A. Edwin Wilson

THE SONS OF NOAH
In a recent issue of LIFE magazine contemporary fundamentalists and conservative religious leaders cast doubt upon the Word of God by the statement that the prophecy Noah uttered in regard to Ham, Shem and Japheth was not of God but were the mere utterings of a man trying to recover from his drunken stupor. This at once raises the question concerning the inspiration of the Bible as well as the authority of the Bible. If the Bible in whole and totality is not the Word of God, then we have no authority for our Christian faith.
If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Abraham? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Isaac? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Jacob, especially when Jacob pronounced the blessings and curses upon his twelve sons as recorded in Genesis 49? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Moses? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Aaron? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Joshua? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Gideon? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Naomi and Ruth? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Samuel? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Elijah and Elisha? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through David?
If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Isaiah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Jeremiah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Ezekiel? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Daniel? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Hosea? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Amos? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Obadiah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Jonah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Micah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Nahum? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Habakkuk? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Zephaniah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Haggai? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Zechariah? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Malachi?
If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Matthew? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Mark? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through John? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Paul? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Peter? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through James? If God did not speak through Noah, how do we know He spoke through Jude?

DID GOD SPEAK THROUGH NOAH?
Recently we received a weekly denominational magazine-possibly their largest publication in circulation-in which a leader of the denomination in that particular state, wrote an article saying that God did not speak through Noah-that what Noah said in Gen. 9:25-27 were the irresponsible ravings of a maddened drunkard uttered in vengeance. The whole article intimates that Noah was nothing but a drunken bum.
If Noah was just a drunken bum as some evangelists and denominational leaders intimate, why does it say in Gen. 6:9 that he was a just man and a perfect man in his generations, and that he walked with God? If Noah was nothing but a drunken bum, why do we find his name listed in the "Hall of Fame of the Faithful" (Heb. 11:5)? IF NOAH WAS NOTHING BUT A DRUNKEN BUM, HOW IS IT THAT EVERYTHING HE PRO. PHESIED IN GENESIS 9:25-27 HAS BEEN AND IS BEING FULFILL. ED TO THE MINUTEST DETAIL?
We do not believe that anyone would contend that Noah pronounced a curse on Canaan and that he himself personally brought it to pass. Actually, it was by the inspiration of the Spirit of God that Noah gave a prophecy concerning the three heads of the human race, and according to which the history of mankind has been molded.
Murphy, in his Commentary on Genesis (pp. 211-212), gives these noteworthy remarks on Chapter 9:
"The manner of Scripture here (vv. 20-24) is worthy of particular remark. First, the prediction takes its rise from a characteristic incident. The conduct of the brothers was of comparatively slight importance in itself, but in the disposition which it betrayed it was highly significant. Secondly, the prediction refers in terms to the near future and to the outward condition of the parties concerned. Thirdly, it foreshadows under these familiar phrases the distant future, and the inward as well as the outward state of the family of man. Fourthly, it lays out the destiny of the whole race from its very starting point. These simple laws will be found to characterize the main body of the predictions of Scripture.
"Vv. 25-27. The prophecy consists of two parts-a malediction and a benediction. Cursed be Canaan. A curse (Gen. 3:14, 17; 4:11) is any privation, inferiority or other ill, expressed in the form of a doom, and not always bearing upon the object directly expressed, but upon the party who is in the transgression. Thus the soil is cursed on account of Adam the transgressor (Gen. 3:17). It is apparent that in the present case the prime mover was Ham, who is therefore punished in the prospect of a curse resting on his posterity, and especially on a particular line of it. Let us not imagine, however, that the ways of the Lord are not equal in this matter; for Canaan and his descendants no doubt abundantly deserved this special visitation. And as the other descendants of Ham are not otherwise mentioned in the prophecy, we may presume that they shared in the curse pronounced upon Canaan. At all events, they are not expressly included in the blessing pronounced on the other two divisions of the human family. It is proper to observe also that this prediction does not affirm an absolute perpetuity in the doom of Ham or Canaan. It only delineates their relative condition until the whole race is again brought within the scope of prophecy.
