9:1-11 – “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

Trumpet Soundings Symbolical

“… we, in common with almost all expositors, recognize that the seven trumpets of Revelation are symbolical symbols, and that so far it has been symbolically fulfilled. Christian people in general understand that five of these trumpets have already ‘sounded’ and are in the past – we would say six. It is admitted that those that have already ‘sounded’ have not been literal blasts of a bugle on the air, but divine decrees and their fulfillments; and we esteem that it is reasonable to expect that the seventh trumpet will be similar in this respect to the preceding six. But literal things are so much more easily received by the natural man that, even though absurd they commend themselves as instead of the truth – until our minds are guided of the holy spirit into the proper channel by ‘comparing spiritual things with spiritual’ – by comparing the seventh trumpet with the preceding six trumpets, and not with a natural blast upon the air. So firmly entrenched is the error that many advanced Christians, Bible students and ministers are really expecting some day to hear what is sometimes denominated ‘Gabriel’s horn,’ shrill enough and loud enough to awaken the dead. It is both proper and necessary that we exercise great patience with Christian brethren, who thus display their infantile development of knowledge in respect to spiritual things, while we point out to them that the seventh trumpet – ‘The Last Trumpet’ – ‘The Trump of God,’ is as much symbolic as were its predecessors, and marks a much larger and more important fulfillment than any of them. Its fulfillment extends through a period of 1,000 years; its events mark and coincide with all the various features of the Millennial reign of Christ. Its beginning, we understand, was in 1878¹ and its termination will be a thousand years future from that date. It will be ‘sounding’ for all that time – during which its events will be in process of accomplishment.” (R2992:5)

The “trumpets” of the Revelation are markers in the progressive development of the Plan of God. The last three of these – the fifth (Rev. 9:1); the sixth (Rev. 9:13); and the seventh (Rev. 11:15); are the “woe” trumpets (Rev. 8:13), and seem to be identified with the “time of the end,” and perhaps more particularly with the great “time of trouble” with which the Gospel age is to end! Writing in 1902, Bro. Russell expressed the thought that the fifth and sixth trumpets had already sounded; and that we are now living in the days of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, whose fulfillment will extend through a period of a thousand years; and that its events will mark and coincide with all the various features of the Millennial reign of Christ, beginning in 1878. (See R2992:5)

Bro. Russell believed that the plagues which came upon the land of Egypt, and which finally brought about the emancipation of the Israelites, were typical and would find their counterpart in the great time of trouble.

¹ Also in R2982 Bro. Russell suggested that the reign began in 1878. However, he seems to have modified this view for in 1914, he said that the reign over his saints had begun, but that the mediatorial reign would not begin until all of the 144,000 had been glorified. We quote: “So Christ in glory is not a man, not an earthly being, not the sacrificing one, as before. He is the glorified kingly priest, in power and glory now as king of the saints, able and willing to succor them in all their trials and difficulties. And by and by, after he shall have accepted all of This underpriests – after he shall have changed them to This own glorious likeness in the first resurrection, beyond the vail – then he will become the King and priest in glory to the world, and for a thousand years will reign to bless and to uplift all the willing and obedient who, under the enlightenment then afforded, will draw nigh to God.” (R5472)

He identified the first three plagues to come upon the world of mankind with the three “woe” trumpets of the Revelation:

“… the plagues that came upon Egypt and which forced the deliverance of the Israelites typified the great time of trouble coming upon the world in the end of this age, by means of which ultimately the power of the oppressor will be broken, and all who desire full liberty to worship and serve the Lord will be granted the opportunity; and as Pharaoh and his hosts, in seeking to interfere with the divine program were destroyed, so Satan and all sympathizers and co-laborers with him, seeking to restrain and interfere with the labors of those who would serve the Lord, will ultimately be overwhelmed and destroyed in the second death.

“Noting that these ten plagues prefigured the time of trouble in the end of this age, we are not surprised to find similarly ten plagues mentioned in connection with the time of trouble portrayed in Revelation as constituting the consummation of this present age and this present evil world. There the first three trumpets are called the woe trumpets and following them come the ‘seven last plagues’!¹ The first three apparently affecting all, the last seven are restricted to those who are in opposition to the Lord.” (R3994:4)

“… the first plague which came upon the Egyptians was the turning of all the water of Egypt into blood – the river, ponds, etc., so that the Egyptians could not drink the water, but digged for themselves near the river. (Exod. 7:24) As the water represents truth, the thought here conveyed would be that from the worldly standpoint very soon all truth will become repulsive, every feature of truth connected with the divine plan as represented in the Word of God, will become abhorrent; and the digging of the wells would seem to imply that, rejecting the Word of God, the world (Christendom – Churchianity) will seek for truth in various ways of their own.” (R4060:4)

In order to appreciate the sounding of the fifth “trumpet” and the events associated with it, it will be necessary to imagine how the Adversary must have gloated over the fact that he had succeeded in setting-up the bishop of Rome as head over the Church. Until the end of the Papal Millennium, the Bible was no real threat to him; but immediately thereafter, after the coming into existence of the various Bible Societies, etc., he found it necessary to change his strategy completely. He well knew that the knowledge of the Truth would set people free from the bondage to superstition and the like; and, that he would thus lose his hold upon them (See John 8:32); and since the Bible was the source of this Truth, he determined to undermine faith in its inspiration. Thus the time for the sounding of the fifth – the first of the “woe” trumpets, had arrived!

The “Fifth & Sixth Trumpets”

Bro. Russell (R2992:5) indicated his belief that the fifth and sixth trumpets had already sounded, and that we are living in that of the seventh, which began sounding in 1874. He did not say specifically just when those trumpets did sound; but it stands to reason, it must have been before 1874.²

The fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1-12) is identified with a plague of “locusts” and their destructive work. Seemingly, this has reference to the destructive work of the “higher critics” in undermining the benign influences of the Bible! The “seed” of this undermining was spawned by that rationalistic school of protestant clergy³, in the early part of the 19th century.

The sixth trumpet (Rev. 9:13-19) is identified with what might be termed the “boot-training” of the Lord’s great army, which is in due course of time to overthrow all present governments and institutions which shall prove themselves inimical to the establishment of the Lord’s Kingdom on this earth. The “seed” giving rise to those socialistic ideas, was brought forth by Karl Marx and his friend Friedrich Engels, by way of the Communist Manifesto (1848) and Das Kapital (1867), later in the 19th century.

It will be noted that both of these trumpets, the fifth and the sixth, thus in point of time, preceded the seventh.

The Seven Last Plagues

“… so, now the wheat of the Gospel church is ad- dressed by the Spirit ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues’ – the seven last. (Rev. 18:4)” (R189:6)

John says, “I saw a star fall” – or more correctly, “I saw a star fallen,” (R.S.V.); for at the time of the sounding of the fifth “trumpet” he merely witnessed that this “star” had already fallen! This is, of course, significant, for here it would seem that the Apostle John, represented the Church in the end of the Gospel age, looking back upon certain events which had already taken place. John says, that “to it” (Marshall’s Translation) – the “star” which he beheld had fallen – was given the key to the “bottomless pit” (the pit of abyss). The question arises as to just Who?, or What? was this “star.” It is suggested, that since the “24 elders” of Revelation (Rev. 4:4; 5:8, 14; 11:16; 19:4) do not necessarily represent the prophets who testified concerning the Kingdom, but more particularly the personification of their testimonies (R529:4); so too, the “star” here referred to does not necessarily represent any individual or group of individuals, but more particularly it is the identification of the teachings of the higher critical school of Christian (?) theologians, concerning the Bible. By this teaching, the erstwhile position of exaltation accorded the Bible as the divinely inspired and infallible Word of God, was exchanged for that of an ordinary, humanly contrived novel, of only limited and questionable worth to the Church of God. Such were the teachings of Semler, Paulus, de Wette, Baur, Strauss, Graf, Kuenen, Wellhausen, etc. ecclesiastics, theologians all!!! And thus did Satan seek to undermine the Scriptures, and to rob God’s people, as it were, of the comforts of faith which the Bible afforded such as were wearied and tired, opening up for them the “bottomless pit” from whence arose doubts, fears, and utter despair! The “sun” (Gospel light) became darkened, and the “air” (ecclesiastical atmosphere) polluted by reason of the “smoke” (confusion and fog) which emerged from that “pit.”

¹ In the Article, this word reads “trumpets,” which quite evidently is erroneous. We have altered it to read “plagues” to agree with Rev. 15:1.

