WHY war and war preparations? Why do enlightened nations so deeply engage in the great strife of war preparation? Why train more and more men, expend more and more money, build more and larger battle-ships, devise and invent and manufacture and multiply more death-dealing guns, more powerful explosives, and lade the people with more unbearable burdens?
Folly and madness, isn't it? So utterly inconsistent that men do not attempt to solve the mystery, but go on in the preparation for Armageddon. In the light of what men are constantly doing, in the light of what governments have done in arbitration, the wretched inconsistency of the course of the nations is indescribable. Yet it goes on.
As illustrative of this, read the article in the "World's Work" for February, entitled, "England and Germany: Will They Fight?" by William Bayard Hale, who is personally acquainted with the facts he sets forth. He has visited England and Germany. He has talked with Englishmen and Germans, high and low, officials and common people. Everywhere the same thought is expressed: We want no war. We want no war with Germany. We want no war with England. No one of responsibility wants war. No political party desires war. All this is everywhere expressed. English officials visit Germany, and are warmly received and highly honored, and vice versa. King and kaiser — uncle and nephew — meet, embrace each other, declare eternal peace, while their respective governments are preparing for war at a rate unprecedented. Rapidly as England has built Dreadnoughts and cruiser battle-ships, Germany bids fair to be her equal, and on present plans will be England's superior in ships of modern design, equipment, and effectiveness, in three years.
H. B. M. Edward VII
Germany's army is far superior to England's home army; and it is thought that in case of war with Germany, England's colonies and dependencies would prove a source of weakness instead of strength, because they would scatter her navy, and some of them, like India, might prove a fearful menace. Viewed in the candid light in which Mr. Hale has considered the matter, Germany seems altogether England's superior. It seems to us, however, that he has not taken into account the tremendous aid England would receive from her loyal children in Australasia and Canada.
The German Chancellor, Dr. Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg
The Rt. Hon. H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of England
But no one could imagine that such a war could be fought out to a finish between two such mighty empires, and not involve other
powers. Mr. Hale feels this. He says in closing:
"It is almost quite certain that the first half of the conflict, the half which all the rest of it would be a struggle to atone for, would be a bolt out of the darkness on a surprised enemy — a mere moment of agony while the world's heart stopped beating. Then might follow — but who dare prophesy the course of an epic conflict?"
Every other writer who has reviewed the situation sees in it world conflict. Just how the other great powers would line up, it is hard to say. Would France unite with England? Would Russia cast her hopes with the British lion, or the German eagles? Austria would doubtless stand with Germany. Which way would Italy turn? Would the yellow men of the Orient become involved? Would England's present ally of the Rising Sun Island Empire aid her in her conquest for existence, or would Japan's astute statesmen see that the wisest course to pursue would be to let the big giants of the West exhaust themselves, and then that she and China could avenge their slights of centuries from the hands of the western powers? Then, too, what would the United States do when her great neighbor to the north was vitally involved? No one knows.
The Emperor of Germany, Wilhelm II
Yet with all the antipathy against war existing in both Great Britain and Germany, Mr. Hale thinks that war is inevitable; that the very fact that it is continually talked of in both nations, is bound to bring it about. He says:
"The most serious possible ground for fearing that Germany and England are about to fight is — the belief of the people of Germany and England that they are about to do so."
There is another reason, given eighteen centuries ago by the prophet of God on the Island of Patmos, who dared to prophesy the epic war and its outcome. We know that many will not consider it worthy of second thought; but it is in the Old Book which foretold the division of empire of which England and Germany were once constituent parts, and many other events which have passed into record as great salient facts of history. It gives a far more reasonable reason than11Mr. Hale can give apart from that Book, as to why the nations, related races, Christian professedly, Protestant nominally, should go to war when neither nation nor the people of the nation desired so to do.
This visible world is not the entire universe, nor are material men and kings and thrones and armies all that have to do with shaping this world's kingdoms and policies. There are invisible armies, powers for evil and good, who influence men. Jesus Christ, as Michael the Archangel, with His holy angels, met the revolted hosts of spirits under the leadership of Lucifer, and defeated them, and holds that victory for every soul who will grasp it by faith. Rev. 12:7-11. But the councils of nations and kingdoms who are not submitted to God, spirits of evil influence and control. Even so they influenced apostate kings of old. 1 Kings 22:20-23. In these last days when the world never needed peace so much, when it never talked peace so much, and yet knew its vital element, righteousness, and its Source, Jesus Christ, so little, Satan will send his deceiving spirits for the subversion and destruction of the blinded governments of earth. Read:
"And the sixth [angel] poured out his bowl, . . . and I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. . . . And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Harmageddon." Rev. 16:12-16.
THERE IS THE SECRET OF THE WORLD PREPARATION FOR WAR. It is of the devil; and the devil has sent his messengers into all the earth to stir up the nations to suicidal strife. Thus speaks Jehovah through another prophet:
"Take this cup of wine of wrath at My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be mad, . . . all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach [confusion, Babylon, Satan, Lucifer, Isa. 14:4, 12] shall drink after them. . . . Ye shall surely drink. . . . Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. And the slain of Jehovah shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth." Jer. 25:15-33. See also chapter 4:19-26.
While men and nations are raising the false cry of hypothetical, baseless peace, God's prophet reveals the real spirit, or animus, of the nations in the last day:
"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 Jehovah. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat [Jehovah judgeth]; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest [Matt. 13:39] is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3:9-14.
Burke it, suppress it, ignore it as men will, the great conflict is coming. Men will not have the peace of God in righteousness; Jehovah leaves them the only other alternative, destructive war.
But His work is not yet done. As long as there is one soul who will be saved, God will hold the winds of bottled strife, stirred by the demons of hell. Rev. 7:1-3. When all of His — and that may be you, reader; "God is no respecter of persons" — are gathered unto Him in righteousness, then will the strife come. And the day draweth on apace.
