8
1
8
download/literature/watchtower/1917-8.pdf
../literature/watchtower/1917/8/1917-8-1.html
VOL.
XXXVIII
BRo.OKLYX,
N.
Y.,
APRIL
15,
1917
VIEWS
FROM
THE
WATCH
TOWER
No.
B
[6070]
CORROBORATIVE
EVIDlI:"CE
THAT
"TIMES
OF
THE
GENTILES"
HAVE
ENDED
The
'iVakh
Tower.
from
time
to
time.
has
set
forth
the
proof
that
tbe
"Times
of
the
Gentile3"
have
ended;
that
the
monarchs
of
~arth
have
had
their
day,
and
tlut
Messia~}s
kingdom
i,
at
hand!
'iVe
submit
herewith
some
corroboratIve
proof.
From
a
legal
viewpoint,
the
period
of
the
Gentile
dominion
ended
with
Oetooor.
lU14.
tipeaking
in
plain
phrase,
the
world
there
~ame
to
an
l'nd!
True
to
the
words
of
the
great
Master,
"The
nations
were
lJ,::Jgry,
and
t~y
wrath
is
come:"
(Revelation
11:18)
At
the
very
end
of
the
Gentile
timNI
the
nations
became
angry
and
bcgan
to
war
with
each
other,
and
the
great
storm
cf
'destruction
has
inrreoascd
in
its
fury
even
beyond
the
ima:ginatJe>ns
of
men.
The
loss
of
hU1Ilan
life
and
earthly
treasure
has
staggered
the
world.
The
war
still
,preads,
and
without
doubt
will
involve
all
the
natlODs
to
a
grea
tl'r
or
less
exten:..
Looking-
down
to
this
very
day,
the
Prophet
or
the.
Lord
said,
"And
in
the
days
of
these
kings
3nal1
the
God
of
heawn
set
up
a
kingdom,
'I'
hil'h
shall
never
be
destrored;
and
the
king-dom
shall
not
be
llo'ft
to
other
people;
but
It
shall
break
in
pieces
and
consume
an
these
kingdo'llls,
and
it
shall
~tand
for
ever."
(Daniel
2
:44)
.Qrad:lal1y,
but
surely,
the
present
kingdoms
of
earth
are
being
urrtken
into
pieces.
Each
liay
some
explosion
further
wea~ens
the
walls
?f
the
pT~sent
order
of
things,
and
soon
the
en:Ue
structure
WIll
faU
WIth
a
great
crash;
and
upon
the
ruins
thereof
will
be
erected
the
king~om
of
righteousness,
under
the
suplo'rvision
of
the
great
MessIah,
and
this
kingdom
will
.tand
forever.
:REVOLUTION
IN
RUSSIA
The
Russian
monarchy
has
fallen,
no
doubt
never
to
rise
again!
Wiith
startling'
and
dramatic
rapidity
the
cha.nge
came-almost
in
one
day.
lIowever,
we
do
not
underst.an.d
that
the
revolution
in
R'.lssia
i:
a
fulfilmlo'ut
of
the
prophetIc
statement
made
by
our
Lord
roncerning
the
gnat
revQlution
that
is
to
follow
the
world
war;
but
it
shows
,the
tendlo'ncy
of
the
plo'ople.
ELnd
their
determination
no
longer
to
be
dom
inated
by
autocrats,
aTistocrats
or
tyrants.
'iVhen
the
rulers
discover
that
they
are
losing
their
power,
there
will
in
all
probability
be
an
effort
made
to
bring
about
peace,
and
there
will
probably
be
!Ome
make-shift
proposition
brought
forward
and
adopted.
But
when
all
shall
say,
"Peace
and
safety,
then
!udden
destruction
cometh
upon
them,
and
they
shall
not
escape."-l
Thessalonians
;):
3.
Even
the
worldlv-wise
see
that
this
must
be
the
inevitable·
result.
An
editorial
writer
in
one
of
the
leading
New
York
dailies
says:
"The
revolutions
are
not
going
to
be
con5.ned
to
Russia.
