DISARMAMENT

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 99, 29 April 1939, Page 19

DISARMAMENT

A Divine Condemnation

By AQUARIUS

THE QUESTION' OP DISARMAMPnt • those who boar rule and aufhoritv tL' S »PPe™oßt in the minds of the present time. It i S a ma tterfrnulvf, "f^ Ut at that none ran afford to remain indifferent to su . Vlt ®l consequence organisations throughout the f involved. Christian country to nn almost frenzied beHef in £ « Ame " C ? rousing the SKritote """ a ° d the F.W. are antipodal or This doctrine finding ready acceptance in troubled minds and wargreat I , '>!^in^on' < !)i''T^Hnada! 1 C^hrisUjuI 1 pel^pl™'however t^° for «h,ir lives from the sacred Word, h'et-mp" inps ot sentimental idealism, view the spreading of this peaL prX gan; la with tf.avc concern. Does the world REALLY require a moral gesture from the Anglo-Saxon peoples to convince it of their able intention .1 ho history of our race, our proverbial unpreparedness u ' u ' sh(,ul(l lvc a h "al and effective answer to any such suggestion. To disarm the Anglo-Saxon race is tantamount to withdrawing the r " r(C ' th 9. streets of a great city. What would be the result"' Within twenty-four hours red anarchy and chaos. The police force are not there for aggression, but for defence. *T 'V* V h ° n *«r e "» lv e principle that the Scriptures condemn, not the attitude of defence. God s condemnation of aggressive warfare is revealed to us in those nngmg words: "All they that TAKE the sword shall perish with the sword J Matt, xxvi, 52). The emphasis of that utterance is upon the woid till"'. It is the aggressive principle that js condemned. The pen-same spirit inspires the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not KILL." Note the force of the word " kill." Again the aggressive principle that is involved. These two utterances are in perfect harmony with that eternal principle of justice. Whoso SIIEDDETH man's blood, by man shall h?s Wood he shed (Gen ix, G). It will be noticed at once that the emphasis is again on the word " sheddeth." It is the aggressor who conies under Divine condemnation But nowfor the other side. "All they that take the sword SHALL PERISH WITH THE SWORD." Note the words in capitals. The Hook of Revelation is more emphatic still. "He that killeth with the sword MUST RE KILLED WITH THE SWORD " (Rev. xiii, 10). Not only do the Scriptures therefore declare that the aggressor " shall perish" (Matt, xxvi, 52) but that he "must be killed by the sword" (i.e., by physical violence), and that his blood shall be shed "by man" (i.e., human agency). Thus is necessitated the existence of a people or nation who may be called upon to act as executants of Divine Justice whenevor this judgment is involved. Israel-Britain, as " God's battle axe and weapons of war," has ever and anon found herself in this role, forced to fight (usually against her will) either in self-defence, or on behalf of weaker nations, against an aggressive combination. That is why Great Britain always wins her wars in the end. It was so in the pnst, and it is so to-day. The wars waged by the Israel peoples in the conquest of Palestine, when they drove out nations greater and mightier than themselves, were successful, not on account of favouritism or of the personal righteousness of God's people; far from it; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, their continued sin and iniquity. (See Deut. ix, verses 4 and 5, for instance.) For 400 years the Lord refused to allow Israel to take the initiative, alleging as His reason that "the cup of iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." Every opportunity was given the Gentile nations to repent, but the time came when they forfeited their right to national existence, and Israel as God's executants of Divine Justice were commanded to move forward, tho nations being removed for the sake of humanity. The fifth verse of the ninth chapter of Deuteronomy makes it quite clear that the matter of the fulfilment of the promises made to the fathers of our Race concerning the possession of these lands, was brought about INCIDENTALLY, by the sentence of justice being executed on these wicked nations, and incidentally only, the judgment of these nations being the primary thing. " When a strong man ARMED keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace," said Jesus. Is that preaching disarmament? It is quite certain that the strong man unarmed, unprotected, unprepared, cannot keep his goods in peace indefinitely, however strong he may be. (See Luke xi, 21; Matt, xii, 29; Mark iii, 27.) Under the Divine constitution, the Nation was strongly organised for defence. In the first chapter of the Book of Numbers (The Manual of National Organisation), we find that "dvery male from twenty years old and upwards—all that were able to go forth to war"—were to be organised under the ensign of their father's house for National Defence. The military organisation was that of a Square, a defensive, not aggressive formation, such as our Nation used to such marvellous effect at Waterloo centuries later. O! the tragedy of unpreparedness 1 Suppose that in 1914 every able-bodied man from twenty years old and upwards, throughout Angk>-9axondom had been prepared to go forth to war (as indeed they would have been had our Nation not rejected God's law), the War would never haVe been fought, for the aggressor was relying upon Britain's unpreparednesa and non-participation. If it had come in spite of all, it would have been finished in six months. A hundred thousand men would have turned the tide at the Battle of the Marne in 1915. The way was open, but our men were exhausted and there were no reserves! Those who preached Disarmament prior to 1914 were undoubtedly responsible for the last three years of the War. The irony of it! They preached Disarmament in the name of the Christian Faith! Christian people should rouse themselves without delay in the determination to prevent the repetition of this crime to-day. A strong British Navy and Army are the surest guarantee for Peace that can be devised. In the thirteenth chapter of Ezekiet we have one of the mightiest passages in the whole Bible; a message of vital• consequence to our beloved Nation to-day; A DIVINE CONDEMNATION OF DISARMAMENT, uttered with all that spirit, power, authority and conviction, peculiar to the inspired Word. "And the Word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of Man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that Prophesy, and say thou unto them that prophesy OUT OF THEIR OWN HEARTS, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, THAT FOLLOW THEIR OWN SPIRIT and have seen nothing! ... Ye have not gome up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the House of Israd to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. A condemnation of the leaders in Israel whose preaching has resulted in the Nation being unprepared for the day of battle! Earl Roberto proved himself a true Israel prophet, for with untiring zeal he pleaded, urged, implored his country to go up into the gaps and ™ake U P the hedge that she might be prepared for the day of battle. But Israel has n® vei j hearkened to her prophets, and so his message fell on depf ears. (Kead verses 2-3.) And then in verse 10, "Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, Peace; and there was no Peace, and so on to the end of verse 16. Now see the date of this prophecy, 594 B.C. Add the seven times measurement, 2,520 years, and it brings us CIRCA A.D. 19iS >, The very time in which we live. In the Armistice period (Truce in Chaos), awaiting the second phase of Armageddon and final day of the

