In 1933 E. J. Springett began a series of broadcasts from a Toronto Radio
Station. The number of stations from which he spoke gradually increased
until 1950 when there was a weekly broadcast over eleven stations stretching
from Halifax to Vancouver.
Those broadcasts brought a vast number of enquiries for information regarding the destiny and world responsibility of the Celto-Anglo-Saxon and kindred peoples, and it was impossible to estimate the number of listeners throughout the Dominion of Canada and in the United States.
'Hearken Ye People . . .'
By E. J. Springett.
First Published in 1950.
CONTENTS
1 'Perilous Times Shall Come.'
2 The Perfect State.
3 Lack Of Righteousness.
4 Deliverance: Ours For The Asking.
5 The Foundation For History.
6 National Armament.
7 Inexplicable By Ordinary Reasoning.
8 The National Message of Redemption.
9 An Arresting Statement.
10 When Christ Comes Again.
Chapter one.
'Perilous Times Shall Come.'
'This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.' So wrote the apostle Paul, peace be upon him, to his friend Timothy. Because we are now in the last days we know that the apostle's words were not only prophetic, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, but also true.
Summing up Paul's message, which outlines the nature of the conditions 'in the last days,' we might well describe it as a declaration that there would be a reign of lawlessness; and it needs only a superficial glance at the condition of our civilisation to recognise the aptness of this description. Lawlessness, which means, of course, the absolute disregard of basic law, is demonstrated in national and international relationships. For example, for years we witnessed a United Nations Assembly unable to frame, maintain or enforce a single principle of international law.
THE REIGN OF LAWLESSNESS.
Lawlessness is evidenced in national economies: millions of men and women are homeless and pauperised; millions against whom no court has ever pronounced sentence are working as SLAVES, either in third world countries or here at home - SLAVES TO THE SYSTEM; the inflationary spiral continues unchecked; strikes and the threat of strikes are the order of the day. Lawlessness is rampant in the social order, as witness the break-up of home life, the prevalence of divorce, the disregard of parental authority, where it exists, and the growth, of juvenile delinquency. As one writer has put it, our current civilisation is 'the product of an assumption that anything-everything-is all right if you can get away with it'.
And the basic cause of all this has been our revolt from God. Paul is again accurate in his statement to the Thessalonians when he writes regarding the great day of God which shall witness the return and coming of our Lord Christ Jesus: 'That day shall not come, except there come a falling away first' - 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
THE CONSEQUENCE OF TURNING AWAY FROM TRUTH.
The falling away, the great apostasy, is here with us now. What is this apostasy? It is the deliberate rejection of revealed truth; a departure from the faith once delivered to the people, but not necessarily from the outward profession of 'Christianity'. It is this latter characteristic that makes this 'falling away' so dangerous. What is the use of professing and calling ourselves Christians unless there is a practical application of what we profess? Those guilty of falling away are described by Paul, who says,
'The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the Truth, and shall be turned unto fables' - 2 Timothy 4:3-4.
Moffatt makes it very clear in his translation:
'The time will come when people decline to be taught sound doctrine, they will accumulate teachers TO SUIT THEMSELVES and tickle their own fancies, they will give up listening to the Truth and turn to myths.'
There never was a time to which this statement has applied so fully as it does to the days in which we are living. The number of sects, cults and ministries so-called is legion. Some of them have a modicum of the faith, but it is so overlaid with various accretions as to make it unrecognisable. Others have the habit of so spiritualising the plain matter of fact and literal statements of Holy Scripture as to make them unintelligible.
From the time of old down to the present day men have gone on in a pernicious habit of spiritualising the words of the prophets until their true meaning has been well nigh buried. It is high time for people to interpret unfulfilled prophecy by the light of prophecy fulfilled.
WHAT WE MUST DO.
It is time to awake, my friends. Too many of us are indifferent and apathetic. Too many of us are completely ignorant of the basic facts of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Too many of us, who, while recognising the power and ascendancy of evil, which is all around us, think they are unable do anything about it, or worse still, are too disinclined to. We MUST get busy. We MUST fight, and work, and pray. We must make known to the sons of men God's mighty acts, the glorious majesty of His Kingdom and let the world know how wonderful it truly is to live by His Laws, which are just and fair, as opposed to mans laws, which are unjust and unfair.
The issue is now definitely joined. It is Christ or anti-Christ, the Kingdom of God or, continued oppression under the misrule and tyranny of the wealthy elite. Of the result of the struggle there is no doubt: the only question is as to our personal position. Where do we stand? We must be on one side or the other for Christ brooks no neutrality and declares, 'He that is not WITH me is AGAINST me.' Neither will He be satisfied with apathy, indifference or complacency, for He says, 'Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth' - Revelation 3:16. And mere profession of Christianity is NOT enough, for again there comes His injunction,
'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; ONLY he that doeth the Will of my Father which is in heaven.' - Matthew 7:21.
What are you going to do about it? You must make up your mind quickly for 'the night is far spent, the Day of Reckoning is at hand.'
The Perfect State.
Have you ever realised how much we are losing today because we fail to take the Word of God at its face value? God's Word is full of the statements of His promises and it declares His Divine purpose. His promises are sure and His purpose is certain to have fulfilment.
'God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it ?' Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?' - Numbers 23:19.
So said a prophet of old, and it is only another way of saying that God keeps His word. Do you know of any promise of Almighty God that has ever been broken? Do you realise that if there were at any time one single promise of God that could be broken, or any deviation from His expressed purpose, then there is no promise whatever upon which we can rely? Because, if God ever broke His word, He would not be God. But God's word CANNOT be broken. His purpose in relation to the functioning of His Kingdom here on earth has been made inviolate by His own oath. As the writer of the epistle (letter) to the Hebrews states:
'For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. . . . For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation [is] to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed [it] by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which [it was] impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us' - Hebrews 6:13-18.
CHRIST CAME TO CONFIRM GOD'S PROMISES.
We have a still greater certainty that God's purpose will be carried out and that 'a King shall reign and prosper and execute Judgment and Justice in the earth'. It is because of the coming of Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago He came 'to confirm the promises of God made to the fathers'.
'For all the promises of God in him [are] yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.' - 2 Corinthians1:20
God has promised redemption for His people: Jesus Christ came and by His atonement secured that redemption. God offered salvation for ALL men: Christ has made it certain by the sacrifice of Himself. But this same Christ, Redeemer and Saviour, is also the coming King Who, is to assume the administration of the Kingdom in which He will 'execute Judgment and Justice in the earth'. The time is very near now for the fulfilment of God's purpose that Christ the King shall reign. All the tremendous world event's that have taken place in our lifetime, and are happening now, are indicative that a new era is about to dawn.
THE SOVEREIGN WILL OF GOD
The coming King, Christ, will never become the head of existing institutions as they are now. They must be renewed, restored, regenerated; nay more, they must be REPLACED by the institutions of God in government, in economics, in industry, in social life, in religion. The sovereign will of man must be replaced; indeed, it is already being replaced by the Sovereign Will of God. Keep in mind that it is IMPOSSIBLE to patch up existing institutions. The coming King Himself said that you cannot repair old garments successfully with new cloth, or put new wine into old wine-skins.
By our forgetfulness and disregard of the Divine purpose; by turning aside from the God-given Laws and substituting for them man-made legislation and practice we have brought world chaos upon ourselves. This dreadful state of affairs was brought about in direct opposition to God's Commands.
'Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the Statutes and unto the Judgments, which I teach you, for to DO [them], that ye may LIVE, and go in and possess the land which the "I AM" God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not ADD unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the Commandments of the "I AM" your God which I COMMAND you. . . . KEEP therefore and DO [them]; for this [is] your Wisdom and your Understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these Statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.' - Deuteronomy 4:1-6.
Men thought the world could be run without reference to the conditions laid down by God for the righteous administration of human affairs. They decided that a new world order, a civilization, could be built without any reference whatever to the blueprints and specifications prepared for our guidance by the Great Architect of the Universe. As a result, programmes of world administration are under the control of persons and powers who are manipulating schemes the direction of which is toward ultimate destruction.
THE FORCES OF ANTI-CHRIST.
A famous British Prime Minister once said, 'The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.' He made that observation nearly 150 years ago when the plotting to overthrow all the basic institutions, fundamental to righteous administration were already in place.
Today the machinations of the evil forces are plain to see, for those who have eyes to see. They do not scruple to proclaim openly that the abolition of all established government, the abolition of private property and private enterprise, the abolition of patriotism, the degradation of family life and the abolition of all true Freedom are among their chief aims. And so-called Christians, by APATHY and INDIFFERENCE, by callous disregard of what is going on, HAVE IN FACT AIDED AND ABETTED these would-be destroyers and helped implement 'their' agenda for global dominance.
['He that is not WITH me is AGAINST me.' -Christ ]
MANY have ALLOWED themselves to be misled and deceived and Christ gives us the only logical answer as to why this might be:
'And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil.' - John 3:19
This power behind the scenes which has infiltrated to the very highest ranks of the whole of our so-called 'Christian' society, is controlled and directed by those whom the Bible describes as having 'one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast', and their headquarters cannot be found in one country alone. Its machinations are everywhere. But we may thank God that because of His promise and undeviating purpose, the anti-God and anti-Christ forces are doomed to defeat. This new world order (so-called) is coming to an end, but it is not of man's devising. NONE of the schemes so plausibly advocated nowadays will come into permanent being, and those already established will NOT remain. The United Nations organisation is one of those schemes. It is, in fact, aimed at a one-world Godless-government but it will not succeeded.
GOVERNMENT BY THE WILL OF MAN.