² “It has been symbolically sounding since 1874, and will continue.” (D601)

³ “Higher Critics”: Semler (1725-1791); Paulus (1761-1851); de Wett (1780-1849); Baur (1792-1860); Strauss (1808-1874); Wellhausen (1841-1918)

“Few realize that the Bible has been in the hands of the public for only about a century. When our oldest Bible Societies were organized, Bibles were pos- sessed by the rich alone. Now they are to be found in every house and can be obtained free of cost by the destitute. Additionally, many helps to Scripture Study are in print and people are learning the value of some of these and the usefulness of Bible concordances.

“Furthermore, we are prone to forget that general knowledge has just begun to reach the masses. It is not more than a dozen years since education has been compulsory in all the most civilized lands. Thus God has favored our day in a twofold manner – by giving us the Bible and by giving the intelligence necessary to its study.

“But just as these most precious opportunities are in the hands of the masses, just as these blessings of increased knowledge are being given to humanity, just as Christendom is prepared for Bible Study, the Lord has allowed the Adversary to bring forward the most subtle influence in opposition to the Scriptures. The foul-mouthed infidelity of the past has been supplemented by a far more dangerous enemy to Christian faith – the infidelity generally known as ‘Higher Criticism,’ especially dangerous because of its insidious character.

“Higher Criticism has entrenched itself in nearly all the colleges and theological seminaries of Christendom. While all the churches of all denominations ostensibly stand as defenders of the Bible, yet the citadel of faith is being captured by the great Adversary of God and the Truth–Satan – who is deceiving, estranging and misleading the hosts of Christendom through the very theological professors and doctors of divinity to whom they have been led to look for spiritual light and direction and whom they had supposed to be staunch defenders of the Bible as the inspired Word of God.” (R5104:3, 6)

There is, of course, a sense in which water bespeaks refreshment; and, the Truth being put forth by the Bible Societies, and more particularly the tracts, etc., published by the old Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and intended for the refreshment of God’s people, because of the higher criticism, etc., became, as it were, “bloody,” i.e., “undrinkable.”

“… we suggest that water is … a symbol of the Truth; and that the earth is … a symbol of society. The pouring of the water upon the earth would ordinarily mean refreshment of the earth, a blessing; and the pouring of the truth upon society would ordinarily be expected to mean a blessing to society; but in the symbol the water turned to blood, repulsive, abhorrent, symbolizing death; and this, in the antitype, would signify that in the present time the pouring out upon society will produce an effect contrary to what might ordinarily have been expected. Society, civilization, has been claiming, especially within the last century, to be searching high and low for the truth. But this type says that the time has come when these professed truth-seekers (the word science signifies truth) will reject the truth, disdain it, and to them it will seem obnoxious, loathsome, intolerable … the Gospel message will become darkness to the eyes of society in general through the sophistries of Higher Criticism, Evolution theories, etc., of this boastful day; while the Law, represented by the moon, will be viewed as bloody – that its sacrifices will not be esteemed as types nor appreciated as such, but regarded as the work of misguided Jews, who slaughtered their animals by the thousands because of their ignorance and superstition, and that the commands which they obeyed were not of God, but of their own conjecture and priestly connivance. The same thought attaches to this sign or testimony of the water of truth being poured upon the earth. It will be represented as bloody instead of being absorbed as truth.” (R4059:5)

Let it be noted that the “star” which had fallen from the ecclesiastical heaven – the teachings of the Higher Criticism – opened, as it were, with a “key” the “bottomless pit” of a modernism, from whence there then belched forth a beclouding “smoke” – an agnostic theology!

And as if this were not enough of an evil, out of the “smoke” emerged a swarm of “locusts” – preachers and teachers of this new-fangled theology, bent upon a course of destructive indoctrination of the “inhabiters of the earth.” (Rev. 8:13)

These “locusts” are described as to their “shape,” their “crowns,” and their “faces” (Rev. 9:7); their “hair,” and their “teeth” (Rev. 9:8); and their “breastplates,” and the sound of their “wings” (Rev. 9:9); and their “tails,” “stings,” and the period of their effectiveness. (Rev. 9:10)

The expression as it occurs in the Authorized Version – “the shapes … were like horses …” is not a very good one; and most modern translators have rendered the Greek text something like this: “the appearance was like unto horses …” It is not the shape or form that is referred to, but rather that their likeness was like unto horses prepared for battle! As if to say, these preachers and teachers of the Higher Criticism, would come forth like an host equipped for an offensive warfare. And, of course, they have carried the battle right into the midst of the “conservative’s” camp! For this purpose the respective colleges and seminaries had equipped them with “tails” and “stings” like unto scorpions (Rev. 9:3, 5, 10), so that they might be able not only to inflict the tormenting “sting” of disappointment, but also to leave behind in their victims the irritating poison of an unhappy scepticism. It is no wonder then, that “men” should seek death, and not finding it (Rev. 9:6) probably wish that they had never lived (believed), and might thus now be free from all their conscientious scruples regarding the Bible and its divine inspiration. Such is the “torment” that hurts; and the scourge of these “locusts” is to last “five months.” (Rev. 9:10) Does this mean for a symbolic period of 150 years?

But these “locusts” were restrained. (Rev. 9:4) The natural objects for locust attacks are the green things –the grasses and the trees. But these “locusts” were commanded not to “hurt” such, but only those “men which had not the seal of God in their foreheads.” Perhaps the “green things” – those likened here to the grass and trees, are intended to represent all of the faith-justified, the consecrated, who shall be living in the end of the Gospel dispensation. Surely, “green” is a most apt symbolism for restitution – the faith-restitution accounted to those saints who because of their knowledge of the plan of God, will be left unmolested by this “woe,” even as were the typical Israelites by the locust scourge which came upon the ancient land of Egypt. (See Exod. 10:12-15; R3995:2)

Since “green things” seem here to represent the saints living in the end of the Gospel age, one might ask as to what the difference between the “grass” and the “trees” is intended to signify; we suggest, the “great company” and the “little flock” respectively. As there is always more grass than there are trees, so also in the end of the age, the number of the “great company” will far exceed that of the “little flock.” It is also interesting to note that the roots of the grasses are comparatively more tender, more easily broken than those of trees, suggesting perhaps that the faith of the “great company” is never quite as strong as that of the “little flock,” nor does it run as deep! Grass does have a certain beauty, yet it never is as transcendent as that of the blossoming and fruit-bearing trees. Just so is it also in the matter of the character development of these two classes. Grass also has a fragrance, yet it is seldom noticeable except when it is bruised or cut, but that of the blossoming and fruit-bearing trees is yielded freely, even as a “sweet savor” unto the Lord. How beautifully, then, is the difference between these two classes of the justified, faith-restituted saints – those who shall be spared of the evils of the “locust” scourge – here represented in the “green things”!

John tells us that these “locusts” wore upon their heads “as it were crowns of gold.” (Rev. 9:7) It will be granted that to this time, the one thing which had set the Bible apart from all other books – its crowning feature, was its divinely inspired infallibility. Now, these new Bible exegetes, surreptitiously have removed that crown: by way of their teaching and preaching they have virtually transferred it unto themselves!

“‘Wounded in the house of its friends,’ is certainly true of the Bible today: for it has no outside foes one-half so antagonistic, so injurious. But it is not the Bible’s friends who attack it – but enemies, who under guise of being its friends have received honored positions in the household of faith – who, from the vantage point of its pulpits and colleges and editorial chairs, insidiously stab the Bible, while professing to love and reverence it.

“Three volumes have just issued from the press, each one calculated to undermine, shake and overthrow the faith of many of God’s people, who could not be reached or shaken by the same testimony if it reached them from disreputable or infidel sources. The first of these is volume three of the series being published by the higher critics. The second is by Rev. Lyman Abbott, D.D., successor to Henry Ward Beecher in Plymouth pulpit, but now editor of the Outlook. The third is by Judge Charles B. Waite. It is not for us to judge that these essayists are dishonest; nor that they are seeking rewards of fame as leaders of thought, in a direction toward which all but the very few will shortly follow them, ‘as sheep having no shepherd.’ Rather, we will suppose these writers to be thoroughly honest – intent upon telling the truth as it appears to them. Indeed, we see in this movement a fulfillment of the Bible’s predictions respecting our day, the ending of the present age.

