THE
WAR
THE
WEATHER
& GOD
by
G.F.
Vallance
---------------o---------------o---------------
Chapter 8
In my final Chapter I wish to come back to my opening theme of “That Restraining Hand,” for I am sure that my reader will agree with me, that this overruling Divine Hand cannot be treated as of little count, but rather must we pay heed to these Divine interventions.
Perhaps
one aspect of the subject has not been sufficiently stressed thus far.
That
is, that there is nothing NATIONAL about this “Restraining Hand,”
It
has been in evidence on our behalf, as we have noted; but it has also
been in evidence on the other side of the Globe for other nations. For Russia, for Australia, yes, and even for
our enemies at times, as the instances quoted serve to show. Sometimes it has been the Allied forces thus
restrained, sometimes the enemies might, but without fear or favour this
“Restraining Hand” has shown itself and its power.
That
it seems to be a Moral or Spiritual power rather than Material is evident and
acknowledged, and we have also to remember that it has not been confined to the
present conflict. Throughout centuries
past, something akin to this has often happened. When Victory seemed almost within the grasp of some power,
suddenly and unexpectedly the issue swung the other way and the seeming Victor
became the vanquished. Was this not
practically so in 1918?
And
in striking contrast to modern times, let me mention one incident of long ago,
when Pharaoh’s host had their enemy absolutely in their grip. On either side rose the steep rocky face; in
front, the Red Sea barred the way; and then behind them came the Egyptian
hordes in all their power. It was then
that that “Restraining Hand” made itself felt!
The waters of the Red Sea divided asunder and the Children of Israel
marched forward on dry ground, The Sea standing as a protecting wall on either
flank. Angered by their loss of
immediate Victory, Pharaoh’s host pursued, only to be swamped by those receding
tidal walls of the Sea and all were drowned: The vanquished, not of the
Israelites, but of that ”Restraining Hand.”
Did
I hear a remark that surely it was none other than God Himself who thus
delivered the Children of Israel?
Indeed it was. That “Hand” which
delivered them, was none other than His Almighty Arm, and who shall say that it
is not that same Almighty Power-God Himself-that is restraining the Nations
today?
What,
to us, may have seemed uncanny, sinister, mysterious, moral or Spiritual rather
than material, or whatever other expression we care to use, is nothing more or
less than the Hand of God manifesting itself and fulfilling Divine prophecies
of 1900 years standing.
The
fact that it favours none, but controls and restrains each, and all, confirms
this fact, for God’s ways are by no means National, rather are they
international. God is not so much
concerned with any particular Nation today, as He is with individuals out of
all Nations, and it is on their behalf that He restrains and controls the
Nations of the World., These
individuals to whom we refer, are those known as “Christians,” REAL Christians,
of course, in contrast to a mere profession of Christianity.
If
there is a “Nation” at all, that God IS concerned with, and there is – that
Nation is the JEW, of whom, concerning the flesh Christ came. (See Jeremiah 31,
35-37)
One
principle, and one only, governs God’s dealings with the rest of the Nations,
and that is their treatment of the Jew.
Those
oft-quoted words of the Saviour.
“INASMUCH
as ye have done it unto one of these the least my Brethren ye have done it unto
Me,” have their primary interpretation in this connection.
Those
Nations which treat the Jew kindly are as the Sheep and will eventually have a
place on the Right Hand, in Christ’s Kingdom soon to be established.
Those
who, adversely, ill-treat that strange but wonderful People go to the Left, for
Judgment, and are described as “Goats” in contrast.
“Then,”
I hear you say “There can be no doubt of the ultimate issue of the present
conflict, for surely it is abundantly clear today on which side the conflicting
forces stand, in this connection?”
Thank God, that is true. As to
the ULTIMATE issue there is no doubt, and if that were the only
point at issue not only would it be true ULTIMATELY, BUT IT WOULD BE TRUE now,
AND victory would now be the portion of the Allied Cause. God would intervene,
now in DECISIVE VICTORY, instead of RESTRAINT, upon our efforts.
Sad
to say, however, other issues are involved.
God is a God of inflexible justice, and whereas it is true the Axis
powers have during the past five years or so been heaping up for themselves
terrible retribution at the Hands of Almighty God for their treatment of the
Jews, quite apart from anything else they may have done or are doing, yet none
can deny that the reckoning in the present conflict has to go back further than
the immediate present, and even the Allied Nations are not without fault. The past generation or two of all Nations
have evidenced rapid decline both morally and spiritually from even the
Victorian God-fearing age, and for such things God will bring any Nation into
Judgment.
We
must remember too that the persecution of the Jews has, in the past, not been
confined to the Axis Powers alone, although, thank God, it seems to be so
today. In addition, Sinful Pleasure, as
well as the desecration of God’s Day, and God’s Laws, have been largely to the
fore even in this Country and America, to say nothing of the Continent.
France’s
own leaders confess that her present humiliation is the result of her
sins. And can we fail to reflect that
both Russia and Germany have blasphemed God and Christ above all Nations in
Europe? God is not-mocked. So just when we were expecting the armed
might of Hitler to fall upon these shores, that “Restraining Hand” intervened,
and the enemy turned the other way.
