Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1914-10-15

ress will be turned backward. and me.
dieval restraints will be considered
necessary for self-preservation-fo7 the
maintenance of the present order Of
things and for the prevention of the
new order which God has decreed
Even those who may be Gods people
do not stop to consider whether it is
His will that things should continue as
they have been for six thousand years.
In giving this Interpretation. it is
necessary for us to indicate what is
symbolized by the Dragon, the Beast
and the False Prophet. Bible students
of nearly all denominations agree with
us that the Dragon of Revelation rep
resents the purely Civil Power Protes-
tant interpreters generally agree with
us that the Beast like a leopard" tRev-
elation 1872 represents the Papacy. But
fewer still. we fear. will be ready to
support our view that Professionalism is
the Image of The Beast" Rev. 1870.
elsewhere styled the False Prophet
We urge no one to accept our inter-
probation. nor shall we Think unkindly
of those who refuse it. We will nei-
Their Islander or otherwise injure them,
nor threaten them with eternal torture.
They have the same right to their
views that we have, and the same
right to make them known to others.
For our part. we shall be very glad to
consider ANYTHING which opponents
may set forth as their interpretations
of the passage under consideration.
"UncIean Spirits Like Frogs"
The symbolisms of Scripture, rightly
understood. are always forceful. When
the Holy Spirit used a frog symbol
cally to represent certain doctrines or
teachings. we may be sure that the
true application will fit we'll. A frog
is a small creature, yet it puffs itself
up until it almost bursts in its efforts
to be somebody; it has wise look,
even though it does not know much:
and whenever it utters sound it
croaks. The three most prominent
characteristics of frog. then. are
pomposity. an air of superior wisdom
and a continual croaking
Applying these symbols. we learn
that an evil spirit. influence. teaching.
will come from the federated Profess
tant churches. from the Church Of
Rome and from the civil authorities.
all in full agreement. The spirit Of all
will be boastful. an air Of superior wis
nd In No
sumed-all will croak In harmony. An
will predict dire results to follow. in
volving the interests of both the pres
ent and the future life. If their coun-
sci be not needed. However conflict
ing the creeds. the differences will be
ignored in the general proposition that
nothing ancient must be disturbed. in
vestigated or repudiated.
The Divine authority of the Church.
and the Divine right of kings. aside
from the Church. will not be permitted
to conflict. Any persons or teachings
in conflict with these boastful and I'M
scriptural claims will be branded as
everything vile, at the mouths of these
froglike spirits, speaking from pulpits
and platforms and through the press.
The nobler sentiments of some will be
strangled by the philosophy Of the
same evil spirit which spoke through
Caiaphas. the high priest, respecting
our Lord Jesus. AS Caiaphas declared
it expedient to commit crime in
violation of justice, both human and
Divine. in order to be rid of Jesus and
His teachings, so this frog spirit will
necessary to their self-protection.
The croaking of these frog spirits of
doctrine will gather the kings and
princes-fnancial, political. religious
and industrial-into one great army.
The spirit of fear. inspired by the
croakings. will scourge the passions
of otherwise good and reasonable men
to fury. desperation. In their blind
adherence to these evil spirits, evil
doctrines, they will be ready to sacri-
fee life itself on the altar of what they
mistakenly suppose is justice. truth
and righteousness.
As we understand the Scriptures, for
a brief time these combined forces
of Armageddon will triumph. Free
speech, free mails. and other liberties
which have come to be the very breath
of the masses of our day will be ruth
lessly shut off under the plea of neces-
sity, the glory of God. the commands
of the Church. etc. All will seem
serene until the great social explosion
takes place. described in Scripture as
"a great earthquake. Rev. 1918, 10.
In symbolic language. an earthquake
signifies social revolution. The declara-
ton of the Revelator is that it will be
such as was not since men were upon
the earth" Our Lord Jesus and the
Prophet Daniel described it as "a Time
of Trouble such as was not since there
was nation" Matt. 24:21; Dan. 12:1
The Opposing Forces at Armaeeddon.
The false. froglike teachings will
gather together into one host the great
the rich. the wise, the learned and the