While it is true that man alone cannot create a new world or maintain order, he can, if he will, administer such a state. The Perfect State has ALREADY been established and it was given to men to administer.
It did not fail to function but simply, men have refused, and are still refusing, to administer it in accordance with its own PERFECT Constitution. But the plan of the Perfect State still remains and its ultimate restoration is guaranteed by God. THERE IS NO SAFER GUARANTEE THAN THAT. We have now reached the period when its restoration must be made manifest and the functioning of the new world government, i.e., the Kingdom of God on earth, under the direction of the World Ruler, Christ Jesus, must become the ultimate fact.
Let it be remembered that one of the national sins condemned by the prophet, which brought about the decline and fall of the national entity charged with the responsibility of administering the PERFECT system, was that the 'Statutes of Omri' (man-made laws) were kept. Various forms of government have existed in the world from the earliest times, and each of them has been referred to by a specific name. Thus we have had autocratic, bureaucratic and democratic forms of government.
The original form of autocracy meant government by the will of one individual whose will was supreme, to which his subjects were expected to give unhesitating obedience. Later, there came a form of what might be termed 'limited autocracy', when the will of the king was, itself, governed by law, which when once established could not be altered. The comparison between those two forms of autocracy is indicated in the Bible. The rule of Nebuchadnezzar is described as that of an absolute autocrat when it says of him, 'Whom he would, he slew, and whom he would, he kept alive'. Autocracy, limited by law, is expressed in the phrase describing the Medo-Persian government as being 'according to the law of the Medes and Persians which altereth not.'
Bureaucracy means the administration of affairs by groups, boards, cabinets without reference to the will of the people as a whole, while democracy is generally described in the very well-worn phraseology 'government of the people, by the people, for the people'. Here, of course, the predominant thought is that the will of the people is supreme: and therein lies the weakness of democracy, for, unless the will of the people is dominated and motivated by recognition of and obedience to the Will of God, disaster inevitably follows. That is one of the reasons why we find ourselves in the midst of a democracy which has FAILED. That is one of the reasons also why it is now being recognized that autocracy, as represented by modern totalitarianism, bureaucracy, as represented by, dare I say, government through orders in council, and democracy, which has brought us to our present state of chaos, MUST ALL BE REPLACED BY SOME OTHER SYSTEM of administration by government.
It is because of this fact that we present the idea that the government that must come, AND IS COMING, is theocracy, which means the administration of human+being affairs in accordance with the Will of God. It is, in fact, the Rule of God. If you should ask me what the Theocratic State is, I would reply that it is the Kingdom of God functioning here on earth, under the administration and sovereignty of Christ, Who is the King proclaimed by the prophet as coming to 'execute Judgment and Justice on earth'.
TO WHOM WAS THE KINGDOM OF GOD TRANSFERRED?
Remember that this theocratic state, this Kingdom of God, has already been established. It has always been, and still is, in existence. For a short period of time it functioned. Concerning it, our Lord and Master Himself, its coming King, declared to the Jews of His day that The Kingdom - WOULD BE TAKEN FROM THEM and given to a NATION (not a Church) bringing forth the fruits thereof.
If, then, the Kingdom is to be given to such a nation, that nation is somewhere in existence. Being in existence, it must have the definite characteristics, racial qualities and historical evidences peculiarly belonging to a people charged with the responsibility of the administration of a PERFECT world order here on earth. It is not necessary to go into detail here concerning the people referred to, for there is abundant information available for the earnest Truth seeker to establish the modern identity of the House of Israel - TO WHOM THE KINGDOM WAS TRANSFERRED FROM THE JEWS - as the Celto-Anglo-Saxon peoples today.
The establishment of God's Kingdom was in the Mind of God from the foundation of the world. God's Will for man is, and has always been, that he should live on this earth amid conditions conducive to his BEST happiness. It is NOT the Will of God that man should suffer inequality, injustice, poverty, disease, or any of the other ills to which it is so often said that flesh is heir. God intended men to live on this earth in PEACE and genuine social SECURITY, both of which are the conditions for which man most earnestly longs today, and both of which are guaranteed by Almighty God when man is ready to acknowledge the Rule of God and to administer his affairs in accordance with the Divine Law of the Lord. So the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth the Theocratic State, was implicit in the basic Covenant made by Almighty God with faithful Abraham, peace be upon him, who was the progenitor of the race selected by Almighty God to be His servant nation to carry out His Will (as explained on the Lord's Prayer, 'On Earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN) and, by obedience to it, to administer the Kingdom.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM.
The circumstances attendant upon the establishment of the Kingdom were tremendous. They involved the release of the people concerned from years of bondage and slavery under man-made laws in a foreign country. They involved the removal of these people from Egypt to the land which had been promised to them, and in which it was intended that they should demonstrate the functioning of a PERFECT world order by the administration of their affairs in accordance with the Divine Law. That they failed in thus administering God's Kingdom does not in any way vitiate the fact that the Kingdom was established. Nor does their failure in any way indicate that God changed His Mind with regard to the ultimate functioning of His Kingdom on earth. So we come to the scene of the actual establishment of the Kingdom.
It took place in the third month after the release of Israel from Egyptian bondage. They had reached the Sinaitic Peninsula and the foot of Mount Horeb. Three days of careful preparation for the tremendous event to follow were undertaken. Moses, the leader of the people, was charged with making the Divine Proclamation, and over and above all was the tremendous demonstration of physical phenomena - the earthquake, the fire, the smoke and, above all, the Voice of God pealing forth, as a trumpet. The announcement of God's purpose was given by God to Moses to be made to the assembled tribes in these words:
'Thus shalt thou say to the "House of Jacob", and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you "on eagles' wings", and brought you unto Myself. Now therefore, IF ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My Covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for ALL the earth [is] Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of purists, and an holy nation. . . . And ALL the people answered together, and said, ALL that the "I AM" hath spoken we will DO.' - Exodus 19:3-8.
Then followed the awesome delivery of the Constitution of the Kingdom of God. Not just The Laws for individual conduct known as the Ten Commandments, [10+2] but also the Statues, Judgements, Agricultural and Economic Polices, along with Environmental Laws and a Healthy Diet. THERE WAS, AND STILL IS, ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO LEGISLATE FURTHER. IN TRUTH TO DO SO WAS, AND STILL IS, FORBIDDEN BY GOD.
'Ye shall not ADD unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [ought] from it, that ye may keep the Commandments of the "I AM" your God which I COMMAND you.' - Deuteronomy 4:2.
THE LAW AND GOD'S CONSTITUTION
So much for the actual founding of the Kingdom, and note that we have the constituent elements necessary to every Kingdom: (1) The King, God Himself; (2) The people, Israel, the name meaning 'Ruling with God', charged as the agents of the administration of the Kingdom; (3) The land they were yet to occupy, the Promised Land of Palestine; and (4) the Law and the Constitution under the principles of which the people were to be governed and their affairs administered. This Constitution consists of Commandments, Statutes and Judgments belonging to the social state, and Ordinances concerned with the religious life and practice of the people. The Commandments, Statutes and Judgments comprise the civil and moral law, and on the Word of Christ the King, have NEVER been abrogated. For of them He declared:
'For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from The Law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least COMMANDments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall DO and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven.' - Matthew 5:18-19.
Regarding the PERFORMANCE of the Divine Constitution, remember that God Himself is the Supreme Lawgiver. He has NEVER abrogated that function. He has NEVER given to man the right of legislation in the sense of lawmaking for his fellowmen, and it is because man has arrogated TO HIMSELF the right of law-making and, has REFUSED to administer the Divine Law that the world is in the condition of confusion in which we find it today. THIS FACT CANNOT BE TOO STRONGLY EMPHASISED.
While the laws relating to the physical, social and moral life still stand, it should be remembered that the Ordinances governing the ecclesiastical and ritualistic life of the people have been ABOLISHED. They are the laws relating to ceremonial and sacrificial observance, which were, once and for all, nailed to the Cross by Jesus Christ, Who Himself made the 'one complete sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world'. It is this Law of Ordinances alone to which so much reference is made in the New Covenant/Testament by Paul, and concerning which so many people are troubled who do not seem to be able to differentiate between the moral, civil and social law, and that which belongs to the religious side of life only. It can only be concluded that those who refuse to live by God's Laws actually prefer to be criminals.
'And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil.' - John 3:19
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CELTO-ANGLO-SAXON PEOPLES.
The establishment of the Kingdom was an event unique in the annals of history. No Kingdom has ever before been established with such attendant circumstances and so great solemnity. No people have ever before been selected to be the incumbents of an office and responsibility more clearly designated by Almighty God Himself. And just as the Divine plan for the functioning of the Kingdom still stands, so does the responsibility of those charged as the agents of its functioning still remain.
In his review of the circumstances pertaining to the establishment of the Kingdom, Moses emphasized their tremendous importance thus:
'For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and [ask] from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is], or hath been heard like it? Did [ever] people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire [in the sky by night], as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go [and] take him a nation from the midst of [another] nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the "I AM" your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the "I AM" He [is] God; [there is] none else beside Him.' - Deuteronomy 4:32-35
Let us, therefore take the Bible as it stands and proclaim the Gospel; that is, the Good News of the Kingdom of God to function here on earth. This Good News needs no interpreting. 'God is His own interpreter and He will make it plain.' The Good News of the Kingdom proclaims the inception of the Kingdom, its establishment, its organization, its equitable taxation, enjoyment of private property, freedom of private enterprise, the sanctity of home and family life, and the certainty of social security and enjoyment of permanent peace. No other 'news' contains the assurance of all this. And the Gospel of the Kingdom is only capable of doing so because it is guaranteed by Almighty God, confirmed and ratified as to every jot and title by Jesus Christ Himself, THAN WHOM THERE IS NO GREATER AUTHORITY.
