Many are the ways in which Israel is affected by the times. There is, for instance, the increasing confusion in moral standards. God has given His moral law to be observed by intelligent beings. Men, including so-called Christians, reject that law and set up different standards. Seventh-day Adventists, who hold to obedience of all ten commandments, are tempted by a natural inclination to lower the standards, the argument being that times have changed; but this is reasoning by comparison. When the standards all around us have been lowered to the vanishing point, even a pretense of obedience may seem like a very high moral plane. But that does not change the requirements of the Lord.
God's people are affected spiritually by the times. The incomprehensible cruelties and apparent unhindered destruction of life and spiritual values cause doubt, unbelief, and hatred to ripen among many who profess Christianity. A recent writer expressed himself on this point in the London Time and Tide as follows:
"The satanic disorder is seen in the unutterable confusion of all standards and values. All that was once exalted has been abased and has worked its own opposite. We are the reverse of Mephistopheles, willing good but engendering evil. How often has not liberty been murdered in the name of liberty—and never so abundantly as in our own day. Are not new and more frightful inequalities being established in the name of equality, and new injustice in the name of justice ?"—Feb. 26, 1938.
The argument this writer employs applies to religious and spiritual values. Seventh-day Adventists are not exempt. The temptations of the day are as great for them as for others. Untold spiritual losses have already been sustained in the name of patriotism, nationalism, racialism, and even religion. To quote the foregoing writer again:
"Our age is not only an age of arrogance, it is also the age of superstition. We make the projections of our mind the subject of our hopes and exorcisms. These projections called ideologies are worse than locusts. Locusts descend in dark clouds ; they shut off the light of heaven and devour the green shoots. But the swarm of ideologies are like demonic vampire hosts that circle round on webby, flapping wings, and shut off heaven's light, not from the eye, but from the soul, and devour the tenderest shoots of the spirit."
These "demonic vampire hosts" are everywhere, and we must vigilantly guard against them, lest the slightest entanglement result in eternal spiritual ruin.
Our times seriously affect the people of God educationally. Much valuable talent has been left unused in this denomination because some of our educational boards thought there were not sufficient letters attached to certain teachers' names. Degrees and doctorates are proper in their place; but when they overshadow all other good qualifications, they can easily result in misdirection and false education of our youth. High scholastic recognition for the sake of courting the approval and admiration of the world is idolatry, and the curse of God must rest upon it. Like all other worthy attainments, scholastic acquirements should directly contribute to the glory of God among men. Unfortunately, the youth of this denomination must still go to worldly institutions to obtain advanced degrees. Has not the time come, after all these years of educational effort, for Seventh-day Adventists to take their place as leaders in intellectual attainments?
This Seminary should be the graduate school of this people, and as such be the means of stemming the tide of worldliness now flowing into our colleges through teachers who have drunk deeply from the polluted fountain of worldly learning. There must be a change in Seventh-day Adventist educational practice if we hope to weather the storm of deadly philosophies already unleashed in all parts of the world.
God's people are seriously affected by the times in many other ways. Seventh-day Adventists are being automatically singled out among all other religious groups of the world. The process by which this is being accomplished is most striking. As students of the times, we need to be definitely aware of this process. The fact that we have consistently retained our identity as a people through the years, and are definitely committed to this program in the future, greatly hastens the time when we shall be completely isolated from the world, as indeed many of our fellow believers in other lands are now. This principle of allegiance to God is openly defied by some powerful rulers who claim the first allegiance of all their subjects. Their decrees supersede the commands of God. Mankind is rapidly being regimented, and those who honor God and His commandments above man and his decrees will soon find no refuge for their earthly lives. In "The Great Controversy" we read:
"In the issue of the contest, all Christendom will be divided into two great classes,----those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark."—Page 450.
The reactionary, totalitarian trends of our time are intended by Satan to confuse the mind and make the entire life subject to human dictation. The emergencies of war, unemployment, and destitution serve as popularly recognized and accepted reasons for setting up dictatorships. For the sake of unity and national peace, freedom of speech and assembly must be curtailed, with the result that the gospel of Christ cannot be propagated freely. But the very nature of Christianity is that it must propagate itself. It is because of this that the hand of persecution is felt. Where a group of Christians continue to propagate distinctive religion at a time when nominal Christendom has united and laid aside all distinctiveness of teaching and effort, then persecution begins, and fundamental issues become clear.
