No. 813
Part Five – Babylon’s Confusion – National and Ecclesiastical
“For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled . . . upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:22-27)
This is a continuation of our series on “The Day of Vengeance” in our July through October 2024 papers.
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That the civil powers of Christendom perceive that the judgment is going against them, and that the stability of their power is by no means assured, is very manifest. Disraeli, when Prime Minister of England, addressed the British Parliament, July 2, 1874 (just in the beginning of this harvest period or judgment day), saying, “The great crisis of the world is nearer than some suppose. Why is Christendom so menaced? I fear civilization is about to collapse.” Again, he said, “Turn whatever way we like, there is an uncomfortable feeling abroad, a distress of nations, men’s hearts failing them for fear . . . we are upon times of unusual ghastliness. We are approaching the end!” If such was the outlook as seen in the very beginning of the judgment, how much more ominous are the signs of the times today!
The position of the United States of America among the nations is unique in almost every respect; and so much so that some are inclined to regard this country as the special child of divine providence, and to think that in the event of world-wide revolution it will escape. But such fancied security is not consistent with sound judgment, in view of either the signs of the times or the certain operations of those just laws of retribution by which nations, as well as individuals, are judged.
That the peculiar circumstances of the discovery of this continent and the planting of this nation on its virgin soil, to breathe its free air and develop its wonderful resources, was a step in the course of divine providence, the thoughtful and unbiased cannot doubt. The time and circumstances all indicate it. Emerson once said, “Our whole history looks like the last effort by divine providence in behalf of the human race.” He would not have said that, however, had he understood the divine plan of the ages, in the light of which it is quite clear that it is not a “last effort of divine providence,” but a well-defined link in the chain of providential circumstances for the accomplishment of the divine purpose. Here has been afforded a refuge for the oppressed of all lands from the tyranny of civil and ecclesiastical despotism. Here, separated from the old despotisms by the vast ocean wilderness, the spirit of liberty found a breathing place, and the experiment of popular government became a reality. Under these favoring circumstances the great work of the Gospel Age – the selecting of the true Church – has been greatly facilitated; and here we have every reason to believe the greatest harvest of the age will be gathered.
In no other country could the blessed harvest message – the plan of the ages and its times and seasons and privileges – have been so untrammeled in its proclamation and so widely and freely heralded. And nowhere, except under the free institutions of this favored land, have so many minds been sufficiently released from the fetters of superstition and religious dogmatism as to be able to receive the Truth now due, and in turn to bear its good tidings abroad. It was, we believe, for this very purpose that the providence of God has been, in a measure, over this country. There was a work to be done here for His people which could not so well be done elsewhere, and therefore when the hand of oppression sought to throttle the spirit of liberty, a Washington was raised up to lead the impoverished but daring liberty-lovers on to national independence. And again, when disruption threatened the nation, and when the time had come for the liberation of millions of slaves, God raised up another brave and noble spirit in the person of Abraham Lincoln, who struck off the shackles of the enslaved and preserved the unity of the nation.
Yet the nation has never had any claims upon divine providence. The providential overruling in some of its affairs has been only in the interests of the people of God. The nation, as a nation, is without God and without hope of perpetuity when, through it, God shall have served His own wise purposes for His people – when He shall have gathered “his elect.” Then the winds of the great tribulation may blow upon it, as upon the other nations, because, like them, it is one of the “kingdoms of this world” which must give place to the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
While the conditions of the masses here are much more favorable than those of any other land, there is an appreciation of comfort and of individual rights and privileges here among the poorer classes which does not exist to the same extent in any other land. In this country, from the ranks of its humblest citizens, imbued with the spirit of its institutions – the spirit of liberty, of ambition, of industry and intelligence – have come many of the wisest and best statesmen – presidents, legislators, lawyers, jurists and distinguished men in every station. No hereditary aristocracy here has enjoyed a monopoly of offices of trust or profit, but the child of the humblest wayfarer might aspire to and win the prizes of honor, wealth and preferment. The influence of these open avenues to the highest and to all the intermediate positions of honor and trust in the nation has been to the elevation of the whole people, from the lowest strata upward. It has stimulated the demand for education and culture. The free school system has largely met this demand, bringing all classes into intelligent communication through the daily press, books, periodicals, etc., thus enabling them, as individuals, to compare notes and to judge for themselves on all questions of interest, and accordingly to wield their influence in national matters by the use of the ballot.
A sovereign people, thus dignified and brought to an appreciation of human rights, is therefore naturally one of the first to resist, and that most determinedly, any apparent tendencies to curb its ambition or to restrain its operations. Even now, notwithstanding the liberal spirit of its institutions and the immense advantages they have conferred upon all classes of the nation, the intelligence of the masses begins to discern influences at work which are destined before long to bring them into bondage, to rob them of their freedom, and to deprive them of the blessings of bountiful natural resources.
