BIBLICAL PROPHECIES

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12077, 22 June 1932, Page 2

BIBLICAL PROPHECIES

AND A NATIONAL APPEAL MR. FRANK WHITE'S ADDRESS To a large ' and representative audience in the King’s Theatre on Monday evening Mr Frank White, of Tane, delivered his second address on a subject that was vastly interesting—“ Biblical Prophecies and the Pyramids.” For nearly two hours Mr White held the close attention of his listeners, a great many of whom had come from the country districts. His Worship the Mayor, Mr J. P. Wilson, presided, and on the platform also was Mr G. H. Hodd, president of the local branch of the Farmers’ Union. The Mayor said that Mr White was known as a highly-esteemed resident of the district, who had been living here for many years. He was well known for his willingness and desire to help in all good causes. A great many people today were offering panaceas for the ills affecting the world and Mr White had his views on this subject and his lecture would be given under the title, “Bible Prophecies and the Pyramids,” with their bearing on the present-day troubles affecting the world. Mr White said he was pleased to see so many present and he took it as a compliment to himself. He quite recognised that his task that evening would be more difficult than it was the other afternoon when he addressed a meeting, as he saw among his audience that night many practical business men who would want to know the whys and wherefores. They would not be content with mere assertions or platitudes from him, so he would try and expound his convictions in a satisfactory manner. He asked for an indulgent hearing as he would say things absolutely contradictory to the pre-conceived ideas of many of his listeners, .contrary to what they had read and their general teachings. For instance, he would declare that the Old Testament was chiefly and principally a history of their own ancestors. The object of his address was the same as his first talk—to try and show that there was an avenue hitherto not tried which would alleviate the present troubles of the world. It was generally felt now that the people were rather sick of repeated conferences at Geneva and Lausanne. The Kellogg Pact and others and the Dawes Plan had not offered a solution to the present troubles. Neither did the politicians of the world show a satisfactory way out. Mr White ■said the way he wished to refer to was shown the Bible. But the Old Testament was a greatly discredited book whose truthfulness and inspiration had been attacked. The criticism started in Germany and the poison spread to England and elsewhere till scientists, evolutionists and Daiivinites now attacked the Old Testament, but their accusations, said Mr W 1 ! i te, were false. The Bible pointed “a way out” to the world l.ut that “way” was very difficult to interpret. Admittedly the Bible seemed to offer utter confusion at times, to be entirely contradictory, in fact, but through it all as a guide ran the story of British lsraelism. As in his previous address, Mr White explained the origin of British lsraelism from the time of the forefather, Abraham. Abraham had a wife Sarah. Sarah was 00 years old and Abraham 100 when it was prophecised that Sarah should have a son. Sarah had a sense of humour and laughed at the idea, but nevertheless the prophecy came true and Isaac was born. Sarah called this son Isaac, and “Saac” meant laughter. The speaker traced the Bible story down to the age when the Egyptians started persecuting the Israelites and a leader at last arose among the latter in the person of Moses, who was not a Jew any more than was Abraham. Moses was an Israelite. Mr White said that his was in no sense a religions address, mainly historic. It was meant for the British people no matter to what religion, even if of Mohammedan or Hindu, or the Agnostic, Aethist or Buddhist faith .So long as a person was British his arguments applied. But it did not concern Russia, or Germany, or China—only the'people of Israel (the descendants of the ten tribes and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin and their adherents). One of the laws of Moses, said tic- -.picker, was against usury, meaning excessive interest. To-day America was the one big creditor nation and practically all the other countries owed her money. He might put it this way: suppose one borrowed at a time when a certain amount of produce would pay the interest whic h would he judged fair and reasonable, but then conditions sc- changed that three times the amount of produce had to be paid to discharge that interest—then that became usury in the sense that excessive interest was extorted from the debtor. For instance, if America charged 4j per cent, when the debt was contracted and it took three times the amount of produce to pay that interest the 4} per cent, became 131 per cent., as it was today in fact. Mr White referred to Solomon’s son who became King and imposed great taxes on the people until they revolted. Thus were the ten tribes broken up and the prophecies in the Bible from that point became different. It was told that the ten tribes should be scattered and lost in the isles of the west, and that the Jews, though never lost, should be persecuted. Or to emote the bard: “Amazing race, deprived of land and laws, A general language and a public cause ; AY tb a religion none can now obey, With a reproach that none can take away. A people still whose common ties are gene, \\ ho. mixed in every race, are lost

The prophecies further indicated that the Jews very shortly would join up with the British, all acknowledge the one King who sits on the British throne, and partake of the blessings of Israel. Already an International Hebrew Christian Alliance had been foriiied. with Sir Leon Levison as president. The prophecies made thousands of years ago, continued the speaker, had come true to-day. Witjpmt wishing to hurt anyone’s feelings, he would like to refer them to the passage in the Bible wherein it was foretold that we should know the Jews by their countenance.

