On The Eve of Armageddon

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ON THE EVE OF ARMAGEDDON

An Account of the Scriptural Teaching Relating to the War Among the Nations Which Will Engulf
Civilization, and Will Immediately Precede the Universal and Eternal Kingdom of Peace.
By CARLYLE B. HAYNES
Author of: The Other Side of Death, Our Lord’s Return, Spiritualism Versus Christianity, The
Christian Sabbath, What Is Coming? And Satan: His Origin, Work, and Destiny
REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
TAKOMA PARK, WASHINGTON, DC.
1946
www.maranathamedia.com.au
On The Eve Of Armageddon
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
THE DOOM OF CIVILIZATION
THE AGE OF ATOMIC ENERGY
No HUMAN STRUCTURE CAN SAVE THE WORLD
APPROACHING ARMAGEDDON
WHAT ARMAGEDDON IS
WHERE ARMAGEDDON WILL BE FOUGHT
THE SIGNAL FOR ARMAGEDDON
THE RETURN OF JESUS
THE MILLENNIUM
THE DEPOPULATION OF THE EARTH
THE SECOND RESURRECTION
THE CONTEST BETWEEN GOD AND MAN FINISHED
THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF PEACE
BEYOND THE STORM
FOREWORD
THIS book opens with a startling statement. Its author is not, however, a pessimist, but an
optimist, a minister of the grace of God for human salvation, a believer in the “restitution of all things
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began!”
From the standpoint of human confidence, based only upon human ambition and human
achievement, the outlook is indeed dark. But to the Christian the future is roseate with hope, because of the
sure promise of God and the evidences on every hand that what He has promised He is about to fulfill.
The object of this book is not to terrify, but to save. The long, dark history of sin, with its sorrow,
its suffering, and its death, is nearly finished. Man’s efforts to save the human race from sin and its
consequences have failed. There is only one source from which deliverance can come, and that source is
the God of heaven. He has provided a way of escape-Jesus Christ, the Savior of men, the Hope of the
world. It is for the purpose of pointing men to Christ, that they may find deliverance, victory, and eternal
salvation in Him, that this book is sent forth by THE PUBLISHERS.
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THE DOOM OF CIVILIZATION

CIVILIZATION is doomed, and that within this generation. Serious-minded, thinking men, scores
of whom hold exalted positions among the statesmen of many nations in the Old World and the New, stand
appalled at the cosmic forces of destruction they see about them. Clear-eyed, they look out upon a world
shaken to its foundations by the death agony of war and its fearful consequences and distress, and they do
not hesitate to declare that the world cannot recover from its hurt unless by a miracle.
Something far more devastating than an earthquake has jarred the world out of its course and is
breaking it in pieces.
Said Secretary of State Cordell Hull in his address to the American Society of International Law
on May 13, 1940:
“The specter of a new descent into the conditions of international anarchy which characterized the
Dark Ages looms on the horizon today. I am profoundly convinced that it menaces the civilized existence
of mankind-of every nation and every individual. Every nation and every individual should be actively on
guard.”
Nor do men see much upon which to build hopes for stability and progress in the future.
“Fear; hatred between states, social classes, parties; growing distress in the whole world; the
progressive sterilization of capital and labor; the degradation of intelligence, more and more enslaved to
might. The confusion of all standards of measure; intellectual and moral anarchy, in which good and evil,
truth and falsehood, reason and madness, right and wrong, are distorted to such a point that it is
increasingly difficult to discriminate between them. Selfishness, violence, ferocity, which are becoming
more and more the rule in relations between men and state.” - PROFESSOR GUCLIELMO FERRERO,
University of Geneva, Aug. 10, 1939.
Men thought the first World War was the most devastating conflict that had ever been waged by
civilized man. Millions of able-bodied men were killed. Millions more were permanently crippled. All told,
more than twenty million of the world’s strongest and best were killed and mutilated in but little more than
four years.
This has now been repeated on an even more appalling scale. The enormous accumulations
resulting from the industry of generations have been scattered and destroyed. The wealth of nations has
been sapped and dissipated. The destruction of property, of wealth, and of the accumulated fruits of
industry has been gigantic.
All that men relied on has proved uncertain and insecure. The disintegration of the structure of
civilized society has proceeded until there is no soundness anywhere. Nothing is certain, nothing secure.
Civilization appears to be falling to pieces before our eyes.
It is a distracted world, a nerve-racked world, a panic-stricken world, at which we cannot look
without recalling those amazingly descriptive words of our Lord, nineteen centuries ago, when, pointing to
our generation, He said:
“There shall be signs.... men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things
which are coming on the earth!” Luke 2l:25,26.
Or, as Fenton, in his translation, puts it:
“Upon the earth, nations in despair, as when in terror of the roaring and raging sea; men expiring
from fear, and apprehension of what is coming upon the world!”
THE WORLD SHOCKED OUT OF ITS COURSE

The world, which for so many centuries followed a path of seeming security, has been sent
rocking and reeling out of its course. The entire map of Europe has been changed, its geography altered, its
frontiers shifted, its currency depleted, its conditions materially lowered, its people plunged into despair;
and many of its governments have been destroyed.
Kingdoms have passed into history. Empires have crashed into oblivion. Great governments have
rolled into utter, endless darkness. Whole countries have been shattered to atoms.
The earth has quivered and shaken, and no man can tell how far it has been driven out of its course.
Because of the devastation of war, and the intense preparations for continued war, whole
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populations are facing starvation. Irrespective of the outcome of any particular conflict, the seeds of
dissolution have been sown. A terrible harvest is bound to be reaped. Discontent is seething in the hearts of
millions, and unrestrained passions are being let loose on the world. It is not surprising that thinking men
everywhere are looking for anarchy, lawlessness, the overthrow of civilization-chaos.
THE AGE OF ATOMIC ENERGY

