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1 G.- c.kty r+ \ -%-r 0-- be\<._, t-d:; tf'ol ~ ~,.urae ~ t.~..a.rtt "n NJ'cclj (i. +e wr-i tt- ~c. w"'r ~ c"..'e.rlnrv'\ ~. ca~l',~eel -t\.q c- ";j ~" w; }-k -tht,._,;+h.. hi's..ew > ee-1'e I c-5 tee..-\ 1 L 0 U I S W E R!;, by Milton R. Hook Jntroduction Many actors build a personality - among them are one~s heritage, intelligence, temperament, opportunities for development and reaction to learning experiences. Louis Were and his contemporaries were no exception. They, as in all generations, were diverse personalities shaped by their heredity and environment. thet ( theology. bt\y''i'':~ +k~ I~Q.os GtV'\J lcno;s s:'oiy\e s~ve'i<\~-o\ttj A-c.tv~~{t.r+s f- S"~~~rec\ Others resisted change on every tenet of' f'ai th no matter how inconsequential to eternal salvation. Some minds had, as it were, congealed when they f'irst accepted their package of' belief's. Others, intrepid spirits, ventured to test their conclusions, comparing and contrasting them with their heritage. It was all part o their insatiable search or consistency and truth. Such was the case in connection with interpretations of' Ezekiel 38, Daniel 11, Revelation 16 and related eschatological events. Numerous interpretations o apocalyptic passages have been proposed, a number being adopted in Seventh-day Adventist circles. These often fluctuated because o ailed expectations and the changing political conditions in the world arena. At the same time some believers clung

2 2 tenaciously to out-moded models or a package of eschatology that was passe. - A few, like Were, retraced their steps in their logic back to their assumptions, :found these were untenable, and adopted new lines of interpretation. Biographical Sketch Louis Fitzroy Were was born in Prospect, South Australia, on April 29, He was the fourth child and third son of Albert and Maud Were. The work of his father, a builder, necessitated a peripatetic childhood and primary school years as the family followed wherever work could be :found. In his early teens they found themselves located in North Adelaide where Louis Joined the Amateur Swimming Club. In 1913, at the age of seventeen, Louis won the first longdistance Swim-Through-Adelaide in the time of forty-five minutes and thirty seconds. This annual classic was subsequently shortened and in 1915 he won the event for the second time, swimming the distance in thirty minutes and ten seconds.1 Seventh-day Adventism was well established in the Were clan before the onset of the First World War. Earlier, Louis' grandfather, Walter Were, had settled in South Australia about 1880 after emigrating with his wife and children from Bristol, England. Before the turn of the century Walter had become a Seventh-day Adventist. However, Louis' :father, Albert, did not share the same convictions. Father Albert volunteered for war service and was among the 1. Eric Were, The HousE? that Were B'\,.lilt_, Lutheran Publishing House, 1980, p.61.

3 3 Anzacs at Gallipoli. He was bitterly disappointed when two o his sons~ Albert, Jnr., and Louis~ as conscientious objectors to war service, re used to JOin him. The boys remained in Adelaide and carried on with their amily bricklaying business. However, Louis was not insensitive to the times. In act, the First World War apparently le t marked impressions on his mind. He, like many others~ were stimulated to think o the signi icance o the events in the light of Scripture.2 Louis~ ather returned sa ely rom the war theatre. His chagrin, experienced when his two boys did not rally to the call of the Mother Country and Empire~ only dissipated with the passing of time. Louis was eighteen years of age when war broke out. His eldest brother, Albert, was twenty-two. Apparently it was Albert who~ having become a Seventh-day Adventist. persuaded Louis to accept the same teachings. Soon after~ Louis married Miss Jessie Blanche Henderson. a young Adelaide woman JUSt a few months older than himself. Pastor C. P. Michaels conducted the ceremony in his own home on November 11, Jesse was previously baptised a Seventh-day Adventist by Pastor W. J. Westerman that same year.4 The couple went to Cooranbong, N.S.W., in order for Louis to attend Avondale College and train as a Seventh-day 2. Ibid., pp.47, Ibid., p Obituary, Au~tra~~~ian Recor4, 9 Feba 1942~ p.7.