"'A servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 'The curse here consists of servitude, which is in itself an inferiority, and among the children of self-will, tends more and more to all the horrid ills of slavery. Slavery originated in war and conquest. The mere warrior put the captives to death; the cannibal devoured them; the economist fed them for their labor. Accordingly, slavery soon made its appearance in all countries which were trodden by the conqueror. A system of slavery, imposed without consent and for no crime, is a dire evil. Besides the direct injustice of robbing a fellowman of his personal liberty, it dissolves wedlock, breaks the family tie, and disregards the conscience. It trades, therefore, in the souls as well as the bodies of men. It is a historical fact that the degradation of slavery has fallen especially upon the race of Ham. A portion of the Canaanites became bondsmen among the Israelites who were of the race of Shem. The early Babylonians, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, and Egyptians, who all belonged to the race of Ham, were subjugated by the Assyrians, who were Shemites; the Persians, the Macedonians, and the Romans, who were all Japhethites. And in modern times, it is well known that most of the nations of Europe traded in African slaves. A servant of servants means a slave of the most abject kind. Unto his brethren: If the doom of slavery be referred to the race of Ham, then his brethren are the descendants of Japheth and Shem who have held many of the Hamites in bondage. If we limit the sentence to Canaan, then his brethren may include the descendants of Ham. It is said that the servile tribe is also the most tyrannical; and it is a fact that the Africans have lent themselves to the forcible seizing and selling into slavery in distant lands of their own kinsmen and fellow-countrymen."
The blessing pronounced upon Jehovah, the God of Shem, is THE Jehovah, the one true and living God-Shem's God. The knowledge and worship of the one true and living God is preserved in the family of Shem. The pronouncement upon Japheth pertaining to his enlargement has been fulfilled in that he was the progenitor of the inhabitants of Europe, Asia, America -and the number is many times more than all of the rest combined. We are also told that Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem, which means that any spiritual blessing that Japheth receives must come from his contact with Shem. That is fulfilled in the fact that the Saviour, the Bible, and the knowledge of the one true and living God have come from the descendants of Shem.
Christ never abolished slavery. The Spirit of the Lord does not mention anything about slavery being abolished. The fact of the matter is, He tells us that even during the millennium, Gentiles will be the slaves of the children of Israel. The Word of God urges slaves, when they are saved, to make better slaves-and masters of slaves, when they are saved, to make better masters. We are not advocating slavery; we are just stating the facts of Scripture. (See Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22; 4:1.)
Integration, of which we hear so much today, is an effort to take two or more parts and fuse them into one, to integrate the colored race and white race through marriage, amalgamation and assimilation, and to reduce the two groups (colored and white) to one group. Anyone who knows God's plan and purpose concerning the human race can see the hand of Satan behind all this. His supreme desire is not the integration and fusion of the colored race with the white-he is looking forward to the day when the nation of Israel shall be integrated and fused with other nations, and then all of God's prophecy concerning Israel's restoration and elevation to the head of the nations shall fail of fulfillment and God will have been proven to be false. Satan is thus hoping to continue his reign over the souls of men.
One may rest assured that God's plans and purposes concerning Shem, Ham and J apheth are not going to be changed, though efforts are made to the contrary.
WHAT GOD HAS SEPARATED, LET NOT MAN INTEGRATE!
CANAAN, THE SON OF HAM Canaan represents the whole family of Ham. "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren" (Gen. 9:25).
1. The term Canaan is used as a figure of speech for all the race of Ham. The Arabic version of this verse is, "Cursed be Ham, the father of Canaan." There are some older manuscripts that give the same reading.
2. The curse pronounced upon Canaan ignored all right of the race of Ham to political equality with the descendants of Shem and Japheth.
3. This curse also involved general inferiority of the Hamitic race, and a special condemnation to the lowest degree of servitude. This curse consigns the Hamitic race to a position of national and personal servitude until the time of restitution of all things (Zech. 14:21). Do not let such action on God's part be disturbing because not only does it have significance to the Hamitic race for their gross sin, but throughout eternity God is going to segregate all who receive not the Lord Jesus Christ. They will be in a place of fire and brimstone where they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, away from the presence of the Lord.
4. Such thinking on the part of integrationists today ultimately leads to the adoption of a religion called Universalism in which they reason that since God cannot curse Canaan and the race of Ham for the sin against Noah, neither can He curse those who do not accept His Son; and since we are all one big happy family, and will be throughout eternity, God cannot forfeit His right to be called a God of love, mercy and goodness.