Used of God, Germany and Russia have punished one another, for their
sins of the past.
How
many have asked what would have happened if Germany had struck here first? - BUT
Germany didn’t, and even our Rulers cannot understand WHY NOT! The hand of
God gives the answer.
Well,
has our noble Prime Minister said: “There are times when all pray.”
Methinks
that many a Cabinet Minister must have prayed at that time, as well as the masses
of the people, but many are too proud to admit it sad to say, like the young
sergeant, who speaking recently in the mess room of a Glasgow barracks, was
proclaiming loudly his scorn for what he called religion, and affirming that he
did not believe in God at all, when a lad at the back stood up and said, “Would
you mind telling me, Sergeant, who it was I saw you praying to, on the shore of
Narvik?”
Atheism,
Modernism, New Theology and the like have swept the Theological Colleges and
Pulpits, Clergy and Laity alike, not only of the Continent but of these
favoured Isles and these things are grievous in the eyes of our God, and for
such He is now calling us all to Book, and righteous retribution is being
allocated according to Divine reckoning.
When
the Emperor of Ethiopia pleaded for his country personally, before the League
of Nations at Geneva, amid Italian insult, and was shamefully turned down, he
said:
“I
could not believe that fifty-two nations among them the most powerful in the
world – could be defeated by a single aggressor.”
And
then there fell from his lips these solemn words: “God and history will
remember your judgment.”
YES,
GOD REMEMBERS.
Today,
Italy is reaping an abundant harvest of that awful sowing, as all nations as
well as individuals MUST reap, in accordance with Divine Law.
We
are today, all suffering for our shortcomings and failures of the past,
nationally and individually; and it behoves us each and all to HEED the Voice
that is speaking, by a “RESTRAINING HAND.”
Whilst
the forces of Evil are being restrained under God’s almighty Control, among all
the Nations, the immediate issue of Victory for the allied cause is, alas, also
being withheld, pending our recognition of God in this matter and our
REPENTANCE for the sins of the past.
Forgiveness, in any realm, follows repentance, That is a righteous
Axiom.
But,
thank Gold, the same Hand that restrains evil, also holds the balance of Divine
Justice, and whilst judgment is His strange work, He delights in mercy. Those who seek His face in repentance, He is
swift to forgive and bless. A humble
and a contrite heart He never despises and the moment we, as an Allied Cause,
as a Nation, or as individuals get THERE, the ULTIMATE VICTORY will become an
IMMEDIATE ONE.
There
was once an evil mob, bent on destroying the Saviour Himself, when He was here
upon earth. On one occasion they led Him to the brow of the Hill intending to
throw Him over, but He just disappeared out of their midst. That “Restraining Hand” was in evidence in
those days long years ago. Often were
their evil purposes frustrated simply because “HIS hour was not yet come.”
And
yet, the wonder of it all is, that when HIS hour was come, that very
same mob, doubtless energized by the same Satanic Power as the forces of evil
today, took and crucified the Christ of God and fulfilled, in the minutest
detail and to the very letter, all the prophetic utterances of the Old
Testament concerning Him. That
“Restraining Hand” which kept them back from their evil intentions time
and time again until HIS time was reached; then, so controlled their every
action, even in the carrying out of their own evil deeds, that they actually
accomplished God’s Will and purpose, and did not do one whit more or less than He
had foretold that they would do. This
was no mere co-incidence, my reader.
Let
the Word of the Holy Spirit through Peter confirm these remarks:
Acts
2:22-23 “Jesus of Nazareth, BEING DELOVERED BY THE DETERMINATE COUNSEL AND
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD, ye have taken, and
by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
Acts
3:17-18. “Through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had showed
by the mouth of His prophets, that Christ should suffer, HE HATH SO FULFILLED.
Acts
4:26-28. “The kings of the Earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord, and against His Christ…. For to do whatsoever Thy
hand, and Thy Counsel, determined BEFORE to be done.”
What
happened at the greatest Crisis in this World’s history CAN, and WILL, happen
again. That same God still lives, and
He is still on the Throne of the Universe, destined to be its final Ruler, in
Righteousness and Equity.
We
may not perhaps like to think this is so; we may not even be prepared to admit
it, much less believe it, in all its many implications; but in the light of
current events, and in the light of recent happenings, some of which we have
tried to detail, who CAN DENY that God’s Hand is strangely in evidence in this
present conflict? Sooner or later the
Allied Nations have got to acknowledge this greatest of all facts, this
mightiest of all powers, and acknowledge in a public manner that ALL nations
are subject to Divine Control, with all that this means.
Thus
I come to the crux of the problem. All
the events and happenings that we have been speaking of were divinely foretold
1900 years ago. Not, of course, in
their meticulous detail but in their general implication. Who, I ask, but God Himself could have known
THEN, what was to happen NOW? Surely
such a word as this, DEMANDS the serious attention and consideration of us
all! Your attention and Mine! Dare we lightly dismiss the matter as of
only casual consequence?