“We may not state the matter too strongly when we declare that God is back of the many present- day movements which are ensnaring many and making shipwreck of their faith, in the sense that he designedly does not hinder such erroneous presentations, but, on the contrary, permits circumstances to foster and prosper them. Thus the Lord declares through the Apostle, ‘God shall send them strong delusions that they may believe a lie; that they all might be damned (condemned, as unworthy a place in the Bride of Christ) who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness – because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.’ (2 Thes. 2:10-12)

“The very men who are thus becoming blind leaders of the blind into the ditch of unbelief are men who have had first-class opportunities as respects education and opportunities for Bible study; men who, had they loved the truth and sought it, would have found it clear, convincing, precious; but who, rejecting the Lord’s leading, and leaning to their own understanding, have become vain in their imaginations; have cut loose from their faith-anchorage, and are helplessly drifting they know not whither.” (R2813:2, 3)

“The fact that the first named is gotten out by the higher critics, tells in a word of its antagonism to the Bible as a divine revelation, and it will probably circulate chiefly among theologians already saturated with doubts, and too conservative to circulate such books among their people to arouse doubts and questions they could never hope to answer. But the other two books are of a different caste – intended for the people, and likely to be well advertised, and ‘pushed’ upon public attention by their publishers, and will work havoc among those resting their faith upon sects and creeds.” (R2814:4)

The “crowns” of glory and honor which God intends for his saints, are not such as can be arbitrarily appropriated by them; nor is the salvation of these saints one that rests upon the infallibility of their teachers; but upon the infallibility of the Word of God! Through that Word these saints are admonished to meekness and lowliness (Psa. 25:9; Matt. 11:28-30); and upon their faithfulness to their covenant of sacrifice will receive the “crown of life” – immortality. (2 Tim. 4:8; Jas. 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10)

Their “faces” “were as the faces of men,” (Rev. 9:7), for they were men; yet men who had never been begotten of God’s holy Spirit, and therefore were not able to discern spiritual things, and could ill afford to set themselves up as “lords” (rulers, as it were) over God’s heritage. True, they were educated; had degrees from colleges and seminaries; were teachers in the renowned schools of learning; and preachers in the most influential pulpits of Christendom. They represented all that might seem glorious and honorable to men; but in God’s sight they were but blind men, leading others together with themselves, into the ditch! (Matt. 15:14)

Their “hair” was “as the hair of women.” (Rev. 9:8) We believe, reference is here, not to its texture, but rather to its length. If so, let it be noted that the Apostle Paul declared this feature of woman’s hair to have been given to her as a “glory,” instead of a vail. (1 Cor. 11:15) The relationship between Adam and Eve was undoubtedly to reflect the relationship which was subsequently to subsist between Christ (the heavenly Bridegroom), and the Church (the espoused virgin, the “Bride of Christ,” the “Lamb’s Wife.”) Mother Eve undoubtedly had long hair; and this in contrast to Adam’s shorter hair, we believe, was intended to show that Eve was not the “head” but that Adam was; very much as in later years the under-priesthood wore bonnets to signify that they were not the Chief, or High Priest, and the latter went “with uncovered head.” (F271) The Apostle adds that for a man to wear his hair long “it is a shame unto him.” (1 Cor. 11:14)

Perhaps a woman’s long hair was intended to signify or symbolize, not merely a subserviency, but also that honor, reverence and esteem, in which the Church was to regard her “Head” – Christ Jesus, and the Word of God which he proclaimed; and which he would continue to teach by way of the “brethren” (elders, etc.,) who, for the Church would be His representatives, or “angels.” (F272)

The incongruity of these “locusts” in their having “men’s” faces, and “women’s” hair, seems to signify that these preachers and teachers of the Higher Criticism, having, contrary to the divine will, arrogated unto themselves the right to be the teachers of the Church, would by the same token fail to “hold” (honor, reverence and esteem) “the head.” (Col. 2:19) St. Paul had warned the early Church against submitting to any such as these! (Col. 2:8, 18) For in the pride of knowledge they revered their own intellects, instead of the Word of God; and honored their own erudition and scholarship with esteem, rather than Christlikeness of character. In truth, these preachers and teachers of the Higher Criticism are neither the Church nor its God-given teachers!

Their “teeth” were “as the teeth of lions.” (Rev. 9:8) Lions’ teeth are specially adapted to biting and tearing apart their prey. The fact that teeth are necessarily identified with the mouth (though this is not here mentioned), seems to suggest the ruthless manner in which these “locusts” tear apart and destroy, whoever and whatsoever challenges them; impugning the intelligence of all who might seek to defend the Bible as the inspired and infallible Word of God.

Their “breastplates” were “as it were breastplates of iron.” (Rev. 9:9) Evidently, this bespeaks a defensive shield to protect them against any harm; surely, not a breastplate of righteousness! This protective shield, we believe, is the impunity afforded them by the synods, conferences, etc., in not removing them from their positions of preachers and teachers within the church institutions.

John’s attention was directed also to the “wings” of these “locusts;” yet not so much to them as a means of locomotion, as to the “sound” of them when they were in motion; which latter was like unto that of “chariots of many horses running to battle.” (Rev. 9:9) Perhaps this was intended to be indicative of the zeal with which these preachers and teachers of the “higher criticism” move about to carry on their nefarious work, often accompanied with controversy!

These “locusts” unlike those of Prov. 30:27, “have” (R.S.V.) a “king” over them; none other than “the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon [destruction], but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon [destroyer].” (Rev. 9:11) Is there any better way in which Satan could have been identified with the work of these “locusts” – the higher critics?

“… the Word of God not only describes at length the person and power of the devil, but it also acquaints us with his purposes, which may be summed up under two heads, namely, to deny the Word of God and to destroy the work of Jesus Christ. It would be apart from our present purpose were we to turn aside and show at length how every available weapon was employed in the first centuries of the Christian era to destroy the Bible, and how in these last days Satan is using the pens of the ‘higher critics’ to destroy the authority of the Holy Scriptures. Suffice it to say that, from the day when he repudiated the words of Jehovah to Eve, until the moment when he is cast into the Abyss, his untiring energies will be devoted to the work of denying the Oracles of God.” (R5847:6¹)

Anent: the “Higher Criticism,” etc.

“… tens of thousands – include many of the most learned of our day, just as the falling at the First Advent of our Lord included the Doctors of the Law, the Chief Priests and the members of the Sanhedrin. The fall in this case is not a moral defection, not a falling into vulgar sin, but the falling away from ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ – a falling into Evolution theories, into Higher Criticism, Infidelity, into Theosophy, into New Thought, Christian Science, etc., – away from the teachings of God’s Word respecting the fall of the race into sin and under Divine sentence, respecting the redemption of Adam and all his race by the precious blood of Jesus, respecting the deliverance of the Church and ultimately as many as will receive Divine favor at the hands of Him who loved us and bought us with His precious blood. – (Jude 3; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19)” (SM245)

Anent: the “Higher Criticism”

“‘Beyond any question some unknown writer gathered up the legends of his time and used them to describe a hero, whom he named Abraham. A later writer used the same legends, but he called his hero Isaac. Without doubt all these stories were invented to account for the supremacy of Israel over Edom.’ So said a Rev. Doctor in his ‘lecture’ to some fifty ladies of his church a few days since – in a Congrega- tional church not far from Boston! At the close of the lecture, among others, this question was asked: ‘Doctor, do you believe that any such person as Abraham and Isaac ever lived?’ ‘Well, I don’t know,’ replied the Doctor. ‘It is quite possible that persons bearing those names have lived, but probably these names represent nations or tribes. I should say that the weight of best modern scholarship is against the theory that any such person as Abraham and Isaac actually lived’.”

Bro. Russell comments on this as follows:

“What a pity that Isaiah could not have heard a course of lectures like these before he prophesied! Then he would have been spared the mortification of making such a reference as we find in his prophecy – (Isa. 41:8) ‘But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.’ And another blunder worse than the first: ‘Look unto Abraham your father, and not Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him!’ But it may be that ‘the best modern scholarship’ will discover, if indeed it has not already proven, that no such prophet as Isaiah ever prophesied or lived even. This would do much in clearing the way for a solid foundation for our faith.

“It is a great pity also that Matthew could not have heard or read a few lectures concerning the ‘higher criticism’ before he wrote his book; for he would have omitted the first chapter which has deceived so many ignorant souls since his time! A great many people have lived in times past and ‘fell on sleep’ believing that in some way Jesus was descended from Abraham! Alas, what ignorance! Why could not the wise men of the East have discovered the new knowledge ages ago?

