Part 12

An illustration of this truth is found in the history of ancient Babylon. To Nebuchadnezzar the king the true object of national government was represented under the figure of a great tree, whose height “reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth; the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all;” under its shadow the beasts of the field dwelt, and among its branches the birds of the air had their habitation.[287] This representation shows the character of a government that fulfils God’s purpose,—a government that protects and upbuilds the nation.

[Sidenote: _Babylon the Great_]

God exalted Babylon that it might fulfil this purpose. Prosperity attended the nation, until it reached a height of wealth and power that has never since been equaled,—fitly represented in the Scriptures by the inspired symbol, a “head of gold.”[288]

But the king failed of recognizing the power that had exalted him. Nebuchadnezzar in the pride of his heart said: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?”[289]

[Sidenote: _Its Oppressive Power_]

Instead of being a protector of men, Babylon became a proud and cruel oppressor. The words of Inspiration picturing the cruelty and greed of rulers in Israel, reveal the secret of Babylon’s fall, and of the fall of many another kingdom since the world began: “Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.”[290]

[Sidenote: _Retribution_]

To the ruler of Babylon came the sentence of the divine Watcher: O king, “to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee.”[291]

“Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, Sit on the ground; there is no throne.... Sit thou silent, And get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms.”[292]

“O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, Thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.”

“Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldee’s excellency, Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.”

“I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.”[293]

[Sidenote: _Rise and Fall of Nations_]

Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that it might be seen whether it would fulfil the purpose of “the Watcher and the Holy One.” Prophecy has traced the rise and fall of the world’s great empires,—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with nations of less power, history repeated itself. Each had its period of test, each failed, its glory faded, its power departed, and its place was occupied by another.

While the nations rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection wrought their own ruin, it was still manifest that the divine, overruling purpose was working through all their movements.

[Sidenote: _Vision of the Cherubim_]

This lesson is taught in a wonderful symbolic representation given to the prophet Ezekiel during his exile in the land of the Chaldeans. The vision was given at a time when Ezekiel was weighed down with sorrowful memories and troubled forebodings. The land of his fathers was desolate. Jerusalem was depopulated. The prophet himself was a stranger in a land where ambition and cruelty reigned supreme. As on every hand he beheld tyranny and wrong, his soul was distressed, and he mourned day and night. But the symbols presented to him revealed a power above that of earthly rulers.

[Sidenote: _The Guiding Hand_]

Upon the banks of the river Chebar, Ezekiel beheld a whirlwind seeming to come from the north, “a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber.” A number of wheels, intersecting one another, were moved by four living beings. High above all these was the “likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.” “And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings.”[294] The wheels were so complicated in arrangement that at first sight they appeared to be in confusion; but they moved in perfect harmony. Heavenly beings, sustained and guided by the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, were impelling these wheels; above them, upon the sapphire throne, was the Eternal One; and round about the throne a rainbow, the emblem of divine mercy.

As the wheel-like complications were under the guidance of the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, so the complicated play of human events is under divine control. Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the affairs of the earth.

[Sidenote: _A Place in God’s Purpose_]

The history of nations that one after another have occupied their allotted time and place, unconsciously witnessing to the truth of which they themselves knew not the meaning, speaks to us. To every nation and to every individual of to-day God has assigned a place in His great plan. To-day men and nations are being measured by the plummet in the hand of Him who makes no mistake. All are by their own choice deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for the accomplishment of His purposes.

[Sidenote: _Fulfilment of Prophecy_]

The history which the great I AM has marked out in His word, uniting link after link in the prophetic chain, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tells us where we are to-day in the procession of the ages, and what may be expected in the time to come. All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order.

The final overthrow of all earthly dominions is plainly foretold in the word of truth. In the prophecy uttered when sentence from God was pronounced upon the last king of Israel is given the message:—

“Thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; ... exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.”[295]

The crown removed from Israel passed successively to the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. God says, “It shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.”

[Sidenote: _Signs of the Times_]

That time is at hand. To-day the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour’s prophecy of the events to precede His coming: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.... Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”[296]

[Sidenote: _On the Verge of a Crisis_]

The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place,—that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.

Angels are now restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall bid His angels loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture.