Lack of Righteousness.
'Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?' - Psalms 58:1
Reading this Psalm I was struck forcibly by the application to present-day conditions. It is, of course, a national question. The congregation is the nation. Of course, one recognises the modem use of the word congregation as applied to an assembly called together to an appointed service or meeting; but in the Old Covenant/Testament it refers to the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY of Israel: and it is in this sense of its application to the whole nation that I suggest its consideration to-day.
The question then is, are the minds of the people set or fixed upon righteousness, and as a result, are they ABLE to exercise a right judgment? Are their standards of value correct? The next thing is, of course, to have an understanding of the meaning of 'righteousness'. Webster defines the word as follows: 'Righteousness is purity of heart and rectitude of life: conformity of heart and life to the Divine Law.' It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue. I suggest that we sum it all up in the statement that righteousness is, in fact, the right relationship between God and man, followed as a mater of course by the right relationship between man and man.
ABSOLUTE AND COMPLETE FAITH IN GOD
The Bible has a very great deal to say about righteousness; and we can only refer briefly to a very few of its outstanding statements. First of all we read, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness' (Gal. 3:6). Now to believe God is to possess absolute and complete faith. It means believing God's Word and His promises and having absolute and complete reliance in His fidelity. It is a great deal more than merely believing in God. It was that complete and absolute faith that was accounted unto Abraham for righteousness.
Abraham was the great progenitor of our race. We are the seed of Abraham. With him, God entered into a special Covenant relationship, making promises and blessings that should belong to his posterity. These Covenant promises had not been carried out to full fruition when our Lord and Master came over 2000 years ago; for Paul of Tarsus tells us that 'Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the Truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob etc.) - Romans15:8, and it is not necessary to confirm things that have already been fulfilled. Abraham BELIEVED ABSOLUTELY that they would be fulfilled; although he never saw that fulfilment he believed God, and his faith was accounted righteousness. Where do we stand today?
'RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A NATION'
The wise man of old declared 'Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people,' or as the margin puts it, 'to nations' - Proverbs 14:34. Can you find any nations exalted today? Let us begin at home. Canada is a nation legally, made so by the Statute of Westminster. She is an integral part of the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations. But would you consider that Canada or the Commonwealth is exalted? The Commonwealth might indeed be riding on the high places of the earth as the Bible puts it but instead is far from the heights. The Homeland has been passing through the Valley of Humiliation; it is the time of Jacob's trouble - but we know that she will be saved out of it. Canada, and in fact the whole Continent, including the United States, is entering this same Valley of Humiliation; we have no right to consider or expect that Jacob's trouble will not affect us, for we are part of the House of Jacob. What brings us to this position? Our unbelief and consequent lack of righteousness.
NATIONAL REPENTANCE AND THE PRACTICE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Because we are rapidly approaching the end of the age, because the period of this generation is nearly completed, because God's Judgments are in the earth, we must immediately learn righteousness. When our Lord and Master came the first time to this earth his forerunner cried, 'Repent ye: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' When Jesus began His mission of salvation and redemption He proclaimed the same message. When, in response to the first Christian sermon preached on the Day of Pentecost, the hearers cried 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' the answer was 'Repent'. So today, there must be a national repentance. Nothing else will avail. Repentance will have to precede the practice of righteousness.
Repentance alone will bring that Divine intervention without which we canNOT be saved from destruction. Nationally we must turn to God and enquire of Him. Nationally we shall. And the national movement towards God will result from the momentum of the individual turning. Mark you well, God wants us as willing servants and instruments of His Will and purpose. There is work for us to do. The propagandists of evil are working day and night to set up a system which is in opposition to the Kingdom of God. They are zealous, enthusiastic, determined - THEY WORK. THE SAME ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM IS EXPECTED OF US.
Deliverance: Ours for the Asking.
The words of the 83rd Psalm have never applied more accurately than at the present time. I suggest that you make a careful study of its contents and realize that those who were the ENEMIES OF ISRAEL in the past are ENEMIES of Celto-Anglo-Saxondom TODAY, and that their final end will be to know that God, Whose name is YHWH (self-existing - "I AM" - Genesis 3:14) is the Most High over ALL of the earth.
'Keep not Thou silence, O God: hold not Thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, Thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against Thy people, and consulted against Thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against Thee . . . O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; So persecute them with Thy tempest, and make them afraid with Thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek Thy name, O "I AM". Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: That [men] may know that Thou, Whose name alone [is] "I AM", [art] The Most High over all the earth.'
APPLICABLE TO PRESENT HAPPENINGS.
This Psalm is described by some as a prayer for the destruction of foreign nations, who, are confederated against Israel, and points out that these confederated nations, in binding themselves against Israel, are, in effect, opposing God Himself. There can be little doubt in the minds of thinking people, particularly among those who have a knowledge of the Truth of the Bible, and therefore an understanding of the meaning of the Divine Plan and purpose in the history of human+beings, that the sentiments expressed by the Psalmist are very applicable to conditions as they are today.
The world is divided, as we have pointed out many times before, into two hostile camps. The one group has a basic ideology, generally termed Communism, the source of its whole philosophy and policies, which is diametrically opposed to the principles belonging to Celto-Anglo-Saxondom, the other group, which is, at least nominally (by name if not by nature), Christian.
LIP SERVICE.
This last phrase is used advisedly because there is no doubt at all but that we are today witnessing a very great deal of lip service paid to Christianity and to its Founder, Jesus Christ, while at the same time the principles of the Kingdom of God, as enunciated by Him, have not been applied, and are not being applied to the administration of individual, national and international affairs. As a result we are witnessing a lamentable lack of understanding, with complete inability on the part of leaders and people alike to find a way out of the present difficult position, domestic and national, in which we find ourselves involved.
Once again let me remind you that this situation is directly in accord with and, indeed, the fulfilment of the sentence of Almighty God, Who declares:
'Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.' - Isaiah 29:13-14.
THE COMING STRUGGLE.
That wisdom and understanding are lacking in relation to present world conditions is abundantly evident. It is absolutely essential to realize that the coming great struggle, which is to precede the final end of the conflict between Go(o)d and (d)evil that has been waged all down the ages, is definitely a spiritual conflict with a material and physical expression. God's Kingdom will not come into being upon the foundations of that which now exists; nor will there be any patching up of an outworn anti-God system. Before the Kingdom will function, as it is meant to do, there must be a COMPLETE ELIMINATION of the evil forces which are arrayed against God, and which are determined to frustrate and destroy His Divine purpose.
THE ENEMIES OF CELTO-ANGLO-SAXONDOM.
It may be asked how it is possible to suggest that the 83rd Psalm can refer to present conditions in Celto-Anglo-Saxondom, and to the enemies who plot its destruction from without and within. The answer is that Celto-Anglo-Saxondom is, in fact, modern Israel.
We know, of course, that this truth is not generally accepted. We know that when the statement strikes the ears of many listeners there will be a cynical sneer of unbelief, and that, if it reaches the attention of those who are charged with the instruction of people in the basic Truths of the Bible, it will be openly derided as it has been in the past. But neither cynicism, ridicule, nor disbelief can destroy the Truth; and it is the Truth that God brought into being in a very miraculous and wonderful way, with a specific purpose, a people whom He charged with the responsibility of being agents of His purpose in the world, the nucleus of the Kingdom of God functioning here upon earth.
AN ATTEMPT TO THWART THE DIVINE PLAN.
The nation so conceived, established and operative was Israel, and to Israel God made the solemn promise of perpetuity, both with regard to its national existence and to the monarchial system of government which He established in the House of David. The promise of perpetuity of existence naturally followed the Covenant entered into by Almighty God with the progenitor of Israel, the patriarch Abraham. This covenant was ratified and confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, and stands for all time. It was a covenant which, as the writer of the letter (epistle) to the Hebrews declares, was made absolutely immutable, i.e., unchanging and unending, by the oath of Almighty God Himself.
It follows, then, that Israel, charged with the same duty and responsibility, in possession of the Throne of David (presently to be occupied by Him Whose right it is, Jesus Christ, the coming King), is in existence today, and it also follows that the age-old enemies of Israel, IN THEIR MODERN FORM with the same purpose, which is the annihilation of Israel and the thwarting of the Divine plan and purpose, are also present somewhere on this earth.
Further, it is absolutely evident that there can be no possible deliverance from the attack of the enemy on the basis of purely physical and material strength alone. Israel can only be saved from her enemies, and saved to carry out the task and responsibility which is hers, by the help of Almighty God. This God has promised for the asking, but the petition must be made as a result of the realization of the nature of the service demanded, and also of the fact that such service must be rendered as unto God, NOT as unto, men.
THE ONLY BASIS OF AN APPEAL TO GOD.
The Celto-Anglo-Saxon nations are busily engaged at the moment in strengthening their defences, in increasing military power, and in forming unions among themselves and with other peoples in a desperate attempt to, if possible, forestall that attack of the enemy and, if necessary, to resist the attack about to be made against them. It is essential, however, that something more, in fact, a very great deal more, should be done. God must be recognized as the King over His people. His purpose must be understood as being as real and applicable today as when formulated, and an appeal for help to Him must be based upon TRUE repentance and COMPLETE WILLINGNESS TO OBEY HIS WILL. The hearts of the people comprising Celto-Anglo-Saxondom must be set on fire with the desire to serve God and obey His Will. It is a remarkable thing that the anti-Christ forces are fired with an enthusiasm and determination which, at present, is entirely lacking on the part of those who profess and call themselves Christians.