4 4 Adventist missionary.5 The prospects were bright or Bible work in Australasia or overseas mission service despite a raging war on the other side o the world. Avondale College was registered with the State Education Department as a high school.6 In 1917, when Were was considering entering the College, the Secondary Schools Registration Act prompted the College Board to upgrade its educational standards. A special term rom September to November, 1917, was designated to prepare students to sit or the Qualifying Certificate Exam be ore entrance into high school the following year.7 At the same time older students were prepared in order to sit the Intermediate Certificate Exam after two years in high school. Were either came to Avondale with at least two years o high school already accomplished or he successfully gained the Intermediate Certificate among the small group at Avondale College who sat or it in November Possession of this two-year high school certificate, in addition to being not less than twenty years o age, were the two prerequisites be ore entering the Missionary and Bible Workers Course9 - the course Were graduated rom in The units o study in the two year course were English, Ancient and Modern History, Church History, Physiology and 5. E. Were, p L.D.A. Lemke, "Australasian Missionary College", Australasian Record, 21 Oct. 1918, pp C.H. Schewe, "Raising the Standard o:f Education", Australes~~~ R~ord, 27 Aug. 1917, pp.4,5. 8. Lemke, pp A\Jstralasian Missj,onary Colleqe bnnou~~~men~, Avondale Press: Cooranbong, p.48.

5 5 Hygiene, Book-keeping, Missionary Geography, History o Missions and Missionary Methods, Bible Doctrines, New Testament Epistles, Prophetical Scriptures <Daniel and Revelation), and some manual training or the option o music.10 The studies in prophecy were the ones which bloomed in his subsequent ministry. Were's principal Bible teacher during his stay at Avondale was Pastor Robert Hare. At times Pastors A. Smart and F. L. Sharp, the preceptor, assisted Hare and therefore quite likely also conducted some lectures throughout the two years.ll Some in Were's small graduating class later served in foreign missions. Notable among them was Pastor J. B. Conley who served in India, returning later to carry on evangelism in Australia. Were himself remained in Australia and developed as a prominent evangelist. He campaigned in New Zealand, Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and briefly in Brisbane.12 Were's stay in New Zealand was memorable for a number o:f reasons. It was there his only child, Nancy May, was born in Furthermore, in 1924 he was ordained, being one of the youngest to receive the rite up to that date.l4 Of lasting repercussions on his thinking was the chance 10. Ibid.; Australasian Missionau. Colleg~~ 919. ~nnouncement, Avondale Press: Cooranbong, pp.19, Ibid. 12. SDA Yearbook, Review and Herald Publishing Association: Washington, D. C., E. Were, p Ibid.; J.W. Kent, "A Tribute - L.F. Were'', ~ustralasian Record, 15 May, 1967, p.lo.

6 6 meeting in New Zealand o a Christadelphian minister who~ during a Bible study~ demonstrated some inconsistencies in Were's Scripture presentations. Were vowed never again to be so embarrassed. He embarked on a sel -imposed course o Bible study to improve himsel.15 His wide reading and conclusions on prophetic topics later brought him increasingly into conflict with traditional thinking in his church, but this did not detract rom his success as a orthright public evangelist. He was also highly regarded by many administrators, serving as a special delegate to the Australasian Union Con erence Annual Councils~ The period between the world wars was, generally speaking, a time o erment in prophetic interpretation. Were did not immediately rush into print with his developing interpretations o prophecy. His irst articles appeared in the denominational magazine~ Signs o the Times, July 8-20, They were apparently designed to counter some elements o Futurism which he believed were present in the teachings o the church~ or example, in the writings o Pastor A. W. Anderson. When Anderson's book~ Through Turmoil to Peace,18 was published in 1932 Were then made no secret o the act that he disagreed particularly with the 15. Interview, M.R. Hook with A.B. Were, Nunawading, 24 Nov Minutes~ Australasian Union Con erence, 9 Sept. 1930, 31 May 1932~ 11 July 1933~ 5 Sept. 1934, 9 July Louis Were, Futurism and the Antichrist o?.cripture, Signs Publishing Company: Warburton, Victoria~ n.d.: Idem.~ The Fire o His Jealousy, Signs Publishing Company: Warburton, Victoria, n.d. 18. A.W. Anderson, Through Turmoil to Peace, Signs Publishing Company: Warburton, Victoria, 1932.

