" Prbo anti rittbo ARE YOU A FAMINE VICTIM? BIRMINGHAM University Survey Report offered the following advice to the Churches which face the problem of empty pews: "The answer for the Churches is not to jump on the secular bandwagon and proclaim that 'God is dead' in a futile attempt to attract a small minority of intellectual atheists and humanists, but to discover where they have gone wrong, why they have not been successful in satisfying the spiritual needs of mankind." Comment: Standing foursquare for the unchanging teachings of the Bible, OUR TIMES has often expressed sorrow at the Church's failure to pre- sent the full, unadulterated Christian message. This has been done not in a spirit of destructive criticism but simply to underline the fact that Bible truth has never been more valid, more * I BELIEVE young people are think- ing so much, that thay tend to become easily discouraged when they don't see immediate solutions to problems that have faced mankind for generations. It is then they often turn to drugs and sex, trying to find their own means of expression."—J. Mullins, in "Listen" magazine. * IF there are things you want to escape from, try to change these things by facing them squarely. Don't run or hide from them by taking drugs. That is the coward's way, and such a tragic waste.—J. Mullins, ibid. * TEENAGERS are hearing and talk- ing about dope. Their rock music idols are writing and singing songs that sometimes denounce, and sometimes suggest, the use or supposed pleasur- able effect of illegal drugs such as LSD, cocaine, heroin, and even such prescription drugs as the amphetamines and barbiturates.—Twyla Schlotthauer in "Listen." ROCK-AND-ROLL used to be the most popular form of music. Now the trend is towards folk-rock music— personal songs with a strong emphasis on lyrical content.... Songwriters tend essential, more credible, nor more meaningful than it is today. The Bible refers to this very condition thus: "The tame will come when there shall be a famine—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." (Amos 8:11.) It is for want of clear knowledge of what the Bible teaches that hopes and spirits languish. Rightly likened to "the Bread of life" the Holy Scriptures are vital for happy spirits and a hopeful outlook. Jesus said: "Man cannot live on bread alone; he lives on every word that God utters." (Matthew 4:4.) OUR TIMES is dedicated to a clear presentation of the basic, authoritative truth of God's Word—which the world needs today as never before. (See also the advert on the back cover.) to be introspective in their work, writing about personal aspects of their own lives. Drug usage has been a very real part of the rock music world.—ibid. -A- THE true importance of drug- centred songs is that through the con- troversy they have aroused, they have created among the young a great, easy-going familiarity with pot and LSD. Being arrested for a drug violation to- day is almost fashionable, and certainly nothing unusual. Pop musicians ex- periment with drugs for fun, and they have also musically reinforced their attitudes in the public mind.—ibid. * SOCIETY'S problem is, bluntly, sel- fishness—putting our own interests and desires first. It's a well-known fact that the more a person becomes involved in drugs, almost any drug, the more self- centred he becomes. Everything in his world is evaluated only in the light of its benefit to him.—Francis A. Soper. * IN the United States heart attack kills more people than does any other single disease. Its annual toll exceeds 600,000 lives. . . . The two most im- portant of these "background" condi- tions which set the stage for the killing attack are cigarette smoking and a UNCONTROLLABLE TORRENT Antonioni's "Blow-up," has been des- cribed as "the most skilful of all the philosophic films." "Two things are shown: murder without guilt, and love without meaning." Comment: It is another sign of the last days. Vice is permitted, encouraged, rationalized; virtue is discounted, de- based, denigrated. Antonioni's film is typical. The erosive trend is, we regret to say, strengthened by radio, TV, and press — not always obviously, but in- sidiously, and relentlessly. The denial of Bible truth and absolute standards, has swollen from an insignificant trickle two decades ago, to an almost uncon- trollable torrent today. "The student and the common man," says Dr. Francis Schaeffer, "may not be able to analyze is, but day after day, day after day, they are being battered by this concept. We have now had a generation or two of it, and we must not be blind to the fact that it is getting across." God's pronouncement is: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Isaiah 5:20. high level of cholesterol in the blood. Other important factors include high blood pressure, obesity, and lack of physical exercise.—Dr. L. H. Lonergan, "Listen" magazine. * YOU can be what you want to be; you can do what you want to do. Right or wrong, the decision is up to you. Decide, and then do. Learn to say No, not only to adverse situations but also to pleasant profitable things you know might prove a hindrance to your desired progress.—Pat Kinnaman. -A- WHILE the decision to smoke or not to smoke is strictly an individual thing, smoking is more of a joint ven- ture. When you light up a smoke, you subject all those around you to its fumes, its odour. You become a high- powered air contaminator; and whether you realize it or not, smoking can actually make you a highly undesirable individual.—A Fettig in "Smoke Sig- nals." Picture Credits: Cover by Jane Miller: Keystone, pages 3, 10, 12; Three Lions, page 6; Jonathan Eastland, page 11; Studio Lisa, page 13. HEALTH GLEANINGS 2 OUR TIMES A family journal of Christian living dedicated to the proclamation of the everlasting Gospel. Presenting the Bible as the Word of God and Jesus Christ as our all-sufficient Saviour end coming King EDITOR . . � R. D. VINE CONTRIBUTING EDITORS . . . W. L. EMMERSON, J. A. McMILLAN, LAWRENCE MAXWELL PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE STANBOROUGH PRESS LTD. ALMA PARK � GRANTHAM • LINCOLNSHIRE ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION £1.20 (inc. 30p postage) SIX MONTHS 60p (Inc. 15p postage) Volume 87 • � No. 8 � • � Price 71p [1/6] Discerning the times... CURRENT EVENTS IN THE LIGHT OF THE BIBLE BY THE EDITOR MYSTIFYING FOOTPRINTS CONFOUND THE THEORISTS IF you are not a Christian, or if you 1 reject the Holy Bible, or if you doubt the existence of God, it might well be because of a certain theory popularized by Charles Darwin, and publicized ever since by universities, colleges, schools, the Press, the Radio, and now by TV. We refer, of course, to the theory of Evolution. In all history, nothing has been more damaging to Christian belief than Evolution. Of all the world's philoso- phies, it is by far the most effective in killing Christian faith and in eroding belief in the idea of absolute standards, of the "sinfulness" of sin, of future judgement, and of a God to whom all must one day give account. Of course, few persons would say: "I reject God, because I believe in Evolution"; Or: "Because I am an Evolutionist, there's no sense in going to church." It is far more likely that such persons are simply swept along with the spirit of the age. They are swayed by mass opinion rather than principle, despite the fact that mass opinion has so often proved wrong. Yet the fact is that Evolution is the main reason for the popularity of un- belief, of humanism, of agnosticism, and of atheism. It is mainly responsible for the sad fact that our modern age can now be referred to as: "The Post Christian Age." The reason is obvious: If Evolution is true in its claim that human beings have descended by some automatic process from primitive creatures, then via ape-like ancestors and the so-called missing links to modern man, the inescapable conclu- sion is that: "God" simply becomes an idea— just that, and nothing more; "The Law of God"—the Ten Com- mandments—becomes merely one of the many man-made codes of behaviour and there is nothing absolute or sacro- sanct about it. As a result, situational ethics takes over, which destroys every logical argument against a permissive society; "Sin" becomes merely an animal hangover for which we need not feel guilty, and for which we will not be answerable. Yet among those who reject Evolu- tion are top scientists and many influ- ential people. Geologist Professor G. W. Wright declared: "The doctrine of Evolution is one-tenth bad science and nine-tenths bad philosophy." Even Charles Darwin later admitted that "a recurrent tragedy of Evolution is the killing of some beautiful theory by an ugly fact." One such "ugly fact" that recently came to light is the fossil footprint of a human being SIDE BY SIDE WITH FOSSIL FOOTPRINTS OF DINOSAURS, in the rock of Glen Rose, Texas, U.S.A. Here is fossil proof that man and dinosaur lived at the same time—a complete mystery to evolutionists who teach that the gigantic dinosaurs lived and became extinct millions of years before man came on the scene! They also continue to teach that the "primitive" Neanderthal