ON AUGUST 6, 1945, a new age was born. We can never go back to that former age. A door has
been closed. Another door has been opened. We have entered an age of profound and shattering fear.
On that August day a parachute containing a comparatively small object floated downward over
Japan. It marked the instantaneous death of tens of thousands of human beings and the maiming of equally
as many more. But it marked as well the violent death of one stage of man’s history and the sinister
beginning of another.
The explosion of that bomb over Hiroshima has had a shattering, stunning effect on this new age,
permeating every aspect of man’s activities.
We have not been unfamiliar with the meaning and possibilities of energy. We know, for instance,
that there is sufficient energy in a gallon of gasoline, when its power is released, to drive an automobile
fifteen miles. What, then, are we to think of a source of power no larger than a gallon which would drive
that car 600,000,000 miles, or three round trips to the sun? Men have now discovered such a source,
though it will be some time before they may be able to harness it and apply it to such a use.
Up to now gravitation has been the greatest single force known to science. That remains true no
longer. Men have discovered and employed forces one million times greater than the force of gravitation.
The force of gravitation reaches out over vast spaces. The terrific force of atomic energy is almost wholly
contained within the nucleus, or heart, of atoms.
Atoms are infinitesimally small particles which make up the ninety-two (if we disregard the newly
discovered Neptunium and Plutonium) basic elements which compose the material universe. As an
indication of how small atoms are perhaps it will be sufficient to explain that an ounce of hydrogen
contains 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (twenty septillion) atoms, and an ounce of uranium, the
heaviest element known up to now in the universe, contains 100,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000 (one
hundred sextillion) atoms.
Getting at the size of atoms in another way, we are told that if a drop of water should be magnified
to the size of the earth, an atom would have the size of a small orange.
Atoms were once supposed to be the smallest particles of matter, so infinitely small they could not
be divided or further analyzed. They were named accordingly. A in Greek means not! Temno means “to
cut!’ Atom consequently means “unable to cute,” “indivisible.”
Modern physical research, however, has discovered that what was thought to be the smallest and
wholly indivisible particle of matter in the world is rather a universe. The analysis of its structure and
properties has resulted in amazing discoveries.
The atom is not indivisible. It is made up of three particles of different types: protons, neutrons,
and electrons. There is a central core, called the nucleus. Surrounding this nucleus is a comparatively vast
space. In this space, revolving on its outer perimeter, are one or more electrons, spinning around the
nucleus as the earth revolves about the sun.
The nucleus is inconceivably small, yet is the most important factor. It is only one-thousandth of
one-billionth the size of the atom itself. We are told by physicists that one-trillion atomic nuclei could be
placed on a single line one inch long.
The nucleus is composed of two different kinds of particles. They are called protons and neutrons.
As has been stated, around this nucleus, on the rim of the atoms, negative charges known as electrons move
with enormous speed. In the nucleus the protons are positively charged electrical particles. The neutrons
are not charged at all. In their famous work, Applied Nuclear Physics, page 2, the two well-known
physicists, Ernest Pollard and William L. Davidson, wrote: “The building blocks of nature are neutrons,
protons, and electrons.”
The neutrons and protons comprising the nucleus of the atom are held together by tremendously
powerful cohesive forces. After years of experimentation, most of it fruitless, and all of it enormously
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costly, scientists have developed a process by which the nuclei of uranium atoms are split by being
bombarded with slow-moving neutrons. This splitting of the atom is called nuclear fission.
The explosive energy thus made available from one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of U235 is equivalent
to the explosive energy of 20,000 tons of TNT. It was demonstrated, when the splitting of the atom was
actually accomplished, that an explosion of approximately 200,000,000 electron volts could be touched off
by idling neutrons of less than one electron volt. That is, the energy set free in the splitting of the atom was
over 200,000,000 times the amount of energy required to split the atom.
In the words of Pollard and Davidson, in Applied Nuclear Physics, page 22, one kilogram of
matter (2.2 pounds) “if converted entirely into energy would give twenty-five billion kilowatt hours of
energy, which would be the equivalent to all the energy generated by the total electric power industry in the
United States for any two months in the year 1939.”
One kilogram of coal when burned gives 8.5 kilowatt hours of heat energy. One kilogram of
matter, when its atomic energy is released, gives 25,000,000,000 kilowatt hours of energy.
It is the discovery and first utilization of this stupendous force for purposes of destruction that
have struck fear into the heart of humanity the world around. It is a new, primitive fear, the fear of
unknown’ forces which conceivably may get out of control and bring an end to the human race on this
planet. It appears that men have now learned how to release cosmic energy, the energy of the material of
which the universe is composed. In this discovery they have come into the possession of Godlike power.
This power was safe in God’s control. We do well to raise the question of whether it is safe in man’s
control.
Such tremendous power would seem to be the special prerogative of God-and God alone. “God
hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongs unto God.” Psalms 62:11.
Power is safe in God’s control. It is safe there because God has a character which makes it safe, a
character which rightly controls power, using it only in ways that are right and for purposes which
accomplish only that which is right. That cannot he said of man.
God is omnipotent, all-powerful. Greater than the omnipotence of God, however, is the perfect
character of God. It is this that controls the exercise of omnipotence.
God’s high moral character makes it impossible for Him to misuse His omnipotence. Character is
not so much made up of impulses as restraints. The character of God prevents Him from doing anything
that is unjust or unkind or wrong. Consequently, He can be trusted with omnipotence.
Mankind has no such character. When men come into possession of Godlike power, sinister
possibilities of untold evil hang over all the earth.
It is this that makes men afraid. Sir Oliver Lodge recognized this. Shortly after World War I, in
the Academy of Science in London, he exclaimed: “I pray God that we do not learn the lesson of
controlling this terrific force until we first shall have learned the lesson of self-control.”
And man has not learned the lesson of self-control. But he is, meanwhile, endeavoring to use
cosmic energy. And we do well to fear what he will do with it.
Everywhere and in every social stratum, thinking men are afraid. Those who were wont to scoff at
the idea of “the end of the world” have silenced their scoffing. Soberly and despairingly they are now
forecasting the doom of civilization. They do not hesitate to point out that under the shifting sands of the
continents other civilizations lie buried, that no civilization is self -perpetuating, that human structures
disintegrate, human organizations fall to pieces, human governments perish, social systems die. With
searching significance they raise the question as to why our civilization, reeling and stunned by the
staggering shock it has been given, should be considered immune from the ruin which has come to the
nations and kingdoms of former times.
These things are filled with deep significance to those who are acquainted with the prophetic
Word of God. They are verifications of that Word. And they carry a tremendous meaning. They make
certain that sudden and unexpected changes in human affairs are about to take place which will affect every
person on earth.
The daily newspaper brings us the news of today. For the news of tomorrow we must look to
another and more reliable source-the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is the most up to-the-minute Book in the
world.
And in the Bible there are prophecies describing developments to take place in this world in these
days in which we live, and in connection with the closing scenes of human history and the return of Jesus
to this earth.
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In this Sacred Book I read of a time that is coming, and is even now near at hand, when world
disaster will sweep the whole race of men off the earth.
“Behold, Jehovah makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and
scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof. The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for
Jehovah bath spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away,
the lofty people of the earth do languish!’ Isaiah 24:14, A.R.V.
The prophet sets forth the cause of this world devastation in these words:
“The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws,
violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore bath the curse devoured the earth, and they
that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The
new wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted do sigh!” Isaiah 24:5-7, A.R.V.
In the same prophecy is given an additional view of the wreck of the world.
“Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, 0 inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to
pass, that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit: and he that comes up out of the
midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare. For the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the
earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is rent asunder, the earth is shaken violently. The earth
shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof
shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that
Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth!’ Isaiah
24:17-21, A. R. V.
The time of the global ruin so vividly described in these prophetic passages is known to Bible
students as “the last days,” “the time of the end.” Many other Bible writers were given prophetic glimpses
of the culminating scenes of world history. A careful survey of their inspired predictions will help in
understanding what may be confidently looked for in the near future.
Explaining his prophetic visions to the prophet Daniel, the angel Gabriel (Daniel 8:16; 9:21),
commissioned of God, said to the seer:
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands 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. And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:1, 2, A.R.V.
In the New Testament the prophet John was given a view of the seven last plagues, the disasters
which will close human history. The very last plague is thus described:
“And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the
temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: and there were lightning, and voices, and thunders. And there
was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so
mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.” Revelation 16:17-
19, A.R.V.
Here is a bowl, a very small container, holding something of terrific force, poured out into the air.
When it is poured out, a voice says, “It is done.”
If you followed the account of the men who flew the bomber which carried the parachute and
atomic bomb which was dropped out “into the air” over Hiroshima, you will be impressed with some
striking parallels. These men dropped the parachute and sent it down. It was done! And there were
lightning and blinding flashes, such an appalling sight that the only words that have come back to us were
those of the bomber’s pilot, who said, “My God.”
There were thundering and fearful rumblings as a great pillar of particles went up 40,000 feet into
the air, and flattened itself off like a giant toadstool at the top. It was done!
And the city was divided and fell. Its very elements were dissolved, and it disappeared from the
earth.
Something like that is to take place on a much larger scale, a world-wide scale. “The cities of the
nations fell.” The world’s great cities are to go down, to be cities no more. The steel, the stone-all building
material-will disintegrate, be dissolved, and the whole creation go down.
A great earthquake, perhaps the result of the release of atomic energy, an earthquake “such as was
not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty,” will shatter the earth and the
race upon it.
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With this compare another striking passage of Scripture and give particular attention to the
significance of the words employed. It was written nineteen centuries ago. It was written about our time.
How up-to-the-minute is its terminology!
“But the day of the Lord will come- as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a
great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons
ought you to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of
God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat? But, according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells
righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for these things, give diligence that you may be
found in peace, without spot and blameless in His sight.” 2 Peter 3:10-14, A.R.V.
Consider the phrase “the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat.” That is exactly what
atomic energy does.
This English word “elements,” placed in our Bibles as early as AD 1380, in Wycliffe’s translation,
is precisely the word used now to describe the basic forms of matter, such as iron, lead, zinc, gold, silver,
oxygen, hydrogen, helium, radium, uranium, etc.
The Greek word which Peter used, and which is translated, Elements, is stoicheion. It occurs
seven times in the Greek New Testament, and is translated “elements” four times, “rudiments” twice,
“principle” once. In the realm of physics this word was used to describe the component parts into which
matter is ultimately divisible. (Lidell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon [Oxford, 19401, Volume 2, page
1647). And while men in Peter’s day believed there were but four elements-earth, air, fire, and water-and
we know now there are at least ninety two, and it is quite possible that Peter did not wholly understand the
full meaning of what he wrote; nevertheless, God guided his writing so that it is as accurate in this day of
modern scientific discovery as it was when written.
It has been pointed out that the principle of atomic energy is simply that of a setting loose, the
releasing, of the infinitely minute particles comprising the atom, particularly the neutrons and protons,
which, so scientists declare, are held together by enormous cohesive forces. Man has learned how to
unloose these locked-up, cohesive forces and thus break the atoms into pieces with terrific force. That is
the principle of the atomic bomb.
Consider that in connection with the words of Peter’s prophecy. He declares that in the world
conflagration soon to come the “elements” will be “dissolved.” He does not say all the elements will be
dissolved. He does say that the conflagration will be brought about by a dissolution of elements.
The Greek word here translated “dissolve” is the simple word luo meaning to “loose,” surely a
perfect word to describe the setting free, the releasing, of neutrons and protons from the power which for
ages has locked them in and bound them so tightly together in the atoms of which our universe is built.
Plainly, and without any forced construction whatever, the principle of nuclear fission, of atomic energy, is
known to God, and that, or some equivalent and alternative process, may well be the method which God
will use in the global conflagration which will result from a dissolution of the elements of our earth. God
knows how to split atoms, too.
Peter’s prophecy says more. It declares the elements shall be dissolved “with fervent heat,” or
“fierce heat” (Weymouth), or “blaze and melt” (Goodspeed), or “melted by heat” (20th Century), or
“burning intensely will be dissolved” (Emphatic Diaglott). The Greek word, used only in the New
Testament in this passage, means, literally, “to scorch.”
In all the accounts of the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
and in the experimental blast in New Mexico, there are repeated references to the scorching of the ground.
The magazine Life, September 24, 1945, page 31, declares that a “close-up of crater’s surface shows how
the heat of the atomic explosion destroyed a desert plant and melted sand into weird shapes of crude glass.”
Such a world conflagration as Peter describes is spoken of by many former prophets and recorded
in the Old Testament. The reader’s attention is directed to some of the most significant of these.
“Our God comes, and does not keep silence: a fire devours before Him, and it is very tempestuous
round about Him!” Psalms 50:3, A. R. V.
“A fire goes before Him, and burns up His adversaries round about. His lightning lightened the
world: The earth saw, and trembled!’ Psalms 97:3, 4, A.R.V.
Even more definite is the description Isaiah gives of Christ’s return:
“For by fire will Jehovah execute judgment, and by His sword, upon all flesh; and the slain of
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Jehovah shall be many. They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the gardens, behind
one in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end
together, said Jehovah!” Isaiah 66:16, 17, A.R.V. Ezekiel also makes the same prediction.
“And say to the forest of the South, Hear the word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovah,
Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree. The
flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burnt thereby. And
all flesh shall see that I, Jehovah, have kindled it; it shall not be quenched.” Ezekiel 20:47, 48, A. R. V.
And Joel repeats it.
“A fire devours before them; and behind them a flame burns: the land is as the garden of Eden
before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and none hath escaped them. And I will show
wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.” Joel 2:3, 30, A. R. V.
Zephaniah was given the same view.
“Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s wrath; but
the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He will make an end, yea, a terrible end, of
all them that dwell in the land.” Zephaniah 1:18, A. R. V.
“Therefore wait you for Me, said Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey. For my
determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them Mine
indignation, even all My fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.”
Zephaniah 3:8, A. R. V.
And the last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi, joins his voice with the rest.
“For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness,
shall be stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, said Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them
neither root nor branch.” Malachi 4:1, A. R. V.
Long centuries ago two of the cities of the earth suffered a visitation of divine wrath and were
consumed with such a blast of brimstone and fearful heat that no blade of grass or tree has grown there in
that cursed soil for four thousand years. And this judgment by fire is set forth in Scriptures as a warning
and solemn example of the judgment soon to come upon all the earth. The Inspired Record declares:
“Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of
heaven.” Genesis 19:24, A.R.V.
Jesus used this ancient judgment on these two wicked cities as a type of the destruction of all the
earth at His Second Coming.
“But in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and
destroyed them all: after the same manner shall it be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.” Luke
17:29, 30. ARV.
Peter also refers to this ancient visitation of divine fire as an example to a future age.
“And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow,
having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly!” 2 Peter 2:6, A.R.V.
The same solemn parallel is emphasized by Jude.
“Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given
themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the
punishment of eternal fire!” Jude 7, A.R.V.
And while men still talk of peace-a peace just and durable, a peace lasting and world-wide-and set
up world machinery to implement such a peace in a United Nations Organization with its World Security
Council, this, too, is big with importance in the light of clear Bible teaching. Paul writes of our time,
saying:
“When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail
upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape!” 1 Thessalonians 5:3, A.R.V.
That is the whole emphasis everywhere today-Peace; peace plus safety, peace plus security. We
are going to have a secure world at last, we are told, a peaceful world, a world under control. But when
men talk this way, let God’s people beware. For when they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden
destruction!
These significant developments which the ancient prophets foretold are not fancy. The dangers
hanging over the earth and the race of men upon it, so vividly described in the passages we have studied, to
take place when the Lord Jesus comes back, are not myths. They are literally true. They will be literally
carried out. They will literally take place. God’s Word means exactly what it says.
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And when men inquire, “What do these world-shaking things mean?” we can answer them with
all assurance: “They mean we are living in a world where, instead of a just and durable peace, there is
going to be distress of nations, fear, confusion, uncertainty, dread, trouble, world disaster, and calamity. It
means that Jesus Christ is coming back to this world to assume universal sovereignty and never-ending
control. And above everything else it means that this Jesus who is coming back is the only Savior who can
deliver any man from his sins and give him the gift of eternal life.”
Many clear-thinking men in high places today are deeply troubled about the things they see
coming upon the earth. They have taken one of the dread words of Scripture and are using it more than
ever before as the only adequate word to describe the sinister things they see ahead. That word is
Armageddon. They have lost all hope that any human structure can now save the world. In syndicated
articles appearing in many American newspapers, the noted author, historian, and philosopher, H. G.
Wells, of England, in what he termed his ‘1iterary testament,” wrote under the date line of November 5,
1945:
“This world is at the end of its tether. The end of everything we call life is close at hand and
cannot be evaded.”
He points out that while there are some optimists still who “seek some way out or around or
through the impasse,” nevertheless-
“The writer is convinced that there is no way out or around or through the impasse. It is the end.”
Thus is voiced what is in many minds today. Around all the world men have fixed their eyes on
the future and what they fear it holds of human woe and disaster. Only one ray of hope strikes through the
gloom. That is the feeble hope of peace in a world organization charged with the responsibility of solving
world problems and providing world security. How much of a hope that is we now examine.
NO HUMAN STRUCTURE CAN SAVE THE WORLD

The peace which has followed World War II is not a real peace. The seeds of strife still remain.
The weeds of trouble are not eradicated. Many questions are still unsettled and undecided. National
jealousies and animosities are not blotted out. Personal hatred and bitterness still smolder. And all these
have been greatly aggravated and inflamed by war debts, reparations, and the world-wide financial burdens
growing out of the exhaustion of war.
No settlement devised by men has been adequate to blot out the memory of the horrors which the
war wrought by land and sea, the fields strewn with corpses and the beaches soaked with blood, the
scorching heat of desert combat, the pitiless exposure to merciless winter, the terrible suffering of the
wounded, and the unspeakable wretchedness of women and children who were prisoners of despair.
There are still memories of screaming bombs, mangled bodies, the rending asunder of great ships,
the rain of explosives from the clouds, ruined cities, the tears of women, and the faces of little children
pinched from hunger and blanched by fear.
There are the same national ambitions and the same national intrigues. These are not eradicated.
There is the same distrust between those who were enemies, and even between those who fought side by
side. Millions of men were killed or maimed. Hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth were consumed.
Monetary values of entire national currencies have been wiped out. There are ruined lands, unnumbered
graves, towering debts, devastated cities.
WAR IN THE HEART OF THE HUMAN RACE

These things have not been, and cannot be, blotted out by the shaking of hands or the signing of
documents of surrender. Peace has come, but it is peace in pretense and outward show. In the hearts of
men, in the souls of nations, there are bitterness, hatred, hostility, jealousy, malice, fear, and all the
potentialities of unending conflict and strife. Wars and rumors of wars continue and increase. There is, and
will continue to be, “distress of nations, with perplexity; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking
after those things which are coming on the earth.” Luke 21:25, 26.
In the hearts of hundreds of millions of men today there is blazing hatred. The world is a seething
caldron of international, interracial, interreligious suspicion and animosity. And there are those in high
places who, for purposes of their own, do not hesitate to feed these flames and stoke these fires of malice
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and dislike.
Yes, there is war in the heart of the human race-war and strife and jealousy and envy and
dissension and bitterness and all hatred and malice.
Today there is a spirit of unrelenting, unalterable, unforgiving hate between the various nations
and races of men. The spirit of war and strife burns fiercely in millions of hearts.
THE PHANTOM HOPES OF THE WORLD