“Moreover, what help it would have been to Jesus if he could have known the ‘last word of our best scholarship!’ He would not have been deceived, nor would he have deceived others by quoting from those ‘old legends,’ as He did in Matt. 22:32: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob!’ Nor would He have said: ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad. I say unto you before Abraham was I am.’ (John 8:56, 58) Then think of the unfortunate Stephen! Had he only known the results of ‘the best modern scholarship’ he never would have spoken as he did in Acts 7:5 – and so might have saved his life! If he was ignorant or so foolish as to rehearse as true a lot of ‘legends’ about people who never lived, why should not the multitude gnash on him with their teeth, stop their ears, run upon him with one accord, cast him out of the city and stone him to death! James too, was deceived and quoted as a fact a passage from these same ‘old legends.’ (Jas. 2:23)

¹ This quote was not made directly by Bro. Russell himself, but by an Arthur Pink. However, since Bro. Russell made no adverse comment, it undoubtedly means that he was in fullest accord with all the thoughts expressed in the article: “Satan’s Counterfeit of True Religion.”

“But the most deluded of all those poor, ignorant men, who lived and worked in the first century was Paul! How unhappy he must be even in heaven (if there is any heaven), if he now knows the ‘last word of best modern scholarship!’ His ignorance first appears in quoting the same ‘old legend’ that fooled James, in his letter to the Galatians. (Gal. 3:6) He repeats the myth in his letter to the Romans. (Rom. 4:1-4) But worse than this, in the ninth chapter he digs up and palms off onto the innocent and unsuspecting Romans a whole string of ‘legends’!

“Ah me! Four years of preaching and working does not seem to have brought any more light into his benighted mind! for then he wrote that strange epistle to the Hebrews! Who can read the eleventh chapter of that epistle in the light of ‘the best modern scholarship,’ with any degree of allowance for the ignorant writer?

“Poor Paul! – To think of the sermons written and spoken from the ‘legends’ quoted by Paul in that chapter is enough to give a man spiritual nightmare! And the preachers have believed those stories to be true, and so have deceived their flocks. ‘The blind leading the blind!’ These deluded preachers have cited Abraham for an example of faith, living, saving faith, lo, these centuries past! And yet Abraham never lived! To buttress their sermons on prayer, these same preachers have quoted again and again Abraham’s petitions as found in the ‘legends’ recorded in Gen. 15:17, 18! What a debt of gratitude we owe to the ‘higher criticism,’ that our eyes have been opened and that with the very beginning of this glad new century ‘the best modern scholarship’ has brushed away the myths and ‘legends’ of the ages and given us a ‘new theology’ founded upon the latest researches of ‘the higher criticism’!” (R2875:4)

“For this deplorable result the unwise, and often really unscholarly, destructive criticism of the Bible is largely responsible. In former times the enemies of divine revelation were called infidels; now they are called churchmen of various creeds. Formerly they stood outside the temple of truth which they wished to destroy; now they stand in its holy places, wearing its honors and titles, while they are vigorously but vainly striving to undermine its eternal foundations.” (The Old Book and the Old Faith – R. S. MacArthur – Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, New York)

Higher Criticism and Lawlessness!

“Higher criticism has much responsibility in connection with the growing lawlessness of the world. ‘The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul’ – transforming the being. The higher critics in all of our colleges and seminaries are doing a terribly destructive work, in comparison to which the work of Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and Robert Ingersol were as nothing. It is safe to say that three-fourths of all the graduates of all colleges within the last thirty years have been unbelievers in the Bible, and that their influence has been used persistently to undermine the faith of others. The errors which led them to infidelity are liable to influence others. The Bible itself is a study, and only what it teaches should be believed whether favorable to or contrary to our former creeds.” (R4923:5)

Our Colleges and the Higher Criticism

“Our richly endowed colleges are undermining faith in the Bible, which means faith in a personal God, and are substituting a scant recognition of the laws of nature, devoid of sympathy or mercy. Practically every minister graduated during the last twelve years has been an agnostic and a believer in human evolution. Disbelief in the Bible account of man’s creation in God’s image, means disbelief also in the fall from that image, disbelief in the need of redemption and reconciliation, and disbelief in the necessity for the Restitution to be accomplished by Messiah’s King- dom. (Acts. 3:19-21)

“We do not question the sincerity of the Higher Critics. However, it is not honorable for those who have abandoned the creeds to pose before the public as supporters of the creeds, and to draw salaries and receive honorary titles for undermining the faith of the people, while posing as the representatives of Christ and the Bible. Such a course is dishonest and dishonorable.” (Bible Students Monthly, Vol. V, No. 10 “Philosophy of The Deluge”)

The Water of Truth vs. the Higher Criticism

“The people in general have lost their taste and appreciation for the water of life, the truth; and false teachers warn them against it, as poison. The wine of false doctrines now being manufactured at all the Theological Seminaries is the wine of evolution and higher criticism, which does not satisfy the thirst but increases the confusion of mind, and makes null every attempt to appreciate and com- prehend the divine plan, as set forth in God’s Word.

Even Babylon’s notables are dissatisfied, famished. (Amos 8:11)” (R2904:6)

Anent: The “Higher Criticism”!

The following, are gleanings taken from – “New Discoveries in Babylonia About Genesis” by P. J. Wiseman, C.B.E.

“Their fundamental mistake was that they attempted a literary analysis of the Book of Genesis, based on differences of style and the use of special words and phrases, at a time when ancient literary methods were unknown. And competent estimate of either age, composition, or authorship of a book implies a wide and adequate knowledge of the literary method in use during the period covered by the book. But the higher critical theories were decided before they were in possession of a single document of the Patriarchal age and were thus wholly ignorant of the manner in which records of that age were written.” (p. 98)

* * * * *

“With such scanty critical apparatus, and without a single piece of writing of the age of Genesis to assist them, they commenced their analysis, finally dissecting Genesis into a series of unknown writers and editors all of whom they allege could be detected by their ‘style’ or ‘editorial comments.’ Although nothing was known at this time, apart from Genesis, of early civilizations, the critics assumed that the times must be excessively crude, yet they committed the fallacy of subjecting Genesis to a type of literary analysis, which was supposed to be modern, just as if it was a piece of modern writing.

“This lack of knowledge regarding early history prevailing at the time the critical campaign began, made it possible for the critics to assume that civilization was primitive, and writing almost unknown to the Patriarchs. So unenlightened were men at this time that it was imagined that the wedge-shaped writing which had been found, was only a form of pottery decoration. Until the mounds of Babylon gave up their tens of thousands of tablets, and these, together with the inscriptions from the land of Egypt, had been deciphered, it was customary for commentators on Genesis, to write a special introduction which defensively suggested that writing was sufficiently prevalent to enable Moses to write! Thus the conservative Speakers’ Commentary issued in 1871 says on Page 2, ‘The first question then which naturally occurs is, was the art of writing known so early as Moses? and especially was it known to the Egyptians and the Jews.’ Yet recently I have seen tablets dug up, and myself possess some, which were written 1,000 years before Moses, and the great museums now possess thousands of tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, which were ancient when Moses lived. It is now known that writing was so common a thousand years before the great Lawgiver was born, as to be used for ordinary commercial transactions, for civilization had already reached an advanced stage. (p. 99)

* * * * *

“A personal incident regarding the application of the ‘Accommodation’ and ‘Kenosis’ theories may be permitted here. Some years ago a young chaplain called on me; we were complete strangers, but seeing on a shelf in my room a book entitled Daniel the Prophet, he remarked, ‘You don’t believe that kind of thing do you, that Daniel was a prophet? I had all that knocked out of me during the years I was at my theological college.’ ‘But,’ I said, ‘our Lord spoke of Daniel as a prophet.’ My visitor replied, ‘He did not know any more about that than he could learn from the people around him. Professor – says that Daniel never wrote it, that it is not prophecy, but history, it was written after the events, and made to look like prophecy.’ I asked him whether he preferred to believe the Lord Jesus Christ or Professor – (I omit his name for he is still living, and I think would be pained that anyone should take him so literally and logically); he replied, ‘I would rather believe Professor – for living in a more modern and critical age, obviously he is more accurately informed about these things.’ In this way criticism has to rid itself of the testimony of the ‘Faithful and True Witness’ in order to support its theories. It cannot be difficult to the Christian and logical mind to decide between the critics and Christ.” (p. 134)