men lived and became extinct, ages before the "ad- vanced" Cro-magnon men came on the scene. Yet fossils of both are found in Israel's Mount Carmel area, and there is ample evidence of inter- breeding. Such evidence could be multiplied many times. It not only proves Evolu- tion to be wrong. It proves the Bible record of special Creation by God to be correct in affirming that all major categories of creatures were made during Creation Week, and—as today —they have always been co-dwellers on this earth. It is well to bear in mind French 3 Philosopher Anatole France's wise ob- servation: "If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." Anything which destroys belief in Bible truth is not only foolish but spiritually and morally lethal. With due respect to Evolutionists, but it is clear that their unproven and unprovable philosophy is, in fact, a denial of all that is good and ennobling. Bible prophecy envisaged and des- cribed such philosophy as being a SURE SIGN OF THE LAST DAYS just before Christ returns (see 2 Peter 3). The very popularity of Evolution which denies Bible truth, actually seals the Bible's own claim to being God's uniquely inspired Holy Book which alone reveals to us the way of life, of happiness, and of eternal glory. Sir Winston Churchill was not de- ceived. He had no illusions. He wisely wrote: "We believe that the most scientific view, the most up-to-date and rationalistic conception, will find its fullest satisfaction in taking the Bible literally. . . . We may be sure that all these things happened just as they are set forth according to Holy Writ [the Bible]. . . . We rest with assur- ance upon the impregnable rock of Holy Scripture." On these Holy Scriptures we take our stand. What they reveal is the answer to every human problem, and, if accepted, provides assurance of eternal bliss to come.—R.D.V. Recently sold at Sotheby's, London, on behalf of Edinburgh University was this fossil Ich- thyosaur—one of the giant dinosaurs supposed to have lived and become extinct millions of years before man appeared. But the Texan fossils prove that man and dinosaurs lived at the same time—in harmony with the Bible record. wa t hoPel A series by E. W. Pettit DICTATORS AND WORLD FREEDOM L AST month we spoke of the threat to freedom in today's world by the menace of modern (latter-day) tyranny. We observed then that democ- racy seemed doomed to extinction if present trends continued. However, by remembering that "true freedom" arises from a right relationship with God, we went on to state that the remarkable witness of the Bible prophecy foretells that true freedom will not only survive but triumph over all the powers of tyranny. What this prophetic witness reveals we shall now attempt to portray. To do so we have first to pick our way through the crumbling ruin of ancient Babylon and reconstruct the story of that same Daniel we mentioned last month. For it is from the ancient ruins of golden Babylon that there came an uncanny dream which was to have shattering consequences for King Nebuchadnezzar the ancient dictator of Babylon and all those who later inherited his lust for world power. Given to this heathen king millenniums ago, interpreted by Daniel under the inspiration of God, and exercising a remarkable influence upon present day events, the dream is found in the second chapter of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament. A strange dream it was that King Nebuchadnezzar had that night as he slept in his sherbet-scented palace in golden Babylon, and as the city itself reflected the moonlight from a hundred shimmering towers, temples, and palaces. Attending to the affairs of state next day the king had the gnawing uncertainty that an important revelation had been given him and his mind was constantly distracted from his governmental tasks. At last, in des- peration, he turned to the "wise men" of Babylon. But none could help the king because he could not even recount the vision that had disturbed his sleep. In exasperated fury he ordered all the wise men to be executed—what one might call a "Stalinist purge." The news of his impending fate reached the godly Daniel, who was not present at the conference of seers. Putting his trust in the God of Israel he asked for time to pray. He was then brought before the monarch. "Can you tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it ?" asked the King— Daniel said : "There is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and maketh known what shall be in the latter times." Nebuchadnezzar had seen a great image of curious composition. Its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its loins of brass and its legs of iron. Most peculiar of all, its feet were part iron and part clay. "Yes, that is it !" shouted the king excitedly. "That is what I saw ; but tell me, what does it mean ?" Daniel continued with his revela- tion. This strange image of four metals was a symbol of future history. Its four metallic divisions meant that four great empires were to successively arise upon the stage of history. We can almost see the smile of satisfaction on Nebu- chadnezzar's face as Daniel tells him; "Thou {Babylon} art this head of gold." 2 But his smile freezes and vanishes as Daniel continues to reveal the surrender of Babylon to the "silver kingdom" of Medo-Persia. Persia too, was to pass to the "brass kingdom" which history reveals as the brazen clad might of Imperial Greece under Alexander the Great. But, like its predecessors, even the power of Greece was to wane before the "legs of iron." Concerning this next {iron} king- dom, the famous historian Edward Gibbon had this expressive remark: "The images of gold, or silver, or brass, that might serve to represent the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the IRON MONARCHY OF ROME." Thus did history provide an exact fulfilment of Daniel's vision of the future. That which now any schoolboy knows of world history, the rise and fall of four world empires, was re- vealed so remarkably when the first empire, that of Babylon, was at its zenith. No wonder a later writer in scripture says : "We have . . . a more sure word of prophecy ; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed." 2 Peter 1:19. NEVERTHELESS, THE MOST RE- MARKABLE FULFILMENT OF THIS DREAM WAS LEFT FOR THE PRESENT DAY TO WITNESS, Concerning the feet of the image, the prophecy reveals four things. The first was that Rome should not be succeeded by another world empire but that "the kingdom shall be divided." Daniel 2:41. Secondly, just as there were ten toes to the image's feet, so the successors of Rome at its break-up would be ten nations. The third point was that these nations replacing Rome were to be partly weak and partly strong inas- much as iron and clay is strong and weak. Finally: "they shall mingle them- selves with the seed of men : but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." Daniel 2 :43. FRAGMENTED MODERN EUROPE History's testimony points to the exact fulfilment of these specifications. Rome fell not so much from external pressure as inward collapse. She did not leave a proud conqueror to take her position but exactly ten nations. These countries comprise what is to- day modern Europe. Some of these nations are strong and powerful, others are weak and brittle. Many a dictator's dream has been shattered by the seven words of prophecy, "They shall not cleave one to another." Among the men who have failed to weld Europe into a whole empire again were Charlemagne, Philip of Spain, and Louis of France. In the nine- teenth century Napoleon Bonaparte's dream was to make Europe "one nation." He awoke from that dream on the Isle of St. Helena, a broken man. 4 HEAD OF GOLD BABYLON (B C 605-539) BREAST OF SILVER PERSIA (B.C. 539-331) THIGHS OF BRASS GREECE (B C 331-168) LEGS OF IRON ROME (B.C. 168-A.6. 