WE NEED TO BE 'SET AFLAME'.
As has recently been said by a well-known publicist, 'The nations need a great awakening if the material plans now being devised by strategists, economists and statesmen are to prove effective. The great nations of ancient Christendom and the vigorous peoples of the world alike need to be set aflame if civilisation is to be saved. No material forces will prove strong enough for the incalculable tasks which lie ahead.'
Such an awakening, of course, must begin with the individual, but it must be remembered that the individual is a unit in national life. There is a definite relationship to Almighty God which must be recognised and observed by the nation. Just as we apply matters which are entirely material to the national aspect of life, so we must remember that in spiritual matters the same practice must be followed, for God has laid down definite spiritual requirements for the nation apart from those which belong purely to the regulation of the spiritual conduct of individuals, and which are just as binding.
When the nation Israel was established, it was brought into being on the foundation of NATIONAL OBEDIENCE TO THE DIVINE LAW, and when the inauguration of the nation took place, the people accepted the responsibility and declared, 'ALL that the Lord hath spoken, we will DO'. Here was an undertaking both on the part of the individual and the nation to keep the Commandments, Statues and Judgments of the Law of the Lord. As long as this was done the armies of Israel were able to defend themselves against attack, but when any dereliction occurred, Israel was unable to stand before the enemy.
- AND TURN FROM OUR NATIONAL SIN.
I am indebted to a correspondent who suggests that, while it is absolutely essential to remember that we are not, and shall not be, immune from attack, God has definitely promised to do for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. He reminds us that what God says and does will be far more important in the great and terrible Day of the Lord than what apostate men will attempt to do. I agree thoroughly with my friend, but I must remind you that what God does is absolutely contingent upon obedience to His Will. When Israel failed to keep and administer God's Law, they were charged with failure, and disaster followed.
Our national sin today consists, as did that of Israel of old, of setting aside the Divine administration and assuming that, as a nation, we have the right to set up laws and systems of administration which will take the place of the God-given Statutes and Judgments. There must be, then, if we desire deliverance, a great national, spiritual awakening to the need for restoration of the Divine administration. God has declared that, as soon as we make the inquiry of Him to do it for us, He will respond. Prayers for peace will not avail until there is a national return to Almighty God in humble obedience to His Will, for prayers for peace cannot be answered as long as the nation continues to violate a solemn obligation which is just as binding upon it TODAY as it was when first undertaken by its progenitors at Mount Sinai.
Let us remember that deliverance is ours for the asking. What God has promised He will most surely perform, for He says:
'Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone out of My mouth in Righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the "I AM" have I Righteousness and strength: even to Him shall men come; and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed. In the "I AM" shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.' - Isaiah 45:22-25.
The Foundation for History.
The laying of the corner stone of the new United Nations' building in New York was accompanied by great pomp and circumstance. A picture illustrating one of the countless newspaper reports of the ceremony particularly caught my eye for it bore the caption: 'Foundation for History.' What a travesty of fact! Neither the ceremony, nor the corner stone, nor the new building, nor the United Nations Assembly itself, can, OR EVER WILL, be regarded as the basis for any history, excepting only as the records will show the story of failure to accomplish the purpose for which it was conceived and brought into being. The reason for this is completely disregarded by the majority of people. As I have pointed out on many occasions, the conception and birth of the United Nations Assembly, as it was first called, altogether left out of its reckoning the vital factor: no reference whatever is made in its charter to Almighty God, His guidance and purpose; and when suggestions have been made that United Nations deliberations should be prefaced by acknowledgment of God's presence and by prayer for His inspiration, these vital things have been allowed to go by the board. The plea is made that a very large number of the member nations and their representatives either do not believe in God, or are not Christian; therefore, in order to avoid what is regarded as a cause of disunity, acknowledgment of God, and reference to His guidance, has been left out, and is still conspicuous by its absence.
'PEACE; AND THERE WAS NO PEACE'.
As I have said, the only possible record relative to United Nations will be that of futility and failure; the words of the prophet will again be proved true regarding its organisation as they were in connection with the erstwhile League of Nations:
'Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace; and [there was] NO peace; and one built up a wall (U.N .), and, lo, others daubed it with untempered [mortar]: Say unto them which daub [it] with untempered [mortar], that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend [it]. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where [is] the daubing wherewith ye have daubed [it]? Therefore thus saith the Lord "I AM"; I will even rend [it] with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in Mine anger, and great hailstones in [My] fury to consume [it]. So will I break down the wall (U.N .) that ye have daubed with untempered [mortar], and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered, and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the midst thereof: and ye shall know that I [am] the "I AM". Thus will I accomplish My wrath upon the wall, and upon them that have daubed it with untempered [mortar], and will say unto you, The wall [is] no [more], neither they that daubed it; [To wit], the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and [there is] no peace, saith the Lord "I AM".' - Ezekiel 13:10-16.
The United Nations ' building will be a monument to man's folly in imagining that he, without reference to God and obedience to His Law, can preserve a peaceful world. No, the caption of the illustration is altogether wrong. Neither the laying of the corner stone of the United Nations' building, nor any other historic happening can be regarded as the foundation for history or the basis upon which history has been developed.
THE BIBLE: THE FOUNDATION OF AND FOR HISTORY.
The only foundation of and for history is the Bible. It gives a dramatic preview of the history of the world and man. It records the progressive march of world powers across the stage of human happenings; it describes the rise and fall of nations and demonstrates the fact that there is an ever-ruling power and purpose behind all the things which constitute what men call 'history'. The history of the world and man is not the story of a fortuitous combination of accidents, as an agnostic once said of the rise and development of the British Empire, but it is, instead, the story of the demonstration of the progressive development of a Divine Plan and Purpose, a purpose which has been rapidly nearing its final consummation in our day and generation.
God is the Creator of the world and man. He is the Great Architect of the Universe. He controls the universe by means of natural law, which man disobeys at his peril, and in exactly the same way He controls and guides the movements of men in relation to their historic story. We can see, if we will, in the meaning of the great events which have occurred in the past, which are taking place in the present, and which are IMMINENT in the future, that there must be a Divine Plan and Purpose for the world. God knows the end from the beginning. 'Without Him was not anything made that was made.'
The Divine Plan and Purpose is revealed in the Bible from Genesis to the Book of the Revelation, and is brought to our knowledge through the prophets, one of whom has said: 'Surely the Lord God will do nothing but that He revealeth His secret to His servants, the prophets.' As a matter of fact, history is prophecy fulfilled and prophecy is pre-written history.
Let me illustrate what I mean. The Bible tells the story of the selection by Almighty God of a people charged with the responsibility of service to Him. This service was to be manifest in the administration of world affairs according to definite Laws known as the Commandments, Statutes and Judgments of Almighty God, obedience to which would inevitably result in man's well-being, but disobedience would bring the development of chaotic conditions, wars and rumours of wars, economic instability, propaganda and fear, such as we are now experiencing.
The Bible records too the failure of this people to carry out the purpose and service for which they were brought into being. It records the mercy and forgiveness of God and the restoration of the people through the Redemption effected by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, on Calvary. This people, known as Israel, are pictured as developing into 'a nation and a company of nations' and 'a great people'. That they have so developed is patent to the eyes of all thinking people by the existence of the British Commonwealth of Nations and the United States of America, who represent the main body of the Anglo- Celto-Saxon people and who, are, in fact, modern Israel. The Bible looks forward to the final and complete unification of these people; it describes the development of 'a nation and company of nations' as it has been accepted by its contact with other world powers.
Furthermore the Bible pre-figures the march across the stage of our history of the great powers, known as the Babylonian Succession of Empires, to which God Himself gave a charter of world government for a specific period of time, which was to synchronise with the period of punishment meted out to Israel for failure.
The Bible also gives in detail the story of the progressive 'ages' as they are called, in our history. The age of the patriarchs, followed by the story of Israel and the Theocratic state and monarchy; the age of the prophets and the age of grace, beginning with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and now rapidly nearing its completion, to be followed by the Kingdom Age.
'A TIMEOF TROUBLE SUCH AS NEVER WAS . . .'
Before the Kingdom Age dawns, the Book tells of a time of trouble such as has never before been experienced. Here is the statement: 'There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time.' We are told that when this time of trouble reaches its height God's people will be delivered. Well, that time of trouble is now here. It has not yet reached its zenith, but we can rest unafraid, because we know that God's purpose for the world is not destruction, but ordered and established government, well-being, peace and social security. However, before these can be enjoyed, the Book states that there will be a final conflict between the forces of Go(o)d and (d)evil. It describes the formation of an anti-God confederacy determined to gain world domination. It draws attention to, the machinations of the three unclean spirits like frogs, responsible for the dissemination of anti-Christian propaganda aimed at the destruction of faith, of law and of order. It declares that the leaders of this confederacy will, in the last analysis, have the EFFRONTERY to make war on the Lamb but, thank God, we know the Lamb will overcome their evil purpose.
'. . . NEITHER SHALL THEY LEARN WAR ANY MORE'.
The Book warns, specifically, that only Divine Intervention can successfully deal with the situation that will thus be created; it declares that this intervention will come when asked for in the way that God Himself has laid down - the Truth of this statement is to be read in the book of the prophet Joel. The Bible declares that the final world order will be the Kingdom of God, functioning on earth under the direct sovereignty of Christ, and His Father shall give unto Him the Throne of David to reign from.
