X. Powerful Engines of Destruction to Be Invented

Another declaration, this time of technical developments to come, written in 1894, has likewise had remarkable fulfillment. It was penned toward the close of that great lull before the storm of World War I broke forth, followed not long after by World War II. And it pertained to the development of engines of destruction before unknown. It was written at the very time that many of the world’s leading theologians were predicting an abiding world peace and telling of disarmament soon to be established on earth and of the beating of the swords of the nations into plowshares.PFF4 1011.1

This was shortly before the collapse of the old regimes in Russia, Austria, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and China, which changed the entire face of the world and became the harbinger of grave things to come. It was back in the peaceful nineties that Mrs. White wrote, “Human agents are being trained, and are using their inventive power to put in operation the most powerful machinery to wound and kill.” Here is the statement in its setting:PFF4 1011.2

“The Lord is removing His restrictions from the earth, and soon there will be death and destruction, increasing crime, and cruel, evil working against the rich who have exalted themselves against the poor. Those who are without God’s protection will find no safety in any place or position. Human agents are being trained and are using their inventive power to put in operation the most powerful machinery to wound and kill.” ^{49E. G. White, Testimonies for the Church 8:50, (1904).}PFF4 1011.3

The date—1894—is the vital factor here, for the submarine had not yet been developed for practical use until 1900, the dreadnought in 1906, the super dreadnought in 1910, the submarine mine, the Zeppelin airship, and chemical warfare all in 1915. Lethal projectiles and the hand grenade both came into use in 1916, and the tank into active use in 1918. It was in connection with World Wars I and II that the great advances in implements of destruction were made—the aircraft carrier in 1920, the smoke screen in 1923, and later the automatic aircraft cannon in 1941, and the mine layer and the rocket gun in 1942.PFF4 1011.4

Then there were the block busters and incendiary bombs and the flame throwers, long-distance land and naval guns, the jet plane in 1942, and finally the A-bomb in 1945 ^{50Based largely on J. N. Kane, op. cit., and encyclopedia articles. Precise dates vary, but the facts remain.} with the H-bomb and guided missiles promising to be the most deadly of all. Other developments have been repeatedly hinted at by military and other authorities, but are not yet clearly disclosed.PFF4 1012.1

As to destructive effects, in April, 1917, submarine warfare reached its high point. In this month alone German submarines sank 875,000 tons of shipping, and by October their 134 submarines had destroyed 8,000,000 tons. ^{51William L. Langer, “The Submarine War, 1917,” An Encyclopedia of World History (1948), p. 939.} As the result of these dread engines of destruction, World War I losses were 10,000,000 in known dead, military and civilian, and the wounded were listed as 20,000,000. And in World War II, in 1939 the world tonnage for merchant ships (of 100 tons or over) was 68,509,432. More than half of this was destroyed in the next five years by submarine and air attack. ^{52William L. Langer, “Naval Warfare and Blockade,” An Encyclopedia of World History, p. 1156.} Between May and August the greatest air offensive in history took place, as United States land- and carrier-based aircraft destroyed or immobilized the remnants of the Japanese Navy, shattered its industry, and curtailed Japanese sea communications by submarine and air attacks and mine fields. United States battleships shelled densely populated cities and the Twentieth Air Force dropped 40,000 tons of bombs on Japanese centers in a single month. Then, on August 6, the atomic bomb destroyed three fifths of Hiroshima. ^{53Ibid., p. 1169.}PFF4 1012.2

The 1894 prediction has been most amazingly fulfilled. But here again it is simply the immediate application of such basic Biblical predictions as Joel 3:9-14, Matthew 24:7, Luke 21:25, 26, and Revelation 11:18.PFF4 1013.1