476) FEET OF CLAY DIVIDED NATIONS OF EUROPE (476 A D -2d ADVENT) In this century we have witnessed two world wars to try to effect this impossible union. First the Kaiser flung his Prussian troops into Europe to revive the long vacant throne of Caesar. Even while Germany was con- ceding defeat at Versailles, a young man was making plans for her future greatness. With his meteoric rise to power Adolf Hitler was a man to be wondered at. With Japan and Italy as allies he again set out on the road that greater men than he had trod. A road of fire and blood which ended at the same destination, defeat and ruin. While Hitler's Reich, which was to "last a thousand years" and which did not last a thousand days, was collaps- ing in the bombed-out shells of great German cities, another power from the north was reaching for Rome's imperial sceptre. Russia and her red hordes had already swept many lands of Europe behind the Iron Curtain. Many were asking as peace was being celebrated: could Russia succeed where the Nazis failed? Would Moscow rule the world? The answer to this question and all like it are still to be found in these seven words of destiny: "They shall not cleave one to another." The prophecy has revealed that no earthly power was to re-unite the broken em- pire of Rome and rule the world. BUT A GLORIOUS KINGDOM WILL BE ESTABLISHED AT THIS TIME. We again refer to the prophet Daniel's fantastic forecast. He speaks of a "stone cut out without hands" smiting the feet of the image. The impact is shattering. The image is pulverized and blown to oblivion, while the stone "became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." The prophecy's interpretation of this is as follows ; "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed." Daniel 2 :44. May I remind the reader that 85% of the prophecy has already been fulfilled! It follows then that, "The dream is sure and the interpretation to be trusted." � This next mighty event must soon take place, but when? Notice what verse 44 states: "In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom"—that is, when the kings of the "ten toes" hold sway. An alternative rendering of the text is "in their day." From this it could be deduced that just prior to the setting up of God's Kingdom there will come a short, temporary, artificial union of these ten dismembered parts of the Roman Empire. TEMPORARY ALLIANCE These same "ten kings" are men- tioned in the book of Revelation where in highly prophetic imagery we are told that shortly before the End these kings "have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb [Christ the King], and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings." Here "the Beast" has been identified as "the Anti-Christ" of Bible pro- phecy, of whom the unanimous ver- dict of Protestant Bible students has been that this is the papacy of Rome. This being true, then what we have prophesied here is a coming reign of terror of nightmarish proportions, page 14 ----> 5 , � • ft � 4,74t, AVN 4:14 dt6' 0.4 • frir-Sx, 4# � ' SKINNING CHRISTIAN CATS A POPULAR saying goes : "There is more than one way to skin a cat." This is precisely the thinking behind Lucifer's strategy in dealing with Christian "cats." The oblique approach, spreading misunderstanding, casting doubt, undermining confidence, is often more effective than a frontal assault. E. G. White summarizes this deceptive generalship in a few en- lightening words: "Ever since his fall, Satan has worked by means of decep- tion. As he had misrepresented God, • • so, through his agents, he misrepresents the children of God." Unfortunately, the pages of both Bible and history provide evidence that all too often the ruses of the Satanic agencies have been rather successful. On the other hand, these same writings testify abundantly to the happy fact that the Christian Church is divinely endowed with much more survival power than The world's history of delusion began with Eve, "the mother of all living," In the Garden of Eden. by Dr. B. B. Beach the proverbial cat with its nine lives. The Bible has much to say about persecution, martyrdom and religious warfare, beginning with the martyred Abel and ending with the great con- flict of Armageddon. However, the Bible has also a great deal to say about delusion and seduction, leading off in Genesis with Eve, "the mother of all living," succumbing to the wiles of the serpent, and climaxing with the apocalyptic dragon seducing the nations prior to his final annihilation. THE SUBTLE APPROACH The subtle, conning approach is a more insiduous than brutal attack. This is the reason why today's creeping secularism is so much more fraught with danger than straightforward atheism or even persecution. It is simpler to deal with an avowed antag- onist than with an enemy garbed in innocent-looking ideological clothing. One of the most effective kings in French history was cunning Louis XI. During his fifteenth-century reign he was much more successful than his warrior father, Charles VIII, in over- coming opponents, such as the English. He explained why: "My father drove them out by force of arms, whereas I've driven them out by force of ven- ison pies and good wines." Satan works through Mephistophe- lean deception and misrepresentation. Take, for example, God's Law. For thousands of years one of the most effective means for undermining divine Law has been, not head-on denunci- ation, but legalism—a form of "overdo," which, in the final analysis, overthrows the Law. Consider for in- stance, the Sabbath Commandment. Here the approach, as recorded in the gospels, was not an open attack on the Fourth Commandment, but mis- representation of its nature by smother- ing authentic Seventh-day Sabbath observance under an avalanche of petty, hypocritical, and even ridiculous restrictions. Another stratagem led to a gradual substitution of the Seventh- day Sabbath, this divinely appointed day of rest and memorial of creation, by Sunday, a day of celebration and memorial of the resurrection. MISREPRESENTATION How did Satan deal with the Church? When he discovered that oppression and martyrdom did not produce the desired result, he engaged in a much more sophisticated ma- noeuvre. Having accepted the idea of a Church, he radically changed the concept itself by robbing it of its content. The Church—that is, the children of God who desire to be faithful to His truth, was recast into a hierarchical—or priest-controlled- organization, with members obedient to a priesthood in control of semi- magical rites. The Serpent's claims, by which Eve was seduced, proved utterly false. Sin quickly wrought the first murder by her son Cain of his brother Abel. 6 A NEW CHURCH IS ORGANIZED There were lesser, but still trouble- some, matters also. Most of the early Adventists had been ejected from their former Churches, which thence- forth they regarded none too favour- ably. Any attempt to organize a new Church was therefore looked upon as a retrograde step to be, resisted at all costs. They had not left "Babylon" merely to settle in its suburbs. But again the logic of events proved too strong for them. Unorganized effort brought only meagre results and, con- trariwise, where some rudimentary forms of organization had been em- barked upon, progress was perceptible. Those favouring organization won. Ordination of ministers had begun by the middle 1850s; by 1861 the name "Seventh-day Adventist" had been chosen ; in 1862 the first local "conference" (a grouping of churches in one state) had been established ; and in 1863 the General Conference, the ruling body of the world Church, began to function. As organization proceeded, so did the definition of the doctrines of the Church, hammered out in a series of "Sabbath Conferences," in which the best minds in the movement used nothing but the Bible to guide them. poth these developments—of doctrine and organization—tended to unify the infant Church, as those who held to different beliefs or who chafed under the necessity of working within a clearly-defined organizational frame- work soon fell away and either joined other Churches or went their own solitary ways. OBJECTION TO WAR Scarcely had the Church begun to organize itself when America was rent in twain by the Civil War which began in 1861. The Adventists were not split into northern and southern fac- tions for the simple reason that there were no southern Adventiks, but the war diverted the minds of men for a time from religious interests; and when conscription was introduced other problems were posed especially for ministers. The American government, however, recognized the Church's ob- jection to bearing arms and granted its members noncombatant status. In this it showed itself a good deal more liberal than the British authorities some fifty years later, when Adventist and other conscientious objectors were often subjected to treatment of the utmost barbarity. EMPHASIS ON HEALTH Another difficulty under which the founders of the Adventist Church laboured was that of ill-health. The average expectation of life was not high in the earlier nineteenth century, and to this common lot of man the early Adventists added a tendency to drive themselves hard because they believed that they had a strong im- perative to proclaim God's last warn- ing to the world. Between 1848 and 1858 all Adventists gave up smoking in—it should be noted—an age when there was no medical evidence as to its harmful effect upon health; and many discarded the use of tea and coffee also. It goes without saying that so in- fluential was the temperance move- ment in the period that almost all Adventists were total abstainers from the beginning. Later, vegetarianism began to be widely adopted; a "sani- tarium" for the rational treatment of disease, employing natural remedies rather than the strong purgatives then in vogue, was established ; a health paper began publication; and some- what later still, Adventists began to manufacture health foods, a process in which the name of an Adventist family, the Kelloggs, became a house- hold word. With all this, Adventist health improved dramatically. Poverty was another obstacle to be overcome. The early Adventists were poor but, believing as they did in the nearness of the Second Coming of Christ, they were prepared to give sacrificially to promote their beliefs. But willingness to give is of no use unless efficient machinery exists to collect and disburse. After consider- able experimentation the Church came gradually to perceive that there was a plan already to hand—in the Bible it- self. This was the practice of giving Baptist layman, William Miller, prominent among the 19th Century preachers who emphasized the nearness of the second coming of Christ. Below: Modern Adventist church In Naerum, Denmark, Is one of many thousands which today belt the globe. Lower: Porter Sanitarium In Colorado, Is representative of a vast medical missionary work operated by Adventists throughout the world. 