7 7 closing chapters dealing with the role of Britain, Turkey, Russia and the Far Eastern nations in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. These differences in theology were never resolved between Were and fellow ministers of the traditional mould. In fact, most of his peers and even younger ministers graduating from Avondale up to the late 1950's followed traditional lines o interpretation as found in Uriah Smith's exposition, Daniel and Revelatio~.19 After a long and painful struggle against cancer Were's wife~ Jessie~ passed away on January 6, 1942, in Adelaide. The President of the South Australian Conference, Pastor W. M. R. Scragg, assisted by Pastor N. A. Ferris, conducted the funeral service.20 Despite the trauma of personal loss Were continued as best he could in his city evangelism.21 Dialogue with fellow ministers on doctrinal differences also continued. Indeed, an Australasian Union Conference subcommittee was set up, entitled "The Committee on Special Study.., with the specific purpose of examining these dif:ferences. Were was a member of the special sub-committee and presented his views on Armageddon and related topics. Committee meetings were held at various times throughout 1941 and 1942, but the large majority of committee members rejected Were's interpretations. Pastors Ac F. J. Kranz and 19. Uriah Smith, Daniel ~~d Revelation, Signs Publishing Company: Warburton, Victoria, n.d. 20. Obituary, Australasian Record, 9 Feb. 1942, p W.M.R. Scragg, "South Australia"', Australasian Record, 23 Nov. 1942, p.7.

8 8 Scragg were prominent among the ew who saw light in some o Were's viewpoints.22 Were, rejected by his peers, even maligned by some, and traumatised by personal loss, ound himsel in a vulnerable situation in An estranged woman with two children, Mrs D. E. Jacobs, developed a romantic interest in Were. She was the daughter o an elderly couple in the Adelaide hills district. The amily were recent converts with whom Were and Arthur Jacobson studied. The woman was keen to remarry, thus providing an adopted ather or her children. However, Were pre erred to choose di erently, inally espousing his love or Miss Alma Belle Preuss, o Victoria, who had served the church as a Bible worker but was then helping in her family business. She was raised a Baptist, attended Avondale College, and subsequently became a Seventh-day Adventist.23 Louis and Alma were married in the Auburn Church, Victoria, on January 25, 1943, by Pastor H. E. Piper. They returned to Adelaide to work.24 Trouble broke immediately. A report apparently was relayed to Wahroonga headquarters claiming Were was conducting himsel immorally. Pastor W. T. Hooper, headquarters youth leader, was despatched to 22. Minutes, Committee on Special Study, 8-11 July, 1941, 6-7 Sept. 1941, June 1942, and attached papers by various writers. Note: when the Sub-Committee was irst conceived it was called the Sub-Committee on Public Utterances, Minutes, Australasian Union Con erence, 12 Sept Interview, 24 Nov H.E. Piper, ''Wedding Bells: Were-Preuss", ~ustralasian Record, 1 Mar. 1943, p.7.