[Sidenote: _The Final Scenes_]

The Bible, and the Bible only, gives a correct view of these things. Here are revealed the great final scenes in the history of our world, events that already are casting their shadows before, the sound of their approach causing the earth to tremble, and men’s hearts to fail them for fear.

“Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattered abroad the inhabitants thereof; ... because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.... The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth.”[297]

[Sidenote: “_Destruction upon Destruction_”]

“Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.... The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.” “The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered; because joy is withered away from the sons of men.”[298]

“I am pained at my very heart; ... I can not hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.”

“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.”[299]

[Sidenote: “_Time of Jacob’s Trouble_”]

“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”[300]

“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.”[301]

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, Even the Most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.”[302]

“The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.” [Sidenote: “_Our God Shall Come_”] “He shall call to the heavens above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people; ... And the heavens shall declare His righteousness; For God is judge Himself.”[303]

“O daughter of Zion, ... the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel.” “Because they call thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after,” “I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord.” “I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling-places.”[304]

[Sidenote: _“He Will Save”_]

“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.”

“He will swallow up death in victory; ... and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.”[305]

“Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down.... For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king.”[306]

“With righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.”[307]

[Sidenote: _The Reign of Peace_]

Then will the purpose of God be fulfilled; the principles of His kingdom will be honored by all beneath the sun.

“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, Wasting nor destruction within thy borders; But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, And thy gates Praise.”

“In righteousness shalt thou be established: Thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: And from terror; for it shall not come near thee.”[308]

[Sidenote: _Study of Prophecy_]

The prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their import. They “inquired and searched diligently; ... searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify.... Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you; ... which things the angels desire to look into.”[309]

To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfilment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come,—events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God’s children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!

At this time, before the great final crisis, as before the world’s first destruction, men are absorbed in the pleasures and the pursuits of sense. Engrossed with the seen and transitory, they have lost sight of the unseen and eternal. For the things that perish with the using, they are sacrificing imperishable riches. Their minds need to be uplifted, their views of life to be broadened. They need to be aroused from the lethargy of worldly dreaming.

[Sidenote: _A Lesson for To-Day_]

From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the pages of Holy Writ, they need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and its magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld,—power and magnificence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and enduring,—how completely has it passed away! As “the flower of the grass,” it has perished. So perishes all that has not God for its foundation. Only that which is bound up with His purpose, and expresses His character, can endure. His principles are the only steadfast things our world knows.

It is these great truths that old and young need to learn. We need to study the working out of God’s purpose in the history of nations and in the revelation of things to come, that we may estimate at their true value things seen and things unseen; that we may learn what is the true aim of life; that, viewing the things of time in the light of eternity, we may put them to their truest and noblest use. Thus, learning here the principles of His kingdom and becoming its subjects and citizens, we may be prepared at His coming to enter with Him into its possession.

[Sidenote: _The End Is at Hand_]

The day is at hand. For the lessons to be learned, the work to be done, the transformation of character to be effected, the time remaining is but too brief a span.

“Behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: There shall none of My words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.”[310]

_Bible Teaching and Study_

“INCLINE THINE EAR UNTO WISDOM; SEARCH FOR HER AS FOR HID TREASURES”

[Sidenote: _A Bible Student_]

In childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus studied the Scriptures. As a little child, He was daily, at His mother’s knee, taught from the scrolls of the prophets. In His youth the early morning and the evening twilight often found Him alone on the mountainside or among the trees of the forest, spending a quiet hour in prayer and the study of God’s word. During His ministry His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures testifies to His diligence in their study. And since He gained knowledge as we may gain it, His wonderful power, both mental and spiritual, is a testimony to the value of the Bible as a means of education.

[Sidenote: _Stories for the Little Ones_]

Our heavenly Father, in giving His word, did not overlook the children. In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible?

In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfil the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”[311]

[Sidenote: _Object Lessons_]

The use of object-lessons, blackboards, maps, and pictures, will be an aid in explaining these lessons, and fixing them in the memory. Parents and teachers should constantly seek for improved methods. The teaching of the Bible should have our freshest thought, our best methods, and our most earnest effort.