Hollweg
sees
and
says
that
there
is
a
new
freedom
comillg
for
Germany
as
well
as
for
Russia.
"France
has
long
had
ner
freedom.
but
will
undoubtedly
progress
further
in
the
direction
of
Socialism.
"The
revoluti0n
in
England
WIll
be
as
{'omplete
as
elsewhere,
but
probably
not
spectaeular
or
violent.
The
English
people
accomplish
their
revol'Jtions,
a~
they
do
ever;rthing
else
they
undertake,
in
a
stolid,
undemonstrllo-
tive
way,
but
they
!lrcomplish
them
just
the
same.
.
"!f
Russia
wa,
an
au~ocra.cy,
Eng-land
was
an
arIs
tocracy.
Everything.
in
E~land
has
been
for
t~e
bene~t
of
the
ruling
or
arIstocratIC
classes.
These
arIstocratIc
dasses
had
a
trust-a
control
in
polities,
in
land-owner
ship,
in
t~-exemption,
in
social
Tecognition,
in
all
kinds
of
benents
and
privileges,
''The
mase
of
the
people
were
reduced
to
the
point
of
penury,
and
were
leaving
the
British
.Isles
l!l
droves
in
order
to
lind
elsewhere
the
opportumty
which
they
could
not
secure
ILt
home.
"This
Aristocratic
Trust
operated
according
to
the
accepted
methods
o~
the
trust
and
ab80Tbed
into
the
trust
any
maD
who
showed
exceptional
a1>Hity
or
&e
cumulated
formidable
wealth,
ennobling
him,
making
him
a
knight
or
a
baroo,
and
!o
aligning
him
and
his
influence
and
power
with
the
aristocracy,
instead
of
witll
the
peo
ple,
from
whom
he
<.'Rme
and
with
whom
he
should
ha.ve
naturally
been
in
sympathy.
"ThU'3
the
Ari!Wcratic
Trust
perpetuated
it!
privileges
and
fortifted
its
position.
It
rode
the
lluustll
abnost
-£I._
cruelly
as
did
the
French
ariswcrats
in
the
years
that
preceded
the
French
Revolution.
"No
doubt
that
situation
will
be
destroyed,
and
prob
ably
has
been
destroyed.
The
people
of
England
will
never
be
content
to
go
back
to
the
Mndi,tions
that
pre
vailed
before
the
war.
(115-116)
MlliSSIAll'S
KINGDOll
I8
AT
HAND
"How
much
further
,the
revolution
will
go
is
a
ques
tion.
If
the
war
continues
lon~
enough,
arid
the
people
of
the
various
countries
become
sufficientlv
resentful
at
t1leir
rulers,
we
will
have
revolutions
of
rfot
and
revolu
tions
of
repudiation-revillutions
w~ich
will
set
up
new
governments
and
refuse
to
1.e
bound
by
the
obligatio
liS
which
the
old
.governments
incurred.
"There
ought
to
be
a
revolution
in
Germany
as
well
as
in
Russia
and
,in
ERgland,
and
there
proba.bly
will
be."
REASONS
FOB
GEllEBAL
BllVOLU'l'ION
The
time
will
come,
and
that
ere
long,
wilen
the
people~
of
the
warrinll'
nations
will
awakrn
to
the
iearful
condition
brought
upon
them
by
the
war.
Soon
they
must
~ealize
~hat
the
able-bodied,
wl'alth-producing
ml'n
h.we
been
eIther
killed
or
else
rendl'red
practically
meiess
hy
the
long
and
dr~adfl!-I
,~onflid;
and
the
l'(}st
of
hving
has
i:(re-atly
increased
and
IS
:ikely
to
go
still
higher;
tha.t
their
opportunities
for
earniJ.lK
money
:~ave
~rl'atly
decreased;
and
rth,at
added
to
bis
WIll
bl'
the
goreat
burJen
of
taxation
l'reated.
by
the
war.