0111011M1111111Manimit......., (or, more properly, giving back) to God one-tenth, or tithe, of what He has given to us. Thus again, as with health reform, the Adventist Church anticipated what is becoming increasingly common to- day, the practice of Churches of asking for at least a tithe of their members' income. There has, needless to say, never been too much money in the Adventist Church, but there has always been a good deal more per capita than in Churches that have persisted solely with the haphazard method of passing round the plate. GLOBAL EXPANSION The placing of the finances of the Church upon a sounder basis came none too soon, for after the Civil War its activities were broadened both geographically and in scope. Evan- gelistic endeavours were spread to the new and booming state of California; and, in an entirely new departure, a Church-operated secondary school, which soon widened its curriculum to page 13 ----> 9 Coming World Ruler— WHEN WILL HE COME? A series by A. S. Maxwell T HAT is something everybody would like to know. If only the information could be broadcast over the radio some morning! That would solve many problems. Every now and then some misguided person announces authoritatively that the long-expected Deliverer is coming to a certain privileged group at a specified place, but it never happens. Every such announcement should be regarded as fraudulent. The fact is that the exact time of the advent of the new world Leader is top secret. For very good reasons He did not reveal it even to His closest companions. Naturally they were eager to learn this vital information—just as much as you and I are today—but He wouldn't tell them. ONLY GOD KNOWS "Tell us," they besought Him, "what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" Matthew 24:3, R.S.V. He was willing enough to give them signs, but not a specific date. "Of that day and hour no one knows," He said, "not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." Verse 36, R.S.V. How could He tell them that it would be hundreds of years in the future ? Had He done so they would have been completely discouraged. So He told them enough to keep them always on the alert, ever waiting in hope, watching for the appearance of the promised signs. FRIGHTENING SIGNS Looking at a list of these signs today, one is impressed with the fact that almost all of them were of a sad, gloomy, and frightening nature. Not one of them gives the slightest sug- gestion that world conditions will get better with the passage of time. On the contrary most of them call for a constant worsening until the world untimately enters a period of almost total chaos and despair. Instead of a long period of peace there will be "wars and rumours of wars." "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against king- dom." Matthew 24:6, 7, R.S.V. Instead of increasing prosperity for everybody, "there will be famines and earthquakes in various places." Nature itself will be more and more convulsed until there will be "terrors and great signs from heaven." Luke 21:11, R.S.V. Instead of growing tolerance there will be bitter persecution of the true children of God. (See Matthew 24:9.) WHEN THE WORLD NEEDS HIM MOST From a study of all the signs one vital fact emerges: He will come when the world needs Him most. Notice how this is emphasized again and again. 1. HE WILL COME when all nations are faced with a spirit of revolution. "There will be . . . upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves." Luke 21:25, R.S.V. Remembering that "the sea and the waves" are symbolic of "peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues" (Revelation 17:15), we have a picture of vast social upheavals in every country on earth. 2. HE WILL COME when man has so perfected and amassed his death-deal- ing weapons that continuance of life on the planet is in jeopardy; so much so that everywhere people's hearts will faint "with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world." Luke 21 :26, R.S.V. 3. HE WILL COME when violence and lawlessness have reached unmanageable limits, threatening universal chaos and disorder. "As it was it the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in .marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the Flood came and destroyed them all." Luke 17:26, 27, R.S.V. What were conditions like in the days of Noah? The sixth chapter of Genesis tells the tragic story. "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. . . . All flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth." Genesis 6:5, 11, 12. R.S.V. Such fearful disregard for "law and order" will be seen again just before the coming world Leader returns. Crime statistics will mount alarmingly as the wave of lawlessness sweeps around the globe. 4. HE WILL COME when moral standards have well-nigh disappeared in an epidemic of vice, lewdness, and sex unknown since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. "As it was in the days of Lot," He said, "they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all." Luke 17:28, 29, R.S.V. Genesis 19 reports what was going on in those two wicked cities just 10 .16IONG the rocky ruins of the an- cient Roman city of Gerasa, built centuries ago when the legions of the Caesars occupied the eastern frontier of what is now Syria, is to be found in abundance a plant known as saxifrage. The saxifrage plant derives its name from two Latin words [saxi and frangere] which mean literally "to break rock." Gerasa once was a flourishing, pros- perous city, receiving most of its rev- enue from the sale of incense used by pagans in various forms of worship. As the Gospel penetrated this section of the Roman empire and the worship of God displaced idol worship, the importance of Gerasa waned. Trade declined : gradually the city fell into decay. Now, centuries later, through the rocky ruins of ancient Gerasa, the saxifrage plant, the "rock breaker," still flourishes as it pushes asunder the crumbling colonnades of primitive paganism. Such also is the power of the Gospel. It is indeed a rock breaker. Hearts, apparently as unyielding as flint, have been broken by the simple story of a Saviour's love of, and death for, sinners. The word Gospel in the original language of the New Testament is the Greek word euaggelion, meaning, literally, "good news." Truly, the story of God's Son, given to a world which the prophet Isaiah describes as being covered by "gross darkness" (Isaiah 60:2), is indeed good news. Paul declares that the Gospel is far more than a mere story, much more than good news. He wrote : "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Romans 1:16. "Our Saviour Jesus Christ," Paul says, "hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Timothy 1 :10. "The wages of sin. is death," he writes further; "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. Sin says: "Die!" But through Christ we may live. In the tropical forests of the West Indies grows the manchineel tree, bearing an apple-shaped fruit. The milky juice of this tree is very poison- ous. Among these deadly trees grows a species of fig tree whose sap, if applied in time, it is claimed, will counteract the effects of the manchineel poisoning. Such is the power of the Gospel if applied in faith to the sin-sick soul. The blood of Christ can make the vilest sinner whole. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus," the angel instructed Mary, "for he shall save his people from their sins." Matthew 1 :21. The Gospel is the power of God to save men and women. From what do we need to be saved? The text in Matthew's gospel contains the answer : "He shall save his people from their sins." � • Christ's redemptive mission has not escaped misrepresentation. Salvation, offered freely to all through faith in Jesus Christ, has been artfully con- verted into something men earn through good works. God designed health reform to be a blessing for His children. "Ah," says the archenemy, "if you can't beat them, join them!" The result: dog- matic zealotry turns healthful and happy living into wasp-waisted, un- touchable taboos. FALSE IMAGES OF GOD Satan has reserved his masterpieces of misrepresentation for creating false images of God. As a result, men often have a wrong concept of God and it is this concept they reject. Human gods are the ultimate illu- sion: the god who bores to tears, the god who scares to death ; god, the indulgent Father Christmas, the relax- ing pillow to lie on, the fastidious book-keeper adding and subtracting sins and good works, the oriental potentate "up there" on a golden throne ; the "god of the Church of England," always on our side in any and every war; god the enemy of human freedom and initiative, the cruel taskmaster fiendishly prolonging end- less torment. We could go on, but this suffices to show that divine missions misunderstood—from Adam to Adventism—are the object of con- stant and determined Satanic misrepre- sentation. CHRISTIANS BURLESQUED Satan and his agents do not limit themselves to suggesting bad like- nesses of God, but they also bestow their distorting attention on God's children. How often have devout Christians been caricatured in a bur- lesque travesty of truth and justice! This happened to the early Christians ; it happened to the Reformers and Non- Conformists; it still happens today. Christians will encounter opposition, meet misunderstanding and perhaps suffer abuse. "Without sneering they'll teach the rest to sneer, willing to wound and yet afraid to strike, just hinting faults and hesitating dislike." But remember the pies and wine of foxy Louis XI; they are more to be feared than violent vilification. Yes, there is more than one way to skin a Christian "cat." � • THE ROCK BREAKER by R. H. Pierson, D.D. 7 THE CHURCH IN THE WESTERN WORLD—Fifteenth and final chapter in the series by Dennis Porter, M.A. THE 1,411LST CHURCH T HE Seventh-day Adventist Church, the origins of which we sketched briefly in our last article, was not born at an auspicious moment. We have seen that it originated with the coming together after 1844 of some of the fragments of the Millerite movement. That movement appeared to be utterly discredited. Its major premise had been proved wrong in the most confound- ingly final way of all—by events. It had said that Christ would return to earth on a certain day in a given year. Here was an unmistakable test of its accuracy.. By that test it had failed utterly.' Many of the Millerites had what would normally be reckoned the good sense to give it all up. After all, they had already borne enough ridicule both before, and then even more after, the anticlimactic day. With the taunts of: "Well, why didn't you go up ?" still ringing in their ears, it seemed expedient to make their peace with the world and perhaps pretend that they had never really believed they would go up, but as prudent men they felt it wise to be insured against pos- sible fire from heaven. Like many apostates, some of these were probably foremost now in deriding their erst- while associates who were, it seemed, pig-headed enough to try to salvage something from the wreckage. SOLEMN TRUTH OR MERE GET-OUT? Moreover, those associates appeared to want to make their task even harder than it was. They "invented" an "ex- cuse" for their mistake. Christ, they said, had not come back to earth but had begun a new and final phase in His ministry in heaven on behalf of mankind. As one could not see what was going on in heaven, as one, say, would undoubtedly have been able to see Christ descending the skies in majesty, that theory was not susceptible of proof. It was, therefore, argued the critics (as they still argue today in almost every polemic directed against the Adventists) merely a con- venient "get-out," which enabled the Millerites to claim that they had been right as to the date even though wrong as to the event. A movement which apparently had been so wrong and then had not even had the sense, or courage, or honesty to admit it, would obviously come to a speedy and bad end. ACCUSED OF JEWISHNESS As if that were not enough, the Adventists seemed determined to de- stroy themselves by adopting, as we saw last time, the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. In this era of the five-day week it is perhaps difficult to imagine how hard it was even a few years ago, let alone a cen- tury and a quarter ago, to observe the seventh day, especially when it is reckoned to begin at sunset on Friday —in harmony with Bible reckoning. Anyone other than the self-employed usually had considerable difficulty and even the school-children in those days of six-day schooling were placed at a grave disadvantage. It was easy, too, to nail the accusation of Jewishness to a Sabbath-keeping movement, despite the fact that it was also un- doubtedly anticipating the return of Christ, which is hardly a Jewish pro- clivity. This accusation of Jewishness or legalism has clung persistently to the movement, levelled by some who seem to feel that we can show our love for God better by disobeying than by obeying Him. The whole tenor of Adventist teach- ing seemed out-of-date and backward- looking in the mid-nineteenth century. It looked for the end of the world when almost every politician, publicist, and pulpiteer, especially in the bustling young nation of America, proclaimed that a new world was just beginning. Mixed up with that seemingly fan- tastic delusion was an apparent rever- sion to Old Testament concepts and as emphasis upon law, just as the anti- nomianism of popular theology was becoming fashionable. {Antinomian- ism—the claim that the Moral Law is not binding.] INAUSPICIOUS TIME No, it was not an auspicious time for such a movement to be born. The outlook would have been black enough had the Seventh-day Adventists been prepared to settle down as a provincial New England movement, but, with what at the time must have seemed purblind folly, they soon began to in- sist that theirs was a global mission. They appropriated Revelation 14:6, 7 as a text especially apposite to them- selves, and described their mission under the figure of the "angel flying in the midst of heaven" proclaiming that "the hour of God's judgement had come" (i.e. had begun in 1844) and calling upon all men everywhere—not just those in New England—to wor- ship the Creator. How those few—and extremely poor —people thought they were going to give their message to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" was not apparent. Moreover, their call to all to "wor- ship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (and, after all, was not a belief in a divine creation the found- ation of their seventh-day Sabbath- keeping?) was soon to be powerfully challenged as irrelevant with the widespread acceptance of the Darwin- ian theory of evolution from 1859 on- wards. This, for all Darwin's prot- estations of belief in divine origins, was to banish the concept of God's creatorship from the thinking of many scientists and of that mass of people which is content to take its opinion at secondhand from those who are vaguely supposed to know what they are talking about. 8 before their destruction, and a sorry story it is, giving us a glimpse of the sordid lust and indecency that prevailed at that time. All this and more will be seen on a global scale as the coming of the world's Deliverer draws near. GENERATION OF REBELS 5. HE WILL COME when a false and godless educational system has pro- duced a generation of rebels, opposed to every noble and beautiful ideal. Wrote the apostle Paul: "In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrate- ful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slan- derers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it." 2 Timothy 3:1-5, R.S.V. Such will be the youth of the last generation, multitudes of them in all the earth, "Proud, arrogant, abusive, ungrateful, swollen with conceit." 6. HE WILL COME when religious apostasy is rampant and men are every- where denying the existence of God and His power to create and redeem. Wrote the apostle Peter, "There shall come in the last days scoffers, . . . saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water : whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." 2 Peter 3:3-6. It will be an age when evolution is enthroned in classroom and press, when the Bible is regarded as a book of myths and the stories of creation and the Flood are referred to as old wives' fables. 