A highly significant congress has just been concluded here in New York City, where I am writing the International Congress on Bible Prophecy. It continued a little over a week, November 9-16, and was conducted under the skilled chairmanship of Dr. John W. Bradbury, editor of the well-known Baptist national weekly, The Watchman-Examiner. Its stated purpose was "To Find the Word of God Most Applicable for This Hour." (Program of the Congress, p. 2.) And the large canvas announcement, hung across the front of the imposing Calvary Baptist Church, bore the words, "Signs-of-Our-Times." This was in the form of a giant wedge, with the point piercing a large circle announcing the congress on prophecy.
The majority of the speakers were drawn from the ranks of fundamentalists, chiefly Baptists and Presbyterians, although Reformed, Episcopalian, and other affiliates participated, with many observers present, both clergymen and laymen, from various denominations. In all there were thirty-one speakers from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, of whom nine were presidents or prominent teachers in colleges, seminaries, and Bible Institutes. Five more were editors of prominent religious journals, twelve others well-known authors, and one was a physician. Such was the caliber and spread of the participants. Four of us Seventh-day Adventists were present as observers Arthur S. Maxwell, editor of the Signs of the Times; Harry W. Lowe, of the Sabbath School Department staff; R. Allan Anderson, secretary of the Ministerial Association, and the writer. And our reactions are quite similar.
Significance to Us as Adventists
The significance of this gathering to us as Adventists lies in the fact that it is in disputable evidence of the rising tide of interest in, and study of, Bible prophecy, and of an increasingly insistent emphasis on the imminent, literal, personal, premillennial Second Advent of our Lord. We are no longer virtually alone in our heralding of a soon-coming Saviour and the cataclysmic end of the age, foretold in Bible prophecy and attested by many signs of the times. That, in itself, is significant as well as heartening.
Widespread preaching on the prophecies of the last days as well as intensive study of eschatology the doctrine of the last things is coming into its own in ever-widening circles. This is true not only in fundamentalist ranks but, surprisingly enough, even in the modernist wing of Christendom, as attested by a personal letter received from the general secretary of the World Council of Churches at Geneva, stating that eschatology had become the principal theme of study on the part of the leadership of the World Council.
Just what part our witness has played, consciously or unconsciously, in these developments cannot perhaps be determined, nor is it of too great concern. But the fact of the interest and emphasis remains. And the startling similarities between many of their basic beliefs and ours are more astonishing than are our differences. Their emphasis on the last days, their listing of the telltale signs of the times, and their conviction that we have come virtually to the end of the great outline prophecies of Daniel are tremendously impressive and important. And the balance and soundness of certain addresses by such men as Dr. John W. Bradbury, Dr. Wilbur M. Smith ("author, lecturer, and professor of English Bible at Fuller Theological Seminary), and others were almost startling.
Fundamental Emphasis of the Congress
Heavy blows were struck during the congress against the subverting work of the modernists. In this exposure these leaders are unquestionably doing a work that we have not been able to do as effectively. Modernism in pulpits and seminary classrooms and modernist journals were again and again declared to be the chief enemies of the Bible, the miraculous, the virgin birth, the blood atonement, the literal resurrection, and the second premillennial Advent designated as the foundational truths of evangelical Protestantism.
It will be well for us to remember that, in the great Millerite movement of the 1840's, wide receptivity for their message was created by the fact that many outstanding ministers, unaffiliated with the Millerites, had come to similar conclusions as to the approaching end of the 2300 years (about 1843, '44, or '47), and were proclaiming it from their pulpits and through the printed page though they differed widely on what would occur at that crucial time. But all this paved the way for the wide acceptance of the Millerite message, because sound, prominent clergymen of various faiths were enunciating rather similar views.
Moreover, the great Bible and missionary societies at the beginning of the century were the spearheading agencies that launched the foreign mission enterprise, pioneering the way before we had even appeared on the scene. They prepared the way for the specific message that we have been raised up to give, and without that preparation we could never have carried forward our commissioned part in the last-day preaching of the gospel of the kingdom unto all nations ere the end shall come. We have therefore entered into their labors. And in that sense we are workers together in the giant task.
Voices are being uplifted and literature is being produced that are stalwartly defending the Scriptures and their literal acceptance, and Bible teachings concerning the times and the lateness of the present hour. These constitute part of the growing chorus of voices heralding the returning King. The very fact that these scholars insist that the age is getting worse and worse, and not better and better, and is destined soon to come to cataclysmic ruin, not to glowing peace and prosperity, takes away, or at least cushions, the stigma that so long attached to us as a "pessimistic sect." So, I would repeat, we no longer stand alone.