The American people are being aroused to a sense of danger to their liberties, and to action in view of such danger, with the energy which has been their marked characteristic in every branch of industry and every avenue of trade, though the real causes of their danger are not clearly enough discerned by the masses to direct their energies wisely. They only see that congested wealth is impoverishing the many, influencing legislation so as to still further amass wealth and power in the hands of the few, and so creating an aristocracy of wealth whose power will in time prove as despotic and relentless as any despotism of the Old World.
While this is only too true, it is not the only danger. A religious despotism, whose hateful tyranny can best be judged by the records of the past days of its power, also threatens this country. That danger is Romanism. [See editor’s comment on page 6.] Yet this danger is not generally discerned, because Rome is making her conquests here by cunning art and base flattery. She professes great admiration for the free institutions and self-government of the United States; she courts and flatters the Protestant “heretics” who form so large a proportion of the educated population, and now calls them her “separated brethren,” for whom she has an “undying affection.” Yet, at the same time, she lays her clammy hand upon the public school system, which she is anxious to turn into an agent for the further propagation of her doctrines and the extension of her influence. She is making her influence felt in both political and religious circles, and the continuous tide of immigration to this country is largely of her subjects. Thus, from congested wealth, from Romanism and from immigration, we see great dangers.
But the remedy which the masses will eventually apply will be worse than the disease. When the social revolution does come here, it will come with all the turbulence and violence which American energy and love of liberty can throw into it. It is by no means reasonable, therefore, to expect that this country will escape the fate of all the nations of Christendom. Like all the rest, it is doomed to disruption, overthrow and anarchy. It also is a part of Babylon. The spirit of liberty fostered here already threatens to run riot with a vehemence and speed unequaled in the old world.
But protection and security will be sought in vain under any of the kingdoms of this world. All are now trembling with fear and alarm, and realize their inability to cope with the mighty, pent-up forces with which they will have to deal when the terrible crisis arrives. “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low . . . In that day [now so very close at hand – ‘even at the door’] a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” (Isa. 2:17-21)
Then, “All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water. They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord.” (Ezek. 7:17-19)
The protection which any government can provide will be of little avail when the judgments of the Lord and the fruits of their folly are precipitated upon them all. In their pride of power, they have treasured up “wrath against the day of wrath.” (Rom. 2:5) They have selfishly sought the aggrandizement of the few, and have been heedless of the cries of the poor and needy. Their cries have entered into the ears of the Lord of armies, and He has espoused their cause; and He declares, “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.” (Isa. 13:11-12) We are thus assured that the Lord’s overruling providence in the final catastrophe will bring deliverance to the oppressed. The lives of multitudes will not then be sacrificed nor will the inequalities of society that now exist be perpetuated.
Truly this is the predicted time of “distress of nations, with perplexity.” The voice of the discontented masses is aptly symbolized by the roaring of the sea, and the hearts of thinking men are failing them for fear of the dread calamity which all can now see rapidly approaching; for the powers of heaven (the present ruling powers) are being terribly shaken. Indeed some, instructed by these signs, and calling to mind that scripture, “Behold, he cometh with clouds.” (Rev. 1:7) They are already beginning to suggest the presence of the Son of man, although they greatly misapprehend the subject and God’s remedy.
But amidst all the shaking of the earth (organized society) and of the heavens (the ecclesiastical powers), those who discern in it the outworking of the divine plan of the ages rejoice in the assurance that this terrible shaking will be the last that the earth will ever have or need. As the Apostle Paul assures us, it signifies the removing of those things that are shaken – the overturning of the whole present order of things – in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain – the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of light and peace. Our God is a consuming fire, and in His wrath, He will consume every system of evil and oppression, and He will firmly establish truth and righteousness in the earth. (Heb. 12:27-29)
“PEACE! PEACE! WHEN THERE IS NO PEACE”
But notwithstanding the manifest judgment of God upon all nations, notwithstanding the fact that the volume of testimony from multitudes of witnesses is pressing with resistless logic against the whole present order of things, and that the verdict and penalty are anticipated with an almost universal dread, there are those who poorly conceal their fears by cries of “Peace! Peace!” when there is no peace. This loud and united cry of the nations, through their representatives, calls forcibly to mind the Word of the Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah, who says:
“For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.” (Jer. 6:13-15)
“OUT OF THINE OWN MOUTH WILL I JUDGE THEE”
If the civil powers of Christendom are in perplexity and distress, the religious situation presents no hopeful contrast of peace and security, for modern ecclesiasticism is also ensnared in a net of its own weaving. If the nations, having sown to the wind the seeds of unrighteousness, are about to reap an abundant harvest in a whirlwind of affliction, the great nominal church, ecclesiastical Christendom, which has shared in the sowing, shall also share in the reaping.