Revolu
tion,
repudiation
and
d~struction
are
certain
to
follow.
TOO
LARGE
FOB
lI'DMAH
MDm
TO
GRASP
'I'he
Ol.icago
American
recently
Jl:lblished.
editorially,
the
following
figures
concerning
the
debt
now
upon
the
nMlon8
of
Europe
as
a
result
of
the
war;
viz:-
"The
total
llebt
of
the
war
in
};urope
is
now
one
hundred
tWlo'ntv
thousand
million
dollars
($120,000,000·
(l00
).
This
meims
that
in
the
years
t(}
come,
barring
revo
lution
and
repudiation
of
debts,
the
people
of
Europe
already
harassed,
half
st'arved,
killed
and
wounded
in
millions,
must
carryon
their
backs
an
appalling
debt
of
$120.000,000,000.
"The
in:erest
on
thi8
amount.
at
onlv
5%-1I.nd
most
of
it
was
borrowed
II-t
.a.
higher
rate--=.amounts
to
six
thousand
millions
of
dollars
every
Yl'ar.
"The
peor-le
of
the
warring
nation8
mu,t
pay
tllis
six
tl;ousand
mIllions
every
yeu-six
times
the
total
11ll.
.tional
debt
of
the
United
States
at
present;
and
after
they
have
paid
the
six
thousand
mil:ions
of
dollara
a
year
in
interest,
they
will
still
owe
the
one
hundred
and
twenty
thousand
millions."
These
figures
Tepret!ent
a
condition
too
m~rJ?1ous
for
~he
human
mind
w
:ully
grasp.
But
by
way
of
tudmg
thl'
m~nd
in
this
respect.
we
call
attention
to
the
fact
that
-acco:d~ng
to
the
best
information
obtainable-twenty
thousand
mllhon
persons
have
hved
on
the
earth
during
the
six
thousand
years
from
Adam's
day
unt.il
now;
thus
a
war
debt
of
$120,000.000,
000
is
equivalent
to
$6
per
head
for
every
man,
woman
and
child
that
i1as
ever
lived.
It
is
:~ardly
I1lo'cessary
to
sugge8t
that
revolution
and
repudiation
of
this
great
debt
will
nat
urally
follow.
WHO
ARE
RESPONSIBLE?-XINGS
OB
CLERGY?
The
common
people
have
not
of
their
own
choice
:nadl>
this
enormous
debt,
It
was
1I0t
tlle
('ommon
ueop]"
who
sou~ht
the
war.
Of
the
millions
t~~at
have
die:!
upon
the
battle-nelds,
and
the
millions
or
widows
and
orpb3ns
that
ha\'e
wept
at
horneo,
not
one
of
ther.l
has
had
n.
vo;ce
in
determining
whether
or
not
the
people
should
go
to
war.
Th.e
kin~s
and
rul":K
have
prepared
for
war,
and
have
!lent
theIr
subjects
forth.
vO
war
withoo~
even
asking
thlo'ir
CQnsent.
The
kings
from
tlmeo
immemoria.l
have
claimed
to
rule
by
divine
right.
and
that
tilerefore
whatever
aetiQn
they
would
take,
whether
for
war
or
,for
peace,
wlluld
be
right..
It
has
10~/l
hee~
a
part
oi
the
unWTitten
laws
of
these
nat.lOns
that
The
kIng
can
do
no
wrong."
BQ.t
back
of
the
kinjl;s
there
is
another
dass
of
men
who
are
even
more
responsible,
and
therefore
more
Teprehensible:
namely,
the
clergy
class!
For
more
than
fifteen
centurips
these
Il.lI
the
spirihtal
advisers
of
the
ki~s
.Df
Europe,
have
tOld
them
tha.t
they-the
kings-rule
by
divine
right.
These
clergy
have
supported
theiT
kings
and
rulers
without
r~rd
to
whether
they
were
right
or
W1"ong.