Ala- White proceeded to read various texts and take from them their modern application. Here are the principal ones: Isiah 41-1: “Keep silence before mi O Islands, and let the people renew their strength.” A\ as it not the custom to-day to observe a twominutes’ silence on occasions of great and serious moment p ” Isiah 41-8: “But thou Israel art my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen. Fear not, thou worm Jacob and ye men of Israel 1 will help tliee.” “Listen oh ye islands, and hearken ye jieople from afar.” The islands surely were England and the people from afar were those in New Zealand and other distant Dominions.

Genesis 17-16: God said to Israel, “I evil] bless thee, and make thee the mother of many nations.”—True it was that England was the mother of many nations. Isiah," 48-27: ‘ ‘Thy teachers have transgressed against me,” which was very true.

Isiah 22-23: “Be still ye inhabitants of the Isle. Those whom the merchants of Zidon who pass over the sea have replenished. And by great waters, the seed of Sihor. The harvest of the river is her revenue, and she is a mart of nations.” The river surely was none other than the Thames which was the market of the universe. “I will set his Dominions in the sea. AVitli another tongue will .1 speak to Israel.” —We of New Zealand were one of the Dominions set in the sea, arid so far as the tongue was concerned the following lines had enlightening bearing on this angle:

“Greek’s a harp we love to hear; Latin is a trumpet clear. Spanish like an organ swells; Italian rings its bridal bells. France with many a frolic mien Tunes her sprightly violin. Load the German rolls his drum When Russia’s clashing cymbals

come. But Britain’s 'sons may well rejoice That English is the human voice.”

Had all these prophecies then, asked the speaker, only come true by chance. Was it all co-incidence? Surely that could not be. To further emphasise that the British race were the Israelites, he gave the derivation of the words England, Scotch. Welch, British and AngloSaxon. as he did in his first address here, and these Hebrew words, thus analysed, gave further food for thought and were offered as yet another conviction that the Britishers were descendants from the Chosen People. The Chosen People, it would be remembered, had a duty to perform One prophecy was that they should spread to the north, south, east and west —to the uttermost parts of the earth. Certainly New Zealand was one of the uttermost parts. In this dark hour, said Mr White, Britain should be leading the nations of the world, hut it almost looked as if she had -‘sold her birthright for a mess of potage.” Was she doing the right thing? Why, if Britain and America joined forces, they could dictate to the world and go far to right the problems of this age. In the words of the Scriptures, Tribulation, Duet 4-30: “When thou art in tribulation and all these things are come upon thee. Even in the latter days, if thou wilt turn to the Lord your God and shalt be obedient unto His voice, He will not forsake thee, nor forget the Covenant of thy fathers, which He made with them. But if they forsake His laws and break His statutes, then He will visit their transgressions with the rod, their iniquity with stripes. But He will not forsake them.” Mr AYhite likened British Israelisrn unto a letter of introduction or a letter of credit. It was the promise or covenant to the British people, the only people on earth besides, perhaps, their relatives the Danes, Dutch, Norwegians and Americans, who had the right to receive the promises made in the Bible to the Chosen. People. So now, in our present troubles, why should we not turn to the Almighty? Providence had assuredly guarded over the British race down, the centuries. Take but a few great events in history. It was generally admitted by historians that at the time of the Spanish Armada the King of Spain had the most powerful navy in the world. Ife sent it out to annihilate the English fleet, and what happened ? Terrific storms arose and battered and scattered the famous Armada before it could do its work of destruction and the English navy was enabled to sw’oop down on the scattered remnants of the enemy and destroy them in sections. AVas providence not guarding over Britain to save her from defeat? Then there was the battle of AVaterloo. Napoleon, the greatest general ever known, had an army of 72,000 men as opposed to Wellington’s smaller force, not half of whom were actually British either and who, in the ordinary way, must surely have been beaten. But on the eve of the famous battle the rain came down. It rained all night and in tli9 moaning a fog remained until 11 o’clock which precluded the anticipated attack by dawn by Napoleon’s army. Finally the forces woi t into battle and things would h r ■ fared badly for the English, In Blucher’s army arrived soon alter and turned the tide in England’s favour. Had the elements not delayed the battle Blutoher would never have arrived in time. Some might say it was just co-incidence but nevertheless it did happen, and England did win. Take another remarkable incident in the late War—the Battle of the Marne. He thought any general would admit that Germany should have won that

battle. At the time they were the greatest military nation in the world, supposed to have the greatest war leaders, and they outnumbered the Allied forces by many thousands. But what happened? Tlie English were in retreat at Mons when some German general made a huge blunder and instead of advancing through the lines he took his troops across the enemy’s front. Thus did the Allies win the Battle of the Marne and only some divine force saved them.