The “Higher Criticism” in general

“When men accept the position of Wellhausen respecting the date and origin of the books of the Old Testament, how can they arrive at a truly biblical theology? If the Pentateuch is not the work of Moses, but rather a compilation of conflicting documents which are not infallible in their statements, how can a trustworthy picture of the early history of Israel be derived therefrom? If the book of Isaiah is not the work of the great eighth century prophet, but rather is a compilation of oracles written by a number of authors under differing circumstances and conditions over a period of many years, how can we derive therefrom any dependable picture of the Messiah? …

“If one begins with the presupposition that the unaided mind of man is capable of submitting the Word of God to its own judgment, and so placing itself above the plain statement of that Word, one cannot conclude with the teachings of an evangelical Christianity…

“The greatest mistake that a present-day evangelical scholarship can make is to become confused as to the nature of modern thought, and to conclude that modern thought, since it employs Christian terminology, has suddenly become Christian. It has nothing of the sort …” (“The Old Testament” – Edward J. Young, quoted from Contemporary Evangelical Thought, F. H. Henry)

The Rev. R. Heber Newton, a Protestant Episcopal clergyman, declared:

“If the dear Christ’s throne stood on any such flimsy basis of prophecy as men have built up under it, then, when the underpinnings (of faith, which he has been actively engaged in removing) come tumbling out, as today they are doing, we might fear that his authority was dropping in with them; that no longer we were to call him Master and King; that criticism had pronounced his decheance. But his throne really rests on a nation’s (the Jews) growth of the human ideal and divine image. And since this nation’s growth was on the same general basis as the religious and ethical processes of other races (i.e., there was nothing peculiar about the Jews religion – nothing better than that of other nations, except that they were more religiously inclined, as the writer elsewhere claims – although on the contrary, the Scriptures claim and show by their history that the Jews were a ‘stiffnecked’ and idolatrously inclined people), his throne rests on no less secure foundation than humanity’s evolution of the human ideal and divine image.”

After quoting this in R1418:4, Bro. Russell goes on to say:

“Here is a repudiation of all that Christ taught on the subject of the ‘things written’ which ‘must be fulfilled,’ a repudiation of all his quotations from the Law and the Prophets; a repudiation of his repeated statements of God’s choice of that nation and the house of David and seed of Abraham as heirs of the promises that of these should come the predicted Messiah; a repudiation of his statement of the necessity of his death; that thus it was written, and thus ‘it was necessary’ that the Son of Man should suffer and rise from the dead in order that salvation and remission of sins, and consequently restitution from the penalty of sins, should be preached in his name unto all people. But whilst showing Christ to have been a wonderful Jew, and the great exemplar for both Jews and Gentiles, he utterly repudiates him as a Saviour in the sense that the Master taught – that he ‘gave his life a ransom for many’ – ‘to say (recover) that which was lost.’ Then, fearing to break the idol of our hearts too suddenly, and a little shocked by his own bold- ness as an iconoclast – he for the moment pacifies his own and his hearers’ hearts by (so to speak, saying, Hail, Master! and kissing the very one whose teachings he, as a ‘higher critic,’ is betraying) saying, ‘The dear Christ’.”

Commenting upon the Apostle Paul and his teachings, this same Rev. R. Heber Newton, had this to say:

“Against his (Paul’s) modest, cautious discriminations, our doctors (of divinity) set up their theory of the Bible, clothe all his utterances with the divine authority, and honor him with an infallibility which he explicitly disclaims.

“His intensely speculative mind had furnished a system of thought into which he built such ideas as these: The pre-existence of Christ, as in some mystic, undefined way the head of Humanity; the sacrificial nature of his death; the justification of the sinner through faith; … the speedy return of Christ to reign on earth; the resurrection of the pious dead; the translation of the living believers; the final victory of goodness over evil; and the ending of the mediatorship of Christ, God then becoming all in all.… With the incoming of a more rational, ethical and spiritual age, we may surely expect a finer fashioning of the forms of thought.”

After quoting the foregoing in R1419:4, Bro. Russell remarked:

“As this higher critic philosophizes that Peter and James and Paul and especially Jesus were the developments of the Jewish age, by processes of moral and physical evolution, what wonder if he concludes that himself and his co-critics, as the developments of this Brain-age, are much better able than they to teach the world – and to doctor divinity. The fact that Christ and the apostles taught the doctrines of justification by faith in the great sacrifice for sins, of a second coming of Christ, and of the resurrection of the dead, would, of course, be the best reasons for the repudiation of all those doctrines by the new lights of higher criticism; for, disbelieving in a plenary inspiration, they ask, How could any one get the true light eighteen centuries ago?

“So far from regarding our Lord Jesus as the one and only true Light of the world which sooner or later, in this or the next age, shall enlighten every man that cometh into the world, this ‘higher criticism’ asserts that the heathen ‘Bibles’ as well as ours, though mostly error, were rays of the light which is now, as a result of their ‘higher criticism’ about to burst upon the world with electrical brilliancy. But, lo! we perceive that what they offer is only a rehash of the old heathen doctrine of evolution – the wisdom of the East – which has done so little for its votaries, whilst the Word of God, even misinterpreted, has carried blessings to every land.” (See R1418:4; 1419:5)

Another Locust at Work!

“Man Elects God Now, and Not God Man” Declares Dean Of Chicago Divinity School.

“In an address on ‘The Gospel and the New Age,’ Shaler Matthews, dean of the divinity school of the University of Chicago, noted for his commentaries on the Bible, before Haverford College students recently traced the decline of Christian faith and showed by a reconstructive process it can still be made to meet the spiritual needs of the age.

“‘Man elects God now, not God man,’ said the speaker. ‘We have outgrown conceptions of God as a king and a father. Our deity is a personality endowed with the qualities the god of an advanced people must have. We think in terms of scientific progress, and since Darwin propounded his theories on evolution we have been living under their control- ling concepts, and come to look at Christianity in this light.’

“The church must modernize the gospel, restate the Testament teachings, or it will incur in the future the hostility of labor and science, and find in its diminished ranks only the mediocre.

“Dr. Matthews ridiculed the religious attitude which accepts outworn beliefs because ‘they were good enough for a sainted mother or father,’ saying that in the natural order of things children must break with traditions and get away from the religious decadence due to sentiment. He depicted the two factions at work trying to mold the religion of college men. On the one hand, old school teachers telling the youth to stop thinking and accept blindly their crude faiths and intellectual inheritance; on the other, strong men trying to adjust their faith to their judgment.” (The North American)

A very rich man, whom we have every reason to regard as a Christian in the ordinary sense of that title, even if not a “saint,” endowed the college whose teachings are represented by the head of its faculty in the above address. That rich man, already paying his employees liberally, gave liberally of his surplus to enlighten them or others of his fellow-creatures. Not vastly learned himself, he supposed that he was acting wisely, for the good of all mankind, when he entrusted so vast a fortune to the care of the learned ministers and professors of theology of his own (Baptist) denomination. Alas! he probably did not suspect that under the name of Christian influence and education his millions would be used to propagate Evolution doctrines contrary to the Bible, and to instill Higher Criticism of the Bible to utterly destroy the Bible’s influence. The size of his generous gift and the size of the resultant college give increased weight and influence to the infidel doctrines which are flooding Christendom.

We do not blame Mr. Rockefeller, but concede his good intentions; neither do we condemn the professor whose words we quote above. Ensnared of the Adversary, he is probably honest in the utterance of his convictions.

The point we do make is that the wealth and learning of Christendom have for the past thirty years been carrying forward the adversary’s work – destroying faith in a personal God and in the Bible as a revelation from him.