9 9 resolve the rumour. Hooper, together with the youth leader o the South Australian Con erence, Ferris, lay in wait with flashlights one February evening during a wartime.. brownout. These men reported seeing Were and the estranged woman sitting on a park bench seat in the dark. <Years later Hooper admitted he saw nothing unbecoming>. Were cla~med he was lured into the situation by the woman, resisting her earlier suggestions to visit her home and opting instead, ~n the spur o the moment, to have prayer with her in the park near her home. She was Jealous Were had married a rival and a short time later wrote to Were and Scragg confessing she had made up stories which started the rumours. ""God knows he did not break the moral law but is suffering for something he did not do, she wrote afterwards to Scragg. 25 On March 9, 1943, the South Australian Conference Executive Committee voted to dismiss Were.26 The President, Scragg, objected on the grounds that he had not been privy to the decision to dispatch Hooper to South Australia and he was unhappy with the covert manner in which Hooper and Ferris conducted their investigations. Scragg wrote to headquarters suggesting reconsideration o the case. In reply the Executive Committee voted: That the letter be re erred back to the South Australian Committee with the intimation that as his <Were's> dismissal from the work was an act o the Committee, any move or his reinstatement or a 25. Letter, D.E. Jacobs to L.F. Were, 29 Mar. 1943; Letter, D.E. Jacobs to W.M.R. Scragg, 26 Apr Minutes, South Australian Conference Executive Committee, 9 Mar

10 , 10 consideration of his case must emanate from them, it being understood that the Union Committee will at all times be willing to give counsel or advice on the matter.27 Were was not reinstated. He and Alma eventually moved to Melbourne where he did clerical work with a large city office. Alma once more worked in the clothing business - a successful enterprise in Flinders Lane conducted by her sister.28 Louis was not disfellowshipped. They attended the Auburn church regularly and their devotion to one another and their church never slackened. Auburn~s initial reception was icy but thawed eventually. Louis continued to win converts to his church. These were baptised by a sympathetic pastor. He filled Sabbath School o ice and conducted the occasional series of Bible studies or Sabbath afternoon youth meetings and was elected an elder.29 Louis, h;.$ in_)d1spare time, embarked on a prolific writing career. Most of his tracts and books continued to defend his interpretations of end-time prophecies. No record was kept of the numbers o each publication printed, but their circulation among Australian, American and European Seventhday Adventists was both extensive and influential in the long term. Acceptance of his views came gradually and nowadays is generally widespread. Were attended the 1950 San Francisco General Conference Session as a non-delegate with expenses paid by friends Minutes, Australasian Union Conference, 18 May Interview, 24 Nov Letter, A.B. Were to M.R. Hook, 17 July, 1986.

11 11 Following the Session he also attended the summer Bible Teachers Council at Pacific Union College under the same circumstances. <At the time he was a member o the shortlived Bible Research Fellowship, an unofficial scholarly fraternity in America>. He presented no papers and took the part of an observer only.30 Upon arrival back in Australia it was reported to Pastor N. C. Wilson, President of the Australasian Union Conference, that Were claimed he was.. an honoured guest" at the Teachers Council and was "treated like a hero".31 This caused some consternation in Wilson's mind and he wrote seeking clarification from Pastor W. H. Branson, President o the General Conference.32 Letters were hastily despatched to Wilson and W. G. Murdoch, Principal of the Australasian Missionary College, flatly denying Were made any impact on his visit.33 Any dissemination of Were's views at that time were done privately. Against his better JUdgement Were was persuaded in 1954 to apply to re-enter the ministry even though he was fiftyeight years of age. He admitted he had earlier compromised himself, nevertheless, his case was not re-opened Letter, N.C. Wilson to W.H. Branson, 25 Sept Letter, K.J. Reynolds to W.H. Branson, 14 Jan Letter, N.C. Wilson to W.H. Branson, 9 Nov Letter, W.H. Branson to N.C. Wilson, 18 Jan. 1951; Letter, R.F. Cottrell to W.G. Murdoch, 15 Jan Minutes, Australasian Union Conference, 28 Nov

12 12 In 1962 Were and his wife attended the General Con erence Session, San Francisco, in an uno icial capacity once again. In some of the Bible study periods concurrent with the Session Were simply voiced his views as opportunity arose, and also in private conversation between meetings.35 For two decades after his dismissal Were published a new tract or book almost every year. Most were expositions on eschatology. Some were on the topic o Christian living. A ew were specifically addressed to literalism mani est in contemporary separatist movements. The final one had the finishing touches put to it by his wife and it was published posthumously.36 Louis Were passed away of a heart attack on April 2, 1967, aged almost seventy-one years. Principal speaker at his Melbourne uneral was his friend o orty years, Pastor J. W. Kent. Others who assisted were Pastors P. Donaldson, L. Jones, E. Reye and son-in-law Pastor R. Howes. In his life sketch, published in the church paper, Kent wrote, The immutable pillars of truth that have made this great message what it is, he never doubted or queried. In fact his defense of the truth brought messages of gratitude from around the world Interview, 24 Nov See Appendix for full list of Were's publications. 37. J.W. Kent, "A Tribute - L.F. Were'", Australasiall Record, 15 May 1967, p This section is dependent on O.E. Mansell, '"Development of Seventh-day Adventist Teaching on Armageddon", Paper prepared for Andrews University Seminary Studies, 22 June 1967.

