“The boasted Divine authority of the Church, and the Divine right of kings aside from the Church, will not be allowed to conflict; for both will be indorsed. Any persons or teachings in conflict with these boastful, unscriptural claims will be branded as everything vile, at the mouths of the frogs, croaking from pulpits and platforms, and through the religious and secular press. The nobler sentiments of some will be strangled by the philosophy of the same evil spirit which spoke through Caiaphas, the high priest, respecting our Lord Jesus. As Caiaphas declared it expedient to commit a crime in violation of justice, both human and Divine, to be rid of Jesus and His teachings, so this frog-like spirit will approve of any and every violation of principle necessary to self-protection.
“Every true Christian is ashamed to look back upon the pages of history and see what terrible deeds were done in the name of God and justice, and in the name of our Lord Jesus. We are not to think for a moment that these frog spirits, or doctrines, are all bad, but rather that they are doctrines of bombast and pomposity, representing themselves to be very wise and great, and having the backing of centuries. Out of the mouth of the Dragon comes the doctrine of the Divine right of Kings: ‘Do not look back of the curtain of history to see where the kings got that [pg 251] right. Accept the doctrine; for if you do not, and if men look into the matter, there will be a terrible revolution and everything will go down!’
“The Beast and the False Prophet have similar croakings. The Catholic Church says, ‘Do not look behind! Do not question anything about the Church!’ Protestantism says, also, ‘We are great, we are wise, we know a great deal. Keep quiet! No one will then know that you know nothing.’ All say (croaking), ‘We tell you that if you say anything against present arrangements, terrible things will come to pass.’
“Political parties are figuring in this. All declare, ‘If any change should come, it will mean terrible disaster!’ Some have the backbone and some have the civil power behind them, but unitedly they croak to the people that if any change is made, it will mean ruin to the present order. In the language of our day, ‘Stand pat!’ is the order in Church and in State; but the people are being moved by fear. It is this croaking of the Beast, the Dragon and the False Prophet that will arouse the kings of earth and gather them together to the Armageddon Battle.
“The ecclesiastical kings and princes, with their retinue of clergy and faithful adherents, will be gathered in solid phalanx—Protestant and Catholic. The political kings and kaisers, princes, and all in high places, with their henchmen and retainers, will follow in line on the same side. The financial kings and merchant princes, and all whom they can influence by the most gigantic power ever yet exercised in the world, will join the same side, according to this prophecy. They do not realize, however, that they are coming to Armageddon; yet strange to say, this is a part of their very cry, ‘Come together to Armageddon!’
“Speaking of our day, our Lord declared, ‘Men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.’ (Luke 21:26.) The kings of Europe know not what to do. All sectarianism is being shaken.
“The croaking of the frog spirits, or doctrines, will gather the kings and princes, financial, political, religious and industrial, into one great army. The spirit of fear, inspired by the croaking, will scourge the passions of otherwise good and reasonable men to fury—desperation. In their blind following of these evil spirits, evil doctrines, they will be ready to sacrifice life and everything on what they mistakenly suppose is the altar of Justice, Truth and Righteousness under a Divine arrangement.
“Many noble people in this great army will assume an attitude quite contrary to their preference. For a time the wheels of liberty and progress will be turned backward, [pg 252] and mediæval restraints will be considered necessary for self-preservation—for the maintenance of the present order of things and for the prevention of the new order which God has decreed, the due time for which is at hand. Even those who may be God's people do not stop to consider whether it is His will that things should continue as they have been for the past six thousand years. The Bible says that such is not God's will, but that there is to be a great overturning, that a new order is coming in.
“For a brief time, as we understand the Scriptures, these combined forces of Armageddon will triumph. Free speech, free mails, and other liberties which have come to be the very breath of the masses in our day, will be ruthlessly shut off on the plea of necessity, the glory of God, the commands of the Church, etc. The safety-valve will be sat upon, and thus will cease to annoy earth's kings with the sound of escaping steam; and all will seem to be serene—until the great social explosion described in the Revelation as an earthquake will take place. In symbolic language an earthquake signifies social revolution, and the Scriptural declaration is that none like it ever before occurred. (Rev. 16:18, 19.) Our Lord refers to it in Matt. 24:21.
“At this juncture, the Scriptures show, Divine Power will step forward, and God will gather the marshaled hosts to Armageddon—to the Mount of Destruction. (Rev. 16:16.) The very thing which they sought to avert by their union, federation, etc., will be the very thing that they will hasten. Other Scriptures tell us that God will be represented by Messiah, and that He will be on the side of the masses. ‘At that time shall Michael [the Godlike One—Messiah] stand up.’ (Dan. 12:1.) He will assume authority. He will take possession of His Kingdom in a manner little looked for by many of those who erroneously have been claiming to be His Kingdom, and authorized by Him to reign in His name and in His stead.