Now the fruit of their “sowing to the wind” is appearing and shortly they with others will reap the whirlwind of anarchy. Yet they are so blind to this as to fancy that the education they are giving the rising generation is the antidote for anarchy. Alas! they cannot see that “The reverence of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom.” Their educational program ignores this foundation and hence is proving injurious to the race. Discontent and not happiness is the result of such education, and its influence extends to the uneducated. (R4114:6; 4145:1, 4)

A “Locust” and This Work Henry Ward Beecher

“The infidelity of the present age, under the seductive names of ‘science,’ ‘the higher criticism,’ ‘evolution,’ etc., is making not a few notable converts. As typical cases, we may mention such men as the late Henry Ward Beecher, and such papers as The Outlook, formerly the Christian Union. Mr. Beecher was considered a leader of thought in the religious world, and his fame and influence were not confined to one hemisphere. He became very out-spoken in his denial of the doctrines which have been considered by all believers in the Bible as among the fundamental truths of revelation. As an illustration, we quote the following from the National Baptist of Sept. 6, 1883. It is from a reply by Mr. Beecher to J. S. Kennard, D.D., who had criticized some of Mr. Beecher’s views and utterances. He says:

“‘I am a cordial Christian evolutionist. I do not agree, by any means, with all of Spencer – his agnosticism – nor all of Huxley, Tyndall, and their school. They are agnostic; I am not, emphatically. But I am an evolutionist; and that strikes at the root of all medieval and orthodox modern theology – the fall of man in Adam, and the inheritance by This posterity of This guilt, and, by consequence, any such views of atonement as has been constructed to meet this fabulous disaster. Men have not fallen as a race; men have come up. No great disaster met the race at the start. The creative decree of God was fulfilled, and any theory of atonement must be one which shall meet the fact that man was created at the lowest point, and, as I believe, is, as to This physical being, evolved from the animal race below him, but as to This moral and spiritual nature, is a son of God, a new element having come in, in the great movement of evolution at the point of man’s appearance.’” (Quoted from Uriah Smith’s Thoughts on Daniel and Revelation, p. 668)

The Locusts at Work (?)

“Zion’s Herald publishes the results of an investigation respecting the number of ‘conversions’ made by two hundred M. E. ministers, educated in the Boston Seminary since Higher Criticism and Evolution began to be taught there fifteen years ago. The results are reported with great satisfaction as giving evidence that Methodism is prospering under the diet which repudiates the doctrine of the ransom and makes void the Word of God.” (R2647:4)

The Higher Critics vs. The Apostles

“… is it not a fact that certain of the so-called ‘higher critics’ regard themselves and are regarded by others as the equals or indeed the superiors of the apostles, as light-shiners, stars? And do not they and others show this, by preaching their own ideas, shining out of their own light on various subjects, without considering it necessary to consult or to give as proof the words of the inspired apostles? … Indeed the light of these false stars, ‘wandering stars,’ is usually so opposed to that of the inspired twelve, that they can scarcely so much as find a suitable text from their writings.” (D594)

More Anent These “Locusts”

An excerpt from the “Sermon” book, in which Bro. Russell quotes from an Article in the “Independent” of New York City, being the confession of a “higher critical” preacher who preferred to remain anonymous; nor did he care to mention specifically, the church of which he was the Pastor.

“I have never won distinction by my heresy, nor even acquired a local reputation from violent departures from orthodoxy. If I should set about some Sunday morning to tell my congregation all my divergences from the accepted Christian belief I would shock them beyond measure. They understand in a general way that I am a liberally-minded person, and I take occasion not infrequently to hasten their heels in their movements from worn-out dogma to the truth that is to be. That they are engaged in such a journey I have no doubt; and most of them are willing to maintain a reasonable pace. My congregation is above normal in intelligence, information and sympathy with forward movements; but nevertheless I am fully persuaded that a complete revelation on my part of the beliefs to which my studies have forced me would set their ears a tingling, and not only awaken antagonism to me personally but also cause a turn of sentiment in the direction of conservatism and orthodoxy.

“So rapid is the advance in the religious opinion, at least as I experience it in my parish, that I would not hesitate for a moment now to give fullest utterance to views utterly condemnatory of the whole scheme of sacrificial atonement and imputed righteousness.

Devout saints who were wont to inquire anxiously why I did mention that Christ made full atonement for our sins every week or two, after a sermon on any subject from Dan to Beersheba now sit patiently under preaching which never refers to Christ as a Propitiatory Sacrifice.

“Experience has taught me not to be too rampant in my heresies. I have learned that if one keeps his doctrinal discoveries in his study drawer for about five years, and takes them out now and then to refresh his soul, allowing occasionally a delicate effluence from them to steal over a page or two of his next Sunday’s sermon, he will find at the end of the period that he may avow them as violently as he pleases, and they who aforetime would have lit the torch for his burning will sit peacefully under his doctrine, and sing the last hymn lustily in satisfaction that they have heard once more the truth they have always believed.

“For this reason I am not shouting out every Sunday that I do not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus nor in the physical resurrection. Much as I honor and admire Doctor Cropsey, I am not scurrying to put myself in the pillory beside him. I let others do the talking, and I answer questions cautiously.

“I have hopes that before many years the heresies, as undoubtedly they are, of the miraculous origin and resurrection of Christ will become at least tolerated opinions. With patience, tact and perseverance I hope some day to bring out this deliverance of my soul, as I have already waited in patience for a time to declare my opinions of the atonement. To expose it now would endanger my real work, which is not to teach history, not even true history concerning Jesus, His Apostles, or His Church; but to enlarge lives with real religious faith, and induce some morals and gentle virtues through devotion to duty as God gives me to see it. One shrinks from being called a hypocrite, but it is encouraging to remember that in Jesus’ time they were not branded hypocrites who counted themselves still Jews and went to feasts while in utter contradiction with the prevailing opinion.” (SM296, 297, 299, 300)

Re: “The Sealing in Their Foreheads” – see special note on page 87.

The Five Months of Torments

“Whether the period of five months during which these locusts are said to commit their ravages is fixed on because the destruction caused by the natural insect lasts for that length of time, or for some other reason unknown to us, it is difficult to determine. There is want of proof that a locust-plague generally continues for the number of months thus specified, and it is otherwise more in accordance with the style of the Apocalypse to regard that particular period of time as simply denoting that the judgment has definite limits.” (The Expositor’s Bible)

The End of Papal Domination and the Bible Societies

“The era closing with A.D. 1799, marked by Napolean’s Egyptian campaign, sealed and defined the limit of Papal dominion over the nations. There, the time appointed (1260 years of power) having expired, the predicted judgment against that system began, which must finally ‘consume and destroy it unto the end.’ (Dan. 7:26)

“This date also clearly marks the beginning of a new era of liberty of thought, and the realization of individual rights and privileges, and has already been distinguished by its rapid strides of progress toward the full accomplishment of the work mapped out for this Time of the End. As a single illustration, notice the rise and work of the various Bible Societies – ‘pestiferous Bible Societies,’ Rome calls them, though it cannot now hinder them. And the sacred volume which once she confined in chains, kept covered in dead languages, and forbade her deluded subjects to read, is now scattered by the million in every nation and language. The British and Foreign Bible Society was established in 1803; the New York Bible Society in 1804; the Berlin-Prussian Bible Society in 1805; the Philadelphia Bible Society in 1808; and the American Bible Society in 1817.” (C30)

“We remind you that it was between the years 1803 and 1813 that many of our great Bible Societies were organized. Only then the printing of the Bible in every language and in cheap form was commenced. The Bible was lifted up before the people – was exalted to heaven.… The Bible was greatly exalted in contrast to the degraded position which it had occupied during the dark ages. But several years were consumed in bringing it up to this high position.” (R5565:3)

Darkening of the Sun

“… the sunlight of the gospel is daily becoming more and more obscure; and although this denial of the value of the precious blood as our redemption price has not so generally extended from the pulpit to the pew, yet, false doctrines long held sacred, together with reverence for leaders and learning, have made the way so easy that a large majority of all who get sufficiently awake to consider the subject fall an easy prey to this doctrine of Evolution, which denies the Scriptural doctrine of a primal fall and of a ransom from it. The Scriptures variously forewarn us of this great falling away, as well as of this darkening of the faith of the Church at this time; so that the Son of Man when he cometh will find the faith very scarce on the earth. (Luke 18:8) …

“As the sunlight of the ransom becomes obscured, so the moonlight of the Mosaic Law, which in its sacrifices foreshadowed the ransom, must of necessity become obscured also. It is no longer uncommon for public teachers to refer to the bloody sacrifices of Israel, required by their Law, as barbaric. Once, when they saw by the true light of the Word of God, they appreciated the Apostle’s statement that Israel’s sacrifices were foreshadowings of ‘better sacrifices’ for sin; but now, refusing the antitype, the ransom, and denying original sin, and all need therefore of sacrifices for it – the typical sacrifices are repudiated also and esteemed barbaric. Thus the darkening of the gospel sunlight results in the darkening of the moonlight. ‘The moon shall be turned into blood.’ And Joel (2:10) adds that ‘the stars shall withdraw their shining,’ which signifies that when the gospel light is obscured, and the Law comes to be regarded merely as a meaningless and barbaric ceremony of blood, then the teachings of the God-ordained twelve stars of the Church (the apostles) will also fade from view – cease to be recognized guides or lights.” (D592)

Trees of Righteousness

“St. Paul gives us the picture of a tree, the root of which goes downward and the trunk of which reaches upward, to obtain that nourishment which will give it strength and stability. As the roots of a tree push themselves downward and imbibe the nutriment of the soil, while at the same time the trunk and the branches reach up into the atmosphere to obtain through the leaves the necessary elements of growth, so the mentality of the Christian takes hold of the great and precious promises of the Word of God, while at the same time he is building character through his heart appreciation of these promises, in connection with the experiences of life. The roots of faith push down deep into the knowledge of the divine plan, while the tree of character grows higher and higher, developing and maturing the rich fruits of the holy Spirit of God; for instruction is a form of construction.