13 f~..t \\-u.., \\J'~,it~ &--A ~\~.-+{ 1 :sz 13 The roots of Seventh-day Adventist eschatology may be traced back to New England preachers such as Uriah Smith, James White, and William Miller. The theological ferment of the Millerite movement slowly settled during the latter hal of the nineteenth century as men like White and Smith systematised the cogent points o Miller's preaching together with their own convictions. These earlier views were the oil for twentieth century viewpoints like those of Were. William Miller's ideas fluctuated throughout his preaching career < >. In the early years he taught that the first five plagues had already allen, the sixth was in progress, and the seventh would fall about Armageddon, he believed, was where God would separate the wicked from the righteous and it would probably take place in America. In his projected scenario the River Euphrates was the Turkish power, the False Prophet was "Mohammedanism", and the Beast <Daniel 7:7-26; 11:40-45; Revelation 13:1-10) as well as the King of the North was the Papacy. About 1840 Miller made the remarkable shift from a somewhat literal interpretation to a spiritual application of the end-time prophecies. Armageddon, he decided, essentially involved a battle between religious principles and the last phase would be a great struggle between error and truth. This interpretation is more in vogue today end one which Were advocated.

14 14 Miller, however, quickly changed his view, yet again, to a literal battle in the Middle East between all nations. In September I October 1844 he was of the opinion that Armageddon was where Christ would gather His saints at the Second Coming. The early tendency of Miller to interpret last day events from an American point of view was continued by other Adventists. When the American Civil War broke out one writer in the church paper said he thought Armageddon was right upon them. Furthermore, in his early position, James White believed the Papacy would transfer its seat of government from Italy to America. James White's eschatology was representative of the updated Millerite views. After it became obvious the seven last plagues did not fall prior to the early 1840's White adopted the view that all the plagues were yet future. He agreed that the Beast and the King of the North represented the Papacy as forecast in Daniel 11: He furthermore proposed that Turkey would come to its end during the sixth plague - all plagues being literal. His view of Armageddon was a curious mixture of the literal and spiritual applications. Armageddon, he thought, was not a geographical battle, but rather one fought between the spiritual forces of Christ and Satan, and the name Armageddon represented the place where Christ would make his descent at the Second Coming.

15 15 With the confiscation of the Papal States in 1870 it did appear to some Adventists as though the Papacy had been dealt its death blow and would not be a power in the end time. However, to some minds Vatican Council I and the renewed strength it generated for the Roman Catholic Church made that view unthinkable. Nevertheless, Uriah Smith, one of the leading expositors in the Adventist Church, persisted with the view that the Papacy was a spent power. He changed his view concerning the King of the North, preferring Turkey as the one forecast in Daniel 11:40-45 rather than the Papacy. During the Russo-Turkish War, , Smith became further convinced Turkey was coming to its end and none would help it. White urged caution in making such conclusions and this led to some friction between the two men. Russia did win the war, and it appeared as if Turkey had come to its end, but other nations came to her aid at the negotiating table. At the Congress of Berlin the terms of the treaty were quite favourable to Turkey, much to the surprise of all. Despite the fact Turkey was given a reprieve, Smith persisted with his view regarding the King of the North. These views he incorporated into his book, Daniel and Revelation, which became a standard Bible textbook in the church colleges for decades.39 White died 39. Uriah Smith's interpretation of Daniel has some inconsistencies and a strong ave.rsion to admitting Antioch us Epiphanes into the fulfillment. To accomplish this he introduces Pagan Rome as "robbers of the people" in Daniel 11:14. This turn at the cross-roads takes him away from Seleucid history through Pagan Rome history to verse 30. In