[Sidenote: _Family Study_]

In arousing and strengthening a love for Bible study, much depends on the use of the hour of worship. The hours of morning and evening worship should be the sweetest and most helpful of the day. Let it be understood that into these hours no troubled, unkind thoughts are to intrude; that parents and children assemble to meet with Jesus, and to invite into the home the presence of holy angels. Let the services be brief and full of life, adapted to the occasion, and varied from time to time. Let all join in the Bible reading, and learn and often repeat God’s law. It will add to the interest of the children if they are sometimes permitted to select the reading. Question them upon it, and let them ask questions. Mention anything that will serve to illustrate its meaning. When the service is not thus made too lengthy, let the little ones take part in prayer, and let them join in song, if it be but a single verse.

To make such a service what it should be, thought should be given to preparation. And parents should take time daily for Bible study with their children. No doubt it will require effort and planning and some sacrifice to accomplish this; but the effort will be richly repaid.

[Sidenote: _Personal Influence and Example_]

As a preparation for teaching His precepts, God commands that they be hidden in the hearts of the parents. “These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart,” He says; “and thou shalt teach them diligently.”[312] In order to interest our children in the Bible, we ourselves must be interested in it. To awaken in them a love for its study, we must love it. Our instruction to them will have only the weight of influence given it by our own example and spirit.

[Sidenote: _Abraham an Illustration_]

God called Abraham to be a teacher of His word, He chose him to be the father of a great nation, because He saw that Abraham would instruct his children and his household in the principles of God’s law. And that which gave power to Abraham’s teaching was the influence of his own life. His great household consisted of more than a thousand souls, many of them heads of families, and not a few but newly converted from heathenism. Such a household required a firm hand at the helm. No weak, vacillating methods would suffice. Of Abraham God said, “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him.”[313] Yet his authority was exercised with such wisdom and tenderness that hearts were won. The testimony of the divine Watcher is, “They shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.”[313] And Abraham’s influence extended beyond his own household. Wherever he pitched his tent, he set up beside it the altar for sacrifice and worship. When the tent was removed, the altar remained; and many a roving Canaanite, whose knowledge of God had been gained from the life of Abraham His servant, tarried at that altar to offer sacrifice to Jehovah.

No less effective to-day will be the teaching of God’s word when it finds as faithful a reflection in the teacher’s life.

[Sidenote: _Original Study_]

It is not enough to know what others have thought or learned about the Bible. Every one must in the judgment give account of himself to God, and each should now learn for himself what is truth. But in order to effective study, the interest of the pupil must be enlisted. Especially by the one who has to deal with children and youth differing widely in disposition, training, and habits of thought, this is a matter not to be lost sight of. In teaching children the Bible, we may gain much by observing the bent of their minds, the things in which they are interested, and arousing their interest to see what the Bible says about these things. He who created us, with our various aptitudes, has in His word given something for every one. As the pupils see that the lessons of the Bible apply to their own lives, teach them to look to it as a counselor.

[Sidenote: _Beauty of Thought and Expression_]

Help them also to appreciate its wonderful beauty. Many books of no real value, books that are exciting and unhealthful, are recommended, or at least permitted to be used, because of their supposed literary value. Why should we direct our children to drink of these polluted streams, when they may have free access to the pure fountains of the word of God? The Bible has a fulness, a strength, a depth of meaning, that is inexhaustible. Encourage the children and youth to seek out its treasures, both of thought and of expression.

As the beauty of these precious things attracts their minds, a softening, subduing power will touch their hearts. They will be drawn to Him who has thus revealed Himself to them. And there are few who will not desire to know more of His works and ways.

[Sidenote: _Purpose in Study_]

The student of the Bible should be taught to approach it in the spirit of a learner. We are to search its pages, not for proof to sustain our opinions, but in order to know what God says.

A true knowledge of the Bible can be gained only through the aid of that Spirit by whom the word was given. And in order to gain this knowledge we must live by it. All that God’s word commands, we are to obey. All that it promises, we may claim. The life which it enjoins is the life that, through its power, we are to live. Only as the Bible is thus held can it be studied effectively.

The study of the Bible demands our most diligent effort and persevering thought. As the miner digs for the golden treasure in the earth, so earnestly, persistently, must we seek for the treasure of God’s word.

[Sidenote: _Thoroughness and Concentration_]