THE prophecies of the Bible describe definite scenes in a very definite way so that we may understand where and when they apply if we will take the time to read and think about them. One of these clear prophecies is the following:
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"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, 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. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." Rev. 11:17-19.
Satan has usurped a place in this world, and has thereby interrupted the unobstructed flow of God's power in the ways of righteousness. And so the prophet is made to view a time when the Almighty Father has taken to Himself His great power and is reigning. And coming up to that time the vision is directed to the nations, and they are found to be angry, and the judgment scenes pass before his mind, and the saints of God are receiving their eternal reward, and the wicked also are having their destruction meted out to them. Thus is it easy to see and plain to understand that the prophet is viewing the sublime events of the last of the closing days of time and the beginnings of eternity.
And among the things that he is seeing it will be noticed that he found that the "nations were angry."
There are other prophecies that show that the last days will be strongly marked by the mighty waking up of the nations of earth to the terrible struggles of war. The prophecy shows that these threatened wars will be held in check till the Father in heaven sends His Gospel truth to all the nations of the earth, so as to prepare for the second coming of Christ all that may be reached. And when the Lord's work in the earth is done, then the nations will be unleashed and the terrible charge of the angry cohorts will be made. Armageddon's predicted conflict will become a fearful reality.
Any one who is closely and intelligently following the course of events in the world to-day must be impressed with the constant quarreling among the nations. And he must also be impressed with the tension that exists between so many powers. And, looking back for quite a number of years, this has been the case. Some of the nations are in a constant quarrel, and yet they do not break out into any very prolonged and serious wars.
This week China and Japan are in trouble, and their diplomats are exerting themselves to avert a war; riotous demonstrations against the Chinese and Japanese in Canada are calling the statesmen and diplomats of England into vigorous exertion to prevent the arbitraments of the field of blood; agitations are to the front on the Pacific Coast that make it very hard for our government at Washington to prevent a clash with the Japanese; France and Spain are working to subdue the angry and fanatical hordes of Algeria; and so on.
The anger and the uneasiness of the nations, and the suddenness with which small things will come in to estrange them, are most remarkable conditions of this time. In feudal and barbaric days men quarreled and fought over trifles to preserve their "honor." But why should men have so much of the war fever in these days of enlightenment and "humanitarianism"? Men have taught us to expect different things from this. But the God who sees and knows what will take place has told us the facts. And we may look in any direction in the world to-day and we will have no difficulty in seeing the marching columns of fulfilling prophecy. The evidence is insuperable, showing that the Lord's coming is right at hand. T.
