Page 4 - Watchman- What of the Night

Introduction

The readers of Life in the Spirit may have noticed that there is one type of
writing which has been absent from the pages of this little messenger. It is the general
subject of prophecy, which occupies such a prominent place in the current religious

periodicals, and especially in the Fundamentalist press.
It is not a lack of interest in this important subject, to which a great deal of
scripture has been devoted, that has deterred us from writing on prophecy or carrying

the writing of others. Rather is it because on this point, as many others, we find
ourselves in sharp dissent from popular trends both in attitude and treatment. First our
attitude is that the field of eschatology is deep and profound, and of such complexity
that it is in the advanced stages of biblical knowledge. It is, so to speak, postgraduate
work and not under-graduate work. There are very few ―graduates‖ in the first

principles of scriptural understanding, so there are very few even prepared to receive
it.
We are convinced, moreover, that prophecy was never given to satisfy an

unhallowed human curiosity. It does not yield itself to become a Ouija board to be
pushed around by unholy hands, to gratify the prying of carnal minds into future
mysteries.
It is sufficiently vague as to preclude the possibility of some eager ―son of the
prophets‖ pointing to a newspaper headline and the running his finger down a column

of prophetic scripture and shouting ―this is that.‖ Overenthusiastic delvers, unbroken
clots, have been interpreting ―current events in the light of prophecy‖ for nigh on to
two millennia, and every prominent world figure from Nero to Mussolini has been

confidently affirmed to be the Antichrist. It never was that simple, and it still is not,
even though an amazing concatenation of events compels the conviction that we are
on the threshold of the age-end.
An all-wise God has seen to it that His purposes and acts shall remain sufficiently
shrouded with clouds and darkness as to baffle and elude the dogmatic presumption of

those who assert the fulfillment of scriptural predictions in specific contemporary
events or personages.
They draw crowds, take offerings, and exalt themselves, exploiting and deluding

the simple ones among God‘s people with ―great, swelling words‖ and vain
pretensions of being able to answer questions concerning matters unrevealed.
To the skeptical worldling who reads their glaring advertisements, they are vain
babblers in the same class with palm-readers and crystalgazers, and the Christians that
flock to hear the politico-religio predictors, who are always guessing and always
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