Men fondly hoped to compose the troubles of the world by treaties of peace, by conferences, by a
United Nations Organization, by understanding and agreement, and most of all, through the influence of
religion.
But it is becoming more and more plain to all men that the evils of the world which turn the hearts
of men from peace to war cannot be permanently overcome by a World Security Organization or by
cabinets or conferences or courts or leagues or commissions or councils or conventions or treaties or
tribunals, but only by a complete change of the individual heart and the individual life by Jesus Christ.
For wars issue, not only out of conditions and things and circumstances and the breakdown of
international diplomacy, but primarily out of the natural human heart.
Imperfection in human governments can be remedied by proper changes in certain statutes, but
imperfection in the human heart can be cured only by the Lord Jesus Christ, operating through the power
of the Holy Spirit. “Whence come wars? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your
members?” James 4:1.
And men do not, and will not, come to Jesus that they may obtain peace. This the Bible has
plainly declared.
Reasoning not alone from the prophecies and teachings of the Word of God, but also from the
analogies of the history of mortal affairs, we see but little hope of human improvement religiously. The
spiritual tendency of the race as a whole has from the beginning been downward. As a whole, man’s
penitence has been temporary, his apostasy permanent.
His acknowledgment of God’s authority has been feigned, or at best halfhearted, his loyalty to
Satan practically unqualified. His reformations have been superficial and brief, his revolts deep and
protracted.
As widely as the race is scattered, so widely have the works of the flesh been manifested.
Throughout all generations they have been the same everywhere. The fountain is corrupt, and the stream
cannot be better than its source. The heart is deceitful, the life hypocritical. The source of wickedness is
within, the manifestation of it without. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and it inherits all the lusts
and depravity of carnality.
And these sins and lusts are not occasional mistakes but the natural acts of a perverted and fallen
character. These are the lusts of the flesh which constantly war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11). The out
workings of that law of sin which wars against the law of the mind (Romans 7:23). The fruitage of the
carnal, or fleshly, nature which is enmity against God, not subject to His law, knowing no rule but lust
(Romans 8:7) these are the things which, with tireless vigilance, must be kept under or they would make
even an apostle an outcast (1 Corinthians 9:27).
And they can be subdued only by the power of God, controlled only by His Holy Spirit, and
crucified and slain only by the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Galatians 2:20; 5:24.)
NO HOPE IN MAN
This persistent, perverse, unholy disposition in “the natural man” does not change itself.
Refinement will not change it. Education will not change it. “Evolution” will not change it. Civilization
will not change it. The repressive laws of human government will not change it. Changes in the structure of
human government will not change it. It is ever the same. The fruit is like the tree, and the tree is vile. Men
do not gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles.
The perfidious hearts and lives of a rebellious race can no more be changed by human means than
an Ethiopian can change his skin or a leopard his spots. The only way a change can be brought about is by
their being “created [anew] in Christ Jesus unto good works.” Ephesians 2:10.
WE LONG FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

It would he easier for the child of God who understands by the prophetic Word the outcome of all
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human efforts toward bringing in lasting peace, to refrain from speaking just now. One who loves his
fellow men can but sympathize with their ardent hopes for a permanent cessation of the turmoil of the
world. We long for peace and justice to he permanently established in this world as ardently as those who
look for this to he accomplished by human means. Our minds leap eagerly and gladly forward to that time
when the earth shall be forever purged of war and hatred.
We sympathize with the men of large hearts and broad minds who stand as sponsors for every
agency that makes for peace, and who are laboring unselfishly in the interests of their fellow men. We join
them in their earnest longings for stability and quietness in the earth. We hope their efforts may result in
complete cessation of war-provoking strife, during which the work of God among men may be carried
forward to its conclusion. We sincerely hope they may be able to bring about some lull in the storm of
conflicting interests and ambitions so that His church may be afforded opportunity to finish His work.
We therefore pray that God will use their efforts to restrain the wrath of men until His work shall
be accomplished. And we pray for the men themselves, that their yearnings for peace may be realized by
the Spirit of God opening their hearts to receive as their Lord and King the Prince of Peace Himself.
It may be that a great “peace and safety” announcement will be made, mankind boasting that he
has at last found a way to universal and enduring peace. It is the disappointment sure to follow this false
hope that we would guard against by directing attention to the true hope of the world, the only hope of
abiding peace on this planet-the coming of the Son of God in the clouds of glory to end the reign of sin.
THE TRUE HOPE OF THE WORLD

It is for the purpose of directing attention to the true and only hope of mankind, the Second
Coming of Christ, that we point out the certain failure of every human effort to save the world. Indeed, our
attention is directed by the Lord Himself to the inability of leagues and courts and federations to cope
successfully with the situation. He says:
“Say you not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither
fear you their fear, nor be afraid.” Isaiah 8: 12.
And again we read:
“Associate yourselves, 0 you people, and you shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all you of far
countries: gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and you shall be broken in
pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is
with us!’ Isaiah 8:9, 10.
In this very time, when the hopes of men are centered in human associations and federations, the
Lord not only calls them away from these great combinations of human strength, but He invites them to
Himself, saying:
“Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” Isaiah
8:13.
We would be remiss in the duty laid upon us by the Lord, if, in this time when human society is
more broken up and turbulent than ever before, we did not speak frankly.
With the analogies of the past before us, and with the plain, clear teachings of the Word of God
revealed to us, and with the warnings of the divine prophecies unfolding to our understanding, we look for
continued war, war which will end the history of the race on this planet.
APPROACHING ARMAGEDDON
CONTINUED war, continued devastation, is inevitable. The world has not learned its lesson. The
genius of man has been turned as never before to inventing and discovering means of destruction. In the
laboratories of the world today men are studying new ways of killing other human beings, killing them
wholesale, killing them by whole nations.
And new developments are startlingly rapid. Old implements of warfare have been improved.
Airplanes were used in the first World War, but the progress of aviation since then has entirely changed the
picture of combat and defense. Dive bombers, pursuit planes capable of almost incredible speeds, multiple
machine guns and armament for planes, tanks of unheard-of proportions and numbers, new explosives of
tremendous power, and now the atomic bomb, together with manufacturing ability and machinery to turn
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out engines of destruction in almost unlimited quantities-all have changed the aspects of modern warfare
and greatly increased man’s powers of destruction.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY AFTER WAR

War has cost hundreds of billions of dollars. If to this is added the indirect cost, such as property
destruction, loss of production, and the money value of human lives, we have a total that staggers the
imagination. We have not yet begun to pay the price. The future has been mortgaged beyond the possibility
of payment. Civilization is bankrupting itself. Economic ‘recovery is impossible.
THE RAGING OF THE FIERCER PASSIONS

The spirit of restlessness, lawlessness, and anarchy is not limited to one country, but is spreading
throughout the world. The impulse to cast off the restraints that law and order have placed on the lower
passions of man, has taken possession of millions everywhere. The terrible calamities, destruction, and
desolation which wait upon the footsteps of the demon of lawlessness, seem powerless to deter men in their
maddened course. The fiercer passions which rage in the natural human heart are being given free rein and
are driving men everywhere into a terrible abyss. The Spirit of God is apparently being withdrawn from the
earth, and man is being left alone with all the evil passions of his nature, with no power to restrain them,
and these are breaking out in the most barbarous excesses.
We see in this the ominous forecast of that fearful period just before us, when God’s Spirit will no
longer strive with men and the door of mercy will be closed. We stand amid the shadows of the events
which will close human history. We stand amid preparations for the final conflict. We stand upon the verge
of that time of trouble such as never was.
There is a headlong rashness that is becoming more and more a characteristic of our times.
Everything moves forward in startling haste. Prudence, wisdom, and caution are brushed aside as of little
account, and this characteristic which is so rapidly developing the spirit of headlong, disorderly haste, of
constant restlessness, of feverish rashness, is marked in the Bible as one of the signs of the last days. “This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be . . . heady.” 2 Timothy 3:14
UNBELIEF NEVER MORE IMPUDENT AND DEFIANT

In the past the people of the earth have, to a greater or lesser extent, feared the Lord. They have
not been altogether atheistic. The denunciations of His messengers have caused them to tremble. When the
streets of Ninevah rang with the cry, “Yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be overthrown,” none was so
hardened as to treat that message with contempt. There have been other times when faith in God was weak,
but unbelief was never more impudent and defiant than it is now.
Today there is a widespread absence of faith in the existence, the providence, and the government
of God. Whole nations deny His existence, Large numbers in other countries profess no allegiance to Him.
Men’s ears have become dull of hearing; their hearts have waxed gross. Their stolid hearts have passed
beyond the feeling of alarm, so entrenched and fortified are they in unbelief and carelessness. There are
multitudes who are practically atheists. God is not in all their thoughts. The exploded superstitions of a past
age have been replaced, not by faith, but by a false science, which has become the gospel of the faithless;
and by nature, which has become the god of the ungodly.
DRIVING TOWARD AN ENSNARING DELUSION

Certainly it seems as if the world is driving toward some dark, dire, devilish deception, a
deception that naturally awaits those who receive not the love of the truth, that they may be saved.
Throwing away their only safeguard when they reject the truth, they are given up to embracing strong
delusions as a punishment for their unbelief.
Such a manifestation of atheistic apostasy is foreshadowed in the Bible prophecies.
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they receive not the
love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that
they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness!” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12.
And the eager acceptance of the “signs and lying wonders” of the present time by those who have
rejected the truth (their unbelief of the truth being paralleled only by their credulous acceptance of the
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falsehoods of seducing spirits) indicates that the ensnaring delusion predicted in the Bible is even now en-
trapping its earlier victims. It may don new disguises and take on new shapes from day to day, but it is
certain before long to combine its various manifestations in one mighty denial of the truth, of the Word,
and of the authority of God-hissing out its defiance in God’s very face and belching forth its blasphemies
before His very throne. It will yet meet its answer in that devastating storm of fire which will destroy the
ungodly and cleanse the world.
SCOFFERS LUSTFUL, CONTEMPTUOUS, CARELESS

Peter gives us another sign of the last days when he writes:
“There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and 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: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept
in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:3-7.
There are scoffers today who are polite, learned, wise, and contemptuous; scoffers who sneer and
deride and mock; scoffers who are careless and presumptuous, as well as “scoffers walking after their own
lusts,” giving free rein to all their passions. Scoffers with the blear of lust in their eyes and the smell of
alcohol on their breath, walking in rioting, debauchery, and sin; and in this fact, made so prominent in the
atheism of today, we see the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
It seems plain, with all these elements of conflict mixing themselves into a flame, that we cannot
be far from the Armageddon of the Apocalypse.
WHAT ARMAGEDDON IS
ARMAGEDDON spells doom to a world in revolt against God. It is the destruction of every
system of human government, the collapse of every human structure and institution. It is the inevitable
outcome of man’s rebellion against his Maker.
The restless tumult which today is shaking the world is only the logical fruitage of the ceaseless
horror of war, commotion, and strife, out of which, for centuries past, nations have arisen, survived during
a more or less brief existence, and passed away, only to give place to others.
From the beginning there has been no stability in the world. Human projects have failed, human
hopes have proved phantoms, human promises have turned out falsehoods. All that wisdom, genius,
education, civilization, and philanthropy have accomplished still leaves the whole head sick and the whole
heart faint. And the ten thousand human panaceas have brought no relief.
CIVILIZATION APPROACHES ITS END

And now civilization approaches its end, and we do well to inquire into the real causes of its
dissolution. The men who think, those who are serious-minded, have long pondered this question in their
hearts. What is the trouble with the earth, and with the race upon it? Why this age-long conflict, this long-
continued struggle? Why this never-ending tumult and confusion, which, after six thousand years of storm
and tempest, still gives no promise of calm, but merely presages an even more terrible hurricane of
destruction?
Reason can give us no satisfactory answer to this old, old question. Philosophy, too, is helpless
here. History gives no proper solution to the problem. The real causes they miss, and their glance at the
difficulties of the case are but superficial. The web which surrounds the events of human history can be
unraveled only by an Omniscient Mind. The secret cause of the world’s difficulties can be set forth only by
“the Oracles of God.”
And God has told us the cause. His Word affords an answer to these perplexing questions. And
that answer is as true as it is brief: “The Lord hath a controversy with the nations.” Jeremiah 25:31.
This fact alone will explain the history of the past, the events of the present, and will cast great
light upon those events which are yet hidden in the womb of the future. To comprehend the mystery of the
past political condition and the future destiny of the world without an acceptance of this statement as fact,
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is impossible.
And we are not left to vague conjecture and speculation regarding the reason for this controversy.
It is a controversy between right and wrong.
“The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor
mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and
committing adultery, they break out, and blood touches blood!” Hosea 4:1, 2.
THE CAUSE OF ALL WOE

