14 - Commerce
Commerce
289. The whole duty of man is expressed in six words:- "Fear God, and keep His commandments." Hence the height of sin is the exact opposite to this, which might be conveyed in the precept :- "Forget God, and seek your own selfish ends." Now, the great Mystery of Babylon, which has been considered in paragraphs 142, etc., was established, as we have seen, for the express purpose of enabling men, and especially the leaders of men, not only to ignore the claims of God, and seek their own ends irrespectively of His commands, but to do so in direct opposition to, and in daring defiance of, Himself. Babylon as a Mystery, seeing it was the first organized rebellion against God, from which all later rebellions have more or less sprung, is, therefore, the great parent abomination of the earth: it is genuine, unadulterated, and concentrated, WICKEDNESS; and is represented in these days by the Papacy, with its seat at Rome, as we have seen in paragraph 145.
290. But the manner in which man has endeavoured to attain his own end has undergone various modifications and changes, while the centuries were rolling by. At first, he deliberately, though for the most part in secret, or "mystery," worshipped the Devil and evil spirits; for he had realized, that, in so doing, he would be permitted to follow his own natural bent; whereas, if he should attempt to serve God, he would have to give up his own will, and accept that of God. Later on, in the early part of the Christian era, he effected a compromise with the growing power of nominal Christianity, and continued to worship his own gods under a Christian nomenclature. Such worship, and, indeed, worship of every kind, is in these days considerably slackened; but the time will come when men will once more deliberately worship Satan, and also his great king and vicegerent, the Antichrist: they will, however, do so under wholly different circumstances, and under an altogether new system. And that new system will be Commerce.
291. It may be objected that Commerce is not a religion. But the remark merely opens the question as to what religion is. Surely it is worship, the veneration for, and zealous cultivation of, that which we either love best or fear most. It may be the worship of God, or the worship of Mammon. A man may choose which of the two Deities he wills; but one of them he must worship in some form or another.
292. The two powers, apart from God, by which men have regulated society from its earliest infancy, are Religion and Imperialism. Religion represents the Spiritual Power - Babylon a Mystery - and Imperialism, the Secular. But both Religion - Babylon in Mystery - and Imperialism are fast losing, and before long will altogether lose, their ancient power. Religion, as it is now represented by the Papacy and Catholicism, will be destroyed by the Ten Kings - see paragraph 163 - and these kings themselves will be the antitypes of the Toes of the great Image which Nebuchadnezzar saw. Since, then, the latter consisted in great part of miry clay, or pottery, we understand, that the Kings will be the heads of Democratic states, and merely the mouthpieces of the people whom they nominally govern; for they will be deprived of all ancient autocratic power.
293. The authority, then, both of priest and king is rapidly waning, and some system is needed to take its place, and furnish a new and acceptable centre round which men can rally, and from which they will be able to draw satisfaction for all the desires and hopes of the unregenerate human heart. This they will find, nay, are already finding, in Commerce.
294. Do we not see signs of this tendency around us on all sides? Even now, when we look for no more than indications of those things that must shortly come to pass, what is the interest that dictates to the legislators of every civilized Power? Not religion, certainly, but Commerce. What is the great bond of union between man and man, between community and community, between nation and nation, between Jew and Gentile, between England and India, between Hindu and Mohammedan? Commerce, only Commerce. What is the power which overrides race-prejudices, religious fanaticism, and political hatreds? Again we are compelled to make the same reply, Nothing is able to do so, except Commerce. Is it for religious or political purposes that we lay cables, construct railways, cut gigantic canals, explore unknown latitudes, make treaties, invent, scheme, and strive in every possible way? Nay, we are well aware that these and such like undertakings are all done, mainly at least, in the interests of Commerce.
295. What other power, political or religious, is even now its equal? None; and yet at present we see it only in its earlier stages. It has gradually arisen and unobtrusively developed, until it has already become the chief influence in the earth; and, before long, it will be without a rival, the acknowledged centre around which human society and human interests will revolve.
296. For, when we have considered its modern history up to the present day, we are not disposed to imagine that it will require much time to establish itself as supreme. Barely a century ago, Commerce was a mere subsidiary either to Religion - Babylon in Mystery - or to Imperialism; and when we contemplate the mighty advances which it has made, at their expense, within the last few years, may we not confidently anticipate, that even these great strides will be surpassed in the immediate future?
297. Another prominent feature of these days should be noted in connection with our present subject, and that is the universal tendency to concentrate. For agitations are being ceaselessly carried on for union, or concentration, in coinage, in weights and measures, in postal affairs, in customs arrangements, and similar matters; and in what interest? Purely in that of Commerce. Moreover, the tendency to concentrate commercial interests in certain conventional centres, such as London, New York, Paris, and Vienna, is, also, worthy of notice. And, yet again, how increasingly numerous are great trading companies, "trusts," "rings," "corners," associations, monopolies, and combinations of every kind.
298. In short, all things are now tending in one direction, that is, to absolute subserviency of every other power and interest, religious or political, to Commerce. And, in the end, it will, doubtless, be found necessary, in order to ensure and to efficiently control these vast businesses and organizations, to establish one great commercial centre of the world, and to arrange for the government of this one centre by one supreme commercial King, or Chief.
299. Thus the conclusions to which we are driven are:- That, before long, the one great reigning power of the whole earth will be Commerce. That the power of Babylon in Mystery, and the autocratic power of kings, are being minimised.