If ever the people of God perished because of lack of knowledge, today is that day. Beloved, get your Bible and return to the Word of God and the God of the Word. Be done with these false philosophies based upon the sentiment of man rather than the Word of God.
CURSED BE CANAAN
"And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan,' a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem,' and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem,' and Canaan shall be his servant" (Genesis 9:24-27). "Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 14:21).
After Noah had begun to be a husbandman and drank of the wine produced in his vineyard he became drunk. Scientists are agreed that prior to the flood the fruit of the vine was nonintoxicating because of the absence of fermentation-very much like the wine which our Lord made from the water at the wedding feast at Canaan. One of the results of the flood was the dropping down to the earth of the firmament of the waters above the earth which formed a canopy over the earth. This canopy while over the earth kept the actinic rays of the sun from reaching the earth. These are the rays which produce fermentation, deterioration, and degeneration of life cells, both vegetable and animal; so that when Noah drank wine after the flood it had a different effect on him. Now after the flood when Noah drank the wine, he became drunk, and one of the first things he did (as most drunkards do) was to uncover or disrobe himself. It was while Noah was in this drunken stupor that his younger son, Ham, perpetrated the unmentionable, abnominable, gross perversion (described by Paul in Rom. 1:27) upon his father. When he awakened from his drunkenness, he knew what his younger son had done to him and he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." Continuing further with the curse it is said that Canaan shall be the servant of Shem who was the progenitor of all of the children of Israel; and that Canaan shall be the servant of J apheth who is the progenitor of most of the Gentiles. In the days of the Old Testament the curse and blessing of the patriarchs carried with it the sanction of God and without doubt was indited by God.
I must call your attention now to the fact that the curse pronounced upon Canaan was that of servitude and not of color. Many individuals, because of a lack of knowledge of the Word of God, confuse the mark of Cain with the curse of Canaan. The Bible does not name the mark of Cain, and speculation is futile. The word Ham means "the black one," and he is the father of the dark races. Canaan was black before he was cursed, and therefore his color was not the curse. The word Canaan means "the submissive one-servant, slave" (many commentators notwithstanding). Though the curse was pronounced upon Canaan it is a matter of historical fact and record that every descendant of Ham has been at one time or another or is now in a state of submission and servitude to his brethren as pronounced by the curse of Genesis 9:25.
Many, whose theology is based on sentiment rather than the Word of God, erroneously reason that God would not leave a curse upon anyone as long as the curse of servitude has rested upon the descendants of Ham. Evidently they are completely unaware of the fact that the curse pronounced upon the serpent in Genesis 3:14 is still resting upon the serpent and will not be lifted until the millennial reign of Christ (Isa. 11:8). They are unaware that the curse pronounced upon the woman in Genesis 3:16 is still upon the woman. They are unaware that the curse pronounced upon the 1 ground (Gen. 3:17) will remain until the millennium. They also are apparently unaware of the curse pronounced upon the children of Israel (Rom. 11:25) which remains until the millennium. In fact, all the curses pronounced by God seem to remain in effect until the millennial reign of Christ, at which time it is said in Zechariah 14:11, ". . . and there shall be no more curse" (ASV).
Zechariah 14:21 calls to our attention that after the Day of Jehovah has come and after Israel has been restored, regenerated, and recommissioned, that THEN ". . . there will be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts." In other words, there will be no more the "submissive one" in the house of the Lord.
The present distraction in our country over segregation and nonsegregation did not originate with Christians nor Bible students. It was spawned in the pits of Communism in Moscow and was first mentioned to the American public in a city-wide meeting in Denver, Colorado, a number of years ago. The primary purpose of such propaganda and action is to produce discord and strife in our country, thereby providing a fertile seed bed for Communism.
By way of conclusion let me call your attention to a law of God: What God has joined together let not man put asunder; and I believe it follows as the night the day- What God has separated let not man join together.
