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Strictly speaking, there is, of course, no proof that the millennium will begin at the end of six thousand years of human history. However, there are many proofs that the millennium is the Sabbath day of all the millenniums and the reality of the jubilee.
We are now approaching the end of the six thousand years. According to the "creation calendar," by September 18 this year the Jews will have reached the 5,686th year of their calendar, only 314 years short of six thousand years. This is only a little over three centuries. Mr. Martin Anstey of the former London Missionary Society once did an even more accurate and scriptural calculation. If we consider his calculation, we will become more clear. He reckoned that from the year Adam was created, which was roughly the beginning of the "creation calendar," until today, there are 5,967 and one-third years, being thirty-two and two-thirds years short of six thousand years. This is only a little over thirty years from the end.
This is quite similar to the period that our Lord worked on the earth, about thirty-three years. Although the time was short, how powerful and meaningful those years were!
This age is about to end! The rapture can happen at any time! May the power of God operate more in the lives of the consecrated ones to perform selfless works and to save the perishing ones!
On July 25 the famous Saturday Evening Post wrote,
Dr. H. H. Clayton with other observers, in conjunction with the observatories of North and South America of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., predicted the nature of the upcoming weather.....Dr. Abbot noted that the result obtained recently was specific and exciting....The issue that the scientists are most interested in is the forecast of the weather for 1926 to 1927. This will be the period when the sun spots will be the highest, that is, when the activity of the sun will be the greatest. According to Mr....and other observers of the new science, these two years will be the most dangerous years, and the weather will affect the crops throughout the world. The notable thing is that 1926 to 1927 will be the second time after the "summerless year" of 1816 when the activity of the sun is the greatest.
Every 270 to 275 years the whole earth experiences abnormal weather. 1926 to 1927 will be the sixth 271-year cycle after the famine of the Roman Empire at the time of Diocletian (A.D. 299-300). This period is also the 1,372nd year of the Chinese historian in which there will be the forty-eighth cycle of the blackening out of the sun.
According to an editorial of the U.S. magazine Awake, the weather forecast in the U.S. this year gives enough signs. During the summer of 1925, there were snow and hailstorms in northwestern U.S., and the temperature was very cold. In other parts of California there were abnormal storms and rain, and after the rain and the storms there were hailstorms. Although we cannot predict the weather for 1926 to 1927, we can say for sure that the age we are in is indeed a dangerous age. We will note the fact for now and will observe how things are going to develop. "In the last days difficult times will come" (2 Tim. 3:1).
Another news item from London on December 19, 1921, said,
1926 will be a year that shakes the foundation of the world material supply and world politics. Pestilence, famine, floods, shipwrecks, looting, and revolutions will be frequent during this year. This is predicted by the British astro-magazine. This year Mars and Mercury will line up. According to that magazine, six years after this, the battle of Armageddon will begin. This will be the final battle between the Muslims with the Communists, and the Anglo-Saxons. After 1932, there will be world peace. But perhaps there will be few of us left. By that time, we will be so worn out that we will be forced to make peace. This is the prediction that the astrologists predicted for this year.
How interesting this article is! These are words uttered by worldly people. Although we cannot believe all that they said, we know that the end is near.
On August 5, 1922, the Christian Missionary Alliance Weekly quoted Mr. Panton, the renowned writer on prophecy:
Concerning the imminent approach of hell, I can relate the following story:A captain in the British army was feasting once in 1911 in Cairo, Egypt. He met an Indian magician who told him that there would be a terrible war in Europe in the first week of August 1914. In December of 1919 he met the same Indian, who said, "Captain, what did I tell you? In 1911, the telepathists in India and Tibet had already seen the things that were about to happen." The captain asked, "What about peace?" The magician answered, "This will not be a peace, but merely a prolonged armistice." The captain asked, "What will happen?" He answered, "In the year 1927, no sooner or later, there will be a great war. The present war is but child's play in comparison to that coming one."
From all these reports, we can see that the years 1926 and 1927 will be extraordinary years. We cannot say in which year the Lord Jesus will rapture His overcoming believers. But one thing we can say: the time is near. We cannot take everything that the worldly people say as being true, but undoubtedly, we are living in an extraordinary age. I (the editor), for one, hope that the Lord will come this year! May those who love the Lord's appearing pray that the time for God's Son to appear will come quickly, so that we can see our beloved Lord. (Note: The reason we quoted all the newspapers is not to ascertain the date of the Lord's return, but to show that the time is near.)
