The Message of These Stirring Times
1935
ARTHUR S. MAXWELL
Author of - Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories, Great Issues of the Age,
Looking Beyond World Problems, Christ’s Glorious Return, After Many Days, etc.
“The hour has come, the hour is striking, and striking at you, the hour and the end!“ Ezekiel 7:5,6. (Moffatt)
SIGNS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Warburton, Victoria, Australia.
WE face today the greatest crisis in the history of mankind. All the past pales before the stupendous issues of this mighty hour.
Like a mammoth liner, torn from its moorings and rudderless, the world tosses helplessly upon a raging ocean of trouble and distress. Giant waves of passion beat against it, while swift currents of terror and despair carry it ever nearer to the gaunt, cruel rocks that loom through the darkness ahead.
Though equipped with every modern invention, every comfort of civilization, every aid to material pleasure, none of these lessens its peril. Strong men mount the bridge and seize the helm in vain. I t no longer obeys them. The ship is out of control. At the mercy of winds and waves it drifts on towards destruction.
Never was mankind in such desperate straits. Though blessed with all the achievements of a veritable golden age it faces staggering problems that baffle its wisest sons.
Possessing more wealth than earlier ages ever conceived, it groans under colossal loads of international debt and sees millions crushed by pitiless poverty. Though producing more food than was ever extracted from earth’s soil before, it witnesses the tragic spectacle of multitudes starving while wheat is burned for lack of purchasers. Though equipped with the finest machinery and able to supply in abundance the needs and comforts of every human being, it beholds countless thousands languishing in enforced idleness, while mines are deserted, factories are silent, mills are closed, and ships lie rotting in every port.
This appalling stagnation of trade, with its consequent unemployment, distress, and starvation, occurring in the midst of the enlightened twentieth century, affords one of the most amazing paradoxes of all time. Wealth and poverty have been known from history’s dawn, but never on the gigantic scale we behold today. Never has the world known such accumulations of gold as now lie in the vaults of the national banks of some of the great powers; and never was there such widespread destitution.
Yet no one seems able to bridge the gulf between them. The bankruptcy of human wisdom becomes daily more evident. Conferences are held, but their conclusion leaves a solution as far off as before. No one is willing to give way or to surrender rights and privileges. Each nation, each group of financiers, seeks first to safeguard its own interests. And so the world, leaderless, plunges on in wretchedness and misery to its doom.
Accentuating the trade paralysis and intensifying the economic blizzard that is blighting and devastating the life of the world is the growing spirit of nationalism. Particularly since the war every nation, great and small, has become possessed of a new pride in itself. Even in new countries, scarce born, a veritable riot of patriotism has broken out. Everywhere there has been a passionate revival of national histories, national languages, national flags, national ambitions. Tariff barriers have been upreared to provide work for nationals by excluding foreign products. New armies and navies have been created; and countries that cannot balance their normal budgets have shouldered a burden of armaments far beyond their capacity to bear.
This exaggerated nationalism is nevertheless only a revival in a more acute form of the very spirit which filled every European government with fear and suspicion prior to 1914 and finally deluged the world with blood. That it should still exist despite all the tragic lessons of these four terrible years is another of the amazing paradoxes of this remarkable age.
The war was fought, so men were told, to end war and to usher in an era of universal peace and brotherhood. Instead there have grown up these new barriers between the nations, behind which all the old-time selfishness and pride are indulged to the full. It bodes ill for the future.
Men of noble desire, realizing the inevitable outcome of such folly, have convened conferences to remove, or at least to minimize, the threatening perils. They have sought to bind the nations more closely together and to bridge the widening gulfs between them. But for the most part their efforts have been fruitless. The bonds and the bridges they have created have been wrought in “scraps of paper” that any major conflagration would inevitably consume.
These efforts to preserve peace amid open preparations for war constitute still another of the paradoxical features of this remarkable time.
In all generations men have longed for peace, and from time to time proposals have been put forward for establishing it upon durable foundations. But never until this mighty hour has all the world with one voice said, “Let us beat our swords into plough shares, and our spears into pruning-hooks, and let us not learn war any more.” The great Disarmament Conference must indeed be classed among the most remarkable peace efforts in the world’s history. Had it succeeded, as men hoped, it might have postponed war indefinitely and saved the world from insolvency. But the high hopes of its promoters were wrecked almost from the commencement on the old rocks of fear, greed, hatred, and suspicion. And instead of hearing the clang of hammers on the anvils of Geneva beating swords into plough shares, we have now perforce to witness the sorry spectacle of yet more guns, tanks, shells, battleships, and bombing planes pouring forth from the armament factories of the nations. To this tragedy there can be only one ending, the thought of which may well unnerve the most stout hearts.
Grave and menacing as these considerations are, they become still more serious when it is realized that the very foundations upon which our elaborate social order has been erected are crumbling. Christianity, the mainstay of modern civilization, is threatened by many new and subtle perils. The safeguards it has thrown around the home and family life are being openly attacked. Licentiousness is a growing evil. In every country the authority of law is being challenged. Rioting, banditry, and all forms of crime are increasing at an alarming rate.
In many lands revolution is a constant menace. The prolonged depression, the prevailing poverty, the increasing unemployment, are developing a determination among the suffering millions that by some means or other they will change the system that has broken their lives and blasted their brightest hopes. This stratum of society is trembling with unrest like the bosom of mother earth before some mighty quake.
Perilous indeed are the times in which we live. Mighty forces have been unleashed and, like untamed beasts, are stampeding through the earth defying the control of men. Gigantic, world-embracing movements are on foot, some for good, many for evil. Events of the first magnitude follow one another with dazzling rapidity.
Everything happens on a huge, unprecedented scale. The pace is terrific. Like a car on an ice-bound hill the world is speeding onwards with ever-increasing momentum. Out of control, it skids from side to side. Faster and faster it slides down the precipitous slope towards the hairpin bend and the yawning chasm beyond. There is frantic steering to avoid the corner, but the car hurtles heedlessly on. Every moment the alarm of the passengers increases.
The bend in the road becomes clearer as they rush helplessly towards it. They see that there is hardly one chance in a thousand of averting disaster. Appalling calamity seems inevitable.
As the jagged edge of the precipice approaches fright cried cries rise from the terror-stricken passengers. Even those least easily moved in times of crisis are stirred to titter earnest words of warning.
Thus from some of the greatest statesmen, philosophers, financiers, and religious leaders of our times are issuing the most solemn admonitions concerning the perils that confront the world today. With one voice they admit that we have reached a turning-point in history. Without hesitation they declare that civilization is in jeopardy and that the immediate future holds the most terrifying possibilities for the whole human race.
“The complicated problems and haunting uncertainties which loom ahead cause stout hearts to quake and fail,” wrote the Moderators of the Churches of Scotland tit a national call to prayer.
“We know,” said the Archbishop of York at the same time, “that the new year may bring us to the verge of great disasters.”
“The problems before our own nation and all other civilized nations are baffling to the wisest,” added the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In a recent Encyclical the Pope declared the present crisis to be “perhaps the most serious and widespread since the Deluge.” “Other scourges than the Flood,” he went on to say, “which have left indelible traces on the histories and memories of mankind, have struck only one event at a time. Now, on the contrary, all humanity is bound in the financial and economic crisis so fast that the more it struggles the harder appears the task of loosening its bonds. There is no state, no society, no family which in one way or another, or to a greater or less extent, does not feel the repercussion.”
Concluding, he exhorted all men “to unite and oppose with all their might the evils which are crushing humanity and the still graver evils which are threatening.”
“We are at a turning-point of fate,” wrote Mr. J. L. Garvin in the Observer of October 9, 1932. “The moral situation is in some ways what it was half a decade before 1914. On present lines the peace of Europe is almost sure to perish in another catastrophe before the end of another half-decade.”
In his widely published address to the bankers of the City of London, Mr. Montagu Norman said:-
“The vast forces of the world, the herd instinct, the desperation of the people who have neither work nor market, have brought about a series of events and a general tendency which appear to me at the present time to be outside the control of any man, of any government, of any country.
“I believe that if every country and every government could get together and act together things would be different. But they do not seem to be able to do so. The difficulties are so vast, the forces are so unlimited, precedents are so lacking, that I approach the whole subject in ignorance and in humility. It is too great for me.”
“We are living,” said Mr. H. G. Wells, in an address at the London School of Economics, reported in the Daily Telegraph, “in a civilization which is very rapidly going to pieces. There may be a dreadful fate in store for many young people here tonight. You may be shot, or maimed, or smashed; you may be scourged or starved before your lives run out.... just as in the time of Noah, when the Flood came, we must build an ark amid the waste of ruin that is around us.”
“The heart of the nations,” wrote James Douglas in the Sunday Express, “is sick with fear. Statesmen with their ears to the ground are terror-stricken and perplexed.”
The Prince of Wales, addressing a great representative gathering of the youth of the British race at the Albert Hall, stated: “We have before us today a world sick with fearful doubt, weary with repeated disappointments, a world of troubled nations whose vital need is courageous faith in each other. It is an era of potential plenty, when confidence should be supreme, yet we see in almost every land widespread distress and perplexity.”
“We stand today, without doubt,” says John Pratt, a former Lord of the Treasury and Under-Secretary for Scotland, “at one of the great turning-points of history, the end of our civilization or the sharing of the gifts of that civilization among all the families of mankind.”
And Professor Cassel adds: “We have no security that our society can survive the financial and economic collapse which threatens the world. Let its beware lest the days of our civilization are numbered.”
Addressing the Foreign Press Association in London, Mr. Lloyd George, in a speech reported in the Times, stated:-
“Ten years ago it was too soon for common sense to prevail. I wonder whether now, ten years later, it is not too late. You have suspicions, you have distrust, you have fear among the nations. Those malarial germs in 1914 produced terrible fever. They are still in the blood of nations, and that is what is causing the general malaise. Then the temperature was high. Now it is sub-normal, for the vitality of nations is low. Then the seizure was a hot fit, it is now a cold, depressing one. The nations are shivering with a chill. But until you find some remedy, until there is enough courage and daring in the leadership of the world to face these problems, you will have no recovery. I am convinced from what I hear from every country that the people are ready everywhere, so long as they get the guidance. They would acclaim any proposal, however daring, if their leaders would put it before them. I do hope they will do so. I hope they will do so soon. There is no time to lose.
“Yesterday I met a gentleman just back from Geneva, where he had been sitting with representatives of labor and, of employers from practically every country in the world, and he said to me that whoever he talked to, whatever country they came from, they were filled with despair.”
"The present crisis," says the noted economist, Sir George Parish, "is universally admitted to be the most serious the world has ever experienced, and the most difficult it has ever had to adjust. After a war of magnitude between leading nations a crisis is inevitable, but after so great a war as that which came to an end in 1918 something like a world breakdown was certain to result in the absence of any comprehensive plan of adjustment."
"No delay in facing the situation should be permitted," he continues. "The governments of all countries need to apply measures of adjustment, however fundamental they may be, at the earliest moment practicable. The danger is developing rapidly." “The Way to Recovery," page 3.
“What these conditions call for with an urgency which cannot be exaggerated is a comprehensive survey of the whole world situation and of the political as well as of the economic steps that need to be taken to preserve the nations from unprecedented disaster. A complete breakdown of world credit and world trade in these days, when each nation is dependent upon all other nations for its means of life, would inevitably, create universal distress upon a scale without precedent in history.”
Concluding his argument in his final chapter entitled, “The Common Danger,” Sir George Parish says: “The existing situation is without precedent. The crisis is no ordinary depression that will right itself as former crises righted themselves. It is a great catastrophe that cannot be overcome without the co-operation of all nations, great and small. The Great War, followed as it has been by economic war, has thrown the life of the world out of balance and has brought the nations to bankruptcy. It now threatens to bring them to chaos and to ruin. The distress in many nations has already led to revolutions. The distress of all nations which, is rapidly growing threatens to bring universal revolution. The difficulties of adjustment are thus not diminishing but increasing. The situation needs therefore to be considered not as a depression but as a disaster which, necessitates and demands the combined efforts of statesmen and peoples of all countries to overcome. It is not the wreck of a single nation that is involved-it is the wreck of a world. Universal bankruptcy accompanied by universal revolution, will place in jeopardy not merely civilization but life itself.” Ib., pages 81, 85, 86. Pages; 159, 160.
Warnings such as these cannot be lightly dismissed. They are full of somber meaning. These authorities realize that mankind is nearing the precipice and that ice covers the road round the bend. From their wide experience they see that there is scarcely a hope left of saving the world from plunging headlong into some fearful, overwhelming catastrophe. What does it mean? What is going to happen? Like Eli of old we ask, What means the noise of this tumult?
We may well ask, for the future of every man, woman, and child upon the globe is involved. Our own safety, happiness, comfort, life itself, is bound up with the answer. It is a subject which deserves our best thought. Indeed it demands immediate and serious attention.
As one seeks to solve the mystery of the present world crisis and understand its meaning, pondering meanwhile the solemn warnings of some of its greatest sons, voices from the dim, distant past call across the centuries, illuminating the present darkness and throwing welcome rays of light into the shrouded future.
Cries one: “T here shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of thy people.” Daniel 12: 1.
And another: “The Eternal arraigns the nations, He indicts all mankind, and puts the wicked to the sword. The Lord of hosts declares: FROM RACE TO RACE CALAMITY EXTENDS, A MIGHTY STORM IS STIRRING FROM THE EARTH’S FAR ENDS.” Jeremiah 25:31,32
And yet another: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars. And upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:25-27.
Amazing words! "A time of trouble such as never was!" Do we not see at least the beginnings of it surrounding us today?
"From race to race calamity extends." What a picture of our ruined and impoverished world with its multitudinous troubles! "A mighty storm is stirring from the earth's far ends." How true it is! Can we not already hear the mutterings of this coming conflict? "Distress of nations, with perplexity." The words are on everybody's lips. Did not the Prince of Wales use them at the Royal Albert Hall, London?
Prophecy has indeed become history, and light shines out of obscurity. Another piece of life's puzzle has found its place. Destiny's map has become yet more complete. The broad highway is now completely marked. We can see where we are going. The last steep, slippery descent stands out as plain as pen can make it. And above the precipice. shine in glittering letters the warning words: "The coming of the Lord draws nigh."
Can it be true? It seems incredible. And yet, facing all the hopelessness, all the wretchedness, all the misery of our modern world, what better solution of its problems and tragedies could there be?
Standing some time ago in the gallery of the great hall in Geneva where the Disarmament Conference was taking place, we looked down upon the great gathering of statesmen who had come from the very ends of the earth to find some way of solving the most difficult of all international problems. As we were engrossed with the wonder of this stupendous scene a man spoke to us. “These men,” he said, pointing down to the assembly, “are ready for anything. They have the noblest ideals. If only some dynamic person could electrify the meeting and galvanize these men into action!”
He was right. That was what the conference lacked. That is what every such conference lacks. They all fail for want of some great, masterful, saving power. That is what the world needs most of all today. Is there any reason to suppose that such an inspired personality will arise? Dare we hope that the present chaos will terminate in a divine visitation? Will this be the stupendous climax of this mighty hour?
“We are living in a civilization which is very rapidly going to pieces. There may be a dreadful late in store for many young people here tonight. You may be shot, or maimed and smashed; you may be scourged or starved before your lives run out just as in the time of Noah, when the Flood came, we must build an ark amid the waste of ruin that is around us.”
FOLLOWING the Great War, to the surprise of everyone, there came a period of unparalleled prosperity. it was expected in many quarters that the reckless squandering of men and money during those four terrible years would inevitably result in impoverishment, scarcity, want, perhaps even famine. But for a time at least, such anticipations were not realized. Instead the world enjoyed a veritable golden age. In many countries the standard of living rose to its peak. Poor people found themselves possessed of undreamed-of wealth. Wages reached unprecedented levels. Millions who had always lived from hand to mouth found themselves with money to spare. They discovered that they could at last enjoy some of the pleasures they had thought were confined to the rich. They invested in pianos, gramophones, and wireless sets. They treated themselves to new furniture and better clothes.
Those with sufficient means embarked on the purchase of a house, or made themselves, for the first time in their lives, the proud possessors of stocks and shares. If sufficient money were not in hand to compass their desires, they borrowed on future wages. The hire-purchase system boomed.
Few dreamed that wages would not continue on the same level. That a decrease would ever come was farthest from men’s minds. Prosperity, they believed, would steadily increase. The standard of living would constantly improve. Mankind was on the highroad to the better land. And so the gay, golden, glorious years passed.
At last the bubble burst. Some men became alarmed at the pace the world was travelling. The conviction grew that the speculative boom could not last. Shareholders became anxious about their savings and decided to sell out before the inevitable crash should come. The movement spread. Panic set in, particularly in the United States. Stocks fell in value by millions of pounds in a night. Tens of thousands were ruined.
It was the beginning of the end. Confidence failed. There was a run on American banks. They could not pay. Over five thousand banks failed in the United States alone. The precious stream, upon which industry depends for its life, dried up. Factories were compelled to close. There was no money either to finance manufacture or to purchase the goods when made. Millions were thrown out of work.
The devastation spread from nation to nation. So inextricably interwoven are the financial affairs of the world that a phenomenal failure in any one country is bound to affect all other countries. But a catastrophe such as that which shook America in 1929 was sufficient to effect international ruin.
The repercussions of that historic financial disaster reached to the ends of the earth. Nations which had .been leaning heavily on America for support found themselves in serious straits. The cracks which had long been noticed in the financial structure of Austria and the Central European states widened. Germany, which had already suffered more real hardship than any other country since the war, found her difficulties further increased. She had to admit that she could not pay even her short-term loans. Britain, which had been depending for her own stability upon the repayment of the huge sums lent to Germany, found herself in a desperate plight, and was compelled to borrow heavily to meet her own obligations. Faith even in the pound sterling began to waver. Foreign nations and individuals withdrew the money they had placed with such confidence in London. The panic spread until the world was staggered with the news that Britain had gone off the gold standard.
The pound sterling sank to 73 per cent of its former value. All foreign countries which still had financial holdings in Britain were further impoverished to this extent. It seemed as though the bottom had fallen out of everything. For if the pound sterling - regarded almost with reverence in many parts of the world-could depreciate, what further disaster might not be possible?
Month by month the situation became more serious, all manner of complications contributing to make it worse. The hoarding of two-thirds of the world’s gold supply in the national banks of France and the United States has been a major factor in paralyzing trade. While the resort in every nation to the expedient of erecting towering tariff barriers has also played no small part in the general stagnation.
But more and more it is being recognized that the primary cause of this vast catastrophe must be traced to the colossal extravagance of the Great War. It is becoming clearer that those who predicted that the consumption of the world’s resources on so vast a scale must bring its own retribution of impoverishment were right after all. No man can squander his personal capital without paying the inevitable penalty. Neither could the world, rich as it was, burn up millions of pounds in prodigal recklessness without suffering the tragic consequences.
This far removed from the armistice no one but that the war ruined both victors and vanquished. By the Treaty of Versailles, now generally admitted to have been one of the supreme blunders of history, an enormous, utterly unbearable burden was laid on the defeated powers. The policy of the victors, however, was their own undoing. They demanded the money, but laid down restrictions which made the earning of it impossible. Like Pharaoh of old they required bricks but refused to supply the straw.
Germany’s only hope of meeting the conditions lay in developing her industries and recapturing her export trade. But barely had she commenced to bend her back to the Herculean task than she found that the very countries that had demanded the fruits of her toil for the next two or three generations had, by a carefully arranged system of tariffs, excluded all her exports!
Germany broke under the strain and, in falling, carried multitudes more to financial ruin. Then the world beheld the amazing spectacle of the victors lending millions to the vanquished to save them from starvation and revolution! All hope of receiving reparations faded. Budgets planned in the expectation of such contributions failed to balance. The grandiose schemes conceived at Versailles collapsed. Even the nobler plan outlined in the Balfour Note failed. -
In that note Britain agreed to forego all debts owed to her except sufficient to pay her own obligations to the United States. But as Germany could no longer meet her indebtedness, the other nations could not make their payments to Britain, and Britain consequently could not safely pay America. America, herself impoverished, could no longer lend to the nations to enable them to their stability and increase their wealth. A vicious circle of desperate proportions was created with resultant world stagnation and ruin. Thus through many devious paths, but with relentless has retribution come. The poisonous seeds sown decades ago have borne their bitter fruit at last. And behind all the national disasters, the bank failures, the stock exchange crashes, the huge problems of high lies a terrible tale of human woe.
While all men, rich and poor, have been involved in impoverishment, the poor, of necessity, have most. The bright hopes kindled by the temporary, artificial boom after the war have long since dissolved. The little savings, so joyfully put away, have been consumed. The piano, purchased with such exquisite pleasure, has had to be sold, or returned to the shop because the installments could not be kept up. And so with the new furniture, the gramophone, and the wireless set. The good things of life, which seemed at long last within reach, have been snatched away almost before they could be enjoyed. They were retained just long enough to give a taste of their delights and to leave an aching dissatisfaction at their withdrawal.
Wages, thought to be so stable, have declined almost as rapidly as they increased. Thousands who vowed they would never take a penny less have been pleased to receive but a fraction of their former remuneration. And vast numbers have come face to face with the terrible realization that they cannot sell their services at any price.
The tragedy of unemployment is perhaps the most terrible result of the universal depression. To seek work day after day, week after week, month after month, and find none is enough to sap the courage of the bravest. To realize that all the training of the past, all the skill one has acquired, all the experience one has gained, are no longer of any value is sufficient to drive the strongest man to despair. Not wanted! The tragedy of it!
Describing the effect upon the Middle classes, the Morning Post draws this poignant picture:-
“Agents’ boards which appear overnight outside the neat houses on the outskirts of London and the great provincial cities, pathetic advertisements for work in the daily papers, servants discharged, boys removed prematurely from school, such are the only signs visible to the outside world of the countless stories of sacrifice and sorrow, of trials bravely borne and of struggles against an unequal destiny, and of the specter of depression which stalks grimly in our midst today, and which shows no class distinction.”
As month after month goes by and no prospect of work appears, the constant discouragement at the blackness of the outlook turns at last to desperation. When a man sees his little home disintegrating, his children underfed, his wife perhaps sick and unable to obtain the help she so sorely needs, his older sons drifting aimlessly with no prospects and no ambition, it is not to be wondered at if the iron of bitterness enters his soul.
Yet this is the tragedy being enacted in innumerable homes today. One estimate gave the number of unemployed at thirty millions. At the peak period nearly three millions were found in the British Isles. Between ten and fifteen millions were in the United States. Germany had seven millions or more. Other countries Added to the total, which is still of stupendous proportions.
Under some governments the plight of the poorer people is ameliorated to some degree by grants from the state exchequer. In Great Britain there is the unemployment insurance scheme which, despite all its limitations, has proved an incalculable boon. In the United States the assistance of the unemployed is left to private charity, the resources of which, marvelous as they have been, are fast drying up under the enormous strain put upon them.
But even more serious than the physical condition of these impoverished multitudes, desperately urgent and appealing though it is, is the spiritual crisis to which many of them have conic. The darkness of utter hope surrounds them. From many even the desire to live has departed. Rather than battle on against such crushing odds they are deciding it is better to end it all.
Rich men, facing heavy losses and bewildered by the complexity of the crisis, have led the way. Many a shot in a lonely room of late has startled the world to a realization of the terrific burdens some men have tried to carry. Every day adds to the number of those who have taken their own lives. And where men cannot afford a pistol they have recourse to poison, or even a gas oven. Others leap from lofty buildings or jump in front of moving vehicles. Distraught with gnawing anxiety and ceaseless worry, they feel that death is better than life and they welcome its cold embrace. It stems to them the only way out.
The appalling wave of suicide tells the sad story of the extent and reality of the world’s agony. Life, even with all its hardships, is very precious. Men cling to it with eagerness and tenacity so long as there is any hope. It is only when hope has gone that they are willing to give it up. Realizing the extremity to which mankind has come, some leaders of thought, with the best intentions, have endeavored to advocate a cheerful optimism. The crisis will quickly pass, they say; prosperity will soon return. But men who understand the times better have denied the possibility of such an eventuality. They say, as Sir George Parish has said, that, “This is no ordinary depression that will right itself as former crises righted themselves. It is a great catastrophe.”
Sir Arthur Salter, K.C.B., in his masterly summary of the world financial situation entitled Recovery, gives this as his impression: “Now, every problem confronts us at once and in its most acute form. And no country or continent is exempt. An economic depression deepened by a financial crisis has spread impoverishment over ‘both hemispheres. Revolutions arrested once are now again threatened. The dispatches of our daily papers announce new strokes of fate in unending succession, like the messengers of Job, each heralding disaster. ‘And while he yet spoke, there came another.’
“The first thing that is overwhelmingly clear,” he continues, “is that this is a world depression in the fullest sense.” And he adds that there is something about this depression “different in kind from what has been known before.”
Then, in his concluding chapter dealing with “The Immediate Task,” he points out the terrible possibilities facing the world: “Not only, then, is the bottom beneath is not rock but elastic, but its elasticity has unhappily lost its upward resiliency. There is also a possible hole through to the abyss. For it may be that before recovery comes there will be revolution and social disintegra1 that comes and spreads we have a world in ruins. With its network of financial obligations in shreds; with the sources of new capital dried up; with the very basis of law and order, without which none but a primitive society is possible, shattered.”
To prevent such a dire calamity being visited upon mankind the most strenuous measures have been adopted. Distinguished bankers have met together to seek a solution. Leading statesmen have gathered in conferences. Even church assemblies have felt it their duty to wrestle with the problem.
But little progress has been made. Meetings hailed in advance as “the hope of the world” have faded away in helpless impotence or have broken up on the old rocks of rivalry and fear. Meanwhile trade diminishes, unemployment increases, and bankrupts multiply; the words of the prophet seem to have come true at last that “no man buys their merchandise any more.” Merchant ships that were once the pride of nations sail the seas no longer, and every estuary is lined with gaunt reminders of a past glory and prosperity. “And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea” bewail the ruin that has befallen them. [Revelation 18:11,17]
And from the heart of poor, suffering humanity rises a cry for help and deliverance. Its hopes have been shattered. Its precious trinkets, so eagerly grasped in the days of prosperity, have dissolved in its hands. The pleasant things that do so much to make life worth living have been taken away. Forces beyond its control have spoiled all its beautiful dreams and trampled ruthlessly upon its fair ambitions.
The situation is full of tremendous possibilities. Will the multitudes who have been crushed so overwhelmingly in the depression remain passive in silent despair? Will they seek to drown their sorrow in riotous debauchery? Will the old restraints break under the terrific strain? Will the primeval instinct of self-preservation stir men’s hearts into a flame of bitter hatred against the world order that has permitted, if not brought about, their ruin?
In all the uncertainty that exists, there is one consoling fact. The cry of the poor and the broken-hearted has at least one attentive ear. “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.” [Isaiah 41:17]
The sorrows of the world are not hidden from God. He who “heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds” [Psalm 147:3] is not unmindful of the widespread misery that engulfs the creatures of His hand today. Indeed, the very extent of the tragedy, the hopelessness of it all, the utter inability of man to find a way out, is the surest guarantee that the hour for divine intervention has arrived.
“Behold,” says the prophet Isaiah, “a King shall reign in righteousness and a Man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” [Isaiah 32:1,2.]
When God would take His people over Jordan He waited until the river overflowed its banks. Then, when thick mud and deep water covered the valley, and the prospects of taking an army through it could not have been worse, He bade the priests of Israel step into the flood. The waters rolled back and the people passed over.
Today we face a flood far worse than Jordan. We have reached the supreme crisis. And in this mighty hour we need the help of God. There is no hope apart from Him. There is no way out but His way.
But He has a way. The path through this, Jordan is known to Him. The world cry for deliverance will not go unheard nor unanswered. His plans are ready; and the time for their execution draws near.
“Every problem confronts us at once and in its most acute form. And no country or continent is exempt. An economic depression deepened by a financial crisis has spread impoverishment over both hemispheres. Revolutions arrested once are now again threatened. The dispatches of our daily papers announce new strokes of late in unending succession, like the messengers of Job, each heralding disaster. ‘And while he yet spoke, there came another.” Sir Arthur Salter, K.C.B
COMPLICATING the economic situation and adding to the misery of mankind is the intense rivalry and competition between the scores of national groups into which the world’s population is divided. Truly the scattering at Babel was well and thoroughly done. And the sins of those pioneer builders have certainly been visited upon their children unto many generations.
Nothing would so help to change the present outlook as a spontaneous movement towards co-operation on the part of every nation. A genuine offer from all to give the utmost possible help in the work of reconstruction would work wonders in a week. Imagine what would happen if on a sudden every nation willingly removed its tariff barriers and destroyed all its armaments beyond police requisites! Suppose there were a general surrendering of “rights” in one great unselfish gesture! What a mighty trade revival there would be!
But it is too good to be true. Such an eventuality is as remote as the Pleiades. Men have dreamed such dreams before. Through the centuries visionaries have talked and written of “the brotherhood of man” and the possibility of a world federation of states. Not long before his death that great statesman and peacemaker M. Briand dared to advocate a “United States of Europe.” But the frigid reception of his plan soon dashed his hopes. Many paid lip service to his “lofty idealism,” but none was willing to make any sacrificial contribution to secure its success.
Never was international co-operation so sorely needed, and never did it seem less likely to happen. Drifting apart seems more in fashion than pulling together. The singing of national songs and the waving of national flags is much more popular than any blending of interests for the common good. Even language areas that for centuries have been more or less contented provinces of larger countries are growing restive and demanding recognition of their “historic rights.”
The Irish Free State breaks away from Britain and revives a practically dead language for the use of its three million inhabitants. Wales agitates for the right to fly its “Red Dragon” beside the Union jack. Scotland develops a national party with hopes of breaking the Union some day.
On the Continent similar tendencies manifest themselves. Before Hitler seized power it was generally expected that the whole German Union was on the point of breaking up into its original sections. As for the new-born states created out of the remnants of the Austrian empire, their artificial composition, embracing large antagonistic groups that never desired amalgamation, makes them a constant source of anxiety.
The process of disintegration and separation has been carried to the utmost limits of folly. The immense tariff barriers raised by every nation amount to a virtual refusal to trade. Forgetting the Pauline maxim that no man can either live or die unto himself, each and all are saying, “We must protect ourselves, we must keep all available work for our own people, we must keep out the foreigner and his goods.” Thus each little group thinks that it can dwell more securely alone under its own vine and fig-tree, failing to remember the ancient proverb: “There is that scattered, and yet increased; and there is that withhold more than is meet, but it tends to poverty.” [Proverbs 11:24].
Meanwhile the world has not lacked men - and women, too-with vision and courage enough to attempt to break the evil spell which seems to have bewitched the nations. All sorts of societies and organizations have been created with the object of bringing about a better understanding between the various peoples. Leagues to promote international peace and good will abound. Advantage has been taken of the idealism of unspoiled youth, the common hopes of women, and the friendliness and faith of little children. No efforts have been spared in the noble endeavor to bind the nations together in the bonds of a new and better friendship, and millions of pounds have been gladly poured out as an oblation to this glorious vision.