CURSED BE HAM
The programme of Noah presents the future-not of the race of mankind as a whole-as did the Adamic foreview; nor that of individual kingdoms and nations-as do subsequent programmes-but that of the three main races into which mankind has been divided since the flood. The destiny foreseen for each race is sharply defined, and widely distinct from that foreseen for the other two. Thousands of years of human history have elapsed since this wonderful prophetic utterance: if therefore the prophecy has been falsified by the event, it will be futile to deny it; and if, on the other hand, it has been fulfilled, there can be no mistake about the fact, which must be capable of full demonstration.
In our Authorized Version the prediction runs thus:
"And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
"And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
"God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant" (Gen. 9:25, 26, 27).
Now the first question which arises in considering this prediction is, Why is Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, mentioned instead of his father, whose gross misconduct, evincing his depraved moral character, afforded the occasion for the prophecy? There is some ground to think that we have not here the true original reading of the passage, that a copyist's error has obscured it, and that the two words, "Ham abi" (Ham the father of), have been omitted. Some copies of the Septuagint and the Arabic Version give these words as the text. Their insertion would certainly give the passage far more internal consistency, as well as bring it into fuller harmony with other Scriptures. As it stands, it does not include all the posterity of Noah, but leaves entirely unmentioned nearly one-third of it-that of all the sons of Ham, with the exception of Canaan. Bishop Newton says, in speaking of this passage:
"Hitherto we have explained the prophecy according to the present copies of our Bible; but if we were to correct the text, as we should that of any classic author in a like case, the whole might be made easier and plainer. 'Ham, the father of Canaan,' is mentioned in the preceding part of the story; and how then came the person all of a sudden to be changed into Canaan? The Arabic version in these three verses has 'the father of Canaan,' instead of 'Canaan.' Some copies of the Septuagint likewise have Ham instead of Canaan, as if Canaan were a corruption of the text. Vatablus and others by 'Canaan' understand 'the father of Canaan,' which was expressed twice before. And if we regard the metre, this line, 'Cursed be Canaan,' is much shorter than the rest, as if something was deficient. May we not suppose therefore that the copyist by mistake wrote only 'Canaan,' instead of 'Ham the father of Canaan,' and that the whole passage was originally thus: 'And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. . . And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Ham the father of Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Ham the father of Canaan shall be servant to them. God shall enlarge J apheth; and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Ham the father of Canaan shall be servant to them.'
"By this reading all the three sons of Noah are included in the prophecy, whereas otherwise Ham, who was the offender, is excluded, or is only punished in one of his children. Ham is characterized as 'the father of Canaan' particularly, for the greater encouragement of the Israelites, who were going to invade the land of Canaan; and when it is said, 'Cursed be Ham the father of Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren,' it is implied that his whole race was devoted to servitude, but particularly the Canaanites. Not that this was to take effect immediately, but was to be fulfilled in process of time, when they should forfeit their liberties by their wickedness." "Newton on the Prophecies," p. ii. (from The Divine Programme of the World's History, by Mr. and Mrs. H. Grattan Guinness).
There is a possibility that Ham alone was mentioned in the original prophecy, and that the allusion to his being "the father of Canaan" was introduced by Moses in view of the approaching invasion of the land of Canaan by the Israelites, to encourage them hopefully to undertake the subjugation of its seven nations, by recalling the fact that it had long since been predicted that the descendants of Ham, including these wicked Canaanites, should be their servants. But that the prophecy spoke of the Canaanites exclusively is not likely, or even credible. As it correctly predicts the future of all the descendants of Ham, not that of those of his fourth son merely or mainly, it is most improbable that Canaan alone was mentioned.
NEITHER BLACK NOR WHITE?
In this day of strife, bigotry, misunderstanding and confusion stemming out of integration, we are amazed at the number of preachers, seminary professors and Bible teachers who appeal to the Scripture for justification of the integration of the races, thereby breaking or vaulting over barriers established by God. The Scriptures most commonly appealed to are as follows: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female,. for ye are all one in Christ Jesus " (Gal. 3:28); "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). Because the Lord says there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, the supposition is, there is neither black nor white and we are all one in Christ. The integrationists fail to distinguish between what we are representatively in Christ and what we are personally. The purpose, therefore, of this article is to try to enable you to distinguish between "representatively" and "personally." Note in Eph. 2:6 that we are said to be seated together in heavenly places IN Christ-not WITH Christ.
1. Representatively in Christ, we are dead to sin. Actually and personally we are still in the flesh in a world of sorrow, sin and ruin, subject to physical death unless raptured, and very much under the control of the flesh unless victories are obtained through the Holy Spirit. Gal. 5:17 describes the condition which actually exists in a Christian's personal experience now.
2. Representatively in Christ, our old man is crucified. Personally and actually the old man is very much alive and we are engaged in a daily struggle against this old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts.
3. Representatively we are in Christ now, but personally and actually He is in heaven at the right hand of God the Father, and we are on the earth. We will not be with Him until He returns and takes us to be with Himself (John 14:1-3).
4. Representatively in Christ, all distinctions of the human race are blotted out. Personally and actually a saved Jew still has Jewish physical and psychological characteristics which distinguish him from a Gentile; and a Gentile, after being saved, still looks like one and acts like one.
5. Representatively in Christ, there is neither male nor female, but actually and personally when a male is saved he remains a male, and when a female is saved she is still a female; all those who say there is neither male nor female in Christ, continue to marry those of the opposite sex. We notice in churches and schools a difference is made by separate lounges being maintained; and men and women wear different types of clothing. Read Eph. 5:21-33 and Col. 2:18, 19, and you will see that God Almighty recognizes the difference between male and female and enjoins separate duties upon each. It is not until after Christ returns that there is neither male nor female and there is no longer marrying or giving in marriage.
6. Representatively in Christ, there is neither slave nor freeman, but actually and personally the Lord God Almighty recognizes bondage and slavery. In the church epistles (Ephesians and Colossians-epistles of highest Christian truth) instructions are brought to the slaves and to the slave owners, or masters (see Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22-4:1). Note especially in this connection I Tim. 6: 1-5 for special instructions as to how Christian servants are to treat their Christian masters, and how Timothy was exhorted to teach and maintain the God-appointed difference between servants and masters.
7. Representatively in Christ, there are no color differences, but actually and personally (we speak from personal experience as well as from the Word of God) when a black man becomes a Christian, his color does not change; when a white man becomes a Christian, his color does not change. The same is true of the red man and the yellow man.
We read in the Word of God that the characteristics of Canaan, who is a representative of Ham and all his descendants, do not change until the millennial reign of Christ (Zech. 14:21). The fact of the matter is, God has established differences between individuals, between nations and between races. There is no gainsaying, neither is there any possibility of evasion -according to Gen. 9:25-27 -God decreed that Canaan, as representative of the whole Hamitic race, is to be the servile race of the other two races. Shem is to be the channel through which spiritual blessings are to flow to mankind, i.e., in giving the Word of God to the world, in giving the Saviour to the world, and in being Jehovah's witnesses to all tongues, nations and peoples. The Japhetic race is the group which is to increase, to be enlarged, and to fill and control the world for the period of time designated as "the times of the Gentiles."
This general move toward blotting out all national characteristics and fusing all races into one people is Satanic in its origin and has no foundation or basis in the Word of God. Today, not only in this realm but in all realms of personal experience, we are faced with this question: Will we accept the Bible as the Word of God and be conformed to it?
In closing, let us repeat for emphasis: There is all the difference in the world in what we are representatively in Christ and what we are personally and actually. Though saved, we are still in the world.
WHY DIFFERENT RACES?
What is back of the conflict between the races? Why did God divide the human family into different races and separate them? What is back of all the racial strife in the world today?
What saith the Word of the Lord? In Acts 17:26, 27 we read: "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us."
In this particular passage of Scripture we learn first of all that God hath made of one man or one blood (Adam) all of the different nations and races that dwell on the earth. We do not read that He made one race out of all the nations of the world, but that He made all of the nations out of one.
In Genesis, chapters 10 and 11, the account is given of man's disobedience to the command of God to "scatter abroad and replenish the earth" by settling down on the plains of Shinar, determining to build a tower into the heavens and to make a name for himself. The judgment for this disobedience was the division of the human race into three ethnic groups according to the sons of Noah. See also Gen. 9:18, 19. According to Gen. 10:2-5, we are told that the descendants of Japheth were divided into twelve separate families, given specific languages and national boundaries. In Gen. 10:6-20 we read that the descendants of Ham were divided into twenty-six families with national characteristics and national boundaries. And in Gen. 10:21-31 we read of the descendants of Shem being divided into twenty families with separate, national characteristics and boundaries. Fifty-eight different nations in all, each with their own language, national characteristics, their own land, and their own separate, national life. To these families God added the nation of Israel by special creation; then the Moabites and the Ammonites, descendants of Lot and his daughters; the Ishmaelites, who descended from Ishmael; and the Edomites, who descended from Esau. Sixty-three in all.
