chapel near the main college building. More interesting, however, to me was a visit to the little school of Sister Anastas Khouri in the village of Schwaifat, about an hour's drive from Beirut. This sister embraced the Sabbath truth while visiting New York about five years ago, as a result of hearing a discourse on that subject by Elder E. E. Franke; but she did not at that time see all the truths of the third angel's message. She has now fully identified herself with our people, and I had the pleasure of baptizing her in the beautiful waters of the Mediterranean Sea, near Beirut, into the full faith of this closing message. This sister, who is a competent teacher in both the Arabic and English languages, has been for years carrying on what is really a Sabbatarian mission school at her own expense, and earning a meager support for herself, a widowed sister-in-law, and several orphan children. The seeds of truth are being sown here, and must bring forth fruit in due time. During my stay in Beirut I was hospitably entertained by Brother and Sister Haussmann. Brother Haussmann is a masseur, and his wife was a nurse at our former Basel Sanitarium. They are trying to hold up the light of health reform and rational medicine in that large city, and God has been blessing them in it. They have passed through some trying experiences, but are firm in the truth, and are looking for that 'blessed hope' soon to be realized. I was detained for some time in Beirut on account of bad weather (the winter rains were just beginning), also waiting for Brother Elias Zarub, our Syrian worker, who finally came, bringing his family into the city for the winter. Sister Zarub, having fully accepted all the truths of the message, was also baptized at the same time that Sister Khouri was. Leaving this place in company with Brother Zarub, we first came to a village called Malaka, three hours from Beirut. This place is a Roman Catholic stronghold, the entire population, with two or three exceptions, being counted of that faith. But the closing message has reached some honest hearts here. Through the labors of Brother Zarub two families are in part keeping the Sabbath. The heads of these families were buried in baptism, and other adult members, who are keeping the Sabbath, will, we hope, soon follow. These are the only converts from Catholicism in the town. One of these has been keeping the Sabbath for two years, and both have had a taste of persecution. One has lost about fifteen hundred francs (three hundred dollars) on account of his faith. Unjust charges are “trumped up” against him, and as his judges are always Catholics, of course the case is sure to go against him. But he seemed to take joyfully the spoiling of his goods, and showed no disposition to surrender his faith on account of persecution. Many others in this place have lost faith in 'the church,' and are looking for something better. One man is reported to have offered nine hundred francs (one hundred and seventy-five dollars) to the Protestant mission to start a school there. Many are anxious for their sons and daughters to receive a more liberal education than is afforded by the school of the Jesuits, which is all they have now. Here is an excellent opportunity for a missionary teacher to do a grand work. The field here is fully ripe. Where are the reapers? An English teacher, with one or two native assistants, who could be readily secured at a small salary, with a small capital could go into this place and build up a work, the results of which eternity alone would reveal. And there are those there who would assist financially in such an enterprise. May God send them help soon. Now is the time, before the field is occupied by others who will not give the gospel in its fulness. Leaving Malaka, we came into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Here we were detained two days on account of the rains, which fell in torrents almost continuously night and day. And as the only mode of transit is on horses or mules, traveling in such weather was out of the question. At Sidon the Protestants have good mission schools. Our Brother Zarub was educated here, and has scattered some of our tracts among his former fellow students and teachers. Several here are convinced of the truth, and are favorable subjects for future labor. In the village of Magdouche, near Sidon, we had a blessed experience. A Roman Catholic priest here has recently embraced the truth. For some time he had been convinced that the Protestants had the best of the argument in every way, but not till the mighty truths of the third angel's message took hold of him did he receive strength to come out of mystic Babylon. As he seemed thoroughly in earnest, and intelligently converted, I gladly acceded to his earnest request for baptism into the faith of the third angel's message. We hope that in due time the Lord will call him to have an active part in this closing work of the gospel. This brother has also had a taste of persecution. He knows the true spirit of the papacy as few Americans can. That church in the United States is, in its outward aspects, quite a different thing from Rome in the Orient. A short time after he left the church, the bishop sent some Mohammedan “toughs” to kill him, but God delivered him out of their hands. Since then he has suffered numerous petty persecutions from both Catholics and so-called Protestants, so that it was not difficult for him to see the dragon spirit in the “daughters” as well as in the “mother.” A few years ago this was an intensely Romish town. At one time the bigoted adherents of Catholicism gathered all the Bibles and tracts that had been put in circulation by Protestant missionaries in the place, and publicly burned them, together with the building in which they were. To-day on that very spot stands a Protestant house of worship. Thus do temples to the Lord arise out of the ashes of Romish hate and intolerance. Our priest brother is something of a humorist, as a little incident will serve to show, as well as to illustrate Oriental methods of teaching truth. A Turkish official said to him, on one occasion, that sometimes he smoked as many as a hundred cigarettes in a day. “Well,” said the priest, “some good will come out of that. If you continue so to do, three benefits will come to you: no robber will rob you at night, no dog will ever bite you, and you will never have a gray hair.” Being asked to explain, he replied in substance as follows: “First, smoking will cause you to cough so much at night that the robber, hearing you, will think you are awake, and will not attempt to enter your house; second, you will grow so weak that when you walk out you will need for support a very large staff, seeing which the dogs will flee from you in fear; and, third, you will die before you are old enough to have a gray hair.” We pass this arraignment of the cigarette along for what it is worth.