THAT FALSE CRY OF "PEACE."
A PROMINENT bishop in an Eastern state lately preached a sermon which has received quite extended notice, because of the hope expressed that sometime in the future there will be more peaceful times in this world. His expectation is based on an expression in Micah 4:3: "He [the Lord] shall judge between many people, and shall reprove strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." R. V. In common with a multitude of Bible readers, the bishop fails to see the import of this scripture. The words quoted are not the words of the Lord, but an utterance of professedly righteous nations "in the last days." The pride of self-exaltation and self-righteousness is a special characteristic of "high-minded" Christians endowed with imaginary "riches" in the last days (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 3:14-18). Through the restored church-and-state principle of "national reform," the church makes her declarations through religious legislation and national decrees. In the pride of her influence, she is "exalted above the hills," and, church membership being so popular, "peoples shall flow into it." The idea of just flowing up such a height clearly indicates that the cross has been removed from the Christian profession in this exalted church. Now the prophecy says that "many nations shall go and say," etc. Note that, not the Lord, but "many nations," say, "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord," etc.; "out of Zion [the church] shall go the law." After all this boastful proclamation, which it is claimed "the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken," ending with verse 5, the Lord does speak, and says: "In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven away, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever." In the day of the self-exalted church's imaginary triumph through the support of the governments of earth, the Lord will gather His humble, persecuted, scattered church, and set them on high. Now note further what the Lord says of these "many nations" that have spoken so exultingly. To His people He says: "And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye see its desire upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel; for He hath gathered them as the sheaves of the threshing-floor." Just at the time when the combined political church and religious state have climbed to that high eminence where they assume to speak for the Lord, He says that they do not know anything about His thoughts or His counsel; that their gathering, instead of being on the "mountain of the Lord," is to the threshing-floor. And as to the peace that they are proclaiming, the Lord gives us a message in directly opposite terms:— "Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir 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. Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about." Joel 3:9-12. Are not the great war preparations of to-day, and the war spirit that pervades all nations and peoples, more in keeping with this forecast by the Lord Himself than with that of the people who speak presumptively in the name of the Lord? Look, for instance, at Russia, that was first to suggest a much-lauded peace proposition, through the convention at The Hague, and is now deep in a most destructive war. These optimistic dreams of peace fulfil the words of Jeremiah, "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace."