Chapter Ix
In fulfilment of the Scripture that “in the last days. .. your sons . . . shall prophesy” (Acts 2 :17), one of the little ten-year-old beggar sons of China was used as the mouthpiece of the Lord to bring us a message by direct inspiration.
A few months previous this boy, ragged and dirty —- in fact, more nearly clothed with filth than with garments -— came to our door with his two companions to ask if he might come in. When bathed and dressed, the boy looked like a guileless little fellow, and such he proved to be. He at once took every Bible story and sermon to heart. He soon learned to pray, and we could hear him praying in bed very earnestly every night. When the Holy Spirit fell upon us this boy was among the first to receive the baptism of the Spirit, speaking with other tongues as on the Day of Pentecost.
As surely as ever God spoke in the past, when men were moved upon by the Holy Spirit, so that Scripture was inspired of God and prophets declared their message to be “Thus saith the Lord” with such assurance that they were ready to back their convictions with their lives, even so surely the living God still reigns and speaks to the children of men by direct prophecy, when the circumstances demand it, and faith and other conditions are according to His divine will.
One night the power of the Lord was present in an unusual manner. Heaven seemed not far away. Then it was that our one-time, little, friendless beggar boy seemed to leave this filthy earth and to be caught up to heaven. Ushered into the presence of the Lord Jesus, he fell prostrate at His feet in humble adoration and worship. As a matter-of-fact, the boy lay prostrate in the middle of the room surrounded by his companions, who sat about him on the floor, listening intently to a message that came through him from the Lord. Such gripping, heart-searching words I have never heard. While the boy sobbed and wept with deepest grief the message was given, a sentence or two at a time, in a clear strong voice. The language came in rhythm; the choice of words was the simplest and purest. The intonation of the voice, the choice of language, the penetrating power of every word was such that no person who heard could ever doubt that this little simple-minded Samuel was speaking by direct supernatural inspiration from God.
Prostrated in vision at the feet of the Lord, the boy said, “Lord Jesus, I am not worthy to be here or to be saved at all. I am only a little street beggar.” Then Jesus addressed the boy. The boy did not know it at the time, but the Lord actually spoke through the boy as a mouth piece, using the first person and addressing us and the children sitting about him. Here is the “Thus saith the Lord” that we wish might grip your hearts as it still grips our own.
The Message from Christ
“I weep tonight. I am heart-broken. I am in deep sorrow because those who believe in me are so very few. I planned and prepared heaven for everyone, having made room for all the people in all the world. I made the New Jerusalem in three great cities, one above the other, with plenty of space for all men. But men will not believe me. Those who believe are so very few. I am sad, so very sad. (This message was given between heart-rending sobs and floods of tears from the boy.) Since men will not believe me, I must destroy the wicked earth. I planned to visit it with three great calamities, but it is so wicked that I have added a fourth.”
“If you have any friends, tell them to repent quickly; persuade all men as rapidly as possible to believe the gospel; but if people will not listen and will not accept your message the responsibility will not be upon you.”
“Get the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If you will tarry and believe, I will baptize you. The devil deceives you by making you think you will not receive the baptism, but wait and seek and I will baptize you, and give you power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. Those who receive the seal of the Holy Spirit are to preach and testify, and I will be with you to help and protect you in times of danger.”
“If you think perhaps you will not get to heaven, that thought is of the devil. I will not destroy my own children; I will protect and save every one; not one of mine will perish. I will overcome. Pray for Mr. and Mrs. Baker and I will give them power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. The children in the home should obey. Do not fight. Do not lie. Live at peace. When you pray, pray from the heart. Do not let your love grow cold.”
“Tell other churches they, too, should seek the Holy Spirit. All churches must press forward.”
“The devil is coming to earth in a few years, and there will be great tribulation. Do not worry; I will protect and care for you.”
“People everywhere will gather together and fight in one place, after which I will come to punish the earth. You must not fear, for those who believe in me will be caught up to blow trumpets and to play harps.”
“I will destroy two of every three. When I come everything must obey my voice (Chinese, “Yang yang du yao ting o dy hwa”). Houses will tumble down; mountains will fall; trees will be destroyed. There will be utter destruction where I will not leave one blade of grass (Chinese, “Ih gen tsao du buh liu”). Those who worship idols will perish. All sorcerers and spiritist mediums shall be cast into hell. Only those who believe the gospel will be saved.”
Thus hath the Lord spoken to Adullam and, we believe, to all to whom we may be able to pass this message of prophecy. This message from our risen Lord was given in Chinese as above recorded, the sentences spoken slowly and distinctly with pauses between. I wrote them as they were given, often repeated a time or two so there could be no mistake on the part of the hearers; there was ample time to record without mistake every word the Lord spoke through this little inspired prophet of His choice.
The message complete, the little boy arose and told us he had been at the feet of Jesus. He did not know that the Lord had spoken through him as well as to him in the first person. He repeated the prophecy, saying, “Jesus said that, Jesus said this,” etc.
This prophecy already heard, already written, and then again repeated from the little prophet’s memory item by item, made it easy to see how in days of old the prophets spoke as moved by God, how a scribe might record every word as it came from the lips of the prophet, or how the prophet himself could record his own messages, truly saying, “thus saith the Lord.”
In days of old, when religious and worldly men had departed from a simple faith in a personal living God who spoke to men and when their unbelief and wickedness was such that “in those days there was no open vision” (I Sam 3), God found a pure-minded little Samuel and spoke to him in an audible voice a message that was fulfilled to the very letter. Accordingly, we believe that God who is still the same living God that has spoken to and through others in the past has, in this day of wickedness and unbelief, given to us through our little Chinese Samuel, a “Thus saith the Lord” that will shortly come to pass, a message to be heeded to our eternal joy or neglected to eternal sorrow.