The students of prophecy know that before Christ will appear on earth, Antichrist will appear. He will be one of the Roman Emperors revived. Please read 2 Thessalonians 2 for this. For now we can take a look at the signs. On May 30, 1925, the President of the United States, Mr. Coolidge, spoke on Memorial Day,
Our nation is based on the ideal of local self-rule...We have to admit that the recent tendency is contrary to this spirit. Individuals are no longer building their own freedom through self-rule and labor...but have committed the responsibility of prosperity and moral virtue to the intoxicating influence that pervades society. In the same way, the local governments are looking to the state governments, and the state governments are looking to the national government, while the national governments are looking to a nebulous organization, a flimsy union to pay their debts and to tell them what they should do. This is not self-rule...If we allow others to help us, we cannot stop others from controlling us. If we are too weak to uphold our own morality, we will not be strong enough to uphold our freedom. If we cannot rule ourselves, if we cannot abide by the law, there will be no way except for others to control us, to subjugate us under the law, and to lower our noble and free position to that of a shameful slave."
From this speech of President Coolidge, we can see that America and the world cannot rule themselves. According to his mature political view, the world must be under someone's domination. Hence, the world is ripe for Antichrist to execute his autocratic regime. While standing on the watchtower of prophecy, we can see that men are becoming more and more lawless, until the day the lawless one appears, when they will all be subject under his hand. Antichrist is coming soon! But before he appears, the saints will be raptured! Be watchful! Let us consider more words from others.
Mr. Mussolini of Italy, where Rome is situated, has challenged the world to pay attention to his declaration. Although he may not be one of the Roman emperors revived, he is at least a type of that emperor. He said on August 18, "I believe there is no such thing as freedom in this world. Freedom is but something in the ideal of the philosophers; it is the impractical philosophy that comes from the air. Our philosophy comes from the earth that is so near to us and is for those living on earth. Civilization is the opposite of freedom...The crowd cannot rule over the crowd, and the majority cannot rule over the majority." Concerning Caesar, the Roman emperor, Mussolini said, "He is our ideal person, our master. Julius Caesar was the greatest man on earth." Concerning the condition in Europe, he said, "Europe is impregnated with life. This old continent is not corrupted...If Europe has become old, then Italy should have been the weakest, for it is the oldest of all the European countries. But Italy is very strong, and there is nothing that can stop its progress." Do not the speeches of President Coolidge and Mussolini point to the same thing? Do they not all point to a coming authoritarian world king? "At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Cor. 13:1).
It is said that there are many in the Muslim countries who believe in Christ in secret. They gather together in a central location of a certain city, break bread in closed rooms, and communicate with each other through secret signs. Among them, seventeen said that they have seen Christ appearing to them in their secret meetings behind closed doors.
News from Russia also reported that Christ appeared once to a shepherd boy and warned him of the end time of this age. As a result, seventeen thousand big wooden crosses were erected on the Russian farms. This proves that many people believe in this report.
Last month the editor of this paper met Dr. Wong of the Amoy Salvation Hospital, who told us of a strange story in a certain house in Tsanghai of Amoy. I have heard of this story before, but not with so much detail. There appeared to be a voice that came from the ceiling of that house, which was supposedly the voice of the deceased Pastor Lin. The voice would identify himself as the voice of Pastor Lin and would warn the people in the house on behalf of God. All that the voice spoke was Scripture verses. This strange story goes into much detail, and we cannot relate all the details here. The voice has been there on and off for over a year, and there have been many believers who have gone there to inquire of the voice. My friend Wang Teng-ming asked Dr. Wong to test the voice with 1 John 4:2. After Dr. Wong asked the question, the voice was silent for half an hour, after which it said, "Read 1 Corinthians 13:13!" It was not an answer to the question. But the believers in that place still believed that the voice was genuine and considered the teaching of 1 Corinthians 13:13 to be an answer. Not only did they say that they heard the voice; they claimed that they had once seen a form and had seen glory shining in the sky for an hour and a half.
This is clearly the false work of the evil spirits, because (1) the dead believers are now in paradise and cannot come out of it, (2) the Lord never asks dead people to preach to the living, (3) the Lord forbids the dead to communicate with the living and would, therefore, never send a dead person back to life, and (4) this voice did not acknowledge that the Lord Jesus had come in the flesh. His silence means that he did not acknowledge the fact. All the other ambiguous answers do not count. Yet why did the voice teach others to do good? Please read Acts 16:16-18. There the demons were preaching for the Lord and were telling others about the works of God's servants! When the devil tempted the Lord Jesus, he quoted Scriptures as well. Moreover, the things with which he tempted the Lord were not sin in man's eyes. Yet those things are not God's will. Therefore, this demon from Tsanghai came from Satan and was there to deceive men.
At the end time, Satan is using all kinds of schemes to pave the way for his Antichrist, so that when he comes, there will be no hindrance at all.
"Therefore if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness, do not go forth; Behold, He is in the inner rooms, do not believe it" (Matt. 24:26). God's command is: "Do not believe every spirit, but prove..." (1 John 4:1).