It reveals that when this glorious consummation is reached nations will 'beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks . . . neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree: and none shall make them afraid' and concludes this triumphant affirmation with the words: 'The mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.' Against that statement there can be no argument, nor any doubt as to its absolute certainty, but please beware and note well, that it is only after the event of the Great Day of The Lord, that swords should become plowshares - NOT before.
THE SPECIFICATIONS OF GOD'S KINGDOM HERE ON EARTH.
Thus the Bible is, itself, the foundation for and of history. NOTHING can replace its authority, its authenticity, its absolute exactitude. It is the Book that was intended to be The Guide Book of the nations. It contains the blue-prints and specifications for to put an end to the new world order/one world anti-God government and implement Christ's Kingdom as was designed by the Great Architect of the Universe or, if you desire another simile, it comprises the sailing directions for the Good Ship 'Civilisation'. To disregard the plans and specifications, as United Nations have done, will result in, the collapse of the edifice erected. To ignore the sailing directions means that the Good Ship 'Civilisation' will be wrecked upon the rocks of human folly and 'self'-determination. By our blindness and wilful obstinacy, which has caused us to ignore the fact that the 'Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it unto whomsoever He will', we have come perilously near being wrecked.
There is but VERY LITTLE time left. It is later than we think. We must pray that the Pilot may come aboard. We must prepare for His coming. We must resolve to abide by the chart and directions which the Book contains and thus so, and thus only, shall we be brought into the haven whither we would be.
National Armament.
'Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with Truth, and having on the Breastplate of Righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the Shield of Faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying constantly (without ceasing) with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all holy people.' - Ephesians 6:10-18.
The world today is buzzing with the talk of arms and armament. Billions of dollars are being spent in order to create military strength and power; we talk today as glibly about billions of dollars as our forefathers might have done about the spending of thousands: and what is it all for? It is in preparation for the greatest conflict that the world has ever seen, the conflict which we have described before as the final phase of the great battle between the forces of Go(o)d and (d)evil, of God and anti-God, of Christ and anti-Christ. It is the conflict that is called in the Bible, 'the battle of that great day of God Almighty', and there are very few people who realise the cataclysmic nature of the struggle which is pending. That is why I call your attention to the injunction of Paul with which this broadcast opened.
ESCAPE FROM ULTIMATE DISASTER.
Let me emphasise that I am dealing with the message of the Apostle, not merely from the personal and individual point of view but from the NATIONAL aspect. The message is particularly applicable to national life today and is of special importance to the outlook of the Anglo-Celto-Saxon peoples, and civilisation as a whole. For no matter what some might have led you to accept the final outcome is identical: UNLESS AND UNTIL the nations comprised under any or all of these terms (Anglo-Celto-Saxon) recognise the immediate need of the application of Paul's exhortation to conditions as they are at present THERE IS NO ESCAPE from ultimate disaster.
Stress has been placed almost solely upon material and physical effort and regarding this effort we were inclined to boast, but we have now been given direct evidence that our vaunted superiority in armament was largely imaginary.
A SPIRITUAL CONFLICT.
This, of course, is in the physical sphere; but the fact is that, although very few people seem to recognise it, the coming conflict will be waged and in fact is already being waged in the spiritual and moral spheres as well as in that of the material: and it is the spiritual battle which is of the greatest possible importance.
The presence and power of evil is very prominent in the world today: this fact is not realised as it ought to be by the vast majority of people. We are so much in the habit of looking with complacency and indifference upon many aspects of our social life which are definitely evil in origin and nature that we are inclined to forget altogether the reality of evil, and certainly we give little recognition to the fact that the evil which exists is directly due to the inspiration and activities of the evil spirit who used to be called the Devil. Of course, it is not considered polite today to refer to the Devil as the spiritual personality responsible for the (d)evil which exists. It is very likely that I shall be criticised and classed as hopelessly out of date for daring in this broadcast to refer to his Satanic majesty. In this connection I recall the manner in which A. J. Hough, referred to a similar attitude of mind in his day:
'Men don't believe in a devil now as their fathers used to do; they've forced the door of the broadest creed to let his majesty through. There isn't a print of his cloven foot, or a fiery dart from his bow to be found in earth or air today, for the world has VOTED it so. Won't somebody step to the front forthwith and make his bow, and show how the frauds and crimes of a single day spring up? We want to know. The Devil was fairly voted out, and of course the Devil's gone; but simple folk would like to know, Who carries his business on?'
THE DEVIL HAS 'BUT A SHORT TIME'.
We are today witnessing the full impact of the incident recorded in the Bible in the following words:
'And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon (Lucifer); and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the WHOLE world: he was cast out to the earth, and his angels (us - Luke 9:55) were cast out with him (Matthew 25:41). And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their (human) lives unto the death (John 12:25). Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the "earth" and of the "sea"! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (6,000 years).' - Revelation 12:7-12.
THE MENACE OF IDEOLOGICAL INFILTRATION.
Realising that here we have a description of an actual fact, we can understand the force, in connection with present conditions, of the Apostle's statement, 'We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of THIS WORLD, against spiritual wickedness in HIGH PLACES.' We are not merely struggling against armed and aggressive force on the actual battlefields of physical warfare; we have to contend against the infiltration in our modern national and social order of ideological philosophies which are directly opposed to the God's ideals and are aiming at the destruction of the basic principles upon which Christ's Kingdom is founded.
It is time that we realised that there is absolutely nothing in common between Christ and Communism, and that Communism is in fact the direct negation of everything that Christ stands for and is one of the greatest enemies that we have yet encountered in all of our long eventful history. In its infiltration of the Christian social life Communism has been aided and abetted by those who have cast doubt upon the authenticity, authority and accuracy of the Biblical revelation. Coupled with all this we see, in the spread of apathetic indifference towards the Christ's Teachings as a whole, the fulfilment of the aims and objects of the evil plotters who have declared, 'It is indispensable for us to undermine all faith and to put in its place, arithmetical calculations and material needs.'
In view of conditions as they are one cannot be too emphatic in declaring that there is absolutely no possibility whatever of a successful issue to the coming world conflict except and until nationally we determine to put on God's Armour, and it must be the WHOLE armour! To do this will require first of all a recognition of the fact that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves, and that, as we so often glibly say without realising what we mean, 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.' The real recognition of the Truth of all this of course implies the beginning of a state of HUMILITY which seems at the moment ABSOLUTELY FOREIGN to our outlook. We have gone too far along there road of aggressive self-determination to allow ourselves to realise that without God we can do NOTHING.
WEAPONS BOTH FOR DEFENCE AND ATTACK.
Let us consider briefly the various items that comprise the whole armour of God, doing so again from the national, rather than from the individual and personal viewpoint. We must nationally have our 'loins girt about with Truth'. That is to say we have to brace ourselves, to pull ourselves together to realise that we must have done, with all sham, pretence and hypocrisy and that TRUTH ALONE MUST BE OUR GUIDE - the Truth of God, the Truth of His Word, the Truth which is arch enemy of the lie which is the Devil's FAVOURITE weapon.
Next there is 'the breastplate of righteousness,' covering and safe-guarding our heart. What is righteousness, the search for which is described by our Lord and Master Jesus Christ as the summum bonum (highest-Good) of human effort? I suggest that righteousness is nothing more or less than the right relationship: right relationship between God and man, which would inevitably be followed by the right relationship between man and man. Of course, I know that there is a great deal of talk nowadays about this right relationship. Many people talk unctuously about the (Masonic) brotherhood of man; "they" attack what "they" call racial discrimination. "They" do it all in the name of brotherhood (Freemasonry), and at the very same time "they" deny that Jesus Christ, the Great elder brother of humanity, described in the Bible as the 'firstborn among many brethren', is the Saviour (the word/name Jesus means Saviour) of men and Redeemer of Israel; they reject His Messiahship and WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE HIS KINGSHIP! How can such as these deal in (true) brotherhood?
We must have a firm foundation and stand square upon the Gospel which is the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and which is described by Paul as the Gospel of Peace.
Then there is 'the shield of faith' by which the whole person can be protected; but it must be REAL faith; it must be faith such as was ascribed unto Abraham; it must be the faith for which we are exhorted earnestly to contend; it must be the faith of which our Lord and Master asked, 'When the Son of man cometh, shall He find the faith on the earth ?'
The parts of God's Armour so far described are defensive and essential, but there is one more piece which must be used not only for defence but for attack. It is the weapon of the offensive, 'THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD'. All I can say now regarding it, for I have come to the end of my time (radio programme), is that we should remember that it is the one weapon that Jesus used to repel the assaults of the Devil made upon Him personally at His temptation: and if this sword was good enough for Him it is good enough for us! We would also do well to note that the Scripture Christ used to repel the Devil was taken directly from God's Laws, as written in the Torah (the first five books of Moses). If God's Laws are good enough for Him to use to fight the Devil - and win - then surely God's Laws are good enough for us to use against our common enemy - and WIN.
Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Deuteronomy 8:3 And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [Word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the "I AM" doth man Live.
Matthew 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Deuteronomy 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the "I AM" your God.
Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him ONLY shalt thou serve.
Which of course is the First Commandment with promise:
Deuteronomy 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before Me.
Perhaps now you can see why the faithful and courageous David, peace be upon him, wrote 'Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the unGodly, nor standeth like the sinners (Matthew chapter six), nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. BUT HIS DELIGHT [IS] IN THE LAW OF THE "I AM"; AND IN HIS LAW DOTH HE MEDITATE DAY AND NIGHT.
And perhaps now you can see why when Jesus used the Law for defence, 'Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him (Jesus).'
Inexplicable by Ordinary Reasoning.
