Darkness!

"And the fourth angel blew his trumpet. And a third of the sun was smitten and a third of the moon and a third of the stars, in order that a third of them might be darkened and the day might not have illumination for a third of it, and the night likewise." (Revelation 8:12) The ninth plague on Egypt was a plague of literal darkness. (Exodus 10:21-29) But what is this symbolic darkness that comes to plague men in our 20th century?

The apostle Peter told fellow believers that they had been in darkness, spiritually speaking, before they became Christians. (1 Peter 2:9) Paul too used the w0rd "darkness" to describe the spiritual state of those outside the Christian congregation. (Ephesians 5:8; 6:12; Colossians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5) But what about those in Christendom who claim to believe in God and who say they accept Jesus as their Savior?

Jesus said that true Christians would be recognized by their fruits and that many claiming to be his followers would be "workers of lawlessness." (Matthew 7:15-23) No one looking at the fruits of the third of the world occupied by Christendom can deny that she is groping in gross spiritual darkness. (2 Corinthians 4:4) She is most blameworthy, for she claims to be Christian. Hence, it is only proper that the fourth angel should trumpet the fact that Christendom's "light" is, in fact, darkness, and her sources of "light" are Babylonish-non Christian. -Mark 13:22, 23; 2 Timothy 4:3, 4.

In line with that heavenly proclamation, a capacity crowd of God's people assembled in convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A., on August 29, 1925, and adopted for publication a forthright resolution entitled "Message of Hope." Again, some 50 million copies were distributed in a number of languages. It described the false light held out by the combine of commercial profiteers, political leaders, and the religious clergy, as a result of which "the peoples have fallen into darkness." And it pointed to God's Kingdom as the real hope for receiving "the blessings of peace, prosperity, health, life,liberty and eternal happiness." It took courage for the small band of anointed Christians to proclaim such messages against the giant organization of Christendom. But consistently,from the early 1920's until now, they have done so. In more recent times, in 1955, a further expose' of the clergy class was made by a worldwide distribution in many languages of a booklet entitled Christendom or Christianity-Which One is "The Light Of The World"? Today, Christendom's hypocrisy has become so evident that many in the world can see it for themselves . But Jehovah's people have not let up in exposing her for what she is a kingdom of darkness.

Next time: A Flying Eagle