The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1946 BIBLE PROPHECY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 65, 24 April 1946, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1946

BIBLE PROPHECY

INTERESTNG LECTURE SERIES The “Truth for the Times” lectures commenced in the Caledonian Hall on Sunday night before a large and interested audience. Mr Cook introduced his subject by pointing out that the question, “Who will rule the world” is one which is almost as old as the race, and yet is uppermost in the minds of men today. He referred to the immensity and the horror of the war just ended and said that it had determined for the present at least, that the Axis Powers will not rule the world. Men are now looking with bated breath to the three great Allied Powers and wondering who will emerge supreme. Politically speaking, it was a perplexing question, but Mr Cook confidently assured the audience that the sure word of prophecy contained in the “Bible”, held the answer to it. He then directed attention to an amazing prophecy contained in the 2nd Chapter of Daniel. Here, as recorded, the old King Nebuchadnezar had a strange dream which baffled all the wise men of the realm of Babylon. However, God saw fit to reveal the secret to his servant, Daniel. Daniel explained the vision to the King, pointing out that this huge image, of the dream, represented a pre-view of the history of the world-ruling nations to come. The head of the image was composed of gold and as Daniel explained, represented the golden, queen city of Babylon. The breast and arms of the image were composed of silver. This represented the 2nd great world empire that would succeed Babylon, Medo Persia. Mr Cook showed from Isiah, that the cunning military ruse by which Babylon fell, together with the name of the conqueror, Cyrus, had been predicted almost 200 years before. The thighs of this image were of brass. Mr Cook showed that' this fitly represented the brazen kingdom of the Greeks who under the leadership of Alexander the Great, conquered the whole known world. The legs of

iron, symbolised the iron monarchy of the Romans, who in the battle of Pydna wrested world supremacy from the Greeks and held sway from the year 1681 B.C. —476 A.D, Upon looking closely at the great image that was raised up on the stage, the audience could see that the feet were not composed of the same iron material as the legs. Mr Cook showed how the Bible stated that while the legs were composed of iron, the feet and toes of this great image were formed of iron and clay. Obviously the two substances could never be alloyed and by this symbolism, the prophet pointed out that the Roman Kingdom would be divided and not superseded by a single monarchy. It predicted that from time to time, men would arise endeavouring to unite the “iron and clay’' elements in Europe, but these efforts could not succeed because of the seven words of Bible prophecy —“They shall not cleave one to another.”

Mr Cook cited several notable attempts that have been made to unite Europe, including Charlemagne, Napoleon, Kaiser and Hitler. Mr Cook stated that when lecturing in New South Wales, Australia, in 1940, he made, bold to predict Hitler’s downfall on the basis of these seven Bible words. Time had proved that this message of assurance was more than wishful thinking. The last scene in the dream was vividly represented on the stage, when as in the prophetic vision, the image crashed headlong. The destruction of the image by a huge stone represented the eventual breaking up of the kingdoms of this world. The stone had been “cut out of the mountain without hands,” indicating that it was not by human power but by divine interyention that the coming world empire would be set up. The stone represented Christ. Mr Cook supported this statement with other Bible references particularly with a vivid description of Christ’s Second Coming from the Book of Revelation.

In conclusion, Mr Cook stressed the need of wholehearted surrender to Christ, and the principles of His Gospel, as a preparation for citizenship, in His Kingdom.