The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-07-16

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him. ITO MIN that overcometh will l
give power over the nations; and he
shall rule them with rod Of iron; as
the vessels of potter shall they be
broken to shivers" Revelation ii, 26,
%.
We should not be deferred from in
vestigating whatever we may find
written in the Bible on this subject
because of our Lords words to his
| disciples-'Of that day and hour know
eth no man, no, not the angels of heav
en-, neither the Son, but my Father
only" This passage does not tell us
that no man would erer know, but that
none kneio at that time. 1t does not
tell us that our Lord Jesus would new
er know the time of his own second
coming. nor that the angels would
never know. AS we surely believe that
the Lord and the angels will know at
about the time Of the second advent,
so we may well believe that the Lords
faithful saints will not be left in dark
ness on the same subject. Indeed this
is what the Apostle distinctly tells us,
Eye. brethren, are not in darkness,
| that that day should overtake you as
a thief. Ye are all the children of
light and the children of the day"
The Apostle intimates that those who
do not have the light in its due sea-
son would thereby justify the infer
ence that they belonged, not to the
Church, but to the world. upon whom
| that day shall come las a thief and as
a snare" q ThesSalonianS V, 49,.
Gentle Times $500 Years.
What we would like to know, if it
has pleased the Lord to reveal it. is
just how long period is meant by
| the expression. "Times of the Gen
tiles''-or, years Of the Gentiles-in
which the Gentle nations will bear
rule or sway over the land of Israel.
If God has been pleased to reveal the
matter. let us enjoy it; if he has not
been pleased to give any clue to the
matter. we cannot find it, We are to
remember, however, that this. like 9th
er features of the Divine revelation.
was intended to be kept secret from
the world and to be made known only
to those who are in heart harmony
, with the ord-interested-and very
DESTROYS of knowing the mind Of the
Lord on this and on every subject.
Hence, we may not look for a plain
statement TO the effect that in so many
years from such an event the Gentle
lease of power will terminate and
Gods Kingdom be transferred to Is
rael again. Rather we should expect
that the matter would be stated in a
more or less obscure form, in which it
might be read over and over again
without attracting special attention ex-
cept from those especially interested
ones led by the Lords holy Spirit.
We believe that the period is what
the Scriptures term "seven times
seven years. Not seven literal years,
but seven symbolic years. A time"
or year" in symbol represents $50 lit
eral years. In other words, each day
of a symbolic year is year, and hence
the seven times, or seven years, would
represent times $50. or 2520 years.
give it to you as my conviction. dear
friends, based strictly upon the Scrip
lures, but corrobOrated. it seems to
me. by the events of our day, that this
$500 years, beginning in COG B. c., will
end in October 1914 A. d.
That "time" or ''year" has been
Scripturally used to represent $50 may
be very easily and very quickly dem
onstrated For instance, in Revela-
ton a period of time is mentioned in
three different ways; namely, 1860
days, ~ months, and 49, times. The
31a times of Revelation are exactly
one-half of the "seven times" of the
Gentiles The 1860 years of Revelation
are exactly one-half of the 1920 years
of the Times of the Gentiles. And
these $500 years we believe will expire
with October 1914; at that time we
believe the Gentle lease of power will
expire, and that the God of heaven
will set up his Kingdom in Israel.
We do not expect universal peace to
Immediately ensue because Christ is
styled the Prince of Peace. On the con-
trary, to our understanding, the col
lapse of the nations will be through a
fierce strife, "a time of trouble such as
never was since there was a nation"
in which "there shall be no peace to
him that goeth out, nor to him that
cometh ill.," because God will set every
mans hand against his neighbor. Our
belief is that the warfare between cap
ital and labor, emperors and peoples.
will be short, sharp, decisive, and bring
untold calamity upon all concerned. If
people could only discern it, they would
avoid it, but their eyes are holden;
they see not, neither do they under
stand
The Seven Times.
These seven times were foreshad-
owed in the experiences of Neb-
uchadneZzar, who was irrational for
Seren gears, and at the end of that
time recovered his reason and ac-
knowledged the Lord as the ruler of
the Universe So history seems tC'
show that during this period of Gen
tile domination the poor world has
been in measure insane, putting
light for darkness and darkness for
light Our trust Is that at the close of
the Gentle Times, and following the
short sharp, decisive time of great
trouble in 1915, humanity will regain