7. HE WILL COME when a wave of bitter chagrin envelops mankind. In their pursuit of happiness people will have tried all manner of self-indul- gence—alcohol, drugs, sex, wild parties, gambling—only to find them- selves dissatisfied, discouraged, des- pairing. They will have no peace of mind, no hope for the future. Just when they should be the happiest "shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." Matthew 24:30. Their judge- ment will have become so warped, their tastes so perverted, that they will be unable to perceive any value or virtue in the coming of the world's Deliverer. Having tried in every im- aginable way to save themselves from the consequences of their own follies, they will recognize at last that they are a total failure, "having no hope, and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12. THE TIME IS NOW The question arises, Are the condi- tions mentioned above in evidence to- day on a scale that would justify one's saying that they are a fulfilment of the promised signs ? Are the youth of most nations seething with revolt? Has the international situation become so com- plex that world leaders are baffled and see no way out ? Are crimes of violence taxing the resources of law- enforcement agencies to the limit? Are moral standards collapsing every- where? Is there well-nigh universal apostasy from the basic truths of the Christian faith? Such conditions have existed in human society before, but never on such a vast, global scale as now. At the 1968 meeting of the World Council of Churches at Uppsala, Sweden, frequent reference was made by outstanding Christian leaders to the extreme seriousness of the present situation. I sat enthralled as they em- ployed phrases that I would hardly have dared to use myself. Among the most striking were the following: "THE LAST TIMES ARE UPON US." "This apocalyptic moment of history." "IN THE TREMENDOUS RAPIDS OF OUR TIMES MEN ARE AFRAID OF THE FUTURE." "The last days have already come." "THESE TUMULTUOUS TIMES." "This age of revolution." And Dr. Nolde added: "There is a stubborn refusal to understand the signs of the times." How right he is! NO LINK MADE Regrettably the various speakers never once linked these critical condi- tions with the second advent of Christ. Instead, they urged increased political activity on the part of the Church with a view to bettering the lot of the common people. The gen- eral idea seemed to be that if only all the churches of Christendom would get close enough to each other and to their respective governments they could help to get legislation passed that would save mankind from the dread fate that threatens it. But nowhere does the Bible suggest that mankind will save itself, or suc- ceed in pulling itself up by its own boot-straps. What the world needs now is not more legislation but the Man who alone knows how to help it. And the conditions so visible today indicate that He will come again, just when the world needs Him most. But there are two other signs which should be mentioned, for they lend added emphasis to the truth that His return is near. MOST STARTLING PROOF One of these is to be found in the book of Daniel, where we read: "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." Daniel 12: 4, R.S.V. We are well aware that there are many interpreters of the Scriptures who believe that this passage is to be fulfilled in an increase of knowledge of the book of Daniel; and this may well be so. However, to confine this 11 BIBLE CROSSWORD by Myrtle Cooper I 2 3 I4 I 5 I 6 II 7 8 9 10 • 13 14 /1 15 16 la 19 T7 19 2.0 The Sayings of Jesus ACROSS: 1. Contained in the teachings of Christ (9) (Matthew 5.) 8. The common people (5) Him gladly." (Mark 12:37.) 9. "0 that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, then had thy peace been as 'a (5)." (Isaiah 48 :18.) 10. Having served a purpose. 11. "Thy Father which seeth in (6) shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6 :6.) 13. Realized gradually (6). 15. That which chokes God's message is "the (4) of this world." (Matthew 13'22.) 18. Comparatively choice (5). 19. Illustrates the priceless value of a Saviour (5). (Matthew 13 :46.) 20. A perfect one may be formed by putting into practice the sayings of Jesus (9). (Luke 11 :28.) DOWN : 2. "Peace I .(5) with you." (John 14:27.) 3. "Take your hand and put it in my (4). You must not doubt, but believe." (John 20:27, Phillips.) 4. "I have not found so great faith, no, not in (6)." (Luke 7 :9.) 5. Provider. God supplies our daily needs. (Matthew 6:11.) 6. "He layeth it [lost sheep] on His (9). rejoicing." (Luke 15 :5.) 7. "Be kindly affectioned one to another with (9) love." (Roman 12:10.) 12. Closer in time-referring to Christ's return- ing_ again. (Matthew 24:33.) 14. ''You are (5) mote than a great many sparrows." (Luke 12:7, Phillips.) 16. A. feast held by early Christians in com- memoration of our Lord's Supper (5). 17. An heroic poem (4). Solution on page 14 remarkable prediction to the book of Daniel alone is, in my opinion, to limit its intent unnecessarily, and to deprive mankind of one of the most startling proofs of the approach of history's climax. It is remarkable that, coincidental with the clear fulfilment of the other signs mentioned above; THE WORLD HAS WITNESSED THE GREATEST IN- CREASE IN KNOWLEDGE SINCE MAN FIRST DWELT ON THIS PLANET. Ar- chaeology, palaeontology, geology, chemistry, astronomy, have all experi- enced sudden and fantastic develop- ments in recent years. More new inventions have been patented in the past two decades than in all the previous years that patent offices have been in existence. Most spectacular of all, of course, have been the staggering achievements in space science, culminating in the placing of men on the moon and bringing them back in safety. Here was an increase of knowledge of the most fabulous kind which millions witnessed and at which all the world marvelled. Surely this was one of the great, un- mistakable sighs that the Man the world needs most is on His way. THE ONE "HAPPY" SIGN But there is still another sign of vast importance. It is the one happy sign which Christ gave to His disciples. "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. In other words Christ will come when the good news of God's loving concern for the human race-the good news of His planned return as the world's Deliverer-the good news of happier days ahead through His graci- ous intervention-has been made avail- able to every living soul on the face of the earth. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS HAS NEVER BEEN POSSIBLE BE- FORE. True, Mark tells us that the early Christians preached the Gospel "everywhere" (chapter 16:20) ; and the apostle Paul said that it had been proclaimed "in all the world" (Colos- sians 1 :6) ; but they were thinking of the Roman world, having no con- cept of the regions beyond. The apostle John had a much bigger idea. He reported having seen an angel "fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him ; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:6, 7. He must have seen the final glorious climax of the Gospel proclamation, with the servants of God spreading out ever farther and farther to the ends of the earth with the great good news, utilizing all the latest inventions in an endeavour to reach everybody before time runs out. Such a universal undertaking would not have been possible a hundred years ago. True, thousands of mission- aries were sent to foreign fields in the nineteenth century but, with their limited facilities, they could scarcely keep up with the growth of popul- ation. Today electronic devices have come to the aid of the Church. Tele- vision, Telstar, telephone, radio, have now made it possible for the good news to be carried instantaneously into every home on earth. So the answer to the question, When will He come? is as clear as God could make it without revealing the exact day of His return. The signs He predicted are taking place before our eyes. World conditions are pre- cisely what He said they would be just before His second advent. We can only conclude that the sublime moment when He will be seen "com- ing in a cloud with power and great glory" is at hand. The long waiting period is almost over. The divine decree has already gone forth "that there should be no more delay." Revelation 10:6, R.S.V. Other questions now begin to as- sume new urgency. What will happen when this new world Leader appears? What will all the various governments do about it? How will the Churches react? What will be the effect on the stock ex- change? More important still, how will it affect individuals-you and me and everybody? One thing is sure, we can't stop the events tdking place. It is on Heaven's schedule for this planet, and its occur- ence is as certain as the cresting of the tide or the coming of the dawn. Perhaps each of us should be asking himself; What shall I say when I see Him? Am I ready to meet such a Man as this? � • 12 HOW MEN ARE SAVED A series by W. H. Branson SUPPOSE I FAIL? O NE may say : "But suppose I fail to trust God, after becoming a Christian, and commit an act of sin again. Will that not prove that I am not genuine?" No, this is no conclusive evidence. The converted man is a spiritual in- fant, not a full-grown man in Christ. The child may stumble and fall be- cause it tries to walk alone, but this does not prove that its parents no longer care for it, or that it is not their child. But one thing is made clear in the Word of God, and that is the fact that the Christian need not sin. Christ can keep him from falling, if he will permit Him to do so. Yet He has graciously made provision for our re- storation in case of any possible failure on our part. When the Lord made the plan of redemption, He knew He was making it for weak mortals and not for angels. He left nothing to chance. "If any man sin," says the Bible, "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." As soon .as one is aware of having committed an act of sin, he should promptly go to God and ask for par- don. Jesus waits at all times before the throne to plead in behalf of His children, and for His sake the sin is forgiven, and His child is again set free. "But," you ask, "if I thus fail, must I confess all my past sins again?" Certainly not ; they are already for- given. Only the present sin needs to be confessed and