Daily Program Heavy
To those who attended our own 1952 Bible Conference, reported recently in THE MINISTRY, and who felt that our program was congested, let me outline briefly the even tighter schedule of this international congress. There were two sessions in the morning, at ten and eleven, without inter-mission. Each, however, was complete in itself, with closing hymn and benediction. There were three similarly consecutive periods in the afternoon, at two, three, and four likewise without intermission. Then impressive motion pictures were put on each night at six-fifteen on the blight of heathenism and the challenge of missions, with the last one on the state of Israel in Palestine. And in the evening two more sessions followed without a break, at seven-thirty and eight-thirty. It was a strenuous pace, but with remarkably sustained attendance.
There were four direct broadcasts from Calvary church, covering the Eastern States and circling the globe through short wave the two Sunday morning and evening services on "Waiting for Christ's Return," the "Return of Christ, the Hope of the World," "If Christ Should Not Return," and "The Deity of Christ."
The use of Calvary Baptist church was happily without cost to the congress. But the $6,000 budget, to care for transportation and entertainment only of the thirty-one congress speakers, was met by offerings taken up three times daily, morning, after noon, and evening. And these folks can surely beg for money!
Our outstanding differences seem to be: (1) the re-establishment of the Jews in Jerusalem; (2) the identity of the supranational Antichrist; (3) a secret rapture of the saints, rather than an open ascension; (4) the location of the saints and condition of the earth during the millennium; (5) the nature of the kingdom; and (6) the nature and place of the judgment. One feature, however, was noticeable they themselves did not all agree on these moot points. In fact, one speaker, brought over from Britain, openly expressed his disagreement with the rapture theory.
While these men are defending the basic faith in the inspired Bible, the virgin birth, sinless life, miraculous deeds, vicarious atoning death, literal resurrection, subsequent priestly ministry, and literal, personal, imminent premillennial Advent of Jesus Christ in power and great glory, we stress the special features of our distinctive message. But let us not forget that we build upon this indispensable foundation.
Lessons for Us Along the Way
The tremendous earnestness of these men and their ardent love and longing for our Lord's return were unmistakable. The evangelistic fervor of their preaching puts most of us to shame. And their abhorrence and fear of formal, intellectual belief only should give us pause. The hearers sat with open Bibles. The attitude of the congress toward the new Revised Standard Version of the Bible was both interesting and significant. Speaker after speaker noted with concern the subtle changes and the slant given, which, they contended, indicates the modernist leaning of the translation.
Another related angle was the constant uplifting in song of Christ and His imminent return. This was the theme of practically every hymn used. And rarely does one hear such fervent singing. The secret seemed to be the glow of the Advent in the hearts of the singers and the song leaders. It was likewise impressive to see their burden to give to the Jews (who have been so grievously mistreated by professing Christians through the centuries) a living exhibition of the love of God toward them. This is a worthy objective. The session ended in an impressive manifesto, receiving unanimous standing vote.
Yes, attendance at such a congress is a mental and spiritual stimulus, as one comes into contact with keen, reverent minds whose thoughts are not inhibited by established positions and standardized grooves of thought and expression, and whose open-mindedness is refreshing to hear and see.
This gathering represented fundamentalist scholarship, which in years past has neither known nor understood us, and consequently has often vigorously opposed us. But now some of these very men are changing their attitude from hostility to respect and friendliness. This was evident from personal conversations and even public statements. For example, one exceedingly forceful and forthright speaker asked me to send him my set of books, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, favorably noted by Dr. Wilbur Smith in his Preliminary Bibliography for the Study of Biblical Prophecy (48 pp.). This brochure had been prepared specifically for this congress, and had been widely distributed. Introducing the field of prophecy, Dr. Smith says:
"The most important histories of the interpretation of prophecy and of the doctrine of the Second Advent have been done, strange to say, by Seventh Day Adventists. The most exhaustive work of this kind is by . . .
" Then follow twenty-five lines descriptive of the four volumes of Prophetic Faith, including publishers, author, individual content, et cetera, which tracement, he says, is not only the "most exhaustive" extant, but "is a magnificent piece of work." (P. 41.)
Representative Extracts From Congress Speakers
In one address Chairman Bradbury strongly affirmed the historical actuality of Daniel the prophet and the inspired authority of his writings, which unfold the divine view of history. Then, when we come to the end of human history, he said, we must step out by faith on God's predictions. "The conflict of the ages," and "the division of Satan's forces," he added, will end in the glorious kingdom of God.
Dr. Smith's discussion of the awakening of the sleeping "kings of the East," and of the approaching Armageddon, was most challenging. He showed how the ancient Euphrates Valley has been, and is still considered to be, the pivotal point in the tide of human affairs. He traced how the East (the Orient) has awakened step by step. From the Boxer Uprising of 1900 and the Chinese Republic of 1912, we come down to 1942, when the Japanese Empire was dissolved, and to 1948, when India was loosed from the powers of the West. And now the kings of the East are on the move 1,500,000,000 of them, or three-quarters of the earth's population. And all this forms part of a fivefold simultaneous development a world government, the state of Israel, the northern powers, the deep apostasy of Christendom, and the awakened Far East. The analysis is intriguing.
