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The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 4 - Contents
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    VII. World War Cataclysms Predicted Back in 1890

    Doubtless the most striking of all Mrs. White’s forecasts was a series of predictions, beginning back in 1874, 34E. G. White, The Spirit of Prophecy 4:402, (1884). of a “coming crisis” of international proportions, an unprecedented “storm relentless in its fury,” soon to break upon the world. That dread storm broke with a vengeance, as the whole world knows, in World War I. But sixty years ago it seemed rash and impudent to predict a coming “tempest,” and urge men to prepare for its dread “fury,” for prominent religious and political leaders were at that very time vigorously proclaiming the speedy dawn of world peace. The variance, yes, the irreconcilable conflict between the two, was marked. This would constitute a clear test. Here is Mrs. White’s key paragraph, with seven important points indicated by the numbers in brackets:PFF4 1006.1

    “The tempest is coming, and we must get ready for its fury, by having repentance towards God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see [I] troubles on all sides. [2] Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. [3] Navies will go down, and [4] human lives will be sacrificed by millions. [5] Fires will break out unexpectedly, and no human effort will be able to quench them. The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. [6] Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent; [7] confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning occur on the great lines of travel.... Oh, let us seek God while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.” 35E. G. White, “The Danger of Skepticism in Our Youth,” The Signs of the Times, April 21, 1890, p. 2.PFF4 1006.2

    Here is outlined a series of developments to come that was directly at variance with the roseate expectation of the religious world leaders. It seemed incredible at the time-particularly the concept of “thousands of ships” being “hurled into the depths of the sea,” and of whole “navies” going down, and human lives “sacrificed by millions.” It was in total conflict with the predominant religious philosophy of the day. Mines, torpedoes, and submarines were then scarcely known in modern destructive form. But their ruthless use, beginning in World War I, has already fulfilled these specifications literally.PFF4 1007.1

    According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, more than six thousand ships made up the dreadful toll of ships sunk, 36H. W. Griffin, “Shipping: War Losses of,” Encyclopaedia Britannica (1954 ed.), vol. 20, p. 556. just in World War I alone, by Germany and her allies. As to whole “navies” going down, the mind need only go back now to the unprecedented sinking of the German, Italian, and Japanese navies in the two world wars to realize the remarkable fulfillment of these startling words. Human lives “sacrificed by the millions” had its dire fulfillment in the loss of life in World War I, which was put at twenty million. 37William L. Langer, An Encyclopedia of World History (1948), pp. 939, 951.PFF4 1007.2

    1. OTHER APPALLING DEVELOPMENTS FORETOLD

    But look more closely at the statement. This sevenfold prediction was uttered at a time when nothing on the horizon indicated that these particulars would ever be fulfilled on such a world-wide scale. Back in 1890 no inventor, poet, or philosopher dreamed of such appalling situations and developments. But there nevertheless followed a succession of earthquakes, beginning with San Francisco in 1906, Valparaiso in 1908, and the greatest of all in Japan in 1923; world troubles and tensions climaxing in World Wars I and II; cumulative capital-labor (or labor-management) troubles with their strikes, lock-outs, and violence; and social, moral, and political upheavals, including the great Russian Revolution and later Communist and Fascist developments. Mounting “disasters by rail” are so well known as scarcely to need comment. But particular note should be taken of the “collisions and death” statement, on the “great lines of travel.” This, be it noted, was uttered before the great revolution in travel had taken place. Automobiles and airplanes had not yet been invented.PFF4 1007.3

    2. MOUNTING FATALITIES ON “LINES OF TRAVEL.”

    It is particularly significant that the first American gasoline auto was not produced until 1892, and was first regularly made for sale in 1895. The first auto accident was recorded in 1896. 38In 1900 there were 4,192 cars produced in the United States. But by 1915 the factory output was not far from 1,000,000 motor vehicles, and in 1950 over 8,000,000-with 59,300,000 drivers’ licenses issued in the United States in 1950. World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1952, pp. 188, 470, 660, 653; Joseph N. Kane, Famous First Facts (1950). In 1951 the millionth person to die by auto accident was widely publicized. Such is the mounting death toll on one line of travel. 39John Kieran. Information Please Almanac (1951), pp. 107, 108; see also Statistical Abstract of the United States (1951).PFF4 1008.1

    And air lines surely constitute another line of travel. The first sustained flight for a whole hour and the first passenger carried officially were both in 1908. And the first airplane fatality was likewise in 1908. The first commercially sold plane was in 1909, and the first cross-country flight similarly in 1909. But regularly scheduled transcontinental air service was not established until 1936, and the first regular trans-Atlantic service in 1939, with the first around-the-world air service in 1947. 40J. N. Kane, op. cit., pp. 49-64. From the first air fatality in 1908 the casualties in this only recently established line of travel had risen to 1,912 in 1948. 41Accident Fatalities in the United Stales (Vital Statistics), Aug. 25, 1950 (vol. 36, no. 14), p. 227. And now transport crashes come in tragic waves.PFF4 1008.2

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