forgiven. This should be done at once. As soon as the Spirit impresses the conscience that sin has been committed, go immediately to the throne of grace and ask for pardon. Your Heavenly Father waits there to forgive "even to seventy times seven." Only if we refuse to confess present sins, and harden the heart against the voice of the Spirit, will the sins of the past be charged to us again. But while it is a glorious truth that God is willing to forgive the sins of those who fail, yet it is a much more glorious truth that we need not fail. He has power to keep us from yield- ing if only we are willing to be kept. It is not hard to be good when our trust is in Him. Yes, through Him we may become a holy people prepared for citizenship in His eternal kingdom. (To be continued.) THE LAST CHURCH <— page 9 give ministerial training, 'was estab- lished in Michigan. Both these oper- ations cost money, but, imaginative though they were, they were unambiti- ous compared with the next move for- ward the Adventists were to make. We noted in an earlier article that Adventism in its modern form (in its original form, of course, it is a New Testament faith) is securely rooted in seventeenth century English dissenting soil. It is not surprising, therefore, that Millerism and Seventh- day Adventism both found their most receptive fields in the areas of America settled by the descendants of many of those same English non-conformists. It was appropriate that one of the most outstanding men among the founders of the Church, James White, was directly descended from one of the Mayflower Pilgrims of 1620. Moreover the preaching of William Miller had been paralleled independently by move- ments in other parts of the world, notably Latin America, the Middle East, Scandinavia and, above all, Great Britain. Adventism was by no means, there- fore, a purely American creed. Indeed, as we have seen, its whole message tended to run counter to the prevailing American ethic of that day. However, until the early 1870s the operations of the Seventh-day Adventist Church were confined to North America and, materially speaking, it might have seemed well-nigh impossible that they should gain any wider hearing for a long time to come. But the Adventists had in a special sense taken Revelation 14:6 both as their watchword and as a divine prediction of their work, and the angel of that text was depicted as preaching to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." It was time, therefore, to lift up their eyes and scan wider horizons. The Adventists had established publishing work in 1849 and for some time in addition to disseminating their literature in America had sent some overseas, chiefly through the medium of dockside distributors. Now it was time to follow the literature with the human agent and in 1874 J. N. Andrews, the first Seventh-day Advent- ist missionary, was sent to Switzerland where there were already a few Sabbath-keeping Christians, and then to Germany. Next, through the influence and generosity of Scandinavian Americans, their homelands received a missionary. In 1878 William Ings and J. N. Loughborough opened up work in England, in Southampton and near Grimsby. This was but the beginning and in rapid succession missionaries entered Australia (1885), South Africa (1887), South America (1891), India (1894) and China (1902). CO-OPERATIVE EFFORT Thus in little more than half a century, that little group of disap- pointed, derided believers of late October 1844 had grown to a religi- ous movement of world-wide propro- tions. Unlike many of the great religi- ous movements of the past, of which we have written in this series, the growth of Adventism was a co-oper- ative effort. There was no Luther, Calvin, or Wesley. But one name must be mentioned, not as a leader but as a spiritual guide who was used of heaven to impart wisdom to those engaged in building up the Church, Ellen G. White. This is not the place to embark upon a discussion of the page 14 —> 13 What a hope! page 5 which is just ahead, and of which the growing coalition of the nations with the Common Market could be but the beginning. Consider how such a prophecy could be fulfilled. First, the Bible reveals that the dis- membered Roman Empire would lie disunited, "as iron and clay" and all efforts at re-unification would fail. This we have seen has been exactly the case. Second, we are told that for "one hour," i.e. a short indeterminate time, just before the End, these same ten nations would "have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." Hence for a short period, prior to the time when "the God of Heaven shall set up a Kingdom" we shall see a vast colossus of power united with the spiritual power of Rome, which shall "make war with the Lamb." Now, in an expanded Common Market we could well have the beginnings of just such a colossus. At first, of course, it would be an economic union, yet we all know that the ultimate aim is political. We also see that the Pope is taking an increasing lead in world affairs, and also that the majority of the millions now in the Common Market are Catholics. If present trends continue, and Britain joins the Com- mon Market, just such a spiritual, economic, and political union as prophecy predicts could materialize. We have no wish to offend those .who worship God according to their conscience in the Catholic faith. We are sure that there are millions who do so who are very sincere and are true children of God. Yet facts are facts, however unpalatable they may be in this "ecumenical age." And the stakes for human freedom are just too high for us to keep silent. While millions grovelled at the feet of those proud emperors rep- resented by the image, there were the few, who like Daniel, stood firm in their God-given freedom. Their first allegiance was given to the only true King. Hence they would render unto Caesar the things that were Caesar's, and unto God the things that were God's. We would say, in earnest soberness, that the days ahead will call for just such a faith as Daniel's. The time is coming when freedom will be im- perilled as never before. Yet freedom will not only survive but be victorious, because the God of heaven will once again intervene and set up a Kingdom which shall never pass away. THEN THE DICTATORS WILL BE BUT A DREAM AND THE DREAMS OF THE PROPHETS OF GOD A REALITY. WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE WHEN TYRANNY WILL BE NO MORE. When Christ was on the cross, the dying thief beside Him asked Jesus to remember him when His Kingdom was at last established. Christ's answer to the thief was memorable: "Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." To all who see the signs of the times and with faith would make the same request, Jesus gives the same reply: "Thou shalt be with Me in Paradise."' THE LAST CHURCH page 13 vital role she played until her death in 1915 and subsequently through her many books, but suffice it to say that there is literally no development in the Seventh-day Adventist Church which has not benefited from her counsel. If the Church has grown strong, the credit for that growth must go largely, under God, to Ellen White. "By their fruits ye shall know them" said Jesus: the fruitage of Ellen White's life and literary work is modern Adventism. That that movement is strong, that the fruit is good, may be inferred from a few statistics. During 1969 the membership of just under two million (three quarters of whom live outside North America) gave over £81,000,- 000 in tithes and offerings. Those members met in 16,257 church groups and were ministered to by 9,545 pastors, while 55,147 other workers were employed in administration, or in selling literature produced in the Church's 46 publishing houses, or in teaching in its 4,643 educational in- stitutions from universities down to village schools, or healing the sick of all creeds or none in its 138 hospitals and 143 clinics and dispensaries, or caring for the elderly in its 50 old people's homes, or producing health foods in its 27 food factories. Size, however, means little. What does matter is that in all its vast ex- pansion, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has remained true to the vision of its founders, a vision that calls for the completion of the work of the Church for centuries past, the com- pletion, in fact, of the Reformation, in the preparation of a people to meet the Lord at His Second Coming. THERE IS NO FURTHER TASK OUT- LINED IN SCRIPTURE FOR THE CHURCH BEYOND THAT. IT IS THE LAST OF THE MANY MESSAGES THAT GOD THROUGH- OUT HISTORY HAS SENT TO THE WORLD. IT IS FOR "EVERY NATION, AND KINDRED, AND TONGUE, AND PEOPLE." IT IS, READER, FOR YOU. CROSSWORD SOLUTION (see page 13) Indeed, What a hope! �• THE SAYINGS OF JESUS Across : I. blessings, 8. heard, 9. river, 10. used, 11. secret, 13. dawned, 15. care, 18. rarer, 19. pearl, 20. character. Down : 2. leave, 3. side, 4. Israel, 5. giver, 6. shoulders, 7. brotherly, 12. nearer, 14. worth. 16. agape, 17. epic. 1.. Daniel 2 :28. 2. Daniel 2 :38. 3. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, page 634 (emphasis own). 