At the time of the division of the human race into the first fifty-eight nations, the earth was still one continuous piece of land. God scattered the sons of Japheth across the northern part, the sons of Ham across the southern part and the sons of Shem across the central part. Then, according to Gen. 10:25, God divided the earth by waterways or watercourses, resulting in the formation of the continents and islands very much as we have them today. We also learn from Deut. 32:8 that the division and separation and distribution of the human race was according to the number of the children of Israel.
We have noted in the above Scriptures that racial distinctions and na. tional barriers (color, language, oceans, mountains, deserts and rivers) all proceed from God. God divides and departmentalizes the human race, rather than communizing it. The idea of sinful, fallen man existing as one community or one family of human beings is foreign to the Bible and contrary to the ways of God, either in providence or redemption.
The fact of different races and nations presents many problems today, as it has always done. The Jewish race constitutes a Jewish problem, which is a major problem. See Gen. 12:3; Zech. 2:8; 12:2, 3. These and many other Scriptures inform us of the fact that all other nations of the world are judged by God according to their attitude toward and treatment of the Jews. Sociologists and philosophers have suggested that the abolition of the Jewish race by integration and amalgamation would solve the Jewish problem.
It is argued that wars arise because of racial and national differences and that the doing away with national and racial boundaries and characteristics would eliminate war. There has developed throughout the world a philosophy that the melting, welding and fusing of all races into one would solve all of the world's ills. If we could but do away with all those things which separate-color, languages, religions, customs-if all men would become one and we would have a great brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God (nowhere to be found in the Word of God), we would then have a Utopia. We are living in a day in which every effort is being put forth to unify mankind; and these efforts are forerunners of such as will be inaugurated by the Antichrist and will prove as disastrous and futile as those did at the time of the building of the tower of Babel on the plains of Shinar.
Why did God divide and separate mankind into various ethnic groups, races, nations and cultures? Why did God divide them according to the number of the children of Israel? In Acts 17:26, 27 we are told that God separated and divided by race, language, natural boundaries, chronological boundaries in order that they might seek after God, find Him and be saved. Since salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22), they were divided according to the number of the children of Israel.
Now read the summation of the whole matter. After sin entered into the garden of Eden and affected the entire human race, the above mentioned division and separation was for the specific purpose of man's salvation. All of the efforts to remove the color, natural, social and moral barriers, which God has established between the races and nations, originate with Satan and are carried on today by his emissaries in the hope that he, Satan, can hinder and prevent the consummation of God's redemptive plan. The mark of a faithful Christian is to be found in accepting the place and service ordained by the Lord for such a one.
IN CHRIST
Gal, 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus," Here is a verse of Scripture that is being used today by Satan and religionists to do away with natural means of division and separation established by God. We are told today that in the light of this Scripture there is neither Jew, neither Gentile, neither are there free men and slaves. Also we are told that no longer is there any difference between male and female. We are all one in Christ.
The Bible recognizes the ideal and the real. Ideally we are in Christ, but as yet are not with Christ. In reality I am here in my study, a free male who once was a Gentile.
Many are led astray today into thinking that Christian principles can be applied to non-Christian individuals and even nations; however, Christian principles cannot be applied to or interpreted for any except those who have been born from above. The church's business is not social, civil or moral. The church and the Bible are interested only in spiritual welfare.
In Matt. 6:33 the Lord has promised unequivocally to supply food, clothing and shelter for all who will seek His kingdom first. Such obedience on the part of the individual and the promise of God to supply the needs takes care of all the social problems.