Again and again one comes across statements by people who are compelled to admit that there is something in the history of the development and destiny of the British Commonwealth and Empire that is inexplicable by ordinary reasoning. A typical example is to be seen in an editorial which recently appeared in the Toronto Globe and Mail:
'One of our friends who is deeply read in history and a man with as few formal religious beliefs as any one we know, told us that in studying the career of the British people he was struck again and again by something significant and yet hard to, explain by any political or economic doctrine. It was that again and again it seems there as been some Divine interposition to make Britain take the right course when she might more easily take the wrong one. People who believe in the Divine direction of the world will not find this hard to believe, but coming from a free-thinker it is enough to make even the most heedless pause and reflect. If, then, Britain has been guided throughout her history to serve some great purpose, which is not always clear, surely the object was not merely to be meanly liquidated? We do not believe that as a force for righteousness, decency and fair play, Great Britain is spent.'
This testimony is a very good example of what has been going on in the minds of a great many people when they ponder the wonder of the origin, growth and destiny of the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations.
A DIVINELY ORDAINED INSTRUMENT.
Another statement from an entirely different source may also be quoted. It was made by a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Davidson, who said: 'Do we realise that we alone today are those whom God has chosen in the world's history as a people to whom is given incomparably the greatest trust and decision for the world's safety that has been laid upon the English speaking peoples, but is primarily upon Britain an America?' In this statement we surely have confirmation of the idea that the British Commonwealth and Empire, together with the United States, is the Divinely ordained and constituted instrument in the Hands of Almighty God, by and through which His Eternal purpose will inevitably be completed.
It is interesting to recall the connection of the Israel of the Bible with the Anglo-Celto-Saxon peoples of today. Most of you will remember the story of the division of Israel into the two sections known as the House of Israel and the House of Judah: the former consisting of ten tribes, and the latter primarily of two. The history of the ten-tribed section has been very largely obscured and, therefore, lost to the memory of most people, yet, in any consideration of the destiny of the British Commonwealth of Nations, the story of ten-tribed Israel, subsequent to its removal from the promised land, is of the UTMOST importance.
TEN TRIBES TO COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS.
This story cannot here be given in detail, but I would remind you that Esdras the prophet records that the ten tribes, after having been taken into captivity by the Assyrians, made their escape and started on their long trek northward and westward towards the appointed place. Here is the record:
"Those are the ten tribes (Israel - the Brit-ish), which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar the king of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so came they into another land. But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt, That there they might keep their statutes, which they never kept in their own land (Israel). And they entered into Euphrates by the narrow places of the river. For The Most High then showed signs for them, and held still the flood, till they were passed over. For through that country there was a great way to go, namely, of a year and a half: and the same region is called Arsareth. Then dwelt they there until the latter time." - 2 Esdras 13:40-46.
From this district Israel migrated north and west until they reached the western coast lands of Europe from whence it was but a short jump to the Isles of the Sea, now known as the British Isles, which undoubtedly represent the appointed place which God declared He had prepared for Israel (2 Samuel 7:10).
These peoples, the descendants of ten-tribed Israel, came to the British Isles under various names: ANGLES, SAXONS, JUTES, DANES AND NORMANS. Over the ensuing years, the last contingent, which arrived in 1066, helped to consolidate the mixed peoples who were all basically of one blood stock into, a homogeneous whole, namely the British people.
From the 16th century onwards, which incidentally heralded the closing stages of the 'seven times' punishment of Israel, further movements of these peoples took place - the great colonising activity which proceeded in exactly the same sequence as God had declared to Abraham his descendants should people the earth. They spread west and east and north and south (Gen. 28:14), eventually becoming the nation and company of nations which God promised the descendants of Abraham would become (Gen. 35:11 and 48:19).
Another point worth noting is this, the British people have always held firmly to their allegiance to the throne, rightly or wrongly and, even today, when we have witnessed the downfall of so many monarchical systems, the throne of the British family of nations stands more firmly fixed in the heart and mind of its people than at any other time in its history.
'A MISSION NOT TO CONQUER BUT TO SAVE.'
'The British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations is a phenomenon to which history affords no parallel,' writes Mr Elton, and in this Commonwealth and Empire, the ultimate bonds of which are spiritual, is to be seen 'the multitude of nations' of Jacob's prophetic blessing (Gen. 48:19).
Speaking in the Mansion House in March 1948, Mr. Ernest Bevin, the Foreign Secretary, said: 'We believe we have a mission not to conquer but to save; a mission which will, in the end, result in the triumph of peace. We are moving along a road in which the combination of the English-speaking peoples is destined to play a role greater and more important than ever before.' After all according to Scripture, this was the destiny and task of Israel, yet it is seen in practice as Britain's.
In their history the British have unconsciously exhibited many of the attributes and qualifications which God declares belong peculiarly to Israel, and for which they were brought into being. Think of the attitude of the British peoples towards the conquered peoples of the world, and the victims, for example, of the last conflict. Great Britain has been foremost in her ameliorate their sufferings, and, even though herself in dire need, has given liberally to their support. Her example has been followed by Canada and other members of the Commonwealth, while the United States has been generous beyond measure, but none have given with the same amount of sacrifice as the people of the British Isles.
Here we see the fulfilment of Isaiah 58:6 and 7: 'Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?'
THE SERVANT OF ALL.
Our London journal, THE NATIONAL MESSAGE, gave a striking illustration of this attitude in a recent article:
'We are truly members of an Imperial race for we are the representatives of One Who is King of all kings and Lord of all lords. We are fulfilling His word spoken long ago to His disciples: "Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." In the service of mankind we have become weary and sick of heart. We are poor today because we have ministered unstintingly to the necessity of others. They have rarely thanked us; indeed, many times have they turned round and abused us, but we need have no regrets for we have done the work for which we were called and chosen long ago, and we have the assurance that those who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, free the oppressed and seek to relieve the sufferings of humanity are truly serving Christ, for He has told us so Himself: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . . ye have done it unto Me." Sometimes our actions appear queer to others and they cannot understand why we behave as we do.
'For example, the other day a member of the newly formed Burmese Government, who had been visiting London, gave an interview to the Press, in which he said: "Generosity is one of the fundamental virtues of the British people; kindness is another. Indeed, they are very kind-but they are also very queer. Wherever they go in the world they insist upon maintaining their own standard of living, and shower the gifts of their culture upon all and sundry. And they expect alien races to live UP to that culture. Very often British kindness and queerness go together. For example, you borrow money from the United States at a considerable interest, yet you lend money to Burma without charging any interest at all. A wonderful people! But are you businesslike?" Surely a remarkable commentary on British character, and an interesting mark of our identity.'
Truly we are they of whom God has said: 'Ye are My witnesses'; 'This people have I formed for Myself, they shall shew forth My praise.' Pray God we may soon be aroused to our high calling, for, as Paul declares, 'If the casting away of them (Israel) be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?' Yes, there is something in the history of the development and the destiny of the British Empire and Commonwealth of Nations that is inexplicable by ordinary reasoning.
The National Message of Redemption.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very keystone in the arch of Faith of the follower of Christ and His Teachings. It is the fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ that places Him so immeasurably above ALL other teachers and founders of religious systems, and the triumph and joy of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Passover Morn can never be destroyed. It is a link which binds us to the past (the first Passover and our Exodus from Egypt - from slavery and oppression from man-made laws), unites us in the present (as a United Kingdom living by God's True Laws of Liberty, Freedom and Justice for ALL), and inspires us for the future. It inspires us with a courage and an enthusiasm which nothing can destroy. It is the pledge of reunion with those who have passed beyond the veil, and the assurance of the ultimate victory of Go(o)d over (d)evil. It provides the answer to the age-old question, 'If a man die, shall he live again?' (Job 14:14), and it gives the assurance of the return of the Risen Christ, to reign as King upon the Throne of David.
THE REDEMPTION OF ISRAEL.
It is to the special significance of the redemption message for the nation Israel that I desire to turn your thoughts at this time, and of the Resurrection of the Redeemer of Israel Jesus Christ, of Whom we read 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people' - Luke 1:68.
Now who are 'His people'? Let us examine this question, but FIRST of all we MUST remove from our minds ALL preconceived ideas, and separate TOTALLY what we have imbibed from all forms of organised religion and superstitious nonsense and continue our study with an open mind.
When the Angel of the Lord announced to Joseph the forthcoming birth of Christ, he said: 'Thou shalt call His name JESUS ("Saviour" in Hebrew): for He shall save His people from their sins' - Matt. 1:21. In the minds of Joseph and his contemporaries only one people could be thus designated, namely Israel. Israel was then scattered and dispersed abroad across Asia and Europe, and as far west as 'the isles of the sea'. These were the people who, as Paul declares, had become 'aliens from the commonwealth of Israel' (Eph. 2:12), and of whom Peter states that, being 'strangers', they had been redeemed, 'with the precious blood of Jesus, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot', and declares that by the Redemption thus wrought they were restored to the position of 'a chosen generation, a royal channel, an holy nation, a peculiar people' - 1 Peter 1:19 and 2:9.
Again Paul wrote to the Galatians, who were themselves part of Ten-Tribed Israel: 'When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under The Law, To redeem them that were under [the Curse of] The Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.' - Galatians 4:4-5. Here the apostle specifically declares that Christ, the Son of God, came to 'redeem them that were under The Law' and that description can ONLY be applied to Israel. To no other people was the Divine Law given.
THE UNCONSCIOUS TESTIMONY OF CAIAPHAS.
