WAR AGAINST THE LAMB OF GOD
By M. C. W.
The Climax of Apostasy as Seen by the Prophet — It Comes Suddenly— Bitter Persecution Is the Result Our last study was that of the seventh head, constituted of two primarily discordant elements, namely, ten democratic states of Europe, confederating together, represented by the crownless horns, and the restoration of the papacy, or in other words, the recrudescence of the beast under the fifth head, the beast that John saw during the “wilderness” period of the Christian age. We wish to say more about the prophecy, to make plain, if we read it aright, that the ten socialistic powers will exalt the papacy as a means of purchasing the support of the adherents of that system. They do this to make more secure their own tenure of power. Nevertheless it is a surrender to the harlot Babylon, whose rule thus becomes world-wide, over “peoples and multitudes, and nations and tongues.” Her errors have saturated the world; her allurements have blinded the nations; she has made all the earth drunken with the wine of her spiritual fornication. Doubtless all these motives and elements will find place, as they do in all political schemes; and all the world will yield, either in conviction or in fear, to the great apostasy, or in lack of conviction, for purely politic and selfish reasons. It matters not, if the end be accomplished. But it is said: “Socialism will never do this. She is an inveterate foe of Roman Catholicism.” But socialism looks for certain triumph by any means that assure it. The papacy is looking for triumph also. Socialism feeds on the discontent of the masses. The papacy is strong in their superstitious fears, and numbers, as does socialism, adherents by hundreds of millions. The politic thing to do is to unite. Socialism, for the support of the papacy, will, as did Justinian in 533, make the pope “head over all the holy churches,” and the “one and only corrector of heretics.” The papacy promises the socialistic régime stability and peace, and the blessing and prosperity of God. The union will be consummated, and mystical Babylon will sing, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” Rev. 18:7. Now she sits a widow, deprived of the civil power of force; then she will rejoice in the restoration of the unholy alliance. This socialistic régime is represented in Dan. 2:33, 41-43, by the clay of the man image, the rule of the people. Is such a union, such a restoration of the papacy, probable? The prophecy intimates that to earthly reason it will seem improbable; for it comes as a surprise to the world. “And his death stroke was healed: and the whole earth wondered after the beast; . . . and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? and who is able to make war with him?” Rev. 13:3, 4. As the confederated powers of earth are united in this sudden action, as the two-horned beast power—the false prophet—the United States, is itself, in its own territory, working for laws which will render homage to the beast (Rev. 13:12-17), who is there, in the world view, that could oppose such a combination as this? But there is one class and only one who will not “wonder” or “worship.” Thus speaks the prophet: “And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall be present!” Rev. 17:8, A. R. V., margin. The exception to the wonderers and worshipers, therefore, is those whose names are written in heaven, whose citizenship is there, who are converted not to man, but to God, whose hope is in the heavenly Zion, not the earthly Babylon, who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Of these confederated states it is said, “These shall war against the Lamb.” Rev. 17:14. Yet that is what the beast system has ever done in all its various phases since it was inaugurated by Babylon. In its deceptive and delusive schemes of salvation, the heads, each and severally, have warred against the Lamb, in whose sacrifice, truth, and life alone is salvation. The last head will be no exception. It is the beast still, though in a different form. Tyrannizing over the human is war against the Lamb, who died to set men free. Persecution of God’s children is war against the Lamb; for He identifies Himself with every believing, suffering soul. Professing loyalty to Christianity, sitting in the church as the vicar of Christ, is naught—nay, more, it is blasphemy—when the principles, the life, are against the life and principles of the Lamb. God’s faithful ones have warned the world against all the unholy principles that have made the beast and its image. They have warned against the mark of the beast, the pseudo-sabbath, the badge of power. They have faithfully told the world that homage to the beast and his image, and the reception of his mark, call it what we may, religion or patriotism, or both, is rebellion against God, treason to His government, and at the peril of their souls they cannot yield to it; that their robes may be free of the blood of their fellow men, they must warn against the whole great world conspiracy to dethrone God and degrade His law. And in all this, they stand with the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. What then? — Then from the “beast” government of the Eastern Hemisphere and the “image” of the Western, there shall come the world-wide statute, or law, demanding homage or worship and enforcing the mark of the beast. Efforts for that are now world-wide, and they will increase as the prestige of the restored apostasy increases. Local legislation will become more general, till at last the world-wide Sunday law will be passed, and the nations will forever separate themselves from God. There comes the restoration of the beast under the fifth head before the two-horned beast makes the image; for it is an image to the beast under the head which had the wound by the sword and did live. Rev. 13:12, 14. It seems reasonable to believe that some mild form of that law will enter with the healing of the deadly wound, the restored papacy, the head of all religion and corrector of heretics, the civil power her agent to enforce her dogmas and decrees. Turning from God, they are blinded, and so reveal their character. “For God did put in their hearts to do His mind; and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.” Rev. 17:17. Blinded because they “believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thess. 2:11, 12. The accomplishment of the word of God would seem to be the finishing of His great threefold gospel message of appeal, command, protest, and warning to the world, outlined in Rev. 14:6-11 and Rev. 18:1-5. That message is the preaching of “the everlasting gospel,” with the threefold emphasis: “Fear God,” “give Him glory,” and “worship Him that made the heaven and the earth.” The power of God is set over against the fables of evolution, the fear of God is set above the fear of men or of combinations of men, and the call is to worship the Creator—hence Re-creator and Redeemer—who alone has power to save through righteousness; and the emblem, the memorial sign of His power, is the Sabbath of Jehovah, the true Lord’s day, made and observed by Jesus Christ. The second part of that message is, “Babylon the great is fallen,” and is reaching rapidly the awful condition of Rev. 18:1-5; and the cry sounds forth to all the world from heaven through God’s messengers, “Come out of her, My people. . . . For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” It is the judgment of Babylon, which the angel showed in the beginning. Rev. 17:1. The last part of that message is a fearful protest and warning against the worship of the beast (obedience to his mandate) or his image (this country apostate), or the reception of his mark (the badge of his assumed authority, the counterfeit Sunday-sabbath), with the authority of man, apostate man, behind it. Fearful is the penalty for those who reject the message. But of those who accept it, it is written, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.252 The very warning, in connection with chapter 13, shows that there will be attempted world-wide enforcement of the mark of the beast. Men must bow to this assumed authority. Of course, this will not be enforced as against the Lamb, but professedly, ostensibly, for Him. Then will be fulfilled Christ’s own words to His disciples, “Whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.” And He gives us the reason: “And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor Me.” John 16:2, 3. Persecution for religion’s sake is ever a mark of apostasy. Further, the persecution ever arises over something which God has never made a test. It is almost invariably over tradition, not over the word of God. But in essential things not even Christ presumed to condemn. Surely obedience to Christ is essential, but He said, “If any man hear My sayings, and keep them not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12:47. Those are the principles of Christ. The opposite of those principles, it need not be said, is antichristian. But the world will again, under the instruction of apostasy, commit itself to the principles of intolerance of religious opinions. Dissenters to state-fostered religion will be punished as heretics. Persecution will again become popular. M. C. W. (“A False Peace” is the subject of our next article in this series.)