The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-24
EUROPEAN WAR IS NOT Final.
ARMACEDD0N--DR. l.E. WHITE
but more man Any Event Since Jesus Christ ama
fentecost, 1t Is Fastening World Toward That Con-.
summate Hour. III" ooh-

Apex. now the beloved pastor of tho
Second Baptist church in Atlanta.
preached last Sunday on he subject |
1T is Armageddon-the Battle oe
That Day of God, the Almighty" Tba
following morning, the Atlanta Con
Stitution carried the sermon in fuu
as follows:
Text-"And He gathered them to-
Gether in a place called jill the He
brew tongue. Armageddon. The
battle Of that great day of God. the
Almighty Revelations 16:14-16
And We shall hear OF wars and
ruInors of wars, but do not be alarm
ed: for all these things must come to
pass. but the end is not yet Mat
thew 24:6.
The words of Jesus to His disciples
seem to establish appropriately the
Christian point of view in the situation
in which we find ourselves at the pre-
sent time. Many Christians, as we'll
as others, are interested sincerely in
the great European war. What is it's
relation to Biblical prophecies and the
last things Does it portend the i'm
mediate return Of Jesus Christ and
the complete and final overthrow Of
"helrs dark monarchy in the earth?
Does 1t mark the epOchal event fore
told by Joel n Zecheriah and still
more definitely indicated by the Seer
Of PatmOs? Is it Armageddon-the
battle of that great day of God AL
mighty? II not. what is the omen Of
the unparalleled struggle now shak-
ing at the foundations Of civilization ?
What Is Armageddon?
In the accommodated and popular
sense now in current usage, "Armage-
ddon" is any decisive struggle between
he forces of good and evil. Henry
w. Grady used the word in this mean
ing twenty-five years & in one of his
great speeches. Two year. ago Theo-
dore Roosevelt brought the word into
prominence by proclaiming that the
campaign of the progressive party
was Armageddon-the battle OF the
Lord. Still more recently the North
American Review carries an article
widely copied. entitled Europe at
ArmageddOn."
But back Of this popular use of the
word is it's original employment in
the Bible. There it actually occurs
but once-in Revelation 1916. though
the event with which it is there denti-
fled is described in other terms else
where. both in the Old and New Tes-
taments. The word Armageddon is
a compound Of two Hebrew words.
signifying in etymology "the hill or
city OF Megiddon," and is used to
designate the titanic battle to be
fought between the powers of evil on
oHc SUBTITLE uIdSOIl TIC DcdSS dLO
the false prophet-with their allies
and on the other, the heavenly powers
OF good. represented i'll the true
church Of Christ. In this conflict evil
Is overwhelmed and Christ is trium-
plant.
From the literalistic efforts to in
terpret the spectacles presented in the
visions OF the Seer Of PatmOs, chrO.
~noloSically, we rave much confusion
There are plainly three separate des-
criptions Of decisive O~nslaughts of the
diabolical enemies Of Christ in Whicf
they are defeated. The main con
fusion, however, arises over the ques
ton whether the spectacle in the six
teenth or in the twentieth chapter i
the real Armageddon-"the battle o.
that great day Of God Almighty IL
the sixteenth chapter A~rmageddon re
suits in the disappearance OF the peas
and the false prophet forever. me!
are hurled into h abyss ir~revocabiy
But the dragOn-the father spirit o
evil-seems, from the twentieth chap
ter, only to ave been captured an
put in chains for a thousand years
after which he is released to make an
other desperate ack-mo term
and powerful than ever. Some con
tend that this last battle described II
the twentieth chapter is the Arma
Seddon, because it is the cOnSummaI
ing victory over the Devil himself VIII
Il there also flung into the abyss
where are also the beast and tn
false prophet. and they shall be tor
mented day and night forever an
ever"
The soundest interpreters as
think do not attempt to treat the APO
calypso chronologically or Literally
The spectacles are visions of one wal
fare witnessed by the Seer at differen
times and the prophecy fOretells
struggle in which time, place an
sequence Of events are rot defnltei
in his perspective. 1t is my own OPT
Mon that Armageddon in the ZOO
of Revelation is entirely symbol1ca
Actually no such place exists IN gee
graphy. nor did the Seer intend TO lt
cate any place. He was imbued VII
the thought and language OF the ne
brew prophets and with the hiStOT
of the wars and battlefields OF th
Old Testament. Among the battle