16 16 in 1881, a fact which further contributed to Smith's views becoming normative in the church thereafter.40 order to introduce Papal Rome in verse 31 he proposes.. the daily" is paganism - taken away or usurped by the Papacy - and "the abomination of desolation" is also the Papacy, not the literal destruction of the sanctuary by Antiochus Epiphanes who took away or stopped the daily sacrifices in the literal Temple in Jerusalem. In other words, in the midst of an otherwise literal interpretation Smith places a spiritual interpretation on ''the daily", "abomination of desolation" and, by implication, "the sanctuary. None of these expressions are allowed a literal interpretation with a fulfillment in Antiochus Epiphanes. Furthermore, Smith taught Turkey was the king o the North in verse 40, but Russia seems to be his King o the North in verse 44. The anomaly therefore is, with Russia against Turkey in the final battle, as Smith predicts, the King of the North will fight against the King of the North! 40. Were briefly discusses the early views of White en& Smith in some of his publications, e.g., The King of the North at Jerusalem, Chapter 3. The possibility remains that Miller, White, Smith and others interpreting Daniel in their distinctive way were all mistaken. Much hangs on the validity of their assumption that the fourth kingdom of Daniel 2 changes from pagan to Papal Rome rather than existing only to Christ's first coming when He inaugurated His kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Were, too, makes this assumption in Bible Principles of Interpretation, pp <There are some who consider Daniel's prophecies to be concerned primarily with Christ's first coming and the events prior to 70 A. D., and Revelation's prophecies to be dealing primarily with a postresurrection interpretation o Christ's Second Coming.> The mixture o iron and clay was also assumed to be the mixture of strong and weak nations of nineteenth and twentieth century Europe rather than the conglomerate of strong and weak elements making up the Pagan Roman Empire in the time of Christ. Furthermore, the phrase, "the time of the end", was assumed to be denoting the nineteenth and twentieth centuries rather than an expression denoting the end of the sacrificial system and Jewish dispensation, or the time of the Messianic Age. An equivalent phra~e, "the last days", obviously refers to the Christian dispensation and not confined exclusively to the last two centuries. Acts 2:17, Hebrews 1:2, I Peter 1:20, I John 2:18. In view of the fact that the prophecies of Daniel are evidently parallel ones, then the assumptions made or Daniel 2 determin~the interpretations made in Daniel This includes the meaning of "the time of the end", "the Beast", "the King of the North", "the little horn", "the

17 17 In the seed-bed o Smith's Daniel and Revelation there grew with increasing popularity the idea that Armageddon would be a literal battle. The irst major Adventist book to champion this view was, The Eastern Question in t~e Li~~~ o God's Promises to Israel, Proohetic and Historic, by H.E. Robinson, and published in Other leading Adventist writers followed suit - men such as W.W. Prescott, W.A. Spicer, w.h. Branson, J.E. Fulton, A.G. Daniells and C.M. Snow. A Chain o Twentieth Century Writers The events o the Firat World War increased literal applications o the end-time prophecies. Typical was Snow's article published in 1914 entitled., "Is This Armageddon?" Armageddon, he wrote, is a real place where "the forces o the nations gather to fight a literal battle or the possession o a literal city some i ty miles rom that place. They gather at Armageddon; the battle will take place around Jerusalem."41 Likewise, the Valley o Jehoshaphat <Joel 3:9-14), where an end-time battle was prophesied, Snow believed to be the "narrow glen which runs from north to south between the mounts Olivet and Moriah, and through which flows the daily", "the transgression of desolation"', "the sanctuary", "tt1e holy people", indeed, all the identifying phrases connected with the time o the fourth kingdom. Another interpretation is to impose a two- old application with a partial ul illment in the time of Pagan Rome extending to Christ's irst coming, and a complete fulfillment with Papal Rome <or, all alae religion and atheism) extending to Christ's Second Coming. 41. C.M. Snow, "Is This Armageddon?", R.evj.ew_~.n..g" Herald, 17 Sept. 1914, p.6.