But the bonds, alas, are only ropes of sand. The masses listen to the apostles of brotherhood as Israel once listened to Ezekiel. They grant that these idealists have “a pleasant voice” and sing “a very lovely song,” but after they bear their words “they do them not.” [Ezekiel 33:32] The pleading for fellowship and co-operation falls upon deaf ears. The radiant picture of a new world where nations bear each others’ burdens and move on towards a common goal, fades away almost before it is uttered. Hard facts of life, old, bitter memories, cruel human greed, combine to blot it out. Immediate needs, the avenging of wrongs, the attaining of some selfish ambition, seem more important, and to these the foolish, misguided peoples return “as dogs to their vomit”.
Glancing back over the centuries one sees that this desire to blend the nations into one harmonious whole is no new ambition. Many kings and queens have entertained it, only their methods of bringing about the desired fusion have differed rather widely from their modern counterparts.
It is said that even the ex-Kaiser once dreamed dreams of world dominion. And who shall say that Queen Victoria never considered the creation of a great sister hood of nations as she beheld her sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, marrying into all the royal families of Europe until there was scarcely one royal house unrelated to herself, while in the ends of the earth her merchant princes and adventurers founded many a mighty state?
Napoleon certainly made a bold attempt at world sovereignty, as did also Charles the Fifth and Charlemagne. But somehow all such plans failed. Details went wrong. Just when success seemed imminent, a battle was lost or a revolution broke out. Sometimes from the most unexpected quarter opposition sprang up. As the molten metal of a conquered world seemed to be setting into one consolidated mass, cracks appeared. The iron was always mixed with clay.
Bestriding “the narrow world like a colossus,” the Emperor Napoleon, with consummate audacity, placed his relatives and friends on the thrones of Europe. French ascendancy over the whole Continent seemed well nigh complete. But ambition for yet wider dominion led him to Moscow. Success seemed again within his grasp. Then the unexpected happened. Fire and snow fought against him. And in that tragic retreat across the blizzard-swept plains of Russia the flower of his army perished.
In like manner alliances which bound certain European states together in the nineteenth century perished in the holocaust of 1914. Solemn treaties of peace and concord turned as it were to ashes in the flames of war. Wood relationships availed nothing. Ties of friendship and family straightway dissolved. All the intricate system of royal intermarriage, so carefully developed through half a century, collapsed in ruins. The kings themselves lost their thrones. Emperors fled, or were massacred. Scores of minor potentates surrendered their coronets. Abdication became for a time almost a daily occurrence. Europe resounded to the fall of the mighty. There was a cataract of crowns.
When it was all over, and the noise of battle had died away, the world was seen to be more divided than ever. Through severely chastened, its old hatreds and suspicions remained. National groups, long crushed by stronger powers, demanded their freedom and independence. New boundaries had to be drawn, and when peace at last was signed there were more divisions and longer frontiers than there had been for generations. The fires even of such an inferno had brought no fusion.
To find a time when one great power achieved universal rule one must needs trace history back to the days of the Caesars. True, before Rome ruled, other empires had enjoyed dominion over the then-known world. In direct succession Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Grecia had held, for their allotted span, undisputed sway. In those early times one supreme ruler was the order of the day. There was no change of government unless the whole dynasty was swept away by some invading host.
It was the decline and fall of the Roman empire which completely altered the course of history. Upon the ruins of that once all-powerful and all-prevailing empire, whose iron rule had brought civilized Europe and parts of Asia and Africa under its dominion, there arose ten separate kingdoms. Its vast territories were divided. Seizing the opportunity created by Rome’s decay, the so-called “barbarian” tribes, that had for years been gathering along her distant frontiers, gazing covetously at the fair fields and cities of her wide domain, poured in like an overwhelming flood. Each group seized the section it desired and set up its own primitive form of government. A new era began with the overthrow of Romulus Augustus in AD 476. Western Rome was then broken up into the ten kingdoms predicted in the prophecy of Daniel. Though unperceived at the time, the history of modern Europe had commenced.
Ever since then the divisions have remained. Every attempt to cement them together again has failed. Always something has stood in the way. Language difficulties; old grievances, unrighted wrongs, unalleviated hardships, divergencies of outlook, religious animosities, differing standards and valuation of life-all have contributed to keep the peoples apart. Though the strongest and wisest men have set themselves to overcome the obstacles, they have invariably suffered defeat. Always, against every device of man to the contrary, world forces have proved the truth of the divine forecast, “They shall not cleave together.”
The ancient prediction in which these Words occur is of particular interest in this connection. Incredible as it may seem to some, the very situation described above was outlined in prophecy twenty-five centuries ago. While Rome was an unknown village, before MedoPersia or Greece had tasted world dominion, the pen of inspiration had already drawn the picture of modern Europe that we see today.
The channel used by God for this amazing revelation was a young Jewish nobleman, named Daniel, a captive in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. His sterling character and exceptional wisdom had so impressed the monarch that he had invited him to join the official staff of counselors to the court.
One night Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream that greatly troubled him. In the morning he found that the dream had gone from his mind, though its vivid impression remained. Convinced that he had been given a revelation of unusual importance, he sent for his wise men and demanded that they tell him forthwith both the dream and its interpretation.
Such a task was beyond them, and they were forced to admit it. Whereupon the king, with the impetuosity characteristic of eastern potentates, commanded that they all be slain. Daniel, of course, was involved, but with great courage he sought audience of Nebuchadnezzar and took upon himself the responsibility of meeting the king’s requirements and so saving the lives of his associates.
The interview over, and time being granted him, he sought his immediate friends and set the position before them. Together they knelt in prayer. Doubtless the imminent peril made their prayers more earnest than they had ever been before. Certainly God heard them.
That night Daniel saw in vision the very dream that had appeared the previous night to the king, and in addition the meaning of it all was made plain to him. Early in the morning he arose, his heart full of thanksgiving. His beautiful prayer on this occasion is one of the choicest passages of Scripture:-
“Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: and He changes the times and the seasons: He removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I thank Thee, and praise Thee, 0 Thou God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known unto me now what we desired of Thee: for Thou has now made known unto us the king’s matter.” [Daniel 2: 20-23.]
Exultingly, yet with most commendable humility, he returned to the palace. The king was expecting him, skeptical no doubt as to the result of the interview, and perhaps regretting that his decree made it necessary that this fine young man should be put to death.
“The secret which the king bath demanded,” began Daniel, “cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be lit the latter days.”
The conviction in the young man’s voice, born of certain knowledge, stirred the king to the depths. One can almost see him leaning forward with eagerness to catch the next sentences.
“As for thee, 0 king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and He that reveals secrets makes known to thee what shall come to pass.” Then followed the recounting of the dream.
