PEACE VERSUS WAR by Francis M. Wilcox

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Jun 27, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 26.

PEACE VERSUS WAR.

By Francis M. Wilcox

ALONGSIDE of every truth of God, Satan has placed a counterfeit. Error is hydra-headed; it assumes every conceivable form, and manifests itself in every imaginable place, as may be best suited to its interests. Prominent among the deceptions to be found in the religious world in these last days, stands the doctrine of the world's conversion before the coming of the Lord. Originating in the seventeenth century, this idea has been very favorably and quite universally received by the religious world. The effect of this belief upon Christendom has been to bring into the religious mind a feeling of indifference, amounting almost to skepticism, regarding the second coming of Christ. Indeed, wherever the blessed news of Christ's soon return to this earth is heralded, there must be met the counter claim, that Christ can not come until the world is converted.

That this doctrine should be preached in the last days, occasions no surprise to the student of prophecy; for we find by reference to both the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah that there would be many saying this very thing. Please read Isa. 2:1-3 and Micah 4:1-5. The comparison of these scriptures will show that they are very similar. In the statement in both it is said that "they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; . . . neither shall they learn war any more."

But now observe carefully; in Isa. 2:2 and in Micah 4:2 it plainly states that this declaration is not made by the Lord, but is made by the people themselves. Thus we have in these two prophecies the prediction that in the last days there would be "many people" saying that there would be a time of universal peace, when the implements of war should be beaten into implements of peace. But the Lord says, through His apostle Paul, that "when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape."

In contradistinction to this prediction of "many people," the Lord emphatically declares, through His servant John, that in the last days, when the time comes for the Lord to judge the world, and to execute His wrath upon the ungodly, instead of all the world being converted, "the nations were angry." Rev. 11:18. The anger of the nations certainly would not be manifest in changing their implements of war into implements of peace. On the contrary, they would naturally do just the reverse; and just the reverse of this does the Lord declare they will be doing in the last days, notwithstanding the delusive cry of "peace and safety."

Prepare War.

Says the Lord through Joel: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:9-16.

This brings to view a far different state of things than is presented by the false prophets. It becomes pertinent now to raise the question, Is this the condition of things among the nations of to-day? Are the nations preparing for war? Are the implements of peace made to contribute to the agencies of bloodshed and destruction? It seems hardly necessary to refer to statistics, or to advance arguments that such is the case. The denial of such a situation to-day could come only from a mind either ignorant or spiritually blind.

The Nations' Resources.

The active armies and reserves of some of the leading States of Europe are as follows: Germany, 5,805,351; France, 4,994,148; Italy, 2,102,978; Austria Hungary, 1,725,408; Russia, 5,209,564. These figures represent the land forces alone. When the naval strength is included, there must be added to the armed forces of Germany 61,500; to France, 183,875; to Russia, 975,561. No mention is made of the forces of Great Britain, which have been very greatly augmented during the recent war in South Africa.

But even these figures are inadequate as illustrating the possible fighting strength of the leading nations of the Old World. By the system of conscription, which is carried on in all the Old World governments save England, every able-bodied man is made to do military service for a term of years, thus receiving training as a soldier. In 1897, of the 426,245 registered young men in Germany, 268,000 were required to fill the annual contingent. In the same year the registered men for military service in France was 342,644. In Italy, in 1897, 269,600 were registered. Of this number 93,000 were drawn, the others excused. In Russia the number registered for 1897 was the greatest ever known, amounting to nearly 1,000,000. Out of this number 302,500 were drawn for active service. Thus every year places the available young men in training for war. So when we come to consider the possible resources of the several States, we find that of the population capable of bearing arms, the majority, perhaps, of whom have had schooling in the science of war, Austria could place in the field 9,800,000 men; France, 9,550,000; Germany, 12,000,000; Italy, 7,500,000; Spain, 4,200,000; Russia, 22,000,000. Of course it would be no ordinary occasion which would enlist all these forces. But in the contention for the supremacy of the future it is well to consider possibilities as well as probabilities.

Since 1860 the demand for arms upon the Krupp Gun Works is said to have necessitated an increase of employees from 176 to over 20,000; so that the largest manufacturing establishment now existing in the world is engaged day and night in making implements of war.

Says Mr. Thos. F. Bayard, as reported recently in the New York World:—

Never were the destructive forces of warfare marshaled in such impressive array as we see them to-day—never before did earth shake under the measured tread of so many men armed and prepared to be armed—never in history were weapons so lethal, missiles so mighty, and explosives so terrific and powerful, or in hands so carefully drilled and instructed in their employment—never were the preparations for war on land and sea comparable, in scale and efficiency, to those of the present day. Contemplating all these terrific forces, there is no thoughtful man who is not anxiously questioning his heart, What does all this preparation portend? What is to be the result to the civilization and progress of the human race of the conflict of such forces, and the changes it may at any moment create?

Millions upon millions of dollars are appropriated by the different countries of the world every year for military purposes. Jealously and enviously are the nations of Europe vying with each other, each filled with the greatest determination to make the most of every possible advantage, to advance its power, and to promote its interests. Ominously and threateningly, at every new move upon the political chessboard, does the war cloud gather over earth's inhabitants, and breathlessly do the nations of the earth watch for the torrent of leaden hail and rain that shall follow the bursting of the cloud. One writer has said:—

Never since the world was peopled has mankind stood in such anxious expectancy, awaiting the outcome of the immediate future, as in these closing years of the nineteenth century. Men are wistfully striving to peer through the portals of the year 1900—marveling as the effect and forces of applied science are unfolded to our comprehension, and discovery moves on, each invention leading in another, in stately procession. We, all the while, wrapped in wonder, are straining in hope and fear to catch the coming word, and to comprehend its import.

Terrible will be the responsibility of him who stirs up and opens the smouldering, pent-up fires, which, like the spark in the powder mill, will cause the last and terrible conflagration among the children of men. But, while this terrible ordeal may be delayed, it can not be averted. While the threatening war cloud may be held back by the power of the divine Omnipotence, the execution of His wrath can not long be deferred. Let not the long-suffering of God be taken for indifference, nor the staying of divine execution as repentance of His purpose. The Lord will come shortly from His place, and will punish the inhabitants of the earth. "To-day, while ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts." "Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation." In Him is a refuge from the storm.

Boulder, Colo. FRANCIS M. WILCOX.