THE BIBLE AND THE WAR.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 161, 31 March 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE BIBLE AND THE WAR.

PROPHETIC THEORY OF BRITAIN'S SUPREMACY. A "Churchman," writing in the "Daily Graphic," says I have be.rn re-reaoing in a sixpenny edition a remarkable little book on the Lost Tribes by the late Reader Harris, K.C. It enjoyed a vogue e : glit years ago. In the light of the world-war it is wonderfully interesting, and we must bear in mind' that to a vast number of people the war derives its greatest significance from Biblical history S rt The author began his inquiry with a desire simply to know the truth; he closed it convinced that the British race contains the descendants of the Ten Trilx>s. He cites O't. l Testament prophecies about Israel which correspond exactly to the SUPREMACY E THE BRITISH race. He shows the identifications in these respects: Israel is to colonise the desolate heritages and cause the deserts to blossom as the rose: Israel is to develop into a company of nations; Israel is to lend to many nations; Israel shall lie known in history as a nation wh'ch suppresses slavery and tyranny: Israel is to be a maritime people; Israel is to ru'e over many nations and to l>e ruled by none; Israel is to have a separate political existence and to become a great people. Israel is to be. come heir to the world. To illustrate this argument, take, for example, Genesis xxii. 17 and xxix. 60 —"lhy see:. 1 shall possess the gate of h's enemies." Great Britain holds Gibraltar, which OPENS THE MEDITERRANEAN to our navies; Malta, a strategical base of the first importance; Singapore. gate of he East, Malacca, Hong Ilong, Cyprus, Aden, the Kyber Pass; and, in addition, stretching right acrorss the Atlantic and Paciffic Oceans, a string of forty-five coal'ng stations foi British ships. Great Brirtain holds the gates of her enemies in a very remarkable degree. And the prophecy of our sea-power is in Psalm lxxxix. 25. —I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hr.nd in the rivers." Throughout the author is pursuing the literal meaning of the words or Scripture. The same Gocj who gave victory to Israel in the Red Sea gave victory to Britain against the Spanish Armada and at the battle of Waterloo. In the Prayer Book, in the liturgy of the Church of England, we daily confess—'lt is God alone who fighteth for us.' Is there any other nation possessing in its national ritual SL'CH A DECLARATION as this?" Most remarkable of :11 the prophecies about Israel which are fulfilled by the British race lie holds to be the observance of the Sabath (Ex. xxxi. 10, 17); and he quotes Dr. Ryle, the late Bishop of Liverpool, who asserted "'without hesitation that the only countries on the face of the globe in which you will find a true observance of the Sabbath arc Great Britain and her Colonies." AVh.en I think of the immensity of the British Empire, which literally encircles the earth (and is to grow, in spite of ourselves, as a result ot the war), a nr. 1 of OUR INVINCIBILITY —"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper"—l own to finding this book beautifully inspiring at present. And I say with Reader Harris—- " Let us not, like Esau, desp.se our birthright. The supremacy of the British race is not due to any inherent good in us, but to the severeign gift of God. who saves us. Let us therefore cry —'Not unto us. 0 Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name be the glory, for Thv mercy and for Thy truth s sake ' "