| Highlights of Dawn | July 1965 |
ELECTRICITY in “The Time of the End”
“His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.” —Psalm 97:4
THE magic power of electricity in these last days has changed the customs of the human race, and is contributing to the destruction of man’s selfish social order—this being the prophetic “end of the world” foretold in the Bible. Lightning was about the only manifestation the ancients had of the operation of the invisible energy which we call electricity. They did not call it electrical power, for to them the term electricity was unknown, and the science of humanly controlled electrical energy undreamed of.
Some of the ancients did discover that amber, when rubbed, possesses the property of attracting light bodies, and it is from the Greek word elektron, meaning amber, that the term electricity is derived. The word was invented by Dr. William Gilbert, of Colchester, England. Out of the study of this strange force, together with the study of kindred phenomena, arose the modern science of electricity. The name of the philosopher who first observed that amber, when rubbed, possesses the property of attracting certain substances, has not been handed down to us, but he lived several centuries before Christ. Thales of Miletus is said to have described this remarkable property, and both Theophrastus (321 B.C.) and Pliny (A.D. 70) mention the power of amber to attract straws and dry leaves.
Centuries came and went, however, while the mighty powers of this invisible element of nature remained almost wholly unknown to man, hence unused by him as a servant. Dr. William Gilbert (1540-1603) may be considered as the father of the science of electricity, as he appears to have been the first philosopher who carefully repeated the observations of the ancients and applied to them the principles of philosophical investigation. He endeavored to determine if material other than amber would react in a similar manner. To do this he balanced a light metallic needle on a pivot, and observed whether or not it was affected by causing rubbed bodies of various materials to approach close to it. By this experiment he discovered that a number of substances in addition to amber became electrically excited by rubbing.
Robert Boyle added more facts to the new science originated by Dr. Gilbert, and additional discoveries were made by Otto von Guericke, aside from electricity. Later, Sir Isaac Newton interested himself in electricity and made further important discoveries. Many others during this same general period continued the rubbing and other experiments. It was not until 1745 that the science reached a stage of development which made it possible to accumulate and preserve electrical energy. The first electric battery was styled the Leyden Jar, or Phial, being named after the town (Leyden, or Leiden, Holland) in which it was developed by its inventors.
First for War
Apparently about the first real service for which electricity was employed was the firing of gunpowder with a spark, which Sir William Watson succeeded in effecting by his experiments. This was in 1747. It is a sad commentary that some of our modern sciences, even that of atomic energy, have first been used in one way or another to make war more deadly and devastating. This is one of the things which demonstrates that man, with all his ability, has hopelessly failed in the area of human relationships.
It was in this same general period that French and British scientists discovered the possibility of conveying electrical energy along wires. The French savants succeeded in transmitting this strange new power from the Leyden Jar for a distance of 12,000 feet. Benjamin Franklin also interested himself in this new science, and wrote considerably about it. Sir William Watson had suggested the possibility of positive and negative electricity, but it remained for Benjamin Franklin to develop this phase of the science, and to clarify it.
Experiments continued in many parts of the world, some of them dangerous. In 1753 Professor Richmond, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was killed during a test that he was making. He had erected an iron rod on his house to collect the electricity of thunderclouds. To this he attached what he called an electrometer. A tremendous thunderclap burst over the neighborhood, and Richmond bent close to observe the result on the electrometer. A flash of bluish flame shot from the iron rod to the scientist’s head and he was instantly killed.
As the science developed it was discovered that electrical energy could be measured in relation to given resistances offered to its flow. Experimenters in these fields were Andre Marie Ampere, Georg Simon Ohm, Alessandro Volta, James Watt, and others. In a layman’s language, what these men added to the new science was a method of determining the volume of electricity flowing through a wire; the amount of resistance to that flow; the pressure necessary to overcome the resistance, and the quantity of electricity dissipated in a given time. The names of the discovering scientists in this field were given to these units of measurement. The units in the volume of flow are now called “amperes.” The resistance to the volume of flow is described in units of “ohms,” the pressure by “volts,” and the quantity by “watts.”
The Time of the End
To our understanding a period, or age, in the plan of God described as “the time of the end” began in the year 1799. This same period is also referred to in the Bible as the day of God’s “preparation.” (Dan. 12:1,4,9; Nahum 2:3,4) In the light of these prophecies it is significant that so many of those responsible for developing the science of electricity should have lived and worked when they did. Ampere, Ohm, Volta, and Watt did their work in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and Benjamin Franklin died near the end of the eighteenth century. While the existence of electricity was previously known, its development as a science did not materialize into any practical use until after the beginning of “the time of the end.”
The first electric light of any kind was invented about 1710 by Fredrick Hawksbee, which he demonstrated before the Royal Society of London. But this proved to be of no practical value as a means of producing artificial light. Early in the nineteenth century Sir Humphry Davy discovered the basic principles of arc and incandescent lamps. However, it remained for Thomas A. Edison to invent the first practical electric lamp. This was in 1879. It was an invention which in a few short years was destined to well nigh turn night into day so far as the work, pleasure, and pastime of the world are concerned.