Sin, then, is the cause of the controversy between God and man. The transgression which first
interrupted the harmony existing between Creator and creature, brought a curse upon this rebellious
province of the divine dominions. Nevertheless, God has permitted sin to continue, that all might see its
fruit. It has been the cause of all the woe, strife, unrest. war, and death, both of nations and of men; and it
will finally overwhelm the world.
Man rebelled against God and broke His law. God held men amenable to the rule of right, and
they would not yield obedience. They forsook their allegiance to the King of heaven. His high authority
they set at naught. Hence He bath a controversy with man. Sin is the cause of it. Sin made this breach, and
ever since has been widening it. Sin, which is the transgression of God’s holy law, separated man from
God, and caused man to lift up his puny hand against his Maker.
And from the beginning until now, as a result of sin, the nations have sat in darkness, not because
it was necessary, but because they willed it so. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness
rather than light. Not only individuals but nations have been rebellious. Beneath the “glory of nations”
there is shame and crime. Throughout all history iniquity has been established by law. The blood of
murdered innocence has cried out; blood has been in all their palaces of pride and power; there have been
the gain of wrongdoing, the wages of oppression, the hire of sin, and the price of blood. The cry of
oppression has ascended to God through the centuries. There is not a nation in all history that can stand
justified before God.
As a result of sin, commotion rock the world today; turmoil reigns everywhere; black clouds hang
with evil presage on all earth’s political horizons. Mutual hatred embitters the relations of nations with
each other. Self -destructive infatuation pervades the councils of the mighty; feverish restlessness
permeates the world. Men’s fairest schemes result in failure. There is “distress of nations, with perplexity”;
“men’s hearts
failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” The nations are
heaving in restless fury, like the roaring of the sea in a great storm.
A WORLD AT WAR WITH GOD

And the reason for it all is that the world is at war with God. It is at war with His truth, His
holiness, His justice, His people, His purposes, and His law. It is this that poisons all earth’s banquets, that
dislocates its machinery, that stains its pride. And it is this that will eventually, and before very long,
utterly wreck the world. Yes, wreck the world. Utter ruin lies in the near future. Let no mistake be made
here. God Himself has spoken concerning the destiny of the earth, and what He has said bears on this
question of Armageddon.
God used the prophet Jeremiah, who in his youth had been set “over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, . . . to build, and to plant” (Jeremiah 1 :10), to inform us of the
outcome of the Lord’s controversy with the nations. Anciently it was the custom of the king to inflict the
death penalty on criminal characters by a cup of poison; and in speaking of God’s dealing with the nations,
the prophet uses the same figure.
“Thus said the Lord God of Israel unto me: Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand, and cause
all nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of
the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to
drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me!’ Jeremiah 25:15-17.
The prophet then enumerates by name the nations of that time who are treated as guilty criminals,
deserving of God’s wrath. Then his vision widens and covers unknown nations and empires of the future
until it involves the whole earth. He says:
“All the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world,
which are upon the face of the earth: therefore shall thou say unto them, Thus said the Lord of hosts, the
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God of Israel. Drink you, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword
which I will send among you. You shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the
inhabitants of the earth, said the Lord of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and
say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall
mightily roar upon His habitation. He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the
inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy
with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, said the Lord.
Thus said the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall
be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the
earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they
shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:26-33.
GOD’S FEARFUL MALEDICTION HURLED AT THE NATIONS

This prophecy covers the record of the controversy between God and man, before written by
Jeremiah. The judgments of God which began upon Jerusalem and Israel and the surrounding nations
because of their rejection of His authority and truth, were to overspread all the earth. The nations named,
upon which the wrath of God was pronounced, have disappeared, but the prophet did not stop with them.
He takes God’s fearful malediction and hurls it down to the very end of time, fastening it upon “all the
kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth.” The noise of this conflict is to “come even to
the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations.”
The “great whirlwind,” the great tempest of the wrath of God, will bring ruin to all the earth. As a
result of it, the earth, from end to end, will he strewn with the slain of the Lord, ungathered, unlamented,
unburied. God’s wrath will “fall grievously upon the head of the wicked,” and this work of desolation will
take place “in the latter days.” Jeremiah 23: 19, 20.
In this manner the Lord will close His controversy with the nations. In this manner He will
confound His adversaries. In this manner He will condemn the world with an overthrow. This will be
Armageddon. When the nations of the earth unite against God, against His people, against His truth,
against His law, and “make war with the Lamb,” then “the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of
lords, and King of kings.” Revelation 17:14.
WHERE ARMAGGEDON WILL BE FOUGHT

ARMAGEDDON is not merely the war which will close the history of the human race; it is also
the place where this war will be fought.
“Armageddon” means literally the mountain, or hill, of Megiddo. It is on the border of a vast,
triangular plain in the northern part of Palestine, about sixty miles north of Jerusalem. Megiddo has given
its name to the adjacent territory. The plain is bounded on the west by the range of mountains terminating
in Mount Carmel; on the northeast by Mount Tabor. And on the southeast by Mount Gilboa. The area
enclosed by these mountain ranges has probably seen more fighting than any other similar area on the
surface of the earth. It is doubtful that any other equal area is so blood-drenched as this.
This triangular plain is sometimes spoken of in the Bible as “the valley of Jezreel.” Hosea 1:5. It is
the plain shown on Bible maps as “the plain of Esdraelon.” It became, indeed, a “valley of slaughter,” and
because of battles which settled the destinies of nations, it came to be known as “the valley of decision.”
Joel 3:14.
So much slaughter took place in this valley that it became the synonym for mourning.
“In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the
valley of Megiddon!” Zechariah 12:11.
A PREDESTINED PLACE OF BLOOD AND STRIFE

The valley is the center of many events closely connected with the history of Israel. The
Encyclopedia Americana speaks of it as “the great battlefield where occurred the chief conflicts between
the Israelites and their enemies.” It was the military key of Syria, commanding the highway which ran
northward into Phoenicia and Coele-Syria, as well as the road which ran across Galilee to Damascus and
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the rich valley of the Euphrates. George Cormack, in his Egypt in Asia, page 83, says:
“The vale of the Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battlefields. Through all
history they retained that qualification; there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been
decided. It was regarded as a predestined place of blood and strife.”
This spot witnessed one of the greatest triumphs of Israel when Joshua drove the heathen nations
out of Canaan, when “fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo.”” judges 5:19.
It was in this valley that the slaughter of the Canaanites under Sisera took place, when they were
overthrown by Barak and Deborah. (Judges 4.) It was here that Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, slew
Sisera, the enemy of God’s people (Judges 4:21), and became one of the great heroines of Israel, noted in
song and story as “blessed above women.” Judges 5:24.
It was just on the eastern edge of this valley, at Endor, that King Saul sought counsel of a witch,
which act resulted in his death in the great battle with the Philistines, which also took place in the valley, at
Mount Gilboa, Jonathan perishing with his father, together with hosts of other Israelites. (1 Samuel 31:1-7.
It was also here that Josiah, the king of Israel, was slain, and his army overthrown, in the warfare
with Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt. (2 Kings 23:29, 30.)
Here, too, it was that Elijah slaughtered the prophets of 13aal in that great test between the true
God and the false gods. (1 Kings 18.)
It was on the edge of this valley, overlooking this place so rich in historical associations, that
Jesus grew to manhood, at Nazareth. Close by He performed His first miracle, at Cana. Not far away He
delivered the sermon on the mount, announcing the principles on which His kingdom is founded.
And here the armies of earth are, before long, to fight the battle which will close the history of this
warring world of man against man, of race against race, of nation against nation, of class against class, of
religion against religion, of man against God.
THE SIGNAL FOR ARMAGEDDON

THE downfall of the Turkish power will be the signal for the beginning of Armageddon. This is
plainly foreseen, and definitely stated, in the prophecies of Revelation.
But before dealing with this and the factors in the present situation in the Near East, I desire to
sketch with rapid strokes some of the history of Turkey. The present situation as it fulfills prophecy cannot
be appreciated without a brief and broad survey of the historical background.
In the territory controlled and occupied by Turkey we have a contact between the East and the
West, between the Orient and the Occident. This contact dates back, at this particular point, four or five
centuries before Christ, and has always been prolific of trouble.
The first world empires, Babylon and Medo-Persia, were Eastern empires. Western ideas were
introduced in the East for the first time by Greece, the third world empire. Rome also extended her rule into
Asia. With the Roman Empire the authority of the West was extended over the East clear to the valley of
the upper Euphrates. To that authority the peoples of what we now call the Near East submitted.
In the West, Latin Christianity was organizing its forces and strengthening itself by alliances with
civil rulers. In the East the Greek Church was developing similarly, though in a more quiet and less
aggressive manner. But the natural conservatism of the Orient was to be broken by the advent of a new
religion. In the seventh century Mohammed, uniting spiritual and political power, and claiming
enlightenment and authority from heaven, not only launched a new faith, but put a sword into the hands of
the East for its dissemination, with the result that there was a terrible upheaval, affecting both East and
West.
TRIUMPH OF THE CRESCENT OVER THE CROSS

By the power of that sword Mohammedanism made a drive into India. It overwhelmed the
churches of Northern Africa in the persons of the Saracens, or Arabs, and obtained a foothold even in
Europe, as a result of its drive into Spain. Then the tide ebbed. But later, the Turks, superseding the Arabs,
drove again toward Europe, overrunning Asia Minor, and then brought terror to all Christendom by
subjugating the Balkan Peninsula, capturing Constantinople in 1453, and in 1529 besieging Vienna. That
was the astonishing phase of the contest between the crescent and the cross, of which this generation is
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destined to witness the final conflict.

Mohammedanism, as an engine of good government, has failed everywhere. Its civil rule has been
neither good nor stable. All history testifies to this. Its Mogul empire in India collapsed. The Moors were
driven out of Spain. The entire group of Moslem states in North Africa-Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli,
and Egypt-have been forced to accept Western supervision in order to save themselves from anarchic
decay. The Ottoman authority broke down, slowly but surely, in the Balkans and the Near East. One by one
Turkey lost control of Moldavia, Herzegovina, Dalmatia, Rumelia, Bosnia, Walachia, Rumania, Greece,
Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Albania. Mesopotamia, Arabia, Palestine, and Syria. For more than a
century the world has witnessed the second ebbing of the Islamic tide.
The Turk can conquer, but he cannot educate or govern according to Western standards. Along
the lines suggested he has little to offer that would inspire confidence. The fact that the religion of the
Turks has always been propagated by the sword forbids any hope of peace between the cross and the
crescent. In short, the Near East is the point of contact between antagonistic civilizations, and in this
contact there is no assurance of peace.
THE QUARRELS AND DIVISIONS OF CHRISTENDOM

From the beginning of its history one of the chief sources of the strength of Islam has been found
in the quarrels and divisions of Christendom. Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453 mainly
because the Moslems were banded together in theological unity, while their enemies were wrangling over a
theological trinity. Outside the city the army of the infidel was one; inside, the armies of the orthodox were
several. It has been on such differences, sometimes religious, sometimes political, that the Turk has relied
for centuries.
Three centuries ago, after a disastrous war, when the terms of peace were being discussed at the
Sublime Porte, the reigning sultan, with the co-operation and approval of the sheikh ul Islam, ordered the
following prayer to be recited at every sunset in every mosque in all parts of the Ottoman Empire:
“May the Angel of Discord, who has always been our ally, come again to our aid, and confound
our enemies.”
France and Britain rule over Mohammedan populations -Great Britain over one hundred million
Moslems. The number of Moslems in the world is at least two hundred million. They are a solid unit in
religion, holding a common faith, and their Christian rulers deal with them very gently and warily.
Until the time when Turkey established a republic, there had not been a day for the last three
quarters of a century when Turkey as a political entity could not easily have been destroyed. During that
time the Ottoman Empire had not existed by its own strength, but wholly by the sufferance and deliberate
choice of the great powers of Europe.
The condition of Turkey before the rise of the republic under Kernal Pasha was accurately stated
in a pamphlet issued by the Armenian Society of London.
“It is impossible to talk of the Ottoman Empire as if it were a nation like the United States or like
Holland. It is an artificial creation of treaties that is kept in existence by the powers for their own
convenience.”
A SCRAMBLE FOR OTTOMAN TERRITORY