The great nominal church has long taught for doctrines the precepts of men. Largely ignoring the Word of God as the only rule of faith and godly living, it has boldly announced many conflicting and God-dishonoring doctrines, and has been unfaithful to the measure of truth it has retained. It has failed to cultivate and manifest the spirit of Christ, and has freely imbibed the spirit of the world.
Conflicting doctrines long ago divided the church nominal into numerous antagonistic sects, each claiming to be the one true Church which the Lord and the Apostles planted. Together, they have succeeded in giving to the world such a distorted misrepresentation of our Heavenly Father’s character and plan, that many intelligent people turn away with disgust, either despising their Creator or disbelieving His existence.
The Church of Rome, with assumed infallibility, claims it to be the divine purpose to eternally torment in fire and brimstone all “heretics” who reject her doctrines. For others she provides a limited torment called Purgatory, from which a release may be secured by penances, fasts, prayers, holy candles, incense and well-paid-for “sacrifices” of the mass. She thus sets aside the efficacy of the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
The “Reformation” movement discarded some of the false doctrines of Papacy, but before long that good work of protest against the iniquitous, antichristian, counterfeit Church of Rome was overcome by the spirit of the world. Soon the “Protestants” formed new organizations, which, together with the truths they had found, perpetuated many of the old errors and added some new ones, although each continued to hold on to a little truth. The result was a medley of conflicting creeds. As the investigative energy of the Reformation period soon died out, these creeds quickly became fossilized, and have so remained to the present day. Theological seminaries have been established and generously endowed; and from these, young clergy, instructed in their errors, have gone out to teach and to confirm the people in them.
But now the harvest of all this sowing has come, the day of reckoning is here, and great is the confusion and perplexity of the whole nominal church of every denomination, and particularly of the clergy. In this critical hour it is a lamentable fact that the wholesome spirit of “The Great Reformation” is dead. Protestantism is no longer a protest against the spirit of antichrist, nor against the world, the flesh or the devil. They seek to hide from public scrutiny creeds that are at war with the Word of God, with reason, and with each other. They seek a closer affiliation with, and imitation of, the Church of Rome. They court her favor, praise her methods, and conceal her crimes. In so doing they become confederate with her in spirit. They are also in close and increasing conformity to the spirit of the world in everything.
In much of this the masses of nominal church members have become the willing tools of the clergy, and the clergy in turn have freely pandered to the tastes and preferences of worldly and influential members. The people have surrendered their right and duty of private judgment, and have ceased to search the Scriptures to prove what is truth, and to meditate upon God’s law to discern what is righteousness. They are indifferent, worldly, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. (2 Tim. 3:4) They are blinded by the god of this world and willing to be led into any schemes which minister to present worldly desires and ambitions. (2 Cor. 4:4)
The clergy foster this spirit and pander to it for their own temporal advantage. Should these religious organizations go down, the offices and salaries, the prestige and honors of the self-exalted clergy must all go with them. They are therefore just as anxious now to perpetuate the institutions of nominal Christianity as the Scribes and Pharisees and Doctors of the law were anxious to perpetuate Judaism, and for the same reasons. (John 11:47-48; Acts 4:15-18) Because of their prejudices and worldly ambitions, Christians are as blind to the light of the new dispensation now dawning as the Jews in the days of the Lord’s first advent were blind to the light of the Gospel dispensation then dawning.
THE CHARGES AGAINST ECCLESIASTICISM
The nominal Christian church is charged with three things:
(1) Inconsistency. The wide distinction between her claimed standard of doctrine, the Bible, and her conflicting (and in many respects absurd) creeds is noted even by the world. The blasphemous doctrine of eternal torment has been examined and no longer serves to drive people into the church through fear.
(2) Lack of piety and godliness. Although the fact is admitted that a few truly pious souls are found here and there in the church, sham and hypocrisy are indeed prominent, and wealth and arrogance make very manifest that the poor are not welcome in the earthly temples erected in the name of Christ.
(3) Failure to convert the world. The nominal church professed it to be her mission to convert the world to Christianity. It seems unaccountable how the world has discovered that the time has come when the work of the church should show some signs of completion. Nevertheless, just as all men were in expectation of some great change about to take place in the end of the Jewish Age (Luke 3:15), all are now in similar expectation in the end of the Gospel Age.
The nominal church cannot deny the conflict of her creeds, so she resorts to various methods to meet the charge of inconsistency of doctrine, which thinking people are not slow to mark as evidences of her great confusion. The clergy are quite content to say as little about doctrines as possible. Some are so ashamed of them that they favor discarding them altogether. Others are more conservative, and think it more prudent to let them go gradually, inserting new doctrines in their place. Then there is another large class of clergymen who favor an eclectic, or compromise, theology, which must of necessity be very brief and very liberal. Its object is to waive objections of all religionists, both Christian and heathen, and if possible, to “bring them all into one camp,” as some have expressed it. They boast of great things about to be accomplished through Christian union or cooperation.