In another masterly address, his arraignment of modernism's fatal discard of the fundamental verities of the Christian faith was really terrific. Taking apart a recent modernist commentary, produced by 147 men, he showed by documentation how it brazenly sets aside the infallibility of the Word on the basis of the Graf-Wellhausen theory. The Genesis records of creation and the fall are labeled Jewish "myths" borrowed from Babylon, the prophetic promise of Genesis 3:15 dismissed as "prophetic trash," with the further contention that the giving of the law at Sinai did not actually happen. He likewise exposed its contention that the books of Genesis and Exodus are simply fictional, or pseudo-historical, written a thousand years after the alleged date, with the "blood atonement" concept simply a magic formula, and the Passover without efficacy or significance. Such, he declared, is the dread last-day departure from the faith, the prophesied turning unto "fables" (from muthos—myth, tale, fiction), foretold by Paul in 2 Timothy 4:4, and now taking place in these last days before our very eyes. Dr. James McGinlay, pastor of the large Baptist Temple in Brooklyn, New York, stated categorically that he believed the supreme manifestation of Antichrist, in the final crisis, could well be in the person of the Pope. After stating this, he declared that the showdown of Armageddon would be fought at Esdraelon, and identified the fourth beast of Daniel 7 with the beasts of Revelation 12, 13, and 17, having seven heads and ten horns. He climaxed his address by defining the "woman" of the seven hills, in Revelation 17, as the Papacy at Rome, with its substitution of the Pope as Christ's Vicar.
Here are other samples. Dr. Bradbury, of New York: God is moving upon great hearted, spiritually-minded men to cry out against the breakdown of the faith, for the gulf is growing wider between the two groups. There is a return to eschatological emphasis, with the one, and renewed interest in the fundamentals of the faith.
Dr. Oswald J. Smith, of the People's church, Toronto: "The premillennialist holds that the world will go from bad to worse just as the wheat and the tares of the parable grow together until the end; and similarly in the parable of the dragnet."
Bishop William Culbertson, president of Moody Bible Institute: The "times of the Gentiles" maybe defined as the period of the Gentile nations' dominion, in Daniel 2 and 7, from Babylon onward through Persia, Grecia, and Rome, and they are brought to an end by the second coming of Christ and the days are running out. The signs of the times he listed as revolutions, wars, social upheavals, famines, pestilences, piled-up riches, capital-labor strife, atomic weapons, last-day mockers, religious apostasy.
Dr. Thomas Moseley, president of the Missionary Training School of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Nyack-on- Hudson, New York: The clear-cut teaching on the bodily resurrection is based on Job 19:25; Psalm 15; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2, 3; Hosea 13:14; and in the New Testament on John 5:28; 6:40; 1 Corinthians 15; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. The two resurrections are a thousand years apart.
Our Relationship to This Confronting Challenge
There are sobering lessons for us all, springing out of such a congress. We are ever to remember that God says He has un told thousands of "my people," His children yet in Babylon, who will "come out" under the loud cry or latter-rain call of Revelation 18. These "hidden souls" are scat tered, but they will erelong come to the light. What, I ask, are we doing to show them where we are, and the beauty and verity of our positions? Should we not seek them out and win them? Nothing in the whole range of Spirit of prophecy counsels is more clear and unequivocal.
We have too frequently given occasion for misconception and misunderstanding by our attitude and our aloofness. We have created our own problem. Should we not mingle with them and show our true animus and Christian spirit? Meeting them in their gatherings will dispel prejudice and break down the unjustifiable barriers that have been built up over the years. We are admonished to pray for and with these men. (Evangelism, p. 562.)
The Bible intimates and the Spirit of prophecy openly declares that great numbers of sincere, honest, talented souls are yet to join this Advent faith thousands in a day under the compulsive influence of the loud cry. These inspired counsels are assembled elsewhere in this issue. (See page 31.) Let us read them, ponder them; then order our steps and set our course in harmony therewith.
Surely we need the power of God that will make us flames of fire and powerful persuaders of men. Tepid doctrinarian, philosophical, or psychological approaches will not do for this hour. Placid, routine messages will never suffice in a time like this.
We can well take a page from some of these fundamentalist preachers. Many of them are among the greatest pulpiteers in America, speaking to large congregations, who come to hear men ablaze with conviction
Other Voices
(Continued from page 7), according to their present light. The downright earnestness, the moving eloquence, the unconcealable love for Christ and for souls and the intensity with which they preach as they burn themselves out for God may well be a lesson and an example for us who have the greater light and fuller understanding and the consequently greater responsibility and opportunity. It has been well said that when the pulpit is on fire, people will come to see it burn. This indeed constitutes a tremendous challenge to us.
(Concluded next month]