In a remarkably well-written popular discussion of church union, Stanley High has recently pointed out some ominous trends which all Christians do well to study. His article entitled, "Satan, Be Warned," appeared in the Saturday Evening Post of June I, 1940, and begins with these significant words:
"Stirred by ill winds of intolerance, persecution, and unbelief, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews in the United States have begun to make common cause against their common enemies. Good will has broken out among them on an unprecedented scale. A united moral front is in the making. Such an alliance is the first of its kind. If what has already come to pass in hundreds of American communities is a portent, it may prove to be one of the most remarkable forces that ever ganged up on the devil. . . This means that Protestants, Catholics, and Jews are jointly embattled against religious and racial intolerance and persecution, against secularism, and in different degrees against the various political and economic movements which countenance or encourage those developments."
Recent world events are pointed to as having greatly increased the urgency of a united Christian front. Mr. High quotes the Catholic bishop of Buffalo as saying: "We face a climax in the affairs of society, and it cannot be met adequately by any one particular church." He continues: "The agencies and activities through which hands are being joined have, of late, been rapidly increasing. Some of them bear only indirectly on the matter of intolerance." In reading Mr. High's article one is impressed by two things : (I) the clasping of the hand of fellowship, and (2) the aim of solving material problems by religious means—looking toward a utopia. Let us place a statement from the Spirit of prophecy alongside these words:
"Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept a form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world, and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium."—"The Great Controversy," pp. 588, 589.
Enough has been said to remind us that we are being more and more affected by the events of the day. In this impending crisis, the leaders of the people must know what Israel ought to do.
The men of Issachar knew that David was to be made king of Israel. For that purpose they came to join their fellow tribesmen at Ziklag. Their purpose was clear, and they set out to accomplish it. David was made king.
Ours is a similar task, except that this time dominion, glory, and honor are to go to the One whose right it is to rule, not as an earthly potentate, but as Lord of lords, and King of kings. Israel's duty is clear. There is no misunderstanding of our work—Christ Jesus is to be crowned Lord in all our love, devotion, and service. I think of four ways in which we may help to finish Israel's task today.
At this time when powerful rulers and religious leaders are requiring allegiance due only to God, Israel must be led in the way of supreme allegiance to Prince Inzmanuel. He must have first place in the hearts of His children. This requires the greatest possible vigilance of mind and heart, for the slightest deviation from principle is prone to lead to violation of the most sacred relationship.Christ must also be crowned with our unconditional consecration. Increasing uncertainty prevailing in the world must not be made an excuse for withholding gifts and talent from the Lord. Christ made His supreme sacrifice at the time when the future prospects of His work appeared most discouraging. He "was not rebellious, neither turned away back." Isa. 50:5. His example is our inspiration.
Christ is to be glorified by our study. The pursuit of knowledge must be directed toward the advancement of the glory of God upon earth. Like the world, we are tempted to study in order to enrich ourselves, but such a course is out of harmony with our faith and with the purpose for which we exist in the world. Your studies here at the Seminary will no doubt be of great personal benefit to you, but the church has a right to expect that they will contribute to the welfare and progress of the work of God.
Finally, Israel is to crown its Lord by a renewal of zeal in service for others. As the crisis grows in intensity, there is great danger that we give way to fear—fear to "launch out into the deep" for God. Zeal, tempered with love, must take hold of us now and constrain us to render untiring service, as did the apostles.
In attending this Theological Seminary, you are here to explore for yourself, to study more deeply the great truths of divine revelation, and to acquire a fuller understanding of your part in the great work of the Lord. If I understand aright, the primary purpose of this institution is to make us better workmen, recharged with the message and its spirit to go forth preaching, teaching, and preparing a people to meet their Lord. To this end your studies here at the seminary must definitely contribute, if your time is properly spent. May it be said of you when your course is finished, as it was said of the children of Issachar, that you are men who have "understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do."
