Several have asked me a question, the gist of which is: "Is the present war the one that shall be in progress when Christ comes to establish His Kingdom?"  

The answer is: No.  It has the appearance of those conditions.  That is, it has that appearance to many.  But to close students of the word, it is more like a counterfeit of those days.  

Satan is the master counterfeiter.  It makes no difference to hem what people believe, so long as they do not believe the truth.  It would suit his plan very well, to have us thinking this is the war that shall end at Armegeddon, Un. 16:16.  For, when the war ends and Armegeddon is not in the picture and the kingdom does not come, then the word of God will be discredited, in the minds of many.  

Then, unclean spirits will mobilize the nations for battle - the nations of the whole inhabited earth.  That those spirits are mobilizing the nations today, for battle, no one can doubt.  It seems that no nation wants war, but spirits beyond their control are leading them into it.  As I have said, this is a counterfeit, and is designed to deceive many.  

But conditions that are absent now, will be present then.  That war will be in the day of the Lord.  John, in writing the Unveiling, (Revelation), says, in 1:10, that he came to be in the Lord's day, in spirit.  What he wrote will take place in the Lord's day, and later. That day was, and is, future.  It cannot come until the man of lawlessness is unveiled, II Thess. 2:3-5.  This cannot take place while the ecclesia is on the earth.  Not necessarily the ecclesia, but the fact of its continued earthly existence, is evidently what will be detaining, and keeping the man of lawlessness from being unveiled, verse 6.  So long as the ecclesia is here, God has not finished bringing in the full complement of the nations, Rom. 11:25.  God will not turn to Israel again until the ecclesia which is the body of Christ is completed.  Since its mission is in the heavens, there is no reason to believe God will delay taking it there, as soon as it is complete.  There will be Jewish ecclesias on earth during the early part of the day of the Lord, Un. 2, 3.  This condition cannot exist while the present ecclesia is here.  

The man now in the ascendancy in the war, cannot be the world ruler - the wild beast.  Nor will that place be held by any prominent leader that has been developed in the present struggle.  That man will be of one of the divisions of the empire built by Alexander the Great - the empire of Greece.  This we learn from Daniel, chapter 8.  

The empire built by Alexander did not include the present territory of either Germany, France, England, Russia or the United States.  It lay in southern Europe, and extended far enough east to include India.  Also it dipped down into Africa, and took in Egypt.  The northern people of Europe at that time were barbarians.  

Here, as in many other instances, history and human reasoning lead men to doubt the accuracy of prophecy.  That a man of one of the, at present, highly civilized countries - one of the leading powers - should become the ruler of the world, seems reasonable.  Not so.  He must be of one of the divisions of the Grecian Empire.  

How the present conflict will end, no one can foretell.  That it is a most terrible was, is readily admitted.  It is time of tribulation, without a doubt.  But I wish to assure saints that it is not THE great tribulation.  That cannot come until the day of the Lord is here and the wild beast, from some part of the ancient Grecian Empire, is on the throne.  This cannot take place while the ecclesia is here.  Saint, you will never be in the "the great tribulation!"  

The fact that countries in the region of Palestine, and, perhaps Palestine, itself, is involved in the present struggle, is full of meaning to me.  I am expecting that the war will end, and that the world-wide federation will soon follow.  As shown in the May issue, the military power of that federation will be ten so-called christian nations.  It seems evident that seven stable governments will be the foundation for the union of courtiers.  But the federation itself, will not be "the revived Roman Empire," as some think.  It will be a revival of the Grecian Empire, instead.  At any rate, the supreme ruler will be of that section of the earth.  

The present war will have to end without the kingdom being established, for there is to be a period of peace for Israel, after they are gathered back into their land - Palestine.  According to Daniel 9, the world-dictator will make a seven-year treaty with the Jews, promising them peace and security.  This promise will be broken at the end of three-and-a-half years.  From that time until the coming of Christ, Israel will be between millstones, so speak, while Egypt, to the south-west, and some northern nation, struggle.  Daniel 11 pictures this conflict.  

It seems to be near the close of that period of fighting back and forth, that the three unclean spirits mobilize the nations to battle.  Just as the federation will include the whole earth - a greater empire than that of either Babylon, Medo-Persia or Greece, and certainly much greater than the Roman Empire - so it will literarily be all nation that shall send soldiers to Armageddon.  