The
clergy
have
shle~ded
themselves
behind
thlo'ir
pious
guhs
and
encouragild.
adVISed
and
abetted
the
kings
ill
their
unrighteous
and
murdeTou8
work.
The
day
of
retribution
i3
at
har.d,
and
God's
wrath
will
fall
upon
both
:dr.gs
and
dergy.
:L".Em
lOllG8
VERSUS
THS
PEOPLB
Charles
Edward
Russell,
a
writer
of
Ilationa:
fame,
thNugh
the
public
,press,
recently
said:
"The
kings
{If
the
earth
conspire
to
keep
monarcby
still
throned.
The
people
of
the
earth
arise
and
kick
all
these
devices
into
forgotten
fragments.
·'One
of
the
mDst
colossa.l
of
t.he!e
astute
plotting:!
Vou. XXXVIII BROOKLYN, N. Y., APRIL 15, 1917 No. 8 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER CoRROBORATIVE EVIDENCE THAT Massiaw’s Kinepow 16 ay Hanp “TIMES OF THE GENTILES’’ HAVE ENDED The Watch Tower, from time to time. has set forth the proof that the “Times of the Gentiles” have ended; that the monarchs of earth have had their day, and that Messiah’s Kingdom is at hand! We submit herewith some corroborative proof, From a legal viewpoint, the period of the Gentile dominion ended with October. 1914. Speaking in plain phrase, the world there came to an ond! True to the words of the great Master, “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come:” (Revelation 11:18) At the very end of the Gentile times the nations became angry and began to war with each other, and the great storm cf destruction has increased in its fury even beyond the imaginations of men. The loss of human lize and earthly treasure has staggered the world. The war still spreads, and without doubt will involve all the nations to a greater cr less extens, Looking down to this very day, the Prophet of the Lord said, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up & kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; but it shai} break in pieces and consume a)l these kingdoms, and it shal) etand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44) Gradually, but surely, the present kingdoms of earth are being broken into pieces. Each day some explosion further weakens the walls of the present order of things, and soon the entire structure will fall with a great erash; and upon the ruins thereof will be erected the kingdum of righteousness, under the supervision of the great Messiah, and this kingdom wil) stand torever, REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA The Russian monarchy has fallen, no doubt never to rise again! With startling and dramatic rapidity the change came—almost in one day. However, we do not understand that the revolution in Russia i: 2 fulfilment of the prophetic statement made by our Lord concerning the great revolution that is to follow the world war; but it shows ,the tendency of the people, and their determination no longer to be dominated by autocrats, aristocrats or tyrants, When the rulers discover that they are losing their power, there will in ail probability be an effort made to bring about peace, and there will probably be some make-shift proposition brought forward and adopted. But when all shall say, “Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape.”—-1 Thessalonians 5:3. Even the worldly-wise see that this must be the inevitable. result. An editorial writer in one of the leading New York dailies says: “The revolutions ara not going to be con‘ined to Russia. Hollweg sees and says that there is a new freedom coming for Germany az weil as for Russia. “France has long had her freedom, but will undoubtedly progress further in the direction of Socialism. “The revolution in England will be as complete as elsewhere, but probably not spectacular er violent. The Engiish people accomplish their revolutions, as they do everything else they undertake, in a stolid, undemonstrative way, but they accomplish them just the same. “If Russia waz an autocracy, England was an aristocracy, Everything in England has been for the benefit of the ruling or aristocratic classes. These aristocratic classes had a trust—a control in politice, in land-ownership, in tax-exemption, in social recognition, in all kinds of benefits and privileges, ‘The masa of the people were reduced to the point of penury, and were leaving the British Isles in droves in order to find elsewhere the opportunity which they could not secure at home. “This Aristocratic Trust operated according to the accepted metheds o? the trust and absorbed into the trust any man who showed exceptional ability or accumulated formidable wealth, ennobling him, making him a knight or a baron, and so aligning him and his influence and power with the aristocracy, instead of with the people, from whom he came and with whom he should have naturally been in sympathy. “Thus the Aristocratic Trust perpetuated its privileges and fortified its position, It rode the masses almost as eruvelly as did the French aristocrats in the years tha preceded the French Revolution. "No doubt that situation will be destroyed, and probably has been destroyed. The people of