While it would have been an easy matter to eliminate Turkey altogether as a civil state, the powers
kept it in existence in order to avoid war among themselves. Because of the desire of every great nation for
the acquisition of Turkish territory, and the danger that the disruption of Turkish power would result in an
appalling scramble for its assets, the nations have dealt most carefully with the Turkish, or Eastern,
Question. This continued for three quarters of a century, and is frankly admitted by statesmen.
Lord Salisbury, when prime minister of England, in his Mansion House speech, November 9,
1895, said:
“Turkey is in the remarkable Position that it has now stood for half a century, mainly because the
great powers have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is necessary that the Ottoman Empire
should stand. They came to that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they have altered it
now. The danger, if the Ottoman Empire fell, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the
territories of which that empire consists. It would be the danger that the fire there lit should spread to other
nations, and should involve all that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous
contest. That was a danger that was present to the minds of our fathers when they resolved to make the
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integrity and independence of the Ottoman Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which
has not passed away.”
THE COMPLICATED EASTERN QUESTION

Mohammedanism still numbers its adherents by millions. India and other lands of the East still
have a large Moslem population. But Mohammedanism’s political head has been crushed. Not only has
Turkey’s territory gradually been dried up, but she has renounced the caliphate, lost her sultan, and become
a republic. Of late years she has made Angora her capital, in place d the historic Constantinople. Today she
occupies but a tithe of the territory she held in the heyday of her power.
What would happen if Turkey should lose her national existence altogether? Would such a change
bring an uprising of the Mohammedan world? Would it be the signal for a clash of the East against the
West? Would this be the tinderbox which would start the world conflagration? Would it be the “Sarajevo”
which would precipitate the avalanche? We turn to Bible prophecy for an answer, sensing meanwhile that
the alarming complications in Europe and Asia bode no good for the world.
The world stands trembling for fear that any attempted solution of the Eastern Question and of
other vexing problems may result in a war which will sweep civilization into the discard. And the
Scriptures reveal that when Armageddon comes it will be at the very end of the world, under the sounding
of the seventh angel (Revelation 11:15), when Jesus Christ is about to return in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.
When the time comes for the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the end of the world, God’s
mercy is past, and His wrath is poured out upon the last generation of human beings, who have rejected all
the accumulated light of His revealed Word. Concerning what happens then, we read:
“I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues;
for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them
that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of
his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant
of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just
and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, 0 Lord, and glorify Thy name? for
Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made
manifest.
“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was
opened: and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white
linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven
angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled
with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till
the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled!” Revelation 15.
This striking scripture is but an introduction to the most terrific judgments of God that ever have
been, or ever will be, visited upon this earth-the seven last plagues. It should be noted that during the
pouring out of these plagues no one can enter the temple of God. This means that when the plagues begin
to fall, probation is past.
THE SIXTH PLAGUE

The most severe trouble, woe, and distress which ever have been, or ever will be, on the earth,
will come under these plagues. They are the seven last plagues. The sixth plague is the last event to take
place before the Second Coming of our Lord. Of this we read:
“The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was
dried up, that the way of the kings of the cast might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and
of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a
thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And
he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Revelation 16:12-16.
Rotherham translates this passage as follows:
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“The sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river the Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried
up, that the way might be prepared of the kings who were from the rising of the sun. For they are spirits of
demons doing signs, which are to go forth unto the kings of the whole habitable earth to gather them
together unto the battle of the great day of God the Almighty. And he gathered them together unto the
place that is called in Hebrew Har Magedon.” Sawyer renders the passage thus:
“The sixth poured out his bowl on the river, the great Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that
the way of the kings from the East might be prepared. For [these] are spirits of demons that perform
miracles, that go to the kings of all the world, to assemble them for the battle of that great day of God
Almighty.... And they assembled them in the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”
The “Emphatic Diaglot” has this translation:
“The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so
that the way of those kings who are from the sun rising might be prepared. For they are spirits of demons,
working signs, which go forth to the kings of the whole habitable, to gather them together for the war of
that great day of the omnipotent God. And he gathered them together into that place which is called in
Hebrew Armageddon.”
Fenton translates the passage thus:
“Then the sixth emptied his vial upon the mighty river Euphrates: and its water was dried up, so
that a road might be prepared for the kings from the rising sun. For they are spirits of demons-producing
signs which they cause to be sent out to the kings of the whole habitable world, to muster them for the war
of the great day of God, the Almighty! They accordingly muster them to the place which in Hebrew is
named Har-Megeddon.”
Moffatt renders the passage:

“The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its waters were dried up to
prepare the way for the kings from the east. Demon spirits performing miracles, who come out to muster
the kings of the whole world for battle on the great day of almighty God. And they were mustered at the
spot called (in Hebrew) Harmagedon.”
Weymouth translates the passage:
“The sixth angel poured his bowl into that great river, the Euphrates; and its stream was dried up
in order to clear the way for the kings who are to come from the East. For they are the spirits of demons
working marvels-spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle
which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all. And assemble them they did at the place
called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.”
Ballantine, in his “Riverside New Testament,” renders the passage:
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to
make a road ready for the kings from the sun rising. They are the spirits of demons who work miracles, and
they go forth to the kings of the whole habitable world to gather them for the battle of the great day of God
the Almighty. The spirits gathered them to the place called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.”
Goodspeed translates the passage:
“The sixth emptied his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and its waters dried up to make the
way ready for the kings from the East. They are demon spirits that perform wonders, and they go out to the
kings all over the world to muster them for battle on the great day of God Almighty. So they mustered the
kings at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”
Under the sixth plague the river Euphrates is to be dried up. And this is to be done “so that a road
might be prepared for the kings of the rising sun.”
THE DRYING UP OF THE EUPHRATES

This certainly cannot refer to the literal drying up of the waters of the literal river. This river flows
down from the mountains of Armenia into the Persian Gulf. It has been flowing at least ever since the
Flood. And during all this time it has been crossed and crossed by mighty armies, even when it was at the
flood, and no army ever found it necessary to have it dried up in order to cross it. So this language cannot
refer to the literal river.
What is meant by the waters of the river, we learn from the following passage, which interprets
the symbol.
“He said unto me, The waters which thou saw are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and
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tongues.” Revelation 17:15.

The water of the river is a symbol of that power which occupies the territory in that part of the
earth drained by the river Euphrates. The drying up of the waters of the river would mean the setting aside
or the destruction of the power. And that power is Turkey. Turkey, then, according to the Word of God, is
to be overthrown and destroyed.
But it may be objected that Turkey now controls only a part of the territory drained by the upper
Euphrates. Very true; but a stream can be dried up only by drying up its source. When it was decided to
change the direction of the flow of the Chicago River so that instead of emptying into Lake Michigan, its
polluted waters should be discharged through the south fork into the Des Plaines River, finally reaching the
Mississippi by way of the Illinois River, this was not done by raising the mouth of the Chicago River, but
by lowering its source, so that its waters would naturally flow south instead of north. Even so, if the course
of the Euphrates is to be changed or its waters are to be dried up, the change must be wrought, not at its
mouth, but at its source, still controlled by the Turk.
When the Euphrates is dried up, or, dropping the figure, when Turkey is destroyed, there will he a
scramble f or this territory, which will result in general war. This will he the certain result, both in the
opinion of world statesmen and also in the teaching of the Bible.
As a result of the downfall of Turkey, “the kings of the earth, and of the whole world,” will he
gathered to Armageddon.
Resulting from the downfall of Turkey there will be a repercussion throughout all the East, and a
“road” will be “prepared for the kings from the rising sun” to attack the war weakened powers of the West.
They will come up with “the kings of the whole habitable world,” mustered for the war of the
great day of God, the Almighty.
AN INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT
Who are these kings from the rising sun, the “kings of the east”? They are the Asiatic nations
lying east of Palestine, the heathen nations, the colored races, constituting more than half the population of
the earth.
Here, then, is outlined the real “yellow peril,” long foreseen and feared by the West. Here, indeed,
is “the rising tide of color!”
Armageddon will not be merely an international conflict; it will be interracial and religious as
well. In connection with Armageddon there will be the pouring out of the seventh, and final, plague.
“The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple
of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightning; and
there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and
so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon
came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And
every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of
heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the
hail; for the Plague thereof was exceeding great.” Revelation 16:17-21.
As a result of Armageddon, human governments, as now constituted, will pass out of existence
forever. Man, with his works his cities, his kingdoms, his glory, and all his pomp, pageantry, and pride,
will be overthrown.
At Armageddon international, interracial, and religious strife will give place to that phase of
man’s effort to retain the dominion of this earth described in Revelation 19:19 as a contest between the
armies of earth and the armies of heaven. The war between nations will be interrupted by the personal,
visible return of Jesus Christ in power and great glory, for it is then that He comes to “break” the nations
“with a rod of iron,” and “dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalms 2:9.
THE RETURN OF JESUS

THAT Jesus will come again the second time is one of the plainest teachings of the Bible. No
other stands out so clearly as this.
If we take only the testimony of Jesus Himself, who repeated again and again to His disciples the
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teaching that He would come the second time, we shall have sufficient evidence of the truth of this
doctrine.
JESUS PROMISED TO RETURN

Just before His death, for the comfort and encouragement of His disciples, Christ said to them:
“Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are
many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be
also.” John 14:1-3.
Certainly this is a clear-cut, unequivocal promise, the meaning of which there is no possibility of
mistaking. The Master Himself said, “I will come again.”
To the unbelieving Pharisees and scribes, just before His betrayal, He said:
“You shall not see Me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is He that comes in the name of the
Lord!’ Matthew 23:39.
When instructing His disciples, in answer to their question, “What shall he the sign of Thy
coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3) Jesus said:
“Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory!’ Matthew 24:30.
And to His disciples again He said:
“The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels!’ Matthew 16:27.
When adjured by the high priest at His trial, Jesus answered:
“Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the
clouds of heaven!’ Matthew 26:64.
Finally, in the last chapter of the Bible, this same Jesus repeats three times to His servant John this
truth of His Second Coming. “Behold, I come quickly”; “And, behold, I come quickly”; “Surely I come
quickly.” Revelation 22:7, 12, 20.
This uniform testimony of the Savior is enough to create conviction in every heart that accepts
Him as its guide and teacher. There is no doubt here. Jesus is coming again.
THE PURPOSE OF HIS COMING

The purpose of the coming of Christ the second time is set forth in the Bible just as clearly as the
fact of His coming. He is coming to receive His people unto Himself.
“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 142, 3.
His people will be gathered together by His angels when He comes.
“He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:31.
At the time when Jesus comes, most of His people will be sleeping in death. And therefore one of
the primary purposes of the coming of Christ is to awake the sleeping saints and give them an immortal
existence.
“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Some of the people of God, however, will be alive at this time, not having tasted death. These will
be united with those who have been raised from the dead, and both classes will be caught up together to be
with Jesus.
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
When this takes place, both classes will be changed from their mortal, corruptible state and given
a glorious immortality.
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians
15:51-53.
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TO JUDGE THE WORLD

Another purpose for which Christ will come the second time will be to judge the world.
“For He comes, for He comes to judge the earth; He shall judge the world with righteousness, and
the people with His truth.” Psalms 96:13.
Paul makes it very clear that the judgment of the living and the dead will take place at the Second
Coming of Christ.
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the
dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word.” 2 Timothy 4:1, 2.
It was at this time also that Paul expected to get his reward for faithfulness. He says again:
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing!’ 2 Timothy
4:8.
It is at the time of the second advent of Christ that the great and final separation of the righteous
and the wicked takes place.
‘When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit
upon the throne of His glory. And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one
from another, as the shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:31, 32.
At this judgment every man will be rewarded in exact accordance with his works. Rewards and
punishments will be apportioned to the righteous and the wicked.
“The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward
every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:27.
THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE

The Second Coming of Christ is also for the purpose of bringing complete salvation to His
people-salvation from death and the grave forever.
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He
appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28.
Of this glorious time we read:
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces;
and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord bath spoken it. And it
shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord;
we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation!’ Isaiah 25:8, 9.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED

Another purpose for which the Lord will come the second time will be to destroy from the earth
the wicked, those who have rejected His mercy and His truth.
“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2
Thessalonians 1:7, 8.
Concerning this same punishment, we read:
“With righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:
and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the
wicked!” Isaiah 11:4.
John writes of this destruction of the wicked at the coming of Christ as follows:
“The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be
judged, and that Thou should give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that
fear Thy name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18.
THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