Lord. Why have Christian organisations to-day surrendered their reason for sentiment? purely if anyone is to bear arms It should not the unscrupulous man. A Christian man can he "J" 8 ; Unscrupulous men are usually cowardly at heart, and If they knew that the righteous men of the earth were armed in se lf -de f ence lhey would lose the boldness that springs from the knowledge that Christian men are disarmed. We should not tempt God in this manner; even our Lord took ordinary means of self-preservation, " for He would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him" (John vii, 1). Joseph was warned of God in • dream to take the young Child Jesus and to flee into Egypt, for Herod sought to destroy Him. It was n«t that God was unable to protect His Own Son during His earthly life, butthat it was not His will to do so by miraculous means except under exceptional circumstances. In Matt, iv, 6, we read how the devil quoted Scripture in an endeavour to persuade our Lord to take unnecessary nsks but he was told It written AGAIN, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy Uod. Yes! Wars are inevitable, just so long as lust is in the world, for wars are caused by lust, even as the sacred Word declares (Jas. iv, 1). Wars arc NOT part of the Divine Plan. They are the result of open rebellion to His plan. God's plan of Redemption is to minister to the world through the instrumentality of the Servant Kingdom Nation. (Ex. xix, 6, etc.) This has been Britain's role exactly in modern history. " But how can our Lord's command ' Love your enemies ' be reconciled with a Christian s action in taking arms?" is another question asked to-day. Love your enemies?" as a writer once said, " means, try to make them your friends. "A nat on mav be forced to fight in order to make friendship^ possible. There was in our heart* »« »ent .nto . the„t .toggle. "Wp trn into the fray," said "The Times (August sth, 1914), WITH OUT HATRED, without passion, without selfish ambition or selfish ends We go into it united, calm, resolute, trusting in God. That is the j TLnhr fathers fought and won. That is the mood in which »e their with th, humbl. b« ton, h^e that in a just and righteous cause!, the only Giver of all victory will bless our arms." t Such indeed was the spirit of our people. " Be sure you're right, move swiftly, strike hard, and praise God " was Cromwell / cry. "Fear God arid keep your powder dry." Sound advxce and Scriptural too. Oh! for • Cromwell to-day. The above was written at the time of the Disarmament Conference (192f>) In view of the aims of the Dictator Nations for World Dominion, it can be taken as a timely warning for the people of New Zealand to-day.