4. Daniel 2:45, N.E.B. 5. Revelation 17 :11-14. 6. Luke 23 :43. 14 for you to paint See how nicely you can colour this picture and send It with your name, age, and address to: Auntie Alice, The Stanborough Press Ltd., Alma Park, Grantham, Lincs. Name Address Age GOING BY THE PATTERN by Miriam Hardinge the piece I've just cut." So he put the first shelf on the next piece of wood, drew a line where he was to saw it off, cut it off, and then used the second piece to measure the third, the third to measure the fourth, and so on. It was easy, he thought. When he had all the pieces cut he called Dad to see them. Dad is too fussy, Malcolm thought. Dad looked at them and then took his rule and measured. "Son, your measuring isn't accurate," he said. "See, this piece is half an inch longer than this one." "But I measured each one by the other, Dad," Malcolm said, in dismay. "They ought to be right." "You should have used the rule. Go by the rule, not by the ones you cut." IN LIFE we may make the mistake Malcolm made. We may try to be as good as someone else we think good, instead of making God's Word our standard and measure. (1 Peter 2 :21-25 tells us how we should follow the pattern Jesus set for us.) RESULTS OF COMPETITION NUMBER 3 First Prize.—Sarah Prentice. Gladstone Cot- tage, Bourne, Brimscombe, Nr. Stroud, Glos. Age 14. Nigel Wright, 9 Northwood Close, Lowestoft. Age 8. Honourable Mention —Margaret King •(Ipswich) ; Davina Hawken (Ulceby) ; Joy Newton (Notting- ham) ; Mark Richards (Newcastle, Staffs.) ; Julia Hawken (Ulceby) ; Beverley Bunn (West- cliff -on-Sea) ; Sally Brownlow (Londonderry) ; Diana Crouch (Three Oaks) ; Denise Barton (Manchester) ; Paul King (Ipswich) ; Rosemary Jordan (Norwich) ; Paul Alderson (Nottingham) Alec Burnett (London S.W.8) ; David Bell (Grantham) ; Wendy Power (Wolverhampton) ; Andrew Chesters (Sale) ; Yvette Reddall (Queni- borough) ; Steven Marklew (Barrow-in-Furness); Peter Secker (Birmingham) ; Tracey Palmer (Nottingham) ; Jane Edwards (Grenada, W.I.) ; Isobel McCondichie (Birmingham) ; Siobhan Russell (Norwich) ; John Secker (Birmingham) ; Mark Blackburn (High Wycombe) ; Andrew Hills (Broomfield) ; Christine Pullin (Barrow-in-Fur- ness) ; Jean Thomber (Norwich) ; Annette Ed- wards (Grenada W.I.) ; Alison Smith (Sidcup) ; Denise Archer (Grantham) ; Joanne Read (South. ampton) ; Lynne Turner (Barnsley). Those Rho Tried Hard.—Carol Ann Joseph (Ashton-u-Lyne) ; Graham Young (Londonderry) ; Gurmit Singh (Birmingham) ; Joan Montgomery (Portadown) ; Lesley Waine ( ?) ; David Goyder (Rawdon) ; Carole Hale (Bristol) ; Christine Williams (London E.17) ; Ann Rouse (Lowes- toft) ; Tommy Dines (Chelmsford) ; Paul Ryant (London S.E.22) ; Tracey Alford (Exeter) ; Susan Herbert (Stroud) ; Tina Young (Derby) ; Susan Paver (Barnsley) ; Deanna Gill (Kettering) ; Mervyn Walker (Londonderry) ; John Wright (Chilwell) ; Eleanor Mortimer (Bracknell) ; Marie Cotterell (Bristol) ; Martin Greenwood (Bodmin) ; Julie Hillman (Plymouth) ; Gregory Price (Nor- wich) ; Caroll Johnson (Southend-on-Sea) ; Elaine Wood (Cardiff) ; Sandra Cockerill (Sheffield) ; Eleanor Neish (Aberdeen) ; Anne Dillon (Rain- ham) ; Lynn Matthew (Middleport) ; Joyce Dunphy (Wolverhampton) ; D. A. Manning (Walthamstow) ; Michelle Scolding (Clacton) ; Caroline Daver (Barnsley). "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children." Ephesians 5:1. M ALCOLM was needing a new bookcase for his growing collection of books, and his father suggested that he make one himself. Dad had a bench and a good set of tools, and Malcolm had often watched and helped his father as he made various articles of furniture for the home. So Malcolm drew up the plans and decided on the number, the length, and the width of the sections, and soon everything was ready for him to begin. "One word of caution," Dad said. "Be very sure you measure correctly. Every shelf must be exactly the same length, and the sides must all be the same, too." "O.K., Dad," Malcolm said, and went into the workshop whistling happily as he thought of the nice book- case soon to stand in his room. He took the rule and measured for a shelf—there were to be six of them, thirty-six inches long—and carefully sawed the plank where he had drawn a straight line. "Now for the next one," he said, reaching out for the rule. "Oh, I know," he said to himself. "I don't need to bother with measur- ing with the rule each time. I'll use OT 8 15 I VOICE OF PROPHECY BIBLE SCHOOL, Stanborough Park, Watford, Herts., WD2 6JU Please send me the first two lessons of the course indicated. I understand all are completely free and are sent by post. %WE QUOTE REJECTION.—"If we are looking across the history of the world to see those times when men knew the truth and turned away, let us say emphatically that this is exhibited nowhere in history so clearly in such a short expanse of years as in our own generation."—Dr. Francis Schaeffer, Death in the City. MODERN BLINDNESS.—"It is surely part of the everlasting Gospel that God lives and works in man, whether he lives in the first or the twentieth century. It is part of our incredible modern blind- ness that we fail to see this as the best of good news! And such is the prevail- ing de-Godded atmosphere that most men see no need for the Gospel at all, and even Christians to some degree miss the wonder of the divine invasion." —J. B. Phillips, Ring of Truth. WRONG MOTIVE.—"A very able sur- g3on put it to me like this: 'What is happening,' he said, 'is that nobody works for the sake of getting the thing done. The result of the work is a by- product; the aim of the work is to make money to do something else. Doctors practise medicine, not primarily to relieve suffering, but to make a living— the cure of the patient is something that happens on the way. Lawyers accept briefs, not because they have a passion for justice, but because the law is the profession which enables them to live.--Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos? LOVE NEEDED.—"Both you and I have blind spots. We both are indwelled with an innate depravity that without the constraining power and love of Christ can cause us to destroy ourselves as well as each other. We both are prone to anger, resentment, and hostility. Yet we both respond to love and acceptance and respect, and we both have the basic drives to live, to love, and to enjoy companionship."—Dr. Joseph Daniels (Speaking to the White Man), Christianity Today. GOD SPEAKS.—"For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you."— Isaiah 54:10. INGRATITUDE.—"Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice of an echo. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning. This corres- pondence cannot fail [in him who is a Christian]. Its failure, ingratitude, is sin. Radically and basically, all sin is simply ingratitude."—Karl Barth, Church Dog- matics. GUIDANCE NEEDED.—"Does it occur to any child that he needs to be edu- cated? Or if you took several children and let them live together, grow up to- gether, would it occur to them that they needed to be educated? Would anything else occur to them but that they were just fine as they were? "But a higher view, that of their parents, sees that they need to be educated, and so sets a standard for the child. "So with man. . . . Something higher [Christianity] undertakes to proclaim to man that he is profoundly corrupted, and so sets up a standard for him."— Kierkegaard, The Last Years. GLOOM NOT GLORY.—"In actual econ- omic terms, 1970 will be remembered more for its gloom than for its glory. But one noteworthy fiscal feature in the United States was that the gross national product crossed the thousand- million dollar mark. This milestone in the annual value of goods and services produced should be celebrated soberly, for whom God has put up, He can also put down. With riches there must go a corresponding stewardship respons- ibility. Failure at this point invites the judgement of God."—Christianity Today. "The Hope of the World" WHY NOT GET BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH HIM through free Bible Study Guides sent to you by post? Four courses available, including the latest and most popular . . "TAKE HIS WORD"-29 lessons, vital themes, giving the Bible's answer to all basic problems. JUST AN ENVELOPE AND A STAMP! That's all it costs to understand your Bible better—to know its answers to today's problems—its message to meet YOUR need. p � � Send today for the course of your choice. Just plete, detach, and post the coupon to: VOICE OF PROPHECY BIBLE SCHOOL, Stanborough Park, Watford, Herts., WD2 6JU The Bible Study Guides will be posted to you in pairs until you have completed your studies and receive a E HOPE OF THE WORLD—The Life of Christ (20 lessons) E GREAT TEACHINGS and PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE (24 lessons) 111 BIBLE COURSE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (20 lessons) E TAKE HIS WORD (29 lessons) � Mr/Mrs/Miss Age (if under 21) Address � BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE ALL COURSES ARE ENTIRELY The Study Guides are yours to keep. The Bible is your only textbook.