In the year 1878 the General Electric Company was organized for the purpose of developing further the use of this newly discovered energy, particularly in connection with dynamos and motors. Books could be, and have been written to set forth the details of progress in this wonderful science from one step to another, but we all know where these steps have led us up to now. The results are all around us and touch upon practically every phase of modern life.
The science of electronics is based upon electrical energy. In this field we have our modern computers, and almost unbelievable methods of communication. Electricity made possible the telephone and the telegraph. First these methods of communication were dependent upon wires. Then came the wireless telegraphing system and the radio; later came television. To begin with, the range of television communication was rather limited compared with the radio, but this is so no longer. Through the use of satellites television now reaches around the world, and the people of essentially every country can watch news events, listen to lectures and concerts in almost any other part of the earth as they take place.
In a recent telecast General Eisenhower, speaking in New York, and Field Marshal Montgomery, speaking in London, conversed with each other as though they were in the same room. Their conversation dealt mostly with their experiences in the second World War, and General Eisenhower was asked what he thought of the world situation today. His reply, while guarded, was somber. He indicated that if hydrogen warfare develops it will mean Armageddon. And, of course, electricity makes possible the use, as well as misuse, of hydrogen power.
In Due Time
In Daniel 12:1,4 the foretold increase of knowledge, one of the manifestations of which is the myriad ways in which electrical power is being used today, is shown to lead to “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” This is why the period in which these developments occur is described in this prophecy as “the time of the end.” We hold that it is in God’s providence, and as a manifestation of his wisdom in timing the various features of his plan, that electrical energy was permitted to lie dormant throughout the centuries, and only now is being used and misused by man. Those early experimenters who knew what would happen when amber was rubbed were, without question, just as intelligent as those who, in these modern times, have found a way to harness and control this strange and wonderful energy. They did nothing about it for the reason that God did not put it into their minds to do so, for his due time had not yet come.
And God’s due time is in this “day of his preparation,” “the time of the end.” This prophetic expression does not denote the end of time, or the end of the earth, but merely the end of man’s misrule over the earth, the end of his selfish social order. There is to follow a new social order, the kingdom of Christ, when all the wonderful inventions of our day will be properly used for the betterment of the human race.
Our text speaks of Jehovah’s lightnings enlightening the world. Lightning is electrical energy, and electrical energy, as it is being harnessed today, is doing much to enlighten the world. Literal lightning produces a momentary enlightenment, and we think that in view of the manner in which electric energy is being used today to disseminate knowledge, the prophecy might well be using lightning in a symbolic manner to denote the beginning of an enlightenment which is yet to be complete, and world-wide.
Secular Knowledge
As yet, the knowledge that is being diffused by means of our modern methods of communication, and by means of the printing press, is largely of a secular and material sort. As the people become enlightened, however, their faith in the timeworn creeds of the Dark Ages, which dishonor God, is giving way to doubt and unbelief. But this is only because the man-made creedal concepts of God do not stand up under the light of investigation. Properly the world shrinks with horror from the cruelties which were inflicted upon innocent people in the Nazi concentration camps, and these same people turn in revolt from a god who, according to the creeds, purposed the eternal torture, not of a few million Jews only, but of untold millions who died outside the fold of Christ—torture far more excruciating than anything the twisted minds of the Nazis could contrive.
We are glad that the world is being awakened to realize that the god of the creeds is not truly worthy of worship, and we are assured that as the increase of knowledge continues, an understanding and appreciation of the true God of the Bible, the God of love and mercy, will be made known to the people. The Bible tells us that the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. But this is a later development, a development which will materialize with the full establishment of the kingdom of Christ.
Meanwhile it is our privilege to bear witness to the Gospel of the kingdom in this day of increasing knowledge, and also of increasing folly and madness. Evidences are multiplying all around us to substantiate faith in God, but unbelief and godlessness are on the increase. With all the advantages of our day, horizons of opportunity leading to peace and happiness should be appearing on every hand; but instead it is a time of darkness and fear, for the wisdom of the wise has perished. Science has placed a land of milk and honey before the whole world, but a large proportion of the human race is in want, starvation, and misery.
There is no better description of this time of human experience to be found anywhere than the one given us by the Prophet Joel when he wrote of our day, saying that it would be “a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains.” (Joel 2:2) Yes, the morning has come! It is the time of early dawn. The highlights of dawn are discernible by those who are spiritually awake and watching; but it is like morning in the mountains, where the low-hanging clouds obscure the gray light of the approaching new day, causing a density of darkness that is depressing and frightening.
Such is the condition of the world today. The science of electricity has brought many blessings to a minority of the human race, but it has also helped to implement man’s selfishness, and thus has led to the chaos which we see all around us. It has enlightened the world with secular knowledge, but millions tremble when they contemplate the possible misuse of the powerful forces which are now controlled by imperfect men. But soon, thank God, the storm of human passion stirred up by the first effect of the morning light will be over. The commanding voice of earth’s new King will bid the storm, “Be calm.” Then, through a proper use of divinely created principles and energies, the lives of the people will be enriched, and peace and joy will be the common heritage of all. Through Christ, health and lasting life will also then be made available.