18 18 Kidron.42 The great battle, he said, would begin on the Plain o Esdraelon in the north o Palestine and God would sit in the valley o Jehoshaphat in executive JUdgement on the wicked o the entire world. Snow believed the war in Europe may exhaust Turkey <i.e. dry up the River Euphrates>, force the Turks <the King o the North) to remove their capitol to the area near Jerusalem, and this would lead to the final scenario at Armageddon. In reality, the war was being ought in Europe, not Palestine. That led Snow to assert "'the war now being fought in Europe is not Armageddon, but it is entirely possible that it may lead into that battle The prevailing opinion was that probation was about to end and then Armageddon would break upon the world. Seventh-day Adventists, who emphasized the literal Sanctuary services and their significance, together with the literal Jerusalem Temple and a literal counterpart in heaven, were naturally receptive to literal applications in eschatology which centred in literal Palestine. If they had taken their cue instead from Stephen's sermon (Acts 7>, Romans 11 and the Book of Hebrews, emphasizing Christ's complete fulfillment of the types and the advent of spiritual Israel then the focus may not have been directed so much on the Middle East but rather a broader and worldwide panorama. There seemed to be a fascination with things Jewish rather than Christian. Of course, only an Ibid. 43. Ibid., p.7.

19 19 ostrich mentality would deny Christianity's Jewish roots~ and there is much to be gained by understanding these roots~ but the weight o emphasis given to these roots by Adventists coloured their scenario of last-day events. When Palestine ell into British hands and the State o Israel was subsequently established, making it seem a most improbable scenario or the Turks to establish their capitol in Jerusalem, then some Adventists began to search or di erent explanations o the prophecies. Louis Were was one o those men. Most, however, persisted with extensions o Smith's eschatology. One publication re lecting Smith's in luence was The Riddle o the Orient by Horace Franks. It was typical o the continuing habit o playing prophets a ter the First World War. Franks saw the arousal o the Far East rom its medieval condition as a portent o "the kings o the east" <Revelation 16:12) coming to power. Palestine, since General Allenby's conquest~ he said, had become the realisation o Zionism's dreams and "here will centre the main issues o peace and war".44 Control o literal Jerusalem was regarded as the centre o the last great controversy. Turkey, he believed~ to be "the hot-bed in which the seeds o another war are sprouted".45 Russia, too, was highlighted as a prominent power in the last days. His generation, he said, was witnessing "the time o the 44. Horace G. Franks, The Riddle o the_orien~, Signs Publishing Company: Warburton, Victoria, p Ibid., p.67.

20 20 he~then (Gentiles)" ~s prophesied in Joel 3:11,12,. Ezekiel 30:3 and Haggai 2:22.46 He wrote, "the awakening of' the heathen nations of the Orient is but the preparation for the last great military campaign where ~the kings of the whole earth' will meet in their real Armageddon."47 Little comfort was found in the institution of the League of Nations. Such schemes for peace and disarmament were fulfilling the prophecy of nations beating their swords into ploughshares <Micah 4).48 In reality, the continuing invention of fearful weapons of war,. he said, was the "spirits of devils working miracles" <Revelation 16:14)49 Franks' scenario of the last-day events began with a popular wish of his day - the diminishing Ottoman Empire, or King of the North, being forced out of Europe and Constantinople. With Daniel 11:45 in mind, he predicted Turkey would ''plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain". "'When the Turk locates at Jerusalem," he forecast, "the second coming of Christ is near at hanct."50 But this wasting away of the Ottoman Empire, "the drying up o the River Euphrates", simply allows "the kings of the east" to come westward against the Turks and "a cataclysm whose consumation will be worthy only o the name Armageddon" will occur, he wrote. "Each prophecy", he continued, "leads us to Armageddon" Ibid., p Ibid., p Ibid.,. p Ibid.,. p Ibid., p.loo. 51. Ibid. p p.96.