The leader will decide to fight against Christ, Himself.  Perhaps this will be because the Jews will let him know that on a certain day the Messiah will come for their salvation as a nation.  Those who have faith will foreknow the exact date of His coming.  It will be exactly 1,260 days after the breaking of the covenant by the gentile ruler.  It is probably only a few days the future, when they tell the wild beast about it.  This enrages him.  "Let Him come!"  he shouts. "I will defeat Him.  I am the supreme one."  

It is while this boasting is going on that the Lord appears in the heavens.  The story is simply told in Un. 19.  Israel's Messiah is victorious.  The army is destroyed, and buzzards come to eat their flesh.  The wild beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.  Thirty days later the kingdom is established.  Forty-five days after that, the dead saints of Israel are roused and enter the kingdom, Dan. 12.  

Glorious as is this, it is not for us.  We do not wait for it.  We shall leave the earth before any of the great tribulation occurs.  In I Thess. 4:13-18 Paul tells of it.  It is a new revelation.  Passages written before that time, told of the Lord's coming to the earth.  Now Paul tells the saints of the body of Christ, that the Lord will descend for them, and they shall meet Him in the air, to be always with Him.  It is His power that snatches them away to meet Him in the air.  

This is for us, dear saints.  It may occur any day.  When it does come to pass, we shall enter into the "Glorious freedom of the children of God."  There are so many things from which we long to be free!  Here, we cannot be what we long to be.  We are troubled with imperfections and failures.  Our life is a continual struggle in hundreds of ways.  We never solve a problem as it should be solved.  

But, glorious thought, we shall then be free from everything that troubles.  We shall be what we will to be.  With limitations removed, the entire stellar space will be ours to inhabit, to traverse, to serve in.  

Those who most need our services shall have them.  Going from planet to planet in the heavens, we shall be God's glorified instruments to manifest in the on-coming eons, the transcendent riches of His grace.  

One of the worst forms of slavery with which we are now afflicted, is our inability to even think of this glorious future as we should.  Harassed by flesh, we often dread the thought of His coming.  Thank God, this shall all disappear.  Our body of humiliation will be transfigured to accord with His body glorious.  

He is not taking us into the heavens simply and alone to bless us.  He will make us to be blessings to others.  It is in this fact, that we shall find supreme happiness.  The coming of the Lord for us, does not mean the end of our career.  It is the beginning of our real career.  It is the beginning of our real career.  There will never be a time that we shall not be doing just what we will want to be doing.  And everything we do, every word we speak, will be glorifying to God, and beneficial to those whom we serve.  

Sovereignties and authorities among the celestials, know, even now, the multifarious wisdom of God, because they can observe us on earth, and see what God is doing to and for us, Eph. 3:10.  But these are only the ruling class among the celestial beings.  Their subjects must await our arrival in the heavens.  It is to them that our ministry will be directed.  

On an out-of-date automobile I can go to a place sixty miles away, to preach, in three hours.  Then with out any vehicle at all.  I can fly from planet to planet in seconds, perhaps, and preach the wonderful grace of God.  Now, I deliver sermons many times, and wonder how many who heard, were blessed.  Then I shall know that everyone who hears receives inestimable blessing.  

Nor will this be the case with myself alone.  Nor with others who have preached here below.  All will be "preachers" there.  Everyone who is taken into the heavens will be engaged in this blessed pastime of telling of the multifarious wisdom of God.  Nor shall we cease until all shall know Him perfectly.  

Dear saint, lift up your heart.  World events make us think we are living in the last days.  While the present struggle is not the last one before the establishing of the kingdom, there is reason to believe it will set the stage for that last war.  It will probably bring about the federation of nations.  The fact that nations of Christendom are now fighting each other, does not mean that they will not federate.  France and Germany, erstwhile enemies, are now on the verge of collaboration.  I should not be astonished if all the present warring nations be allies within a few years.  

I bring you a good message.  Let us cherish it.  Send copies of this paper to others.  And may God bless this message to the good of thousands.  

Brother F. R. Misegadies of Chicago paid us another visit recently.  He is a splendid brother, and is more than welcome at any time.  

Brother W. H. Bundy has recently been holding a series of meetings at Danville, Va.  Brother and Sister Bundy are greatly interested in the truth, and are very congenial saints. 

The saints at Fortner's Mill are making some progress in their efforts to build a meting house.  They thank all who have helped.