“Thou, 0 king, saw, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” [Daniel 31-35]
It was the very dream the king had seen and forgotten! . Every detail was perfectly drawn. Nothing was missing. His very inmost thoughts had been read by another. This was miraculous. Breathlessly he waited for the promised interpretation.
“This is the dream,” went on the youthful prophet, and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.”
"Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And where so ever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into your hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold."
A smile of satisfaction passed over the king's countenance, turning almost immediately, however, into a frown of puzzled anxiety as the young man continued:
"And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
"And whereas thou saw the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, THE KINGDOM SHALL BE DIVIDED but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou saw the iron mixed with miry clay”.
“And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
“And whereas thou saw iron mixed with miry clay, THEY SHALL MINGLE THEMSELVES WITH THE SEED OF MEN: BUT THEY SHALL NOT CLEAVE ONE TO ANOTHER, EVEN AS IRON IS NOT MIXED WITH CLAY.”
Like a flash the veil of the future dropped and both prophet and king found themselves gazing enraptured across the vast, enthralling landscape of history-to-be. In the foreground rose the golden domes of Babylon; not far distant the silvered heights of the coming Medo-Persian kingdom lifted themselves towards the skies. Farther on rose the brazen pinnacles of Greece, and beyond, the dark outline of the peaks of the Roman kingdom were clearly visible. Beyond these still, their eyes witnessed a time of confusion and chaos, division and dissension, with Rome partitioned, and each separate nation fighting desperately for its own existence. They beheld mighty plans on foot to fuse the broken iron into one great whole again, and the constant failures through the presence of the ineradicable clay. They looked upon events even of our own time and saw the main outlines of modern European politics.
And then? Suddenly through the blue mist on the far horizon a majestic, stupendous scene arrested their attention.
“And in the days of these kings,” said the prophet, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
“Forasmuch as thou saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” [Daniel 2:44,45]
Like a mighty beacon this amazing prophecy shines down the centuries, illuminating the great events of time. Glittering on the gold of Babylon, shimmering on the silver of Medo-Persia, glinting on the brass of Grecia, shining on the iron of Rome, lighting up the struggles and conflicts of the modern world, it glows at last upon the face of the King of kings as He comes back to the earth in His glory.
The very existence of this prophecy gives added significance to the events discussed in this chapter. The fact that so much of the vision has come true already is powerful, convincing evidence that the unfulfilled balance will yet take place. Indeed, there is nothing left now but the final consummation and the setting up of God’s eternal kingdom. Can it be that even the national dissensions and rivalries of our time are but the shadows cast before by this coming event? Are they indeed but further indications that we are approaching the supreme crisis of this mighty hour?
“Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: and He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things: He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” Daniel 2:20-22.
LEST national and racial antagonisms should lead mankind -back into the horrors of another world war many movements have been set on foot to preserve peace.
The curse of war has hung over the human race since the dawn of history. The full measure of misery it has brought to men, women, and little children, is too terrible to contemplate. Its horrible trail of blood and tears and terror runs through all the centuries of the past and stains the record of every nation that has lived.
To drive war from the earth has been one of the ambitions of men. The wisest and best have oft-times grappled with the monster and laid him low for a season. But always he has risen again and dashed their fair hopes of a warless world.
By conferences and peace treaties, by balancing of the powers, by building up mighty protective armaments, the nations have tried again and again to preserve themselves from this scourge, but always in vain. Of recent years, however, and particularly since the close of the Great War, new efforts have been made on a wider and grander scale than ever before.
When the war ended it was widely believed that mankind had settled its quarrels for all time. Newspapers appeared with Tennyson’s words as a glowing headline: “Ring out the thousand wars of old; ring in the thousand years of peace.” Far-seeing statesmen, however, remembering the shortness of man’s memory, began at once to fashion machinery which should make the outbreak of another war as difficult as possible, and sought to place a definite world peace organization upon a permanent footing.
Out of these plans and desires was born, in 1919, the League of Nations, whose activities in many spheres have been an incalculable boon to the whole world. Grandly conceived and ably administered, this body, in addition to its most laudable efforts on behalf of oppressed minorities, refugees, slaves, and victims of the opium traffic, has built up an international attitude towards war never known before. And weak and insufficient as this bulwark may be it has at least on more than one occasion proved a shock-absorber of no small value.
The Covenant of the League of Nations, now signed by nearly sixty states, is a great international gesture for peace. It ranks among the most remarkable documents in the archives of history. Its opening paragraphs make clear its supreme objective as an antidote for war:-
“The High Contracting Parties, in order to promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security by the acceptance of obligations not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, just, and honorable relations between nations, by the firm establishment of the understandings of international law as the actual rule of conduct among Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples with one another, agree to this Covenant of the League of Nations.”
Article l0 reads as follows:-
“The Members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.”
Article 12 sets forth the principle of arbitration:-
“The Members of the League agree that if there should arise between them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture they will submit the matter either to arbitration or judicial settlement or to inquiry by the Council, and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months after the award by the arbitrators or the judicial decision or the report by the Council.”
With nearly sixty nations in agreement with such agreements as these, and having solemnly affixed their official seals and signatures thereto, any further measures to ensure the safety of the world would seem superfluous.
However, it was felt from the outset that unless the huge armaments of the nations could be drastically reduced there was little hope that even this document be more than another scrap of paper. Indeed, in the Covenant itself appears this clause:-
The Members of the League recognize that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by common action of international obligations. The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and circumstances of each State, shall formulate plans for such reduction for the consideration and action of the several Governments.”
In an endeavor to carry out this part of the League’s program, a Disarmament Commission was appointed in 1920 with a view to exploring the possibilities of bringing about a world-wide reduction of armaments. It sat for four years and gathered an enormous mass of information, but was unable to translate it into terms of action.
Meanwhile a series of notable efforts to buttress the structure of peace were set on foot. In 1921 the United States invited the great naval powers to send representatives to a conference to consider the limitation of naval armaments. This was in some measure successful and resulted in the Washington Naval Convention.
In 1923 a Draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance was proposed with the idea of strengthening the provisions of the Covenant, but after prolonged discussion it was dropped.
The following year France sponsored the famous Geneva Protocol, the basis of which was a closer definition of the assistance to be given to a state in the event of its being attacked. It really grew out of France’s demand for guarantees of security. Fourteen states signed the Protocol, but as Great Britain declined to do so, the project was abandoned.
Suspicions as to the real value of the Covenant were naturally aroused and the European situation was only saved from disaster by the historic meeting at Locarno, where treaties were signed guaranteeing the status quo of France, Belgium, and Germany; Great Britain taking the chief burden as guarantor.