Nineteen
hundred years ago the inspired writer wrote:
“The
mystery of iniquity doth already work.
Only He who now RESTRAINETH, will restrain until He be taken out
of the way” (2 Thess. 2,7.)
A
truly prophetic utterance indeed. Never
more truly fulfilled than before our own eyes in 1939-44, and the very fact of the evidence of
His Restraining power as we have shown, is sufficient confirmation to us all,
that “HE” has not yet been “Taken away,”
but is TODAY still “restraining”
and controlling the affairs of Nations and of men, and over-ruling in all
things, that the purposes of God, concerning the close of this Age, might yet
be as completely fulfilled as those were at Calvary, 1900 years ago. BUT, when
“HE” IS “Taken away,” then the Inspired writer goes on to say:
“Then
shall that “Wicked” be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of
His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.” (2 Thess.
2,8.)
Just
as at Calvary the Evil forces fulfilled, in ignorance, all God’s purposes and
prophecies, so when “HE” (that Restraining Hand) shall be taken away, then that
“Wicked One” (Wickedness personified with all under his unified command), will
likewise fulfil all the purposes of God as prophetically foretold of him.
Even
though that “Restraining Hand” will then be lifted, and wickedness will abound
until it covers the entire earth, in such a way that the present evil seem
insignificant in comparison – even then these evil forces will fulfil
the revealed will and purposes of God.
For He maketh the wrath of Man to praise Him.
But
UNTIL ‘HE’ BE taken out of the way, we may continue to look for
evidences of His Restraining influence and Power.[1]
I
have little doubt, but that the uppermost question in my reader’s mind at this
juncture is, ”When will God’s Holy Spirit – the Third Person of the Holy
Trinity – (the ‘HE’ of our text and the ‘Restraining Hand’ of our subject) be
taken out of the way?”
That
is an unknown quantity. That is the
on UNREVEALED SECRET OF GOD.
All
that we have been told concerning THAT moment of time is, that the One who CAME
down to dwell upon Earth when Christ ascended, will remain here, UNTIL Christ
descends to TAKE HIS PEOPLE OUT of this scene of Sin, Suffering and Sorrow to
dwell in Heaven above, as told in John 14.
When
Christ returns FOR HIS OWN, THEN “HE” the Restraining Power, who today works
THROUGH CHRIST’S OWN (CHRISTIANS) will be taken away.
We
have no reason for saying it will be this year or next, this month or next,
this week or next, TODAY or tomorrow; but we equally have no reason for saying it
MAY NOT be this year, this month, this week – EVEN TODAY.
One
thing is certain. IT has GOT to BE
someday. Of that there is no
doubt. The forces of evil are going to
be let loose and they cannot be, whilst God’s Holy Spirit remains here
restraining them. Surely we are sensible enough to see that the time for it to
happen is fast running out. Things are
going downhill so fast that there is every reasonable, and feasible cause for
thinking that the time for the removal of “That Restraining Hand” MUST BE very
very near. How will it effect you my
reader? I do not know, but I will tell
you frankly how it will effect me and millions more.
When
“HE” is taken away, every TRUE Christian man and woman world-wide, irrespective
of Nationality, Sect or Creed will be taken away TOO. Note the careful
expression – “TRUE Christian.” All
Hypocrisy, Sham, and False profession will then be clearly revealed, for it
will be left as Chaff. All “True”
Christians will be taken to HEAVEN.
On
earth, the “Restraining Hand” gone, the flood gates of evil will be open wide
and iniquity will abound, but STILL even then, wicked men will continue to
fulfil God’s will and purpose in the final heading up of this World’s Crisis at
Which is very fully and clearly
described in your Bible (Rev 16: 16-21)
In
view of the closing words of this Manuscript I feel a FINAL WORD is necessary.
You
may be asking:
What
is a “TRUE CHRISTIAN”?
The
answer is “A CHILD OF GOD.”
“But
are we not all the Children of God” you ask? Indeed No! Let me explain.
The
Saviour Himself said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be BORN AGAIN he cannot enter
the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and later emphasized it by adding
“Marvel
not that I said unto THEE, YE MUST be born again.’ (John 3:7)
A
careful reading of the third chapter of John’s Gospel is most helpful upon this
theme, for it is there we read:
“For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER
BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
I
would also like to draw your attention to Paul’s words, inspired of God, when
the Philippian Jailor asked:
“Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?”
His
reply was:
“Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
And
in Gal. 3:36, he says very clearly:
“Ye
are all the Children of God, BY FAITH in Christ Jesus.”
And
finally, I quote the words of John in his Gospel, chapter 1 verses 11-12:
“He
came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But to as many as ‘Received Him,’ to them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
Thus, it is
very clear from God’s word, that only those who receive Christ, by
believing on Him, are the “Children of God,” and only such (but ALL
such) are “TRUE” CHRISTIANS.
May reader and writer alike rejoice in the knowledge that this is true of them, for to all such comes the added joy of sins forgiven, and of peace with God.
[1] For a further explkanatiion of this particular point we refer to the Author’s earlier pamphlet, “Are we near the End?”