Around September 1925, the government in Rome was changed from self-rule to national-rule. The correspondent in Rome of the British Morning Post (August 25, 1925) said, "This is a necessary step for the renewed expansion of Caesar's city." This is an ominous sign. At present, anyone or any newspaper in Italy who criticizes the Roman Catholic Church or its creeds will be condemned. The official paper of Mussolini recently published an amazing article that praised the Inquisition as being flawless. This article talked about the "wild principle" of Protestantism and continued by saying that "the interrogation of the heretics, the tortures, and the murders are the greatest acts for the glory of God to us." The massacre of the Huguenots in France was considered as being very praiseworthy. The Christian World on August 20, 1925, said, "The position of the Protestants in Italy can be in peril any moment. What kind of omen is this?" The students of prophecy decades ago were able to answer this question already. Before the Roman Catholic Church will be judged (Rev. 17:1), it will first be drunk with the blood of the martyrs (v. 6). The thoughtful observers are beginning to worry. One of the professors of theology at King's College in London, Dr. Maurice Relton, said,
In the twentieth century, Rome demands the authority of decision-making and of authoritarianism in the same way as it did before. Can we deal with this problem, or should we simply restrict ourselves to being Anglican Church members? If we can deal with this problem, there may still be hope. Otherwise, we know for sure that in the near future, there will be nothing except confusion. In the more distant future, it will probably not be Canterbury (where the Anglican bishop resides) or Geneva (where the League of Nations is) that will prevail, but Rome, the enemy of the two, who will prevail.
Those of us who study prophecy know already that the Roman Empire and the Roman Church will be revived. This will fulfill the prophecy in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Considering the present condition, we realize that the great tribulation is at hand. Therefore, we will not remain guests on earth for too long.
A famous British writer recently declared that unless God intervenes with miracles, mankind will sink into unprecedented tribulations. The reason for this is that science, which used to be devoted to constructive works, is now devoted specifically to means of destruction. Although at no other time in history has there been as much advance in science in preservation and healing, with the goal of improving the material comfort of mankind and the bestowing of temporary blessings, at the same time, many believe that the advance of science on the negative side is even faster. Many shocking facts can testify to this. The following facts are recorded by Mr. Panton in his magazine, Dawn:
"The machine gun fires six thousand rounds of bullets per minute in a fan-like fashion."
"The airplane can fly to a height of a few dozen miles and drop bombs that are over 4,300 pounds, killing everyone within a radius of one mile."
"The fast gun has a shooting range of 450 miles."
"The tank can camouflage its smoke and is faster than the fastest hunting hound."
"All these things are here already!"
All of us have heard of the so-called "death ray," which can paralyze life forty miles away for more than six hours from over forty-five thousand feet high. Recently, there is another new invention called "death stroke," which some called man-made lightning. The inventor says that the "death stroke" can kill a person twenty miles away, and that he has killed many animals with this "death stroke" in the desert within a radius of seven miles. The coming great war will give no peace to mankind!
The Manchester Conservative paper said, "If destructive science is still in control, there will be no cure for the world...It is doubtless that the destructive forces are stronger than the creating and constructive forces."
David Lloyd George, four times British Prime Minister, said, "If we have another war, with the destructive means that we have that were unavailable in previous wars...the world will sink into a condition that goes far beyond the most perilous time in the past."
The Norwegian scientist Mr. Vogt said, "Give me a few million pounds, and I can destroy the whole of Berlin." Edison said, "Nothing can stop twenty to fifty airplanes from flying to London tomorrow and killing millions of people in three minutes with a certain kind of gas."
Then there is racial strife. "The present world is in a condition of unprecedented fermentation. Prior to this, eighty to ninety percent of the world's populated areas were under the white people's domination." Mr. Panton said, "Suddenly (1 Thes. 5:3), we are brought face to face with racial strife." Dr. S. P. Cadman said, "This coming war will forever remove the superiority of the white people." On June 30, 1925, the Thames Paper reported, "Moscow (Russia) encourages the yellow and black people to shake themselves from the domination of the white people. The struggle between races is no longer a distant dream on this little planet, but a shocking matter in the near future." Consider again the present anti-foreigner sentiment in China. We cannot help but think that racial wars are close at hand. The subjugation of the minority races by the white race has been a known fact. It is true that where there is discontent, there are outcries. But even if the yellow and the black people are to gain supremacy in the future, there is still no rationale behind it! Those who have not received the Lord's salvation and who have not been regenerated can never treat others with justice. This is not what we are talking about here. After reading what we have quoted, we can see that the coming war is inevitable. The pacifists can go on with their peace campaign, while the warmongers can go on with their war preparations. The day of the Lord is truly at hand. "For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...All these things are the beginning of birth pangs" (Matt. 24:7-8).
In considering the world situation, we realize that we are truly at the end time. The world has become too evil, and it is no longer worthy of our living here. The armies of hell seem to be mobilized and are very active. This is what we know: either we will be raptured, or we will be martyred. The suffering of those who love the Lord will be increased. From now on, there will no longer be any comfortable times. However, we should not "be troubled," because our eyes are heavenward. We look up to the heavens! But as long as we are on earth, we should be the salt. If the earth becomes corrupted, it is because the salt has lost its taste. This is why we have to be faithful and watchful, and we should pray. May the Lord preserve us in this perilous age.