Another great purpose of God in the Second Coming of Christ is the restoration of all things
which have been lost through the introduction of sin into this world.
“He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive
until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets
since the world began.” Acts 3:20, 21.
Jesus will come as King of kings and Lord of lords, to reign forever and ever.
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“I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war.” “He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11, 16.
TO ESTABLISH AN ETERNAL KINGDOM

The kingdom over which He will rule will be an everlasting kingdom.
“In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: ... and it shall stand forever.” Daniel 2:44.
“There was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:14.
“The Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even forever.” Micah 4:7.
“Of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:33.
And to this kingdom the people of God shall be joint heirs with Christ, and the coming of Christ
will assure to His people the kingdom which has been promised the faithful.
“The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be
given to the People of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey Him!” Daniel 7:27.
“Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:34.
“And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation
5:10.
THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING

In order to prepare the people on the earth for His coming, that this great and glorious event may
not come upon them unawares, the Lord has set forth in His Word many signs which show the nearness of
this event.
The unparalleled running to and fro, the remarkable increase in knowledge, the striking activity in
invention-all were foretold in the prophecies.
“Thou, 0 Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run
to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” Daniel 12:4.
The world-wide distress of nations and the fears that strike into the hearts of the human race when
they look into the future were also given as signs of the coming of Christ.
“There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and 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.” Luke 21: 25, 26.
The trouble which is brewing and constantly breaking out between capital and labor is also
foretold as a sign of the times.
“Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your
riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is rotted; and the rust of them
shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You have heaped treasure together
for the last days.” James 5:1-3.
The condition of the religious world, its love of self, its boasting, its pride, its blasphemy, its
disobedience, its ingratitude, its lack of holiness, its lack of natural affection, its truce breaking, its false
accusing, its hatred of goodness, its treason, its headstrong recklessness. Its haughtiness, its love of
pleasure, its formalism and hypocrisy, and the corruption that permeates our entire social fabric-all are
pointed out in the Bible.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without
natural affection, trucebreakers. False accusers, incontinent, fierce, despising of those that are good,
traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
THE MANNER OF HIS COMING

The manner of Christ’s coming is also set forth with great plainness in the Scriptures. His coming
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is to be literal. He is actually to appear in the sight of men. This is made very plain.
“Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation!”
Hebrews 9:28.
“Looking for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus
Christ.” Titus 2:13.
“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear.” Colossians 3:4.
“When the Chief Shepherd shall appear.” 1 Peter 5:4.
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence.” 1
John 2:28.
“We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him.” 1 John 32.
“Might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:7.
“Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Timothy 6:14.
“Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom.” 2 Timothy 4:1.
“They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 24:30.
That the coming of Christ will be witnessed by the entire world is also made plain.
“Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him.”
Revelation 1:7.
The Second Coming of Christ will be accompanied by such a demonstration of power and glory
that nothing in all the annals of history will compare with it.
with the trump of God.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
“As the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of
the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:27.
“They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
Matthew 24:30.
“He shall come in His own glory, and His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:26.
A PERSONAL COMING
The Second Coming of Christ will be a personal coming. He Himself will actually return.
“While they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in
white apparel; which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into
heaven.” Acts 1:10, 11.
“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
“He’s coming once again,

To set His people free;
There where He is, in glory bright,
His saints may also be.
Then lift the drooping head,
Look up, rejoice, and sing;
He comes, in majesty sublime,
Salvation’s glorious King.”
THE MILLENNIUM
THE Second Coming of Christ is the event which ushers in the millennium. The millennium is
not, as so many suppose, a thousand years of glory and peace on earth. It is not an age of progress. It does
not result from the conversion of the whole world; nor will the world be converted during that period.
Neither Christ nor His people will be on earth during the thousand years. That period does not offer a
second probation to any.
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On the contrary, it will be an age of darkness and gloom. It will be a period when death reigns
over all the earth. The day of salvation will then have ended; the day of the Lord will have begun. And of
this day of the Lord, or the millennium, we read:
“Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! To what end is it for you ? The day of the Lord is
darkness and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and
leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?
even very dark, and no brightness in it?” Amos 5:18-20.
“Blow you the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My Holy mountain: let all the inhabitants
of the land tremble. For the day of the Lord comes, for it is nigh at hand. A day of darkness and of
gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains. A great
people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of
many generations.” Joel 2:1,2.
THE BINDING OF SATAN

During the thousand-year period-the millennium-Satan will be bound in some place called “the
bottomless pit.” Here it is impossible for him to carry on his work of deception. Here he receives a partial
punishment for his career of evil.
“I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in
his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And
I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which
had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in
their hands: and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not
again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection!’ Revelation 20:1-5.
The fact that Satan is bound during the millennium has led many to conclude that this period will
be a very happy, glorious time of peace among the nations, that all the nations will he converted to the
gospel, and as a result will disband their armies, dismantle their navies, and learn war no more. This theory
has been taught so long that it has come to be widely believed, but it has absolutely no foundation in the
Scriptures.
THE WORLD WILL NOT BE CONVERTED

The Bible nowhere teaches that the whole world will he converted. In the parable of the wheat and
tares, recorded in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, it is made very plain that both the righteous and the wicked
are to “grow together” until the “harvest,” which is explained to be “the end of the world.” At the end of
the world, instead of the wicked all being converted, they are to be cast into a furnace of fire, where there
will be “wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Instead of the world’s growing better and better, as the exponents of the world-conversion theory
teach, we are plainly told in the Bible that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving,
and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:13.
In describing the days immediately preceding His Second Coming, Jesus declared:
“As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they
drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and
the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire
and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed.” Luke 17:26-30.
A picture of the days just before the Second Coming of Christ, then, may be had by a study of the
character of the times just before the Flood, and before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Concerning these conditions, we read:
“God saw that the wickedness of man was great in all the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5.
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THE ORDER OF MILLENNIAL EVENTS

The order of the events that open and close the millennium is plainly set forth in the teachings of
the Bible. It is to begin, as we have seen, with the Second Coming of Christ. At this time there will be four
classes of people on the earth; namely, the righteous dead, the righteous living, the wicked dead, and the
wicked living. The Bible makes it plain what will become of each class,
At the coming of Christ all the righteous dead will be raised from their graves and will he taken to
heaven with the righteous living, who are to be translated.
with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.
The righteous dead, then, together with the righteous living, will be caught up to meet the Lord on
the cloud. They will not remain in the air, as some teach, but will go with the Lord to heaven.
“In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare
a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself;
that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2,3,
In heaven they remain during the thousand years of the millennium.
“They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4.
It is plain from this that the righteous are not on earth but in heaven during the thousand years of
the millennium.
The wicked dead are not raised at the Second Coming of Christ. They are left unmolested in their
tombs. Their sleep is not broken at this time; for-
“The rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished!’
Revelation 20:5.
THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

There are two resurrections-a resurrection of the righteous at the Second Coming of Christ, and a
resurrection of the wicked one thousand years later, at the close of the millennium. Thus the millennium
opens with a resurrection and closes with a resurrection.
The living wicked will perish at the Second Coming of Christ, and will remain dead until the
second resurrection, at the close of the millennium. It is to the wicked living at the coming of Christ that
the apostle refers in 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8.
“You who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
From this plain teaching of the Bible we see clearly what becomes of the four classes on the earth
at the Second Coming of Christ. The righteous dead will be raised, the righteous living will be translated,
and together these two classes will be taken to heaven to live and reign with Christ for a thousand years.
The wicked dead will be left in their tombs, the wicked living will all be brought to death, and together
these two classes will remain in the prison house of death until the close of the millennium.
THE DEPOPULATION OF THE EARTH

DURING the millennium the world will be in a completely ruined, wrecked, and depopulated
condition. It is Armageddon which will begin the slaughter that is to be as wide as the world. Armageddon
is not only the self-destruction of a world in rebellion against God, but it is the forerunner of the final
overthrow that shall befall all the wicked forces of earth, a ruin from which there shall be no recovery, no
return.
There could not, in the very nature of things, be any other issue than this to the great controversy
between God and a world in revolt. True, the human race might lay down its arms, and cease to fight
against God, and thus bring an end to the rebellion; but so long as the race persists in its warfare, it can
look forward to no other end than complete destruction.
For the controversy is one between right and wrong, between good and evil, and there can be no
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other issue to it, as far as men are concerned, except voluntarily giving up the wrong or perishing with it. In
a warfare between a just and almighty Creator and His frail and rebellious creatures, between a righteous
and omnipotent Ruler and His puny and revolted subjects, there can be but one end. Rebellious men must
go down in death, while God triumphs. Wrong must be defeated by right.
SIN MUST BE ANNIHILATED

On the part of Jehovah the controversy is a just and righteous one. And being such, it admits of no
compromise of the eternal principles of righteousness to the willfulness of fallen and misguided man. Nor
can God be indifferent to man’s sin, or neglect it, or overlook it. This would be but to perpetuate wrong.
No, the cause of the controversy must be rooted up, the thing which caused the separation between man
and God must be destroyed. Sin must be annihilated. Before the controversy can ever end, its cause must
be eliminated. There can be no other adjustment.
And therefore, so far as man is concerned, there can he but two ways for the controversy between
himself and God to end. Sin is to be destroyed. Man can give it up and return to God, or he can be
destroyed with it. Either he must yield to his Creator and return meekly, penitently, and obediently to his
allegiance to God; or, refusing to do this and continuing persistently to set aside the divine authority, and
rejecting the mercy which has been offered, and despising the grace which has been extended to draw him
back, he must finally fall beneath the stroke of that justice which he has outraged, and be destroyed by the
execution of those laws which he has transgressed. He must either bow or be broken, yield or he
overthrown, for God cannot deny Himself.
It is, as we have seen, at the time of Armageddon that-
“Evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the
earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the
earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground!’
Jeremiah 25:32, 31
“THERE WAS NO MAN”

It is just after this great visitation of the wrath of God at Armageddon and the Second Coming of
Christ, that the prophet has a view of the earth. He says:
“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was
no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and
all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” Jeremiah
4:23-26.
A description of the earth during the millennium will be found also in Isaiah:
“Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and
scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof!’ “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord
bath spoken this word.” Isaiah 24:1,3.
THE DEATH WARRANT OF A GODLESS RACE

The utter depopulation and ruin of the earth-such is the terrible destiny which hangs over this
world. Not since the waters of the Flood overwhelmed the human race has such a terrible and widespread
destruction been known to man. In history there has been no fulfillment of this prediction. The war which
humanity has been waging against Jehovah has not yet reached its final issue. But the end is hurrying on
apace. The wrath of God, like a pall of blackness, hangs over the impenitent world. It is the death warrant
of a godless and impious race. Nothing but slaughter as wide as the world can fill in the terrible picture.
And when the time has come for God to pronounce judgment-
“Behold the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger
with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all
flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many!” Isaiah 66:15, 16.
THE FURIOUS TORNADO OF GOD’S WRATH

This great tempest of the wrath of God will break suddenly upon a surprised and unready world.
Those who have rejected God’s final offer of mercy, His closing message of the gospel, will be solacing
their hearts with the belief that universal and lasting peace has at last been brought about between the
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nations of the world. Claims will be put forth that man has at last solved the long problems of the ages and
created a perfect form of international government. And then-
“When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon
a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1
Like a furious tornado will the storm of the wrath of an offended God burst upon those who have
despised His mercy. “In the latter days” it shall do its work, falling grievously upon the head of the wicked.
(Jeremiah 23:19, 20.) The earth will be strewn from end to end with the bodies of the slain of the Lord, as
“dung upon the ground.” (Jeremiah 25:31-33.) The great and mighty, the nobles and princes, are called
upon to howl and mourn over their impending ruin.
“Howl, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, you principal of the flock: for
the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and you shall fall like a pleasant
vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape!’ Jeremiah
25:34, 35.
This is the final doom of the rebellious race.
“Your hand shall find out all Your enemies: Thy right hand shall find out those that hate Thee.
Thou shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in His
wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shall Thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from
among the children of men!” Psalms 21:8-10.
DASHED IN PIECES LIKE A POTTER’S VESSEL