“While the Christian is thus growing up in character-likeness to our Redeemer, and his roots of faith are reaching deep down into the deep things of God, he is becoming established, settled. A tree that is well rooted in the earth is hard to uproot. It has a wonderful strength, a wonderful hold upon the earth.… So it is with the Christian whose faith has been properly established; he should be so fixed, so established in the promises of God’s Word, that no wind of doctrine could overturn his faith.” (R5557:6)

9:12 – “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.”
It is to be remembered that these woes are “upon the inhabiters of the earth” (Rev. 8:13); and are to culminate in the complete overthrow of the present order, making way for the establishment of God’s Kingdom, for which we have long prayed, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) And, while the nominal Church will be involved in these woes (as the Babylon which is to fall – Isa. 13:1-15; Rev. 17:18) the true Church – the saints of God, will look up, and lift up their hearts knowing that their redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28)

9:13-15 – “And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.”

The sounding of the sixth Trumpet, and the consequent release of the four angels, which to this time had been bound in the great river Euphrates, brings on the second woe!

The sixth angel represents the time; and the four angels represent the circumstances, prevailing in all parts of the world at the period involved.

The fact of John’s hearing at the time of the sounding of the sixth Trumpet, a “voice” coming from the direction of the golden altar which is before God, signifies that the release of this woe, is in full accord with the will of God, who has committed the carrying out of these features of the Divine Plan of the Ages, to his Son (Matt. 28:18; Rev. 4:11; 5:7-9), who is our High Priest, and as such he stands by the “golden altar” offering unto God, the “sweet incense” of the prayer-oriented lives (Rev. 8:4) of those few saints still remaining in the earth, and whom he intends shortly to glorify with himself.

The second woe, we believe, involves the movement amongst men that initiates the organization of the “Lord’s Great Army,” (Joel 2:11; Rev. 9:16) whose chief work will be the overthrow of everything in this earth that is inimical to the establishment of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:10; Rev. 11:15) – that glorious Kingdom – the “new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (2 Pet. 3:13; see also B148, 152)

Officially, “recruiting,” and “boot-training,” for service in this army, began with the sounding of this sixth Trumpet, when the time, and circumstances, were “ripe” – “the hour, day, month, and year” had arrived. We do not believe this time has reference to either the period during which this army is being prepared, or, to the length of time it will require it to do its task; but rather, to the specific time for this “release.”

The Battalions Making Ready

“Unknown to men, he has for some time past been holding back the winds – preventing the conflict until the servants of God were sealed in their fore- heads (Rev. 7:3) – given an intellectual knowledge of the things coming and their relation to the plan of God in the establishment of his kingdom. The Lord reserved until its due time that which he had previously declared through the prophet, the means and agency in the overturning of kingdoms – ‘knowledge shall be increased.’ When ready to have knowledge increased, and through knowledge liberty, the Lord brought to men the art of printing, to which, more than any other perhaps, the overturning of every form of evil and oppression among men is traceable.

“We see the various battalions now making ready; the battle-line becomes more and more apparent, and the hosts are marching to their respective positions, and soon the engagement will be general.” (R683:6; 684:1)

The Euphrates

“Fleshly Israel was taken captive into literal Babylon, which was built upon the literal river Euphrates, while in the Gospel age Mystic or figurative Babylon, which carried away captive spiritual Israel, is portrayed as sitting upon the mystic Euphrates.… Literal Babylon being built upon the river Euphrates, which materially contributed to its wealth and resources, its overthrow was accomplished by the turning aside of those waters. So mystic Babylon sits upon, is supported by, many waters (peoples, nations), and its fall is predicted, through the turning aside of its supporters and sustainers, the people. (Rev. 16:12)” (B208)

9:16 – “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.”

And, while there have been some skirmishes fought along the line, through the years since, this army has not yet attained its full complement of warriors – 200,000,000 horsemen; and only when it does, will the real “offensive” begin. This number (200,000,000) is not to be taken literally; rather symbolically: it is so infinitely large, that it can only mean that virtually all mankind will one day be enlisted in its ranks! This means that there will be a time when virtually every man’s hand will be against his neighbor; when lawlessness and anarchy shall prevail! Concerning this army, we read:

“This army of the Lord must face the terrible conditions of the evil day, when the dread elements now preparing for the conflict, the fire, shall have reached the climax of readiness. This army it is that under the Lord’s overruling providence will overthrow the throne of kingdoms and destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. (Hag. 2:22).… So great an army as is here described by the Prophet, and one which is to accomplish such marvelous things, and that, as indicated … is probably in existence at the present time, and under some course of preparation for the coming work of carnage. The description of the Prophet is not of an undisciplined mob, which might be easily dealt with by those educated in the arts of war; but it is of a mighty host under a high degree of discipline.

“Where, then, we inquire, is there such an army, under present instruction and training? – an army before which the earth (society) shall quake and the heavens (ecclesiasticism) shall tremble (Joel 2:10); which shall boldly array itself against the conservative forces of Christendom, both civil and ecclesiastical, and hope even to cope with its present strength? Where is the army that in the near future will dare deny Christendom’s time-honored doctrines, its statecraft and priestcraft? that will sullenly ignore all its anathemas, spurn its orders, and hurl back its thunderbolts of authority and organized power? that will face the roar of its Vesuvian artillery, defy its missiles of shot and shell, plow through its fleets of naval armaments, and, snatching the diadems from crowned heads, topple the kingdoms into the midst of the sea: that will set the heavens on fire, and melt the earth with fervent heat, thus as predicted by the prophets?

“That such an army is coming into existence and preparing for the desperate conflict we are none the less forcibly assured by the signs of the times than by ‘the sure word of prophecy.’ And it is the recognition of this fact (without any reference to or knowledge of the word of prophecy) that is now filling the heart of Christendom with fearful foreboding, and impelling statesmen everywhere to take extraordinary measures for protection and defence.

“But in these very measures for self-defense devised by ‘the powers that be,’ there is probably a snare which they do not realize. The armies upon which they depend for defence, be it remembered, are the armies of the common people: these millions of disciplined warriors have wives and sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and cousins and friends in the ranks of the common people, with whose interests their own are linked by nature’s strong ties; and their service of thrones and kingdoms is only secured by imperative orders, and made endurable by a remuneration which they are fast coming to consider as no satisfactory compensation for the hardships and privations which they and their families must undergo, not to mention perils to life and limb and health and fortune. Year by year these armed hosts are less and less infatuated with the ‘glory’ of war, more keenly alive to its sufferings and privations, and less and less devoted to the sovereign powers that command their services, while the armies of toilers, of the common people at home, are becoming more and more irritated and dissatisfied with their lot, and more and more apprehensive of the future.

“Mankind in general is unconscious of the Lord’s interest in this battle: and almost all the contestants gird on the armor for personal and selfish interests in which they rightly realize the Lord could not share; and hence, while all on every side are ready to invoke the Lord’s blessing, few count on it – all seem to rely upon themselves – their organizations, numbers, etc. None will be more surprised than the ‘powers of the heavens’ the great ones of present ecclesiastical control, who going about to establish a plan of their own for the Lord, have neglected his plan as revealed in his Word. To these, the Lord’s work of the next few years will indeed be a ‘strange work.’ …” (D544; 545; 547)

Were we to categorize this second woe, we would designate it “socialism” (including in the term, “communism” and latent “anarchy”). It is possible therefore, that the sounding of the sixth Trumpet coincides with the times of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; and their presentation to the world of the “Communist Manifesto” (1848); and “Das Kapital” (1867-1895). Socialism, is a philosophical, or economic doctrine, that challenges the sanctity of private property; and favors its use for public (?) welfare; but it also sanctions rebellion, yea, even revolution, if its aims cannot be met in any other way! And, while on general principles, many, as yet, are averse to subscribing to these tenets – this philosophical and economic doctrine; just let laws be enacted which seemingly infringe upon their (?) rights; or let them be assessed taxes, which they feel are unreasonable, and therefore unjust; or let war be declared and some of their loved ones be drafted to serve therein; then see what their resentment may bring about – “demonstrations” – rebellion, and perhaps also revolution! The ultimate result of man’s innate selfishness, his self-centeredness, is always lawlessness and anarchy! It is this propensity in fallen man, that will cause practically all of mankind eventually to be enlisted in this “great army of the Lord” to accomplish the complete, and utter destruction of the present order.