England will never be content to go back to the conditions that prevailed before the war. (115-116) “How much further the revolution will go is a question. If the war continues long enough, and the people of the various countries become sufficiently resentful as their rulers, we will have revolutions of riot and revolutions of repudiation—revolutions which will set up new governments and refuse te be vound by the obligations which the old governments incurred, “There ought to be a revelution in Germany ag well as in Russia and in England, and there probably wih be.” BEASONS FOR GENERAL REVOLUTION The time will come, and that ere long, when the peoples of the warring nations will awaken te the fearful condition brougnt upon them by the war. Soon they must realize that the able-bodied, wealth-producing men have been either killed or else rendered practically useless by the long and dreadful vonflict; and the cost of living has greatly increased and is uikely to go still higher; tnat their opportunities for earning money have greatly decreased; and that added to this will be the greit burien of taxation created by the war, Revolution, repudiation and destruction are certain to follow. TOO LARGE FOR HUMAN MIND TO GRASP The Clicago American recently published, editorially, the following figures concerning the debt now upon the nations of Europe as a result of the war; viz:— “The total debt of the war in Kurope is now one hundred twenty thousand million dollars ($120,000,000000). This means that in the years to come, barring revolution and repudiation of debts, tne people of Europe already harassed, half starved, killed and wounded in millions, must carry on their backs an appalling debt of $120.000,000,000. “The interest on this amount. at only 5%—and most of it was borrowed at a higher rate—amounts to six thousand millions of dollars every yeur. “The people of the warring nations must pay this six thousand millions every year—six times the tota} national debt of the United States at present; and after they have paid the six thousand millions of dollars a vear in interest, they will still owe the one hundred and twenty thousand millions.” These figures represent a condition too enormous for the human mind to fully grasp. But by way of aiding the mind in this respect, we call attention to the fact that —according to the best information obtainable—twenty thousand million persons have lived on the earth during the six thousand years from Adam’s day until now; thus a war debt of $120,000,000,000 is equivalent to $8 per head for every man, woman and child that has ever lived. It is hardly necessary to suggest that revolution and repudiation of this great debt will naturally follow. WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE?—KINGS OR CLERGY? Tne common people have not cf their own choice made this enormous debt. It was not the common people who sought the war. Of the millions that have died upon the battle-fields, and the millions of widows and orphans that have wept at home, not one of therm has had a voice in determining whether or not the people should go to war. The kings and rulers have prepared for war, and have sent their subjects forth +o war withous even asking their consent. The kings from time immemoriai have claimed to rule by divine right. and that therefore whatever action they would take, whether for war or for peace, would be right. It has long been a part of the unwritten laws of these nations that “The king can do no wrong.” But baek of the kings there is another class of men who are even more responsible, and therefore more reprehensible: namely, the clergy class! For more than fifteen centuries these, as the spiritual advisers of the kings of Europe, have toid them that taey—the kings—rule by divine right. These clergy have supported their kings and rulerg without regard to whether they were right or wrong. The clergy have shielded themselves behind their pious garbs and encouraged, advised and abetted the kings in their unrighteous and murderous work. The day of retribution is at hand, and God’s wrath will fall upon both xings and clergy. THE KINGS VERSUS THE PEOPLE Charles Edward Russell, a writer of national fame, through the public press, recently said: “The kings of the earth conspire to keep monarchy still throned. The people of the earth arise and kic all, these devices into forgotten fragments. “Qne of the most colossal of these astute plottings [6070]
To enhance your experience on our website, we use cookies and similar technologies. Some cookies are essential for the core functionality of our site and cannot be declined. You can choose to accept or decline additional cookies. We want to assure you that none of this data will be sold or used for marketing purposes. You can adjust your preferences at any time by accessing the Privacy Settings from the footer of the page. For more information, please refer to our
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
.