The charge of lack of piety and godly living is also met with boasting of “many wonderful works,” which often suggest the reproving words of the Lord. (Matt. 7:22-23) But these boastings do little to promote the interests of Babylon, because the lack of the spirit of God’s law of love is too painfully manifest to be concealed, making the deplorable condition of the fallen church all the more deplorable. If this great ecclesiasticism were really the true Church of God, the divine plan to choose out “a people for His name” would be a manifest failure!
The nominal church knows the time has arrived when the work of converting the world should be almost, if not fully, accomplished, and that she differs little from the world, except in profession. She has lost sight of the real purpose of this Gospel Age: to preach the gospel of the Kingdom in all the world for a witness, and to aid in the calling and preparing of a “little flock.” (Matt. 24:14; Acts 15:14) She is confronted with the fact that, after nineteen centuries, she is further from accomplishing the commission which her claims would demand than she was at the close of the first century.
THE “CHRISTIAN UNION” MOVEMENT
But while various excuses, apologies, promises and boasts are made by the nominal church, her leaders see very clearly that they cannot long preserve her in her present divided, distracted, and confused condition. They see that disintegration and overthrow are sure to follow soon unless some mighty effort unites her sects and thus gives her a better standing before the world and increased power to enforce her authority. We therefore hear much talk of “Christian Union.” [See editor’s comment on page 6.] Efforts for its accomplishment are proclaimed as evidence of growth in the spirit of love and Christian fellowship. The movement, however, is not begotten of increasing love and Christian fellowship, but of fear. The foretold storm of indignation and wrath is seen to be fast approaching, and the various sects seriously doubt their ability to stand alone in the tempest shock.
Consequently, all the sects favor union. One method suggested to accomplish it is to first unite those sects most alike in doctrine, such as Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc. in preparation for the proposed larger union. Another method is to cultivate a desire for union, and a disposition to ignore doctrine, extending fellowship to all morally disposed people, seeking their cooperation in what they call “Christian work.” By ignoring many of the disputed doctrines of the past, a class who largely represent the “union” sentiment has been developed. Ignorant of the sectarian battles of the past, many of these have indeed “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” (Rom. 10:2)
They plan an immediate “social uplift” of the world. It is commendable that their efforts are not for evil, but for good. Their great mistake is in pursuing their own plans, which however benevolent or wise in human estimation, must of necessity fall short of the divine wisdom and the divine plan, which alone will be crowned with success. All others are doomed to failure. Being ignorant of doctrine and church history, they readily adopt the idea of “union,” deciding that it was the doctrines that caused divisions, so doctrines should be ignored. They fail to see that certain doctrines, proven and corrected by the Word of God, are all-important to true union among true Christians.
The proposed union, which ignores Bible doctrine but holds firmly to human doctrines respecting eternal torment, natural immortality, etc., and which is dominated merely by human judgment, is the most dangerous thing that could happen. It is sure to run into extreme error, because it rejects the “doctrines of Christ” and “the wisdom from above,” and instead relies upon the wisdom of its own wise men, which is foolishness when opposed to the divine counsel and methods. “For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” (Isa. 29:14)
It would indeed be strange if the spirit of Christ and the spirit of the world would suddenly prove to be in harmony, that those filled with the opposite spirits should see eye to eye. But such is not the case. It is still true that the spirit of the world is enmity to God. (Jas. 4:4)
To be continued in our June 2025 paper.
(Excerpts from Studies in the Scriptures, Volume IV, Chapters V and VI, condensed and edited. Lengthy quotations have been omitted.)
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Editor’s comment on Romanism: The Roman Catholic Church today is still considered one of the most powerful institutions in the world. However, other kinds of religious extremism are also a threat. For example, the evangelical movement within the Protestant denominations appears to seek political power, hoping to control public education and impose a common standard of religious belief.
Editor’s comment on “union” movement: Volume IV was written in 1897, but the union movement continues today. This is a quotation from the website Christian Union: “Since 2002, Christian Union has worked to help bring sweeping spiritual change to America. The ministry’s work is focused in two areas: developing bold Christian leaders at the most strategic and profoundly influential universities in America; and building networks of Christian leaders and promoting national revival through Christian Union America.” (Christian Union, accessed 3/31/2025)
Here is more from the current movement: “Through fervent prayer, humility in fasting, repentance, evangelism and dedication to His ways as revealed in His Word, Christians around our country are banding together to ask God to have mercy and bring about the greatest revival the nation has ever seen. CU America is a movement of Christian leaders spanning multiple Christian traditions, including evangelicals, pentecostals, and Catholics, who jointly desire increased Christian vitality and national transformation.” (About Christian Union America, accessed 3/31/2025)
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