The “Great Army” of the Lord

“While the Lord forbids his people to fight with carnal weapons, and while he declares himself to be a God of peace, a God of order and of love, he also declares himself to be a God of justice, and shows that sin shall not forever triumph in the world, but that it shall be punished. ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.’ (Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35) And when he rises up to judgment against the nations, taking vengeance upon all the wicked, he declares himself ‘a man of war’ and ‘mighty in battle,’ and having a ‘great army’ at his command. And who can give assurance that the multitudes who now compose the marshalled hosts of Christendom will not then constitute the great army that will throw its mighty force against the bulwarks of the present social order. (Exod. 15:3; Psa. 24:8; 45:3; Rev. 19:11; Isa. 11:4; Joel 2:11)

“‘The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea roar: he shall prevail against his enemies.’ The cry and roar of his great army, and their success in accomplishing his purpose of revolution, he thus attributes to himself; because they are accomplishing, though ignorantly, his work of destruction. He says: – ‘I have long time holden my peace; I have been still and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman: I will destroy and devour at once.’ (Isa. 42:13, 14)” (D549)

Every Man’s Hand Against His Neighbor

“… the time is not far distant when a still greater, more general and more terrible crisis will make manifest to the whole world that much of the politeness and gentleness of our day is only skin deep, and is not from the heart, the fruitage of the holy Spirit of love. In that great crisis, as the Scriptures show, every man’s hand will be against This neighbor. In that day of vengeance the masks of formal politeness will be discarded, and the world for a short time will get such a glimpse of its own hideous selfishness as will help prepare it for Millennial lessons in love and its grace, to be given them by the great Immanuel.” (R2203:6)

9:17-19 – “And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.”

The “breastplates” for the protection of these “horsemen” is their legal status – the laws under which they are permitted to function as unions, guilds, etc., here likened unto “fire, jacinth, and brimstone,” by which they are able to resist all opposition, yea, even to destroy it.

“Horses” are symbols here of socialistic, communistic, and anarchistic, doctrines! Their “riders” – the “horsemen,” that control and direct them are indeed, the world of mankind, those represented by the “river,” upon which “mystic Babylon sits … supported by, many waters [people, nations],” and (whose) “fall is predicted, through the turning aside of its supporters and sustainers, the people. (Rev. 16:12)” (See B209)

The “horses” upon which they ride, have heads likened unto lions, that is, they are powerful for the tearing apart of their prey, and that is anything that may stand in their way. We are told that out of their mouths issue forth “fire, smoke, and brimstone,” – destructive agents all! And as if this wasn’t enough, their tails are like serpents, whose heads contain the deadly fangs by way of which they are able to inject poisons into the bodies of their enemies, and thus bring about their untimely death! This is what is represented in the legal right that unions, guilds, etc., have – their “striking” power (work-stoppage, boycott- ing, picketing, etc.,) by way of which “they do hurt.”

But it does not require a union of many individuals to inflict hurt and harm upon society. Even one man, is protected by the selfsame laws which enable the unions, etc., to function so powerfully – he has the right of free speech, and of the free press. We do not mean to suggest that these are evils in themselves. No! Quite to the contrary. But they can be corrupted by the unscrupulous. It is thus possible for one man to be so jealous and envious of another, whose social standing has been honestly attained and honestly maintained, that he will say things (not untrue, but surely, out of context), and thus, not only hurt, but often completely destroy the other’s reputation! And so do these socialistic (often most unsocial) philoso- phies and doctrines, like disease germs, find a most accept- able culture medium in the human heart!

“The battle of this great day of God Almighty will be the greatest revolution the world has ever seen because it will be one in which every principle of unrighteousness will be involved; for as truly in this judgment of the nations, as in the judgment of individuals, ‘there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known.’ (Matt. 10:26) Behold, how, even now the search-light of general intelligence is discovering the secret springs of political intrigue, financial policies, religious claims, etc., and how all are brought to the bar of judgment, and by men, as well as by God, declared right or wrong as judged by the teachings of the Word of God – by the golden rule, the law of love, the examples of Christ, etc., all of which are coming into such remarkable prominence in the discussions of these times.

“The battle of the great day, like every other revolutionary war, has its stages of gradual development. Back of every indication of strife are the inspiring causes, the real or fancied national and individual wrongs; next comes a keen appreciation of those wrongs by those who suffer from them; then generally follow various attempts at reform, which, proving abortive, lead to great controversies, wars of words, divisions, strife of opinions, and finally to revenge and strife of arms. Such is the order of the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty. Its general character is that of a struggle of light against darkness, of liberty against oppression, of truth against error. Its extent will be worldwide, peasant against prince, pew against pulpit, labor against capital: the oppressed in arms against injustice and tyranny of every kind; and the oppressors in arms for the defense of what they have long considered to be their right, even when seen to be encroachments upon the rights of others.” (D541)

Conditions of this Battle Unprecedented

“According to the predictions of the prophets, the conditions of this battle will be without historic precedent. As already suggested, this final struggle is graphically portrayed in symbols in the forty-sixth Psalm. (Compare also Psa. 97:2-6; Isa. 24:19-21; 2 Pet. 3:10) The hills (the less high, less autocratic governments) are already melting like wax; they still retain their form, but as the earth (society) gets hot they yield to its requirements, little by little coming down to the level of popular demand. Great Britain is a good illustration of this class. High mountains (representing autocratic governments) will be ‘shaken’ by revolutions, and ultimately ‘carried into the midst of the sea’ – lost utterly in anarchy. Already ‘the sea and the waves roar’ against the bulwarks of the present social system: ere long the earth (the present social structure) will reel and totter as a drunken man, vainly endeavoring to right itself, maintain a footing and reestablish itself: by and by it will be utterly ‘removed,’ to give place to the ‘new earth’ (the new social order) wherein righteousness, justice, will prevail.

“It will be impossible to reestablish the present order, (1) because it has evidently outlived its usefulness, and is inequitable under present conditions; (2) because of the general diffusion of secular knowledge; (3) because the discovery that priestcraft has long blinded and fettered the masses with error and fear will lead to a general disrespect for all religious claims and teachings as of a piece with the discovered frauds; (4) because religious people in general, not discerning that God’s time has come for a change of dispensation, will ignore reason, logic, justice and scripture in defending the present order of things.

“It will be of little consequence then that the ecclesiastical heavens (the religious powers, Papal and Protestant) will have rolled together as a scroll. (Isa. 34:4; Rev. 6:14) The combined religious power of Christendom will be utterly futile against the rising tide of anarchy when the dread crisis is reached. Before that great army ‘all the host of heaven (the church nominal) shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. (The two great bodies which constitute the ecclesiastical heavens; viz., Papacy and Protestantism, as the two distinct ends of the scroll are even now rapidly approaching each other, rolling together, as we have shown); and all their host shall fall down (fall off, drop out; not all at once, but gradually, yet rapidly) as the leaf falleth from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree’ (Isa. 34:4); and finally these ‘heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements (of which they are composed) shall melt with fervent heat.’ (2 Pet. 3:12)” (D551)

9:20, 21 – “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.”

With regard to those “killed,” let it be noted that the death involved is not necessarily a literal death (though, of course, it could also be); but rather a figurative one resulting in one’s inability to function for either good or evil, as one did before. Let it also be noted that those causing this kind of “death,” are virtually murderers, sorcerers, fornicators and thieves, taking, as it were, that to which they had no right! Nor do such as these have much to fear of retribution from the gods which they worship – devils, idols of gold, silver, brass, stone and wood (stocks, bonds, wealth, position, etc.,); gods which cannot “see” the wrongs and evils, which are being done; nor “hear” the lies which are being told; nor are they able to “walk” (i.e., move) to counteract these! It is for this reason that these “killers” do not repent, nor seek to make atonement for their sins!