A Letter on the Present War

From: Bible Treasury: Volume N10 By: Ebenezer John Thomas

• 3 min. read • grade level: 10

Judging from Scripture, my own feeling is that this war is certainly not one of those spoken of in Matt. 22 Those wars are after the church is gone—when the Jewish remnant has been developed, and False Christs are presenting themselves to the Jews: see Matt. 24:3-8³And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? ⁴And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. ⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁶And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:3‑8); but especially verse 6: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.... these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet": so that if this were one of the wars and rumors of wars of Matt. 24, that would be rather a proof that the end is not yet. The present war, to my apprehension, is only just inch another as that at the time of Waterloo.

It is strange how readily people will give attention to any earthly events, but will pay no heed, to one far more vast, and which may take place at any moment—the Lord's coming for the church, when the dead in Christ will be raised, and the living caught up to meet Him in the air; but this is a heavenly event, and as such, has no interest for men of the world, or for Christians who are worldly (1 Cor. 2:14¹⁴But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)—3:1). If you ask me, What will be a sign of the End? Scripture replies clearly: when the gospel of the kingdom (not the present gospel—see “The Time of the End, but the End not Yet” pp. 19, 83), is preached in the whole world for a witness unto all the nations, “Then shall the End come” (Matt. 24:14¹⁴And 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)).

But prior to that, the church will have been removed from this scene, and its place in testimony in the world will have been taken by converted Jews, who will be hated by the Gentiles for the name's sake of Christ (Matt. 24:9⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. (Matthew 24:9)). From this it appears clear that the name of Christ will have been given up by the nations who now profess it: in other and Scriptural words, the Apostasy will have come (2 Thess. 2:3³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:3)), that is, the full abandonment of Christianity. It is approaching at a galloping pace already.

The first prophetic event then, to be looked for, is the taking of the church to heaven. When that has been accomplished, there will be the Temptation of Rev. 3 to the Apostasy; and the preliminary troubles called the “Beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:5-13⁵For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. ⁶And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ⁸All these are the beginning of sorrows. ⁹Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ¹²And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. ¹³But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (Matthew 24:5‑13)), and a converted remnant of Jews will preach the gospel of the kingdom in the whole world, for a witness to all nations. “Then,” and not till then, “will the End come” (verse 54).

“The End,” however, is not a moment of time, but an extended era, within which great events happen (e.g. Dan. 11:40; 12:1⁴⁰And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. (Daniel 11:40)
¹And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1), etc). The ancient Roman Empire will be re-constituted in augmented splendor. It is during the Time of the End that the Great Tribulation takes place, surpassing the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution; excelling indeed any time of trouble that ever has been, or ever will be again (Matt. 24:21²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:21)).

Sweet is it to know that we shall be far from this scene, when these terrors sweep over the earth; and we do not know how near—perhaps at the very door—our translation may be.

Melbourne,

[E. J. T.]

Sept., 1914

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