To show the fallacy of the reasoning that we are all one in Christ and that segregation is thus anti-God, anti-Scriptural and anti-social, I have but to call to your attention the fact that though Gal. 3:28 says there is neither male nor female in Christ, in most civilized and Christian nations you will find male and female segregated. They are segregated by different types of wearing apparel; the churches that are crying the loudest for integration have the male and female segregated in Sunday school classes, not only according to sex but according to age. These same churches also maintain dif. ferent lounges for the men and women.
When we get to heaven there will be no distinguishing between the sexes since they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but become as the angels, which are sexless. But you may rest assured that as long as God makes a difference between relationships and association, discriminating here on the earth between male and female, there is also going to be the same discrimination on the part of God between Jew and Gentile, between bond and free and between the separate and distinct races which He has established.
Repeating-ideally we are in Christ, but in reality we are not with Christ. Not until we reach heaven will the in Christ and with Christ blend into one single experience.
CREATED EQUAL?
One of the most popular cliches on the tongues of politicians and religionists is, "God created all men equal," when the fact of the matter is, God did not create but one man and that one man was Adam. After Adam's fall we read that Adam begot a son in his own image and likeness (Gen. 5:1-4). The truth of the matter is that after God created the only man that He created, Adam, all others have been born into the world by the act of procreation; and every human being, outside of Adam, has been begotten by a human father, as David says in Psalm 51:5: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Are all people born equal? According to the Word of God they are not. Some are born kings and some born slaves; some born male, some female; some born wealthy, some born paupers; some born alive, some stillborn; some born normal physically, some born deformed; some born mentally bright, some born idiots; some born with initiative and ambition, some born absolutely indifferent; some born with five talents, some born with one talent; some born handsome, some born ugly. The Jews always rejoiced that they were not born Gentiles, whom our Lord called dogs (Matthew 15:26). The male among the Jews, upon arising each morning, thanked the Lord that he had not been born a woman.
In the curse (Gen. 9:24-27) pronounced by God through Noah (called by God "a preacher of righteousness," II Pet. 2:5), the descendants of Ham became the servile nations of the world. God pronounced the blessing upon Shem, that he was to be the channel of spiritual blessings to the world, and a blessing upon Japheth, that from him were to come the explorers, colonizers and developers-those who would possess the whole of the earth. There is no equality on the earth among men, there will be no equality among them during the millennium, neither will there be equality among them during eternity.
In the division of animal life into its various and sundry categories, crossbreeding of any type eventually results in either sterility or a reversion to type. The same is true of the human race. Intermarriage between the dif. ferent races leads to degeneration, rather than progress and development. The revolution being carried on today under the leadership of Satan, aided and abetted by religionists, is Satan's attempt to destroy the human race and thereby hinder and prevent, if possible, the establishment of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in which Christ will reign while Satan is cast into the abyss to be held prisoner for a thousand years, then to be released for a season and cast into the lake of fire forever.
THE PARADOX OF THE AGES
Man's unwillingness to obey God and his manifest willingness to transgress the express commandments of the Lord has given rise to many paradoxes. For instance, the Lord says in Mark 16:15, "". . . Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Man has refused to do this; and after approximately two thousand years of Christian missions, two-thirds of the earth's population is still unreached with the gospel. Man is forsaking the earth and dedicating himself to space travel and exploration.
Another Paradox: The Lord said in Matthew 24:42, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Instead of watching and waiting, man has decided that the Lord is not coming back to the earth at all, and he is trying to create a world in which he can live happily ever after without the Lord.
But the paradox of paradoxes is this: God says in Gen. 12:1-3, "Now the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that cur seth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Here God promised particular and special blessings upon the nation of Israel. Man has dedicated himself to the extermination, annihilation, amalgamation, assimilation, and in short, the complete destruction of this race, with all the curses he can heap upon them. On the other hand, God pronounced a curse upon Ham and all of his descendants: "And he said, Cursed be Canaan: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren" (Gen. 9:25). History documents the statement that though the curse was pronounced upon Canaan, it passed to Ham and all his posterity. Not only were they to be servants to their own people, but they also were to be servants to the descendents of Shem (Gen. 9:26), as well as servants to the descendants of Japheth (Gen. 9:27).
Man has dedicated himself to the task of eliminating the curse which God pronounced for a good reason upon this people. Here is the paradox in just a few words: God blessed Israel, but man has determined to curse him. God cursed the descendants of Ham, but man has determined to bless him.