Surely such momentous happenings as these were not merely co-inci-dence? AVas it not rather a shaping of the destiny of British lsraelism? I'll these troublous times there was left to the Chosen People of the AYorld a way towards the alleviation of their difficulties. That way was by making a national appeal to Providence. AY ere this done the appeal unquestionably might be answered. By a national appeal he did not mean it to be made at the separate church services but on the lines of the one made in England and her colonies during the Great War, in August, 1918 ,to be exact, when the Allies were in desperate straits. Just as the appeal was answered then so would it be answered now. Such was the prophecy, and therein did the Bible’s message offer a tone of hopefulness. However badly things might appear it was foretold that the British people would always come out on top. Yet that depended whether we worshipped Mammon and “sold our birthright for a mess of jiotage,” or whether we turned to God and asked His help. Air White said he had been requested to touch on the Pyramid prophecies He did not consider himself competent to give a fully accurate account in this connection, but he would speak of what he

knew. It was mentioned in the Bible that an altar and pillar should be set up (as witness to the Lord) in Egypt in the centre, yet, paradoxically, on the edge, of the desert. As all knew, the Great Pyramid in Egypt was located in just such a position at the narrowest point of the country. As most other pyramids in other lands this Great Pyramid is regarded as a tomb by some, though not by the best judges. But curiously enough a tomb has never been found in it. The Pyramid covers an area of nearly 13 acres and the story is that years ago one of the Mohammedan Chiefs heard rumours that there was wealth buried inside tlie pyramid so he started tlie work of excavation. AVhile this was going on to discover some entrance to the interior a large stone fell and revealed a passage-way to the interior. But no tomb was ever found inside, nor yet any inscription; only an empty chest not even the shape of a coffin. Yet scientists studied the peculiar formation of the great passage-way and placed upon it a prophetic interpretation of the world’s progress. They claimed that the constructional rise and fall of this long passage marked the great events in history such as the beginning of Christianity down to the period of tlie Great War, the present depression, and even to what the future holds. The period 1914 for instance is marked by a sudden drop in the passage-way indicating the years of the Great War. Continuing on, one finds a rise in the passage-way to 1918 when the AVar ceased. The strange thing was that scientists read these tracings long before 1914 and actually predicted a catastrophe such as the outbreak of the Great AVar. Corresponding to the year 1928 the passage falls again and 1928 was really the commencement of the present slump, though we in New Zealand were not conscious of it then. From 1928 the passage continues on its low level for a good many years. They were now, in 1932, at its lowest point, from whence our troubles should gradually decrease, so that, if one believed implicitly ill the traditions of the Pyramid, the outlook was not very bright. But still, the rise was none the less definite, and a national appeal he believed to he the means of the world’s recovery. Better times would follow soon or, such an appeal. According to the prophecies England and her colonies would never go down. They could look upon England as the bole, or trunk, of a tree and the colonies as tlie branches. According to the Bible they had an absolute guarantee that the hole was sound, so that the message of the Bible was one of; hopefulness. Were they to put their trust then in tlie babel of vdic-es at Lausanne where birthrights were likely to be sold for the proverbial i “mess of potage,” or were they to stick to their God and ask. Him to pull them through? Mr AA'hite, in conclusion, thanked his audience for the great patience and consideration they had shown him. He hoped they would go away with hopefulness in their heart for, despite the dismisal prophecy of the Pyramid the message of tlie Bible were full .of hope. A national appeal was no new thing. Daily when they sang Kipling’s '‘'Lest A\ 7 e Forget” Were people littering pure lsraelism, as closer examination of the words would clearly disclose. (Applause). A.s no questions were forthcoming, Mr H. M. B. Marshall proposed a very hearty vote of thanks to the speaker. It had been a very interesting address from start to finish and all were grateful for the words of hope with which tlie speaker closed. There were signs that even now tlie British people were beginning to take the lead again. Air Ramsay MacDonald had gone to Lausanne to tell the Powers what to do, and for the Imperial Conference in Ottawa the whole world were waiting, to see what to do. The motion was carried by acclamation, and a similar vote to the chair. moved by Mr AVbite, terminated a meeting of more than ordinary interest.