That, consequently, Commerce will soon take their place as the supreme influence and motive power. And that there will, in the end, be one Central International Commercial Capital of the world; which, again, will centre in one great Commercial King, or Chief, elected by the people.
300. To this we may add, that, bearing in mind what is written immediately above, and also the paragraphs in this book respecting the City of Babylon and the Antichrist, we cannot but anticipate, that the great Central International Commercial Capital of the world will be the restored City of Babylon; and that the great Commercial King, or Chief, will be the Antichrist.
301. But there is a special and very remarkable prophecy, which seems to be directly connected with this interesting subject, and which we must now consider.
302. In the fifth chapter of Zechariah, we have an account of two visions seen by the prophet. In the first, he saw a flying roll, which was explained by the angel as a judgment, sent forth by God to cut off and consume thieves and false swearers, or liars. In the second, an ephah appeared going forth, and its interpretation seems to indicate who and what the thieves and liars of the first vision are. But, leaving our readers to peruse the chapter, we will enumerate the various symbols of the second vision, and afterwards endeavour to interpret it:- (1) The ephah; which was the largest dry measure of ancient Eastern commerce., corresponding to the English bushel.
(2) The talent of lead, which was the largest commercial "weight," similar to the English "ton."
(3) The woman, whose name is said to be Wickedness, is the system of Babylonian Mystery, or, as we have seen in paragraphs 42, 289, etc., concentrated wickedness.
(4) The two women which support the ephah, and, probably, represent evil systems.
(5) The wind in their wings, which, possibly, indicates, that the system which they support is carried, or disseminated, over the whole earth.
(6) The wings are like storks’ wings, to hint that the two supporters of the ephah are of an evil nature.
(7) The ephah is, lifted up between heaven and earth - perhaps, to indicate, that, so far as profession goes, the system represented is not merely secular, but lays claim, also, to a moral, if not to a religious character.
(8) The ephah is being transferred to the Land of Shinar.
303. Now, putting these symbols together, we conclude, that we have here a representation of Commerce, which is typified by the ephah, and the talent of lead, or, as we should say, by the bushel and the ton; that the heart, centre, or mainspring, of the system is wickedness; that its supporters are two evil systems, which may possibly be interpreted by verses 3 and 4, the one being a system characterized by thieving and dishonesty, the other a system of false swearing or lying; that these disseminate their influence and doctrines over the whole earth by unscrupulous means, but under moral pretensions; and, finally, that they build a house, or a base, for Commerce in the Land of Shinar.
304. In other words, what this prophecy appears to teach is, that, in the Last Days, a powerful but godless commercial system will be developed, which will supersede and absorb the system and spirit of wickedness - that is, Babylon in Mystery, or defiance of God; that it will dominate the whole earth; and that its headquarters will be transferred - from Rome, where it now is - to its own base, the place of its origin, namely, to Babylon in the Land of Shinar.
305. Now, although, it is well to remember the saying of the Apocryphal writer of Ecclesiasticus, that, "As a nail sticketh fast between the joinings of stones, so doth sin stick close between buying and selling" (27:2); yet it is, of course, understood and freely admitted, that there is nothing essentially wrong in honest trading. Business may, most assuredly, be carried on in the fear of God and for His glory; but, even in these days, the vast majority of commercial men, however honourably they may conduct their operations, do so without any respect to God’s will in the matter. Many, too, who profess and call themselves Christians, draw a very distinct line between their religious and their secular affairs, being, apparently, unconscious of the fact, that, by so doing, they are taking their stand among the godless commercial men of the day. For commerce only needs to be carried on in forgetfulness of God, and it instantly becomes sin; since “whatever is not of faith is sin.”
306. But we must remember, that, before the commercial tendencies of which we have been speaking are fully matured, those who are wholly devoted to God will have been removed from the world; and that, at the same time, the Spirit of God, which now acts as a check upon dishonesty and wickedness, will have been taken out of the way, and will no longer stand between the godless and the most outrageous sins. As a natural consequence of this, lawlessness will have terribly increased; and, since all religions, even Babylon in Mystery, will by that time have been destroyed, we may be sure that the tendency of commercial enterprise will be anything but Godward. Moreover, in those days, men will worship Commerce, and, also, their chosen Commercial King; and this will make both it and him to be abominations in the sight of God.
307. Lastly. we are warned, that, in that terrible time, no man will be allowed to buy or sell, that is, to engage in any, kind of commerce, unless he shall first have received the mark of blasphemy either on his forehead or on his hand (Revelation 13:16-17). And, inasmuch as a willing submission to this law on the part of any man will, in itself, constitute him a rebel against God, and make him guilty of a sin which precludes repentance and reconciliation to God, and can in no circumstance be pardoned (Revelation 14:9-11); it necessarily follows, that all the commercial men of that period will be blasphemously godless, and doomed to "drink of the wine of the wrath of God." See paragraphs 74 and 75.
308. Surely the consideration of such truths as these should lead us to a vivid realization of the tremendous issues that are depending upon our present conduct. For, if we would escape the peril of being carried down the stream of ungodliness to perdition, now is the time to make our calling and election sure, and to show, by our walk before God, that we have chosen, and, in the power of His Spirit, irrevocably determined, that, whatever others may do, and at whatever cost to ourselves, we will serve Him Alone, and resolutely turn our backs upon Mammon and all the good things of this life that are in his hands.