We have also the unconscious testimony of Caiaphas, the high priest, at the time of the Crucifixion. That it was an 'unconscious' testimony is evidenced by the clear implication contained in the statement that he did not understand thoroughly what he was saying. The Jewish Council had gathered in order to plot the death of Jesus. Pretending to think of Him merely as a political agitator, they expressed the fear in a specious form of reasoning that, if some action was not taken by themselves against Jesus, it would be regarded as disloyalty to the Roman Empire. The statement of Caiaphas is recorded in John's Gospel:
'And one of them, [named] Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spoke he not from himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad (the Ten "Lost Tribes" - the "House of Israel").' - John 11:49-52.
John's comment on the high priest's statement should he noted, 'this spoke he not from himself'. No! he spoke these words, though he was not aware of it, under the influence of an over-ruling power which impelled him to say things far deeper in meaning than anything of which he was himself conscious. He spoke words which were prophetic, and which were fulfilled as a result of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord and Master. He declared that that event would result in the gathering together of 'the children of God scattered abroad'; that is, he proclaimed the redemption and restoration of Israel.
This is exactly in accord with the promises of God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-Israel; it bears out absolutely the great prophetic declaration of Isaiah with reference to the Redemption and Restoration of Israel. Read carefully, in Isaiah 49 to 52, the great proclamation of God, with reference to the Restoration to the full relationship with Him of Israel, from which she had, because of sin, been divorced.
FAILURE OF A MISSION.
Israel in rebellion had been false to her Divinely appointed task. The nation had been commissioned to proclaim to the world a monotheistic form of living based upon the declaration:
'Hear, O Israel: The "I AM" our God [is] one "I AM": And thou shalt love the "I AM" thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' - Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
Furthermore, Israel had been charged with the responsibility of manifesting a Divinely-Inspired world of Law and order with a Fair and Just social system, the management of which was to be directed and governed by obedience to the Commandments, the Statutes and Judgments of YHWH ("I AM" - God - Allah in Arabic).
But Israel was false to her trust; she had set up, and worshipped other gods, and, casting aside the Divinely-given constitution, substituted for it the "Statutes of Omri" (man-made laws), Micah 6:16. For this apostasy, Israel was finally removed from her own land in 722 B.C., and thus began her long trek across Asia and Europe to 'the isles of the sea', at 'the uttermost part of the earth', north and west of Palestine.
THE PROMISE OF RESTORATION.
Although punishment was decreed and inflicted, restoration was promised; and Israel, redeemed and brought under the terms of the New Covenant, WILL YET FULFIL her Divinely appointed commission.
There are those who, in spite of the most definite statements of Holy Scripture, declare that the Jewry of our Lord and Master's day were the sole representatives of Israel, and that modern Jewry are still such. Their declarations are not based upon fact however, and, according to the evidence of Holy Scripture, are UNTRUE. We have not time to go into detail, but we must point out that Israel, the nation, has not yet returned to Palestine, and certainly was not there in our Lord and Master's day.
Jesus knew this, and He came to bring His people together, who were scattered like sheep, that there might be 'ONE fold and ONE Shepherd', and He declared, 'I am not sent but unto, the lost sheep of the house of Israel' - Matt. 15:24.
An examination of Ezekiel chapter 34, to which Jesus undoubtedly made reference, will give a clear understanding as to the identity of these lost sheep.
Bearing these facts in mind, let us consider the proclamation of Isaiah regarding the redemption and restoration of Israel. Beginning at chapter 49, the redemption message is addressed to Israel in the isles, Israel away from Palestine. Then comes the call:
'Hearken unto Me, My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation . . . Hearken unto Me, ye that know Righteousness, the people in whose heart [is] My Law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.' - Isaiah 51:4 and 7.
THE CALL TO ISRAEL IN THE ISLES.
This is a call addressed to people whom God calls 'My people', 'My nation', and who are in the isles. Who are they? Who is the nation? It cannot be Judah; for, when the message was first proclaimed, Judah was still in Palestine. It cannot be the Church, as some have falsely declared, for the Church is NOT a nation.
It is Israel in the isles of the sea, at 'the uttermost part of the earth' (see Isaiah 24:13-16). These islands are addressed in chapter 41, and again in chapter 49; and the people in the islands are spoken of as 'the House of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel' (Isaiah 48:1), as 'the tribes of Jacob' and 'the preserved of Israel'. They are bidden to 'look unto the rock whence ye are hewn' and 'unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you'.
'Hearken unto Me, My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation: for a Law shall proceed from Me, and I will make My Judgment to rest for a light of the people.
'My righteousness is near; My salvation is gone forth and Mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon Me, and on Mine Arm shall they trust . . .
'Awake, awake, put on strength, O Arm of the "I AM"; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. . .
'I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the "I AM" thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? (see Isaiah 51:1-16).
Who can doubt that Israel is meant: Israel 'the people of God scattered abroad', mentioned by Caiaphas in the statement to which we have already referred; Israel trekking across Europe on their way to the appointed place which God had promised to David:
'Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges [to be] over My people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies.' - 2 Samuel 7:10, 11).
In this specially selected and appointed place Israel were to be gathered. There they were to dwell safely and be free from invasion. They we're to increase in numbers, and spread abroad to the four corners of the earth and, in doing so, to make the waste places of the earth blossom as the rose; for 'He (God) shall cause them that come of Jacob to; take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit' - Isaiah 27:6. And, in fulfilling this Divinely-given commission, they were to develop into a nation and company of nations, in accordance with God's promise to Jacob (Genesis 35:11; 48:19).
Not only was the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of Israel, a subject of prophecy which is now universally recognised as fulfilled in history, but the resurrection and restoration of the whole nation of Israel is just as clearly prophesied.
Ezekiel 37 contains a vivid picture of the burial of Israel and Judah, i.e. the whole Kingdom of Israel, among the nations of the earth. Then follows the prophecy of their national resurrection and unification into one, house or nation, under the Rule of One King. This is the resurrection of the nation Israel which will precede, and indeed is now preceding, the restoration of the Theocratic state.
When it is realised that the great Anglo-Celto-Saxon family of nations are Israel and that they are charged with Israel's responsibility of manifesting the Kingdom of God, then the once dry bones, now clothed with flesh, will see the need of the life-giving power of the Spirit of God, and Israel will enquire of the Lord "I AM" of Israel for cleansing (Ezekiel 36:37). Being filled with the Spirit, and standing upon its feet 'an exceeding great army', the whole Kingdom of Israel will, as a great constructive force, demonstrate the PERFECT social order, bringing Light, Liberty and Salvation to the children of men; 'for if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead ?' - Romans 11:15.
An Arresting Statement.
'And this gospel of "the KINGDOM" shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.' - Matthew 24:14.
This arresting statement occurs in the great prophetic discourse given by our Lord and Master on the Mount of Olives to the disciples who had come to Him privately with the threefold question, 'Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the Sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?' After telling the disciples what the course of events would be - both in relation to the destruction of the Temple and the City of Jerusalem in the first century A.D., and also in relation to the happenings which have taken place in the world in the lifetime of this present generation of which we are a part - He declared that the Gospel of the KINGDOM was to be preached as a witness to all nations and then the end should come, and it perhaps should be noted that as with the Gospel of Salvation, He did not state that the whole world would accept this Truth. In Truth He likened the end times to the times of Noah (the entire planet refused to believe Noah).
THE END OF A DISPENSATION.
First of all, consider what is meant by 'the end'. It is not the end of the world. Some people seem to have the idea that the Second Coming of our Lord and Master means the absolute and complete destruction of our world as we know it, whereas there is no such teaching in the Bible. As a matter of fact, our Lord and Master Himself declared that the tremendous world-shaking events that are to precede His coming - and we have experienced very many of them - SHOULD BE a cause of encouragement and REJOICING: 'When ye see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift your heads.'
The fact is that the end of the world really means the end of this present age or dispensation - THE END OF EVIL.
THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Now, it should be clearly understood that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is the Good news of the Kingdom, established by God at Mount Sinai as a Theocratic State, in which, later, the Davidic Throne was set up, and to which God Himself gave a national constitution and A PERFECT ECONOMIC SYSTEM. Let it also be remembered that both Kingdom and Throne were guaranteed perpetuity of existence by the oath of God, and that Christ is the final occupant of the Davidic Throne. Let it be further borne in mind that, although as a visible entity the Kingdom had apparently disappeared, Jesus Christ proclaimed its existence, opening His earthly ministry with the tremendous proclamation:
'The time is fulfilled, and "the KINGDOM" of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.' - Mark 1:15.
Regarding this preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom the late Dr Goard says:
'The WHOLE of the public ministry of our Lord and of the disciples of our Lord during His ministry was taken tip with the teaching and preaching of the Gospel of the KINGDOM. That is to say, every public utterance made to a congregation of which we have knowledge dealt with some phase of Kingdom truth. To private individuals, such as to Nicodemus, and to the woman at the well, and to the twelve disciples, our Lord spoke of other phases of truth. But to the public He SPOKE ONLY OF THE KINGDOM Gospel.'
THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION AND THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM.
Now the Gospel of the Kingdom is NOT the same as the Gospel of Salvation, although the two are inseparably linked together. The practical acceptance of the Gospel of Salvation is the door of entrance into the Kingdom, because it means the acceptance of the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; such acceptance entails the assumption of definite responsibilities - THE DUTIES OF CITIZENSHIP within the Kingdom of God.
The Gospel of the Kingdom is NATIONAL. The disciples were instructed: 'Go NOT into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL, and as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' To the Jewry of His day our Lord and Master said, 'The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.'
The Gospel of Salvation is individual and preached to all, for 'Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations . . .'
