by which he can force him who is deter-
- mined to throw in his lot on the side of
righteousness to become a hapless tool of
the forces of iniquity. From the hour in
which the dying Saviour uttered the
triumphant cry, “It is finished,” Satan
knew that he was a defeated foe and that
the ultimate triumph of the forces of
righteousness is altogether sure. Till that
time the powers of evil were moving for-
ward with their nefarious schemes in
expectancy of ultimate success. Today
they have no such hope. To His followers
Christ could say: “I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give
unto you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy.” Luke 10: 18, 19.
Concerning Himself and His kingdom,
Jesus in triumph declared: “The stone
which the builders rejected, the same is
become the head of the corner.” Luke
20: 17. It was because Jesus “humbled
Himself, and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross,” that
“God also hath highly exalted Him, and
given Him a name which is above every
name: that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the
earth, and that every tongue should con-
fess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Philip-
pians 2: 8-11.
It was because of the victory which
Jesus gained over the satanic hosts of
darkness that this earth became His
purchased possession—repossessed from
the powers of evil into the hands of which
it had fallen; it was for that reason that
erstwhile sinners could henceforth go
under the title of the ‘“redeemed”—
redeemed from their condition as igno-
ble slaves of the ruler of the kingdom
of evil. Henceforth the title of Jesus as
King of this world and Master of men
was altogether sure and clear. Any
claim that Satan hitherto had held to the
title of prince of this world was gone for-
ever. (John 12: 31.)
It was because of that glorious victory
of Jesus over the forces of evil that He is
called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah”
(Revelation 5: 5) and it was because of
this victory that “the Root of David”
prevailed to open the book revealing the
fate of this earth, and that to Him was
given the privilege of loosing its seven
seals (Revelation 5: 1-5). It was for this
reason that those who had one time been
under the control of the powers of dark-
ness were able to sing their new song,
saying, “Thou art worthy to take the
book, and to open the seals thereof: for
Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by Thy blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation; and
(Continued on page 15)
August — 1944
/
THE FLYING ROLL
“Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out’ ~*~
THERE are many portions of the earth where
the whole population is in a constant state of
alarm, and where the roar of airplanes fills the
heart with terror. In those areas death and de-
struction have been literally dropping from the
skies and turning the peace and quiet of com-
munity life into scenes of desolation.
One of the ancient prophets has seemingly
borrowed the figure of this modern weapon to
represent a far greater danger that threatens our
entire globe—a peril not confined to populous
areas engaged in warfare but which hovers over
every individual on the earth whether living in
isolation or in the midst of millions.
Take a view of this picture: “Then I turned,
and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a
flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest
thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the
length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth
thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is
the curse that goeth forth over the face of the
whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be
cut off as on this side according to it; and every
one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side
according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the
Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of
the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth
falsely by My name: and it shall remain in the
midst of his house, and shall consume it with the
timber thereof and the stones thereof.” Zecha-
riah 5: 1-4,
A casual glance at this startling prophetic pic-
ture reveals very clearly that the Lord of hosts
has pronounced a terrible curse upon those who
swear and steal. And the fact that the curse
against swearing is written on one side of the
scroll, and that the one against stealing is re-
corded on the other side shows further that this
roll contains the two tables of the moral law.
While stealing and swearing were perhaps out-
standing sins in the days of Zechariah, yet the
same curse waits for every sin.
Daniel Webster once declared that his personal
accountability to God was the greatest thought
that ever entered his mind. In this prophetic
scene we have this truth magnified a thousand
fold.
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatso-
ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For
he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall
of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
6:7, 8.
Galatians
By B. H. Shaw
God’s law is represented as a great moral
bomber cruising in mid-air over every trans-
gressor and with the efficiency of an experienced
detective entering into every house which con-
tains a sinner. This, rather than the latest bomb
raid in Europe, ought to be front page news to
every transgressor. It should lead every sinner
to seek shelter with desperate haste.
Nevertheless, with puzzling indifference men
go on in sin, apparently unconscious of the dan-
ger. The prophet Isaiah assures us that this
indifference is only a moral camouflage. “For
our transgressions are multiplied before Thee,
and our sins testify against us: for our trans-
gressions are with us; and as for our iniquities,
we know them; in transgressing and lying against
the Lord, and departing away from our God,
speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and
uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And
judgment is turned away backward, and justice
standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street,
and equity cannot enter.” Isaiah 59:12-14.
Men may think that they have hidden from all
eyes the sins that they know in their hearts they
have committed; but it will be with all as Moses
said to ancient Israel: “Be sure your sin will find
you out.” Numbers 32: 23.
What a picture of our day! And yet the
prophet quotes the guilty ones as saying concern-
ing their sins, “We know them.” The Lord says
further: “But they refused to hearken, and pulled
away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that
they should not hear. Yea, they made their
hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear
the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts
hath sent in His spirit by the former prophets.”
Zechariah 7: 11, 12,
Think of the heaven-daring attitude that would
lead a person to stop his ears, and make his heart
hard, to avoid the reproof which offers him salva-
tion and shelter! It surely magnifies the love and
mercy of God to note what heart-touching ap-
peals He makes to arouse us to our danger.
“The day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
and who can abide it?” Joel 2: 11. “The great
day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth
greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord:
the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day
is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a
day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness
and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick dark-
ness, . . . and I will bring distress upon men,
that they shall walk like blind men, because they
have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be
poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but
the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of
His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy
riddance of all them that dwell in the land.”
Zephaniah 1: 14-18.
Those who persist in rebellion will, when Christ
appears, cry for the rocks and mountains to hide
them from His face. It will be too late then. The
“line by us unseen, which crosses every path” will
have been passed. Now is the time to seek refuge.
The divine law is not our enemy. It was given by
Him who is love. And if we surrender to His love
we. will never be troubled by His law.
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