While the heathen are raging and the people imagining a vain thing, while rulers plot and kings
devise impotent devices, then-
“He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: and the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He
speak unto them in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure.” “Thou shall break them with a rod of
iron; Thou shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalms 2:4, 5, 9.
In this manner the long controversy between God and man will close. There is no other prospect
than this for a sin-cursed and impenitent race which persists in sin.
The race which obstinately continues its rebellion, and thus makes itself the enemy of God, cannot
hope for life. For when Christ shall come to decide the controversy, then “a fire goes before Him, and
burns up His enemies round about.” Psalms 97:1
“The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge
among the heathen, He shall fill the places with the dead bodies; He shall wound the heads over many
countries.” Psalms 110:5, 6.
STRUCK WITH DIVINE JUSTICE

Similar to this is the instruction given to Ezekiel. After he beholds the terrible wrath of God
poured out upon the nations which then existed, his eye pierces the future to the events of “the latter years.”
And there, in connection with the consummation of the great controversy between a rebellious race and its
Creator, he sees the countless foes of God marshaling themselves to battle against Jehovah, like the
gathering of a great tempest. But he also sees them met with the fearful fury and vengeance of a despised
God, who rains upon them “hailstones, fire, and brimstone,” while at the same time He summons all the
fowls of heaven and the beasts of the earth to come and gorge themselves upon the flesh of His enemies,
the great and mighty of the earth, who have been struck with divine justice. (Ezekiel 38:3-9, 17-22.)
In the vision of Daniel the kingdoms of the earth are represented by a great image, grand and
imposing, the materials of which degenerate in character until from the head of gold we descend, through
silver, brass, and iron, to the feet made of a mixture of iron and clay. And then, with a suddenness which
takes the world unawares, a great stone, thrown by unseen hands with terrible velocity, strikes the colossal
image on its feet, and crushes it all to powder, a powder which is driven and scattered by the whirlwinds
and tempests of God’s wrath until not a vestige of it remains, while the stone which overthrows the
kingdoms of the world becomes a great mountain which fills all the earth.
THE RESISTLESS MIGHT OF AN OFFENDED GOD

Here is foreshadowed the fact that earth’s kingdoms would degenerate, and the character of the
race become so sinful that the resistless might of an offended God would at last smite them, and thus bring
about their utter extermination, while their destruction would be followed by a better order of things in the
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kingdom of God, represented by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. This stone is to crush
every opposing power, and fill the entire earth with its eternal and beneficent influence.
Passing on to the prophecy of Joel, we find him predicting the same events, and the utter
overthrow of the enemies of God. All nations are summoned to the conflict. The men of war are bidden to
come up. Their plowshares are to be beaten into swords, and their pruning hooks into spears. Both weak
and strong are summoned to the valley of Jehoshaphat, to which place Jehovah Himself is to bring down
His mighty ones, and sit to judge the nations round about. Then goes forth the command:
“Put you in the sickle, for tile harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats
overflow; for their wickedness is great.” Joel 3:13.
Multitudes are there in that valley of decision. The skies overhead are clouded with a pall of
blackness. The voice of God thunders out of Zion, the heavens and the earth are shaken as by an
earthquake’s power, and God’s judgments fall with a fury which exterminates all His puny foes.
Similar allusions will be found in Amos, Obadiah, and Micah. Zephaniah foretells the time when
God shall “rise up to the prey” (Zephaniah 3:8), when the nations are gathered and the kingdoms
assembled. And at that time he declares that God will pour out upon them His indignation, even all His
fierce anger, and the fire of His jealousy will devour the whole earth. And the prophet Haggai delivers this
message from God:
“I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will
destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen. And I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride
in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.” Haggai
2:21, 22.
According to Paul, who comments on this passage, this shaking will he more severe than that on
Mount Sinai when the law was given, for that voice then shook only the earth, whereas it will now shake
both earth and heaven, removing everything that can be removed, while the things which cannot be shaken
and the kingdom that cannot be moved, will abide, and become the eternal heritage of God’s people.
Thus the testimony of inspired men on the point of the destiny of the human race is characterized
by unity and harmony. It leads to but one conclusion. The controversy between a revolted race and the
Creator will be closed by judgments unparalleled and indescribable in severity.
THE BOTTOMLESS PIT OF SATAN’S CAPTIVITY

From the description which the prophets have given of the condition of the earth during the
millennium, we see that it will be a waste, desolate wilderness. There will be no man here. The righteous
will be in heaven. The wicked will all be dead. The cities of the earth will be broken down at the presence
of the Lord. All the works of man will be destroyed. Darkness will cover the earth. The bodies of the dead
will be from one end of the earth to the other end. There will be no one to lament them or bury them.
It is the earth in this condition which is called the “bottomless pit,” into which Satan is cast and
bound. The term “bottomless pit” is used in Revelation 9:1,2, and is there applied to the Arabian Desert,
from which issued the hordes of Saracens and Turks which are described in that chapter. The term means
any place of darkness, desolation, and death. And when the earth, during the millennium, returns to its
original condition of chaos, “without form and void,” it becomes the “bottomless pit” of Satan’s captivity.
THE BINDING OF SATAN

Here, in this desolate earth, with its cities broken down and its whole expanse become a great
wilderness, without any of the human race left, Satan will be compelled to stay for one thousand years. He
is bound with a great chain. This chain is not a chain of iron or steel or tungsten or brass but a chain of
circumstances. He is unable to do anything. He cannot deceive the righteous, for they are in heaven, out of
his reach. He cannot deceive the wicked, for they are all dead. There is nothing he can do. By the very
circumstances of his position he is bound, and he must of necessity remain bound until some change is
brought about either in the condition of the righteous or in that of the wicked.
While this is not Satan’s final punishment, it is a just preliminary to it. It is sin which causes the
wreck of the world. It is sin which causes the cities of the earth to be broken down. It is sin that slays the
wicked. It is sin that makes the earth a desolate wilderness. All this is the work of Satan. This is the result
of the rebellion that he started in heaven and continued upon earth.
And now, during the millennium, he is made to understand what it all means, what its results have
been. This ruined world is his handiwork. And for a thousand years he is compelled to view the results of
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his work. He is compelled to live in the conditions which he himself has brought about. His work of
deception has been made impossible. The righteous have at last escaped his grasp and are enjoying the
delights of heaven at the court of the King of the universe. The wicked are before him, but they are cold in
death.
THE SECOND RESURRECTION

As it was the destruction of the wicked and the translation of the righteous at the Second Coming
of Christ which bound Satan, so the great chain with which he is bound will be broken by the resurrection
of the wicked at the close of the thousand years.
The millennium begins with a resurrection and ends with a resurrection. The righteous dead are
raised at its beginning, and accompany Christ to heaven. The wicked dead are raised at its close.
“The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection!” Revelation 20:5.
It is plain from this passage that the wicked dead are not raised until the close of the millennium;
for if the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years are finished, then when the thousand years
are finished, the rest of the dead (the wicked) will live again.
BREAKING SATAN’S BONDAGE

This, then, the resurrection of the wicked, breaks the chain of circumstances with which Satan has
been bound during the thousand years, and makes it possible for him again to enter upon the work of
deception. The emptying of the earth of all human inhabitants constituted his binding, and now the
resurrection of the wicked brings about his release.
The vast hosts of evil angels have been gathered about Satan, and now this great company is
joined by the innumerable throng of the wicked.
“The earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” “The earth shall cast out
the dead.” Isaiah 26:21, 19.
Bishop Low renders these words, “The earth shall cast forth as an abortion, the deceased tyrants.”
These are the ones spoken of in Isaiah 14:9.
“It stirs up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth.” Isaiah 14:9.
And this is rendered by Bishop Low, “He rouses for thee the mighty dead, all the great chiefs of
the earth.”
THE WICKED DEAD COME FORTH

Here are included the giants who lived on the earth before the Flood, and who perished with the
Flood. During the ages that are past the earth hid her dead. Blood defiled the land, and the pollution of the
dead carcasses made it unclean from end to end. But now an end has come to all this. The earth discloses
its blood, and no longer covers its slain.
The earth casts out the mighty dead. Every sinner comes forth. Death and the grave deliver up the
dead which are in them. The sea delivers up the dead which are in it. The accumulated generations which
were in the world “which then was,” and was overthrown with water at the time of the Flood, generations
which are now submerged in the bed of the oceans, and all the generations which have gone into their
graves since the world was overflowed with water, come forth together to receive their final and eternal
punishment.
Many of these who come forth in the second resurrection are skilled in warfare, and they are just
as eager as ever to destroy their opponents.
THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY CITY

It is at this time that the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, comes down from heaven and rests upon
the earth.
I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of
God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with
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them, and be their God.” Revelation 212, 3.

That beautiful city, lightened with the glory of God, destined to be the capital of the new earth,
settles down upon the place prepared for it, in the sight of the wicked. And in the city are the redeemed of
the Lord who have been living and reigning with Him during the millennium.
“In that pure home of tearless joy

Earth’s parted friends shall meet,
With smiles of love that never fade,
And blessedness complete.
There, there adieus are sounds unknown
Death frowns not on that scene.
But life and glorious beauty shine,
Untroubled and serene!”
THE CONTEST BETWEEN GOD AND MAN FINISHED

THE warfare of man against God, which was broken off at the Second Coming of Christ, when all
His enemies perished, will be resumed when the wicked are raised from the dead at the end of the
millennium. Their thousand-year sleep in death has not changed their natures in the slightest degree. They
went down to their graves in rebellion against God. Their first impulse on awakening from the sleep of
death is to continue in the same evil course.
The warfare of the rebellious race begins again just where it was broken off. But now it may be
seen in its true light. It is not now confused by a medley of motives, international, interracial, interreligious.
It is not a war of race or religion. It is not the colored race against the white, Protestant against Catholic,
Christian against heathen.
It appears now in its true colors. It is a rebellion against God. It is sinners against their Maker. It is
a revolt of the puny creatures of the earth against the Majesty of heaven. It is Satan against Christ, sin
against righteousness, evil against goodness.
SATAN PLANS TO CAPTURE THE NEW JERUSALEM

As Satan sees himself joined by the great host of the wicked, and beholds before him the New
Jerusalem containing the righteous and the holy angels with their loved Commander, the Son of God, he
determines that he will not yet abandon his struggle for the supremacy of the world. He points out to his
angels and the mighty men of the earth that the city appears to Satan Marshals the Nations for the Last
Great Conflict he unprotected and would doubtless be unable to resist attack. He leads them to believe that,
after all, they may be able, with the assistance of the mighty hosts of the wicked, to surround the city and
overthrow the government of God and take possession of the New Jerusalem.
As Satan lays before them this great project, they agree to it, and plans are made to carry it out.
The wicked are marshaled in companies and organized for labor and warfare. Armies are formed and
drilled. Weapons of warfare are prepared for the great struggle which is to decide the long controversy
between Christ and Satan for the control of the universe. Companies, battalions, regiments, and corps are
formed and drilled by great leaders in war.
The hosts of evil are all marshaled at last under one banner, that of the prince of demons. This is
to be the battle that closes the warfare which began in heaven before the days of Adam and Eve, and which
has been the cause of all warfare since. The long controversy between Christ and Satan is about to have an
issue.
Satan leads the hosts of the wicked against the city, and they surround it on every side. They are
led to hope for success, but instead they meet their eternal destiny in oblivion. What happens then we read:
“When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to
deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and
compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven,
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and devoured them.” Revelation 20:7-9.
THE TEMPEST OF GOD’S WRATH

As the great host of the wicked surround the Holy City, God goes forth from His place to punish
His adversaries. Their wickedness has been great, and the tempest of God’s wrath spends its fury upon the
godless and the vile. The scepter of oppression is broken, and the throne of iniquity is cast down. The
empires of the earth have their power broken and are given to the devouring flames. The fire of God falls
from heaven, and the vast multitude of evil men and fallen angels are overwhelmed in its flames. Death is
swallowed up in full and endless victory. The last enemy of God is destroyed forever.
The fire which falls upon the wicked does not perpetuate them but devours them. This is the
second death, from which there shall never be any resurrection.
THE FATE OF THE GREAT ADVERSARY OF GOD

The fire will have the same effect upon Satan and his angels that it has upon wicked men. They
also will be brought to nothing and be as though they had never been. This is very plain from the words
which God spoke to Satan:
“I will destroy thee, 0 covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. I will cast thee to the
ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. I will bring forth a fire from the midst of
thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold
thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shall he a terror, and never
shall thou be any more.” Ezekiel 28:16-19.
The destiny of the wicked is also referred to in the book of Malachi.
“Behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, said the Lord of hosts, that it shall
leave them neither root nor branch.” Malachi 4:1.
Thus the great conflict of the ages between Christ and Satan, between good and evil, will find its
issue in the utter destruction of Satan and his angels and all who ally themselves with him. The fires of the
last day will consume them and leave them neither root nor branch. Satan is the root, and the wicked are
the branches. The universe is to be cleansed from every stain of sin.
THE DESTRUCTION OF SIN