The Gospel of Salvation proclaims that Jesus Christ suffered and died on the Cross for us and for our salvation and that by so doing He opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all who are willing to do God's Will and live by His Laws, Commandments, Statutes and Judgements. (For those who are not willing to live by God's Laws, then why would they want to live in Heaven where everyone else does?)
The Gospel of the Kingdom declares that God has founded a Kingdom - NOT a Church - a Kingdom which in the last analysis will absorb or destroy all the kingdoms in the earth. It is the Kingdom of which the prophet says, 'It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.' Incidentally, note here the teaching that the Kingdom of God is a material Kingdom, A FACTUAL REALITY. The kingdoms of the Babylonian succession are described under the symbolism of gold, silver, brass and iron - all minerals; the Kingdom of God is the STONE Kingdom. No one attempts to spiritualise the gold, silver, brass and iron in relation to the world empires, and there is equally no warrant for doing so in relation to the Kingdom of God.
The Gospel of Salvation is concerned with the personal and individual experience of Christ. The Gospel of The Kingdom is concerned with the Rule of Christ, and the individual acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Redeemer implies the ACCEPTANCE OF HIM as the coming KING of the Kingdom.
WHY THE GOSPEL MUST BE PROCLAIMED
Alas, many people reject the idea of a material Kingdom of God, and deny the fact of Israel as the nucleus of that Kingdom, declaring that the throne of David promised to and soon to be occupied by our Lord and Master is a spiritual throne and not, as the Bible EMPHATICALLY states, a material entity. Some of these people not only flatly deny the material Israel Kingdom of God but declare that Paul affirms that the covenant promises given to Abraham are the heritage of the 'spiritual seed to the Patriarch' and do not belong to his fleshy seed through Isaac. On this basis they substitute the Church for Israel. Such a MISTAKE, undoubtedly due to careless reading and coloured by preconceived ideas, is UNPARDONABLE. Actually Paul differentiates between the spiritual seed of Abraham through Isaac and the fleshy seed through Ishmael. Paul is not setting aside the Isaac seed to make room for a Church; he is setting aside the Ishmael seed to make room for Israel.
Again, in our Lord and Master's own parables of the Kingdom, we find a clear exposition of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The parables are concerned with definite earthly things and some of them clearly point to a state in which there is a mixture of good and bad until the Second Coming of our Lord and Master at the end of this generation which is the time of the Great Harvest.
Now the Gospel of the Kingdom MUST be preached to demonstrate the truth of God, and to show the fact of His absolute fidelity to His promises. It proclaims that Israel is STILL Israel; and that Israel is now present in the world in the very form which God declared she should attain as 'a nation and a company of nations'. It offers the invitation to the nations of the world to come within the orbit of God's Throne on earth.
The Bible is EMPHATIC in its statement of the establishment of God's Israel Kingdom in the top of the mountains:
'In the last days it shall come to pass, [that] the mountain of The House of the "I AM" shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the "I AM", and to The House of the God of Jacob; and HE will teach us of HIS Ways, and we will walk in HIS paths: for The LAW shall go forth from Zion, and the Word of the "I AM" from Jerusalem.' - Micah 4:1-2.
When Christ Comes Again.
When Christ comes again - what? There are certain definite implications in that question. It implies that there is no doubt whatever that our Lord and Master, God's Anointed is coming back to this earth of ours - as indeed He is, and soon.
The return of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, to exercise sovereignty over the Kingdom of God functioning here on earth, is one of the great promises of God, the absolute and complete fulfilment of which involves the Divine integrity and honour. Very often there comes to my mind the vision given to John by Christ recorded in the 4th chapter of Christ's Book of Revelation. In it the apostle saw God sitting upon a throne. In vivid language he describes the glory and beauty of the scene, and says, 'There was a rainbow round about the Throne.' I wonder why! Do you not think that the fact is stated to remind us that God is a Covenant-keeping God, that His Word is Truth, that His promises are sure? 'God is not a man, that He should lie: neither the son of man, that He should repent; hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?' So said Balaam of old, and he was simply the mouthpiece uttering the direct words of God Himself.
CHRIST AND THE THRONE OF DAVID.
Among the ETERNAL and IRREVOCABLE undertakings and promises of God is that concerning the occupancy of the Davidic Throne by Christ our Lord and Master. Stemming from the Davidic Covenant we have the reaffirmation of the Divine Promise made through the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus and the human vehicle or agent of His Incarnation.
Consider the unequivocal statement concerning the Christ Who was then as yet unborn: 'He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God his Father shall give unto him the Throne of David: And he shall reign over the "House of Jacob/Israel" for ever; and of his Kingdom there shall be no end.' - Luke 1:30-33. There it is, the sure, simple and direct statement of God, the affirmation of what He will do. It is a tremendous promise and of special and direct importance now, when the time for its fulfilment, as indicated by present world conditions and the signs of the times, is so very close. WHY do NOT the preachers proclaim that message with all that it means? Why do they NOT tell their people that the Throne of David exists, that it is here NOW, and still occupied by a descendant of the Davidic line, the line promised the privilege of occupancy of that throne UNTIL 'HE COMES Whose RIGHT it is,'?
THE ULTIMATE RULER
What an awakening these preachers are going to have shortly! But there it is: God declares that His Son is to exercise Sovereignty and Rulership from the Throne of David, over the House of Jacob. You cannot explain His promise away; it stands, and will inevitably be carried out. Speaking of its fulfilment and of the Kingship of Christ, Paul declares, 'He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.' 'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.'
Christ is the Ultimate Ruler. He is the ONLY Ruler Who can bring order out of the present chaos, Who can establish world peace and bring into being that which we call Social Security. When is He coming?, At the time of the 'restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began,' when the powers of evil make that final attack for which even now they are: feverishly preparing.
WITH MAJESTY, POWER AND GREAT GLORY.
Where will He come? Read Zechariah 14, Genesis 49:24 for the answer to that. How will He come? With majesty, power and great glory. 'The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.' 'Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.' 'I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in Righteousness He doth Judge and make war . . . and the armies which were in heaven followed Him,' to Jerusalem.
Accompanying this mighty happening there will occur those great physiographical changes described by Zechariah, Ezekiel and Isaiah - those, tremendous changes which will accompany that great cataclysmic upheaval in the Middle East. And then what? What will be the conditions? Perhaps a digression will be permitted here. There are people who maintain that Christ is here now. He is, but in the personality of the Holy Spirit. You remember that when He was about to return to the place which He occupied from the foundation of the world, and before 'He took upon Him our flesh,' He said to His followers, 'It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.' - John 16:7. Now the Comforter, which is the Spirit of Truth came on the day of Pentecost, and He has been here ever since convicting the world of sin. But has Jesus returned in person? He is coming and I repeat, coming soon, and the result of His coming will be first of all the destruction of the forces of evil. There are those, you know, who are preparing to make war, indeed, are now actively engaged in making war on the Lamb, and the verdict is, the Lamb shall overcome them; so the forces of evil are to be removed from the scene and then the Kingdom of God will function in all its fullness.
THE THEOCRATIC STATE.
It will be the functioning of the Theocratic State brought by God into being at Sinai. Note well, the Theocracy is to be established with power, NOT by persuasion; it will function, and 'the Lord shall be King over ALL the earth.' Legislation, that is law-making, is the prerogative of God. He has NEVER yet delegated that power. No man has EVER been given authority to make laws to govern the affairs of his fellow men; that task is too great for human wisdom, as witness the utter confusion resulting from man-made laws which have through the ages replaced the Divine Law. No, man has not any business making laws or constitutions. His task is the administration of the Divine Law, and thus it will be when the Kingdom of God is functioning under Christ. Then we, the people, will WANT to have it so. For we are going to become changed people. God says of us, 'I will put My Laws into their hearts; and in their minds will I write them.' 'I will cause you to walk in MY Statutes, and ye shall keep MY Judgments and DO them.' And then what?
THE BLESSINGS OF THE KINGDOM AGE.
Here are some of the resultant blessings which will govern conditions in the Kingdom Age when Christ is here. First of all the assurance of peace and prosperity. 'If ye walk in My Statutes, and keep My Commandments, and DO them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid . . . neither shall the sword go through your land' - Leviticus 26:3-6.
Now this is a definite promise. It has ALWAYS been applicable and its blessings available, but we have disregarded it, and consequently are in our present difficulties.
Next we have the promise for the Kingdom Age of health and longevity, and with it the promise of security of tenure. 'And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine Elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the "I AM", and their offspring with them.' - Isaiah 65:21-23.
In the Kingdom Age peace will be world-wide, for nations 'shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks . . . neither shall they learn war any more.'
Justice and Judgment will be equitably administered. The 11th chapter of Isaiah is excellent reading in this connection. Then, too, there will be NO MORE TAXATION BURDENS. WAR, SICKNESS, PENAL INSTITUTIONS AND INSANE ASYLUMS, WILL ALL BE ELIMINATED, and there shall be no more POOR among us. All these are the blessings of the Kingdom Age contingent upon and belonging to the actual functioning of the Kingdom of God. Well may we say with Paul, 'I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.'
Is not this something to be longed for, prayed for, WORKED FOR? Well, what are YOU going to do about it? Remember there is no gainsaying the truth of all that has been said. Christ the King is coming. The Kingdom of God is going to function, and God's Will shall indeed be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
You and I have much to do, we must believe these things, we, must proclaim them, WE MUST CREATE A DESIRE FOR THEM. They are sure when we are ready to obey the Kingdom Law. No other philosophy of life can ensure them. Communism cannot provide them, an only the citizens of the Kingdom can enjoy them.