Sin itself will be blotted out of the universe when the wicked are destroyed. None of the wicked
will ever be raised from the second death. Their punishment will be eternal. They will never live again.
There will be no eternally burning hell into which the wicked will be cast, and in which they will
continue to sin and suffer. God will have a clean universe.
Special attention is directed to the words used in the Bible to describe the fate of sinners:
They shall “die” (Ezekiel 18:4). They shall suffer “death” (Romans 6:23) they shall suffer the
“second death” (Revelation 20:14, 15) they shall be destroyed (Psalms 145:20); they shall suffer
“destruction” (Job 21:30); they shall “perish” (Psalms 37:20); they shall be burned up (Matthew 3:12;
Malachi 4:1); they “shall not be” (Psalms 37:10). They shall come to an “end” (Psalms 37:38); they shall
he consumed (Psalms 37:20; they shall be devoured (Psalms 21:9); they shall be “slain” (Psalms 62:3);
they shall be “cut off” (Psalms 37:9); “they shall be as though they had not been” (Obadiah 16). They shall
be “silent in darkness” (1 Samuel 2:9); they shall be “no more” (Psalms 104:35); they shall be “blotted out”
(Psalms 69:28); they shall suffer “perdition” (2 Peter 3:7); they shall be ground to powder (Matthew
21:44). They shall he “hewn down” (Matthew 3:10); they shall see “corruption” (Galatians 6:8). They shall
be torn in pieces (Psalms 50:22); they shall be “rooted out” (Proverbs 2:22); they shall be as “nothing”
(Jeremiah 10:24); and they shall be as “naught” (Isaiah 41:12).
THE FATE OF THE WICKED

These clear, striking expressions are surely sufficient to establish the truth that the Bible does not
teach the God-dishonoring doctrine of eternal conscious torment. This doctrine was invented by Satan
himself in the Garden of Eden, when he told Eve that if she obeyed God she would “not surely die,”
although God had plainly told her that she would “surely die.” Genesis 2:17.
The doctrine of eternal torment for the wicked has no place in the Bible, and will have no place in
reality when the wicked are punished. Their punishment will be eternal, but their punishment is death. The
32
fire that falls upon them from heaven at the close of the millennium will consume them altogether. Each
person will be punished “according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6), but ultimately the fire will bring them all
to utter death and destruction. “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23.
The father of sin, together with sin and sinners and all their evil results-sickness, disease, pain,
sorrow, grief, and death -is to be destroyed forever. Thank God, His mercy is seen even in the destruction
of those who refuse salvation.
THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF PEACE

PEACE is coming-peace, lasting and world wide. Through the ages of the ages it will endure.
We have already seen that peace will never come through man or through any of his works. Man
has failed to produce a government which can give permanent peace. All that man can do is to produce, in
the end, an Armageddon.
When man has demonstrated his failure, God will take charge. He will destroy sin and sinners,
and then He will establish His own kingdom of eternal peace on the earth.
GOD’S COVENANT OF PEACE

It was a covenant of peace which God first made with man. It is to a fulfillment of this covenant
of peace that the prophets confidently point. The messenger who brings good tidings of great joy is one
who publishes peace. Jesus Himself is the Prince of Peace. There is to he no end of the increase of His
government and of peace.
“In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endures.”
Psalms 72:7.
Psalmist and prophet together look forward with eager eyes, and sing of the time when Jehovah
shall bless His people with endless peace (Psalms 29:11); when “the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall
delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psalms 37:11). When peace shall be within the walls of
Jerusalem (Psalms 122:7); when men “shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace” (Isaiah 55:12);
when the very officers shall be peace and the exactors righteousness (Isaiah 60:17). When peace shall
extend to Jerusalem like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream (Isaiah 66:12);
when “the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance
forever” (Isaiah 32:17). When God’s “people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, in sure dwellings, and
in quiet resting places” (Isaiah 32:18).
THE EARTH PURIFIED

The earth will be purified by the same fire which consumes the wicked. The ruined works of men
will be burned by great billows of flame that sweep over the earth. The last remnants of sin will be thus
consumed.
“The elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be
burned up.” 2 Peter 3:10.
The long rebellion against God is ended. Man’s last foe, death, has been destroyed. The sinful,
restless, warring world has at last been overthrown, and all creation is now at peace with God. The first
heaven and the first earth, the great amphitheater of sin, the scene of strife and rebellion, have passed away,
and when they have been dissolved by the fires of the last day, then by the word of the Lord are brought
into existence “new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13.
Upon the billows of flame which have purified the earth, the Holy City, with the righteous nations
of the saved within it, has ridden safely, even as the ark rode the angry waters of the Deluge. When the
purifying flames subside, having fully accomplished the work of cleansing the earth, the city settles into its
place in fulfillment of the scripture: “The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and
God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Revelation 21:1
THE FULFILLMENT OF THE ANCIENT PROMISES

Then the earth will blossom again and become the home of the redeemed people of the Lord.
‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5.
33
Then shall be fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them [the redeemed]; and the desert shall
rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the
glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of
the Lord, and the excellency of our God. For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the
desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation
of dragons where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go
up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord
shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!” Isaiah 35.
Then will be seen the fulfillment of many of the ancient promises. “Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isaiah 65:17.
“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwells righteousness!” 2 Peter 3:13.
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” Revelation 21:1.
“The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Psalms
37:11. At that time also the promise found in Micah 4:8 will be fulfilled.
“Thou, 0 tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion [the church], unto thee shall it
come, even the first dominion [the earth when first created;] the kingdom shall come to the daughter of
Jerusalem.”
THE ETERNAL HOME OF THE RIGHTEOUS

When the earth has been fully cleansed, and sin and sinners are no more, the righteous will go
forth from the Holy City, and “they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit of them.” (Isaiah 65:21.) The whole earth is to be filled with the redeemed of the Lord.
They will build homes which will never be destroyed. They will have no fear of fire or earthquake. Sin has
passed out of existence forever. There will be none to make afraid. Peace and contentment and unspeakable
happiness will fill every heart.
Sabbath by Sabbath and month by month the people of the new earth will gather at Jerusalem to
engage in the worship of the King of kings. (Isaiah 66:22, 23.) Here in the city of God the redeemed will
partake of the fruit of the tree of life. Here also they will wander through the groves which border the
“river of water of life,” which proceeds “out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Revelation 22:1, 2.
“There shall be no more curse.” Revelation 22:1 Sin will have been eternally destroyed, and will
never return. Every one of the created intelligences on the other worlds, all the angels, and every soul that
has been redeemed at such an infinite cost, will have fully decided that God is righteous altogether. They
have had enough of sin. We do well to rejoice in the certain promise of God that when He destroys sin,
“He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Nahum 1:9.
NO MORE VIOLENCE, WASTING, OR DESTRUCTION

There in the glorious land of the new earth “My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and
in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Isaiah 32:18. “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shall call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise.”
Isaiah 60:18. “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the
myrtle tree.” Isaiah 55:13. “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 21:4. “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven
their iniquity.” Isaiah 33:24.
The beautiful city of God, the New Jerusalem, shall “be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” Isaiah 62:1 “Her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” Revelation 21:11. “The nations of them which are saved shall
walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” Revelation 21:24.
“There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives
them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:5.
34
And in the new’ earth I shall “know even as also I am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12. Companions
and loved ones, long separated by death, will then be reunited. Their love and their sympathy for each other
will be greatly deepened, and will continue throughout the ages of eternity, never again to be broken by
death.
There all the faculties of the human mind will be developed, and the mind’s capacity for
knowledge will be constantly enlarged. No enterprise which is entered upon will be too great to be carried
forward to completion. No aspiration will be formed which cannot be reached. No ambition will be too
high to be realized. There will be no end to the acquirement of knowledge. It will be possible to travel from
planet to planet, and from system to system, in the study of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of the
universe of God. Our associates and companions will be the angels of God and the unfallen intelligences of
the other worlds.
THE UNFOLDING OF THE AGE OF ETERNITY

And to all this there will be no end. As the ages of eternity unfold, there never need be any fear
that the years to come will bring a termination to the happiness of the redeemed. When millions of ages
have rolled by, still beyond will stretch eternity.
And you, dear friend, to whom this book has come, may I not press upon you the urgent need of
being prepared for these things which are coming upon man? There is a way of escape from the appalling
destruction of the last days. The close of human probation, followed by Armageddon, will fall swiftly upon
a world all unprepared. It need not come thus to you.
Jesus is the way. In Him is safety. And in Him is eternal life, and an abundant entrance into His
eternal kingdom of peace. Now, while you have opportunity, become acquainted with Him, make your
peace with Him. Mercy’s gates are still open, though they are soon to close. God’s ear will yet hear the
penitent’s cry. The blood of Jesus will yet atone for sin, and cleanse whiter than snow. Make no longer
delay. Now, now, go to God with all your sin, accept His sacrifice, believe His word. He will graciously
receive you, and pardon all your guilt.
And may “the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in
hope.” Romans 15:13.
BEYOND THE STORM

THERE is a place of sacred rest,
Far’ far beyond the skies,
Where beauty smiles eternally,
And pleasure never dies;
My Father’s house, my heavenly home,
Where many mansions stand
Prepared by hands divine, for all
Who seek the better land.
When tossed upon the waves of life,

With fear on every side,
When fiercely howls the gathering storm,
And foams the angry tide
Beyond the storm, beyond the gloom,
Breaks forth the light of morn,’
Bright beaming from my Father’s house,
To cheer the soul forlorn.
In that pure home of tearless joy

Earth’s parted friends shall meet,
With smiles of love that never fade,
And blessedness complete.
35
There, there adieus are sounds unknown,

Death frowns not on that scene;
But life and glorious beauty shine,
Untroubled and serene.
Anonymous
36

On The Eve of Armageddon

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ON THE EVE OF ARMAGEDDON

REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION

TAKOMA PARK, WASHINGTON, DC.

THE DOOM OF CIVILIZATION

THE WORLD SHOCKED OUT OF ITS COURSE

THE AGE OF ATOMIC ENERGY

NO HUMAN STRUCTURE CAN SAVE THE WORLD

WAR IN THE HEART OF THE HUMAN RACE

THE PHANTOM HOPES OF THE WORLD

WE LONG FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

THE TRUE HOPE OF THE WORLD

ECONOMIC RECOVERY AFTER WAR

THE RAGING OF THE FIERCER PASSIONS

UNBELIEF NEVER MORE IMPUDENT AND DEFIANT

DRIVING TOWARD AN ENSNARING DELUSION

SCOFFERS LUSTFUL, CONTEMPTUOUS, CARELESS

CIVILIZATION APPROACHES ITS END

THE CAUSE OF ALL WOE

A WORLD AT WAR WITH GOD

GOD’S FEARFUL MALEDICTION HURLED AT THE NATIONS

WHERE ARMAGGEDON WILL BE FOUGHT

A PREDESTINED PLACE OF BLOOD AND STRIFE

THE SIGNAL FOR ARMAGEDDON

TRIUMPH OF THE CRESCENT OVER THE CROSS

destined to witness the final conflict.

THE QUARRELS AND DIVISIONS OF CHRISTENDOM

A SCRAMBLE FOR OTTOMAN TERRITORY

THE COMPLICATED EASTERN QUESTION

THE SIXTH PLAGUE

Moffatt renders the passage:

THE DRYING UP OF THE EUPHRATES

tongues.” Revelation 17:15.

THE RETURN OF JESUS

JESUS PROMISED TO RETURN

THE PURPOSE OF HIS COMING

TO JUDGE THE WORLD

THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOPLE

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED

THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

TO ESTABLISH AN ETERNAL KINGDOM

THE SIGNS OF HIS COMING

THE MANNER OF HIS COMING

“He’s coming once again,

THE BINDING OF SATAN

THE WORLD WILL NOT BE CONVERTED

THE ORDER OF MILLENNIAL EVENTS

THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

THE DEPOPULATION OF THE EARTH

SIN MUST BE ANNIHILATED

“THERE WAS NO MAN”

THE DEATH WARRANT OF A GODLESS RACE

THE FURIOUS TORNADO OF GOD’S WRATH

DASHED IN PIECES LIKE A POTTER’S VESSEL

STRUCK WITH DIVINE JUSTICE

THE RESISTLESS MIGHT OF AN OFFENDED GOD

THE BOTTOMLESS PIT OF SATAN’S CAPTIVITY

THE BINDING OF SATAN