In the same year, 1925, and indeed as a vital part of the proceedings, the Preparatory Commission for a World Disarmament Conference was constituted. This body was to gather statistics and draw up rules of procedure for the great gathering of 1932.
The next effort to increase security was the Act for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, drawn up in 1928 and signed by nineteen nations.
In 1928 also the Paris Pact, sometimes known as the Kellogg Pact, for the renunciation of war as a means of settling disputes between nations, received the enthusiastic support of the entire civilized world. Sixty-one nations appended their signatures.
The wording of this famous pact is of special interest. It is probably one of the shortest treaties ever made. “ARTICLE I. The High Contracting Parties solemnly declare, in the names of their respective peoples, that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce 0 as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another.
“ARTICLE II. The High Contracting Parties agree that the settlement or solution of all disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them, shall never be sought except by pacific means.”
Despite the sweeping commitments of this important document, it was felt that yet further steps should be taken. In 1930 the Convention for Financial Assistance was drawn up and signed by thirty states, and another Naval Conference convened in London. Meanwhile an agitation was proceeding for the recognition by all nations of the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International justice at the Hague, and by the end of 1931 forty-six states had signified their intention to do so.
Thus year by year the vigilant guardians of peace have done their utmost to preserve it. They have been under no misconception as to the nature of the foundation upon which the beautiful temple was erected amid such rejoicing in 1919. With grave anxiety they have watched the subsoil giving way on several occasions. But at every subsidence they have rushed tip with new props to keep the building intact.
The crowning effort of the peace-makers was undoubtedly the World Disarmament Conference of 1932. It was to be the climax of all their labors since the armistice, the keystone of the arch of peace. Every previous pact and convention had been arranged on the assumption that such a conference would be held and that its labors would come to successful fruition. How much the fate of mankind depended upon the realization of these hopes the future will fully prove.
“February 2, 1932,” wrote M. Paul Boncour, referring to the date of the opening of the Disarmament Conference. “Mark the date well. Europe plays well with her destiny.”
He was right; only he should have said “the world” rather than Europe only. For the whole world was represented at this memorable meeting and all mankind must ultimately be affected by its results.
Every civilized state of any size or consequence sent its official delegates. More than sixty nations, in the persons of their duly appointed representatives, gathered at Geneva. Weary of war, fearful of the future, burdened beyond bearing with war-begotten debts, they seemed ready to say at last, “Let us beat our swords into plough shares, and our spears into pruning-hooks, and let us not go to war any more.”
Never before had such a conference been held. It was unique in the history of mankind. Men had talked for centuries of such a gathering. Idealists had pictured it as a glorious and beautiful possibility-a dream to be sought and prayed for, but something almost beyond the range of possibility.
But now, in this mighty hour, the dream of generations of earth’s noblest sons has become a reality. For the first time in the history of the human race leading men from every part of the habitable globe have gathered to discuss a definite program for the limitation and ultimate abolition of armaments.
“Assembled here are the chosen spokesmen of seventeen hundred million people,” said the chairman, Mr. Arthur Henderson, in his opening address. “There is no human being, whether his home is in one of the great centers of industry and population, in the deserts of Africa, in the jungles of the East, or amid the ice of the Arctic regions, who has not someone here to speak in his name.”
As we gazed upon this mighty gathering and saw the rows upon rows of delegates, the massed phalanxes of official observers, the serried ranks of newspaper reporters, the batteries of press photographers, it seemed that the hope of all mankind was centered there. Then all of a sudden, the voice of an ancient prophet rang upon our ears:-
“It shall come to Pass in /he last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. And they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they, learn war any more.” [Isaiah 2:2-4]
Here, as the prophet said, were gathered all nations. They had come from the ends of the earth for the one express purpose of saying to each other, “Come, let us disarm, let us not learn war any more.” Amazing circumstance! History meeting prophecy at Geneva-and in our own time.
The extreme importance of the conference was emphasized over and over again by the leading delegates. They affirmed with great conviction that this meeting would prove a landmark in human affairs and that, according to the results achieved, the world would either march on to a new era of happiness and prosperity or bc whirled into the vortex of an overwhelming catastrophe.
“If we fail,” said Mr. Henderson, “no one can foretell the evil consequences that might ensue. But of this we may be certain: the world would again be in danger d falling back into the vain and perilous competition and rapidly expanding armaments. This is the inexorable alternative to Success.”
“Many of these conferences have failed before this,” said Sir John Sin-ion, “and the consequences of their failure are written in letters of blood in the history of the world. But failure now means nothing short of an unmeasured and immeasurable calamity. We have to proceed in our task through many weeks and months conscious of the doom which is in store for mankind if some practical results are not achieved.”
Writing concerning the conference, Signor Mussolini expressed his opinion thus: “Not only the existence of the League of Nations, but the fate of mankind is at stake. I would draw the attention of public opinion to the enormous stakes. Western civilization must look to itself or lapse into chaos.”
Realizing the issues involved and the awful consequences of failure, and believing that their supreme opportunity had arrived, the peace organizations of the world collaborated in a request to be permitted to make a statement to the conference. Their wish was granted.
Was there ever such a mighty plea as that? There, before the assembled representatives of the nations, appeared the women of the world to appeal for themselves and their children. Thither also went young students to speak on behalf of the rising generation of boys and girls. The churches also were represented and various organizations of labor, all to implore the conference not to cease its work until it should have established peace on a sure foundation.
The seven or eight persons who addressed that meeting did so as the official representatives of organizations totaling over three hundred million members. It was, indeed, a world cry for peace; anxious, determined, passionate; a cry from the masses who have suffered so much from war in the past and have vowed to have nothing to do with it again.
Miss Mary A. Dingman, president of the Disarmament Committee of the Women’s International Organizations, spoke on behalf of a membership of forty-five millions scattered in fifty-six countries. Presenting a petition of eight million signatures, she said:-
“Behind each of these signatures stands a living personality, a human being oppressed by a great fear, the fear of the destruction of our civilization. We are all living under the shadow of a great cloud of depression and anxiety. The will of the people is for peace. Yet there are sinister influences working against us-fear and greed. We are weary of the unending sacrifices expected of us for the purpose of destruction.
“It is not for ourselves alone that we plead, but for the generation to come. To us women, as mothers, the thought of what another great war would mean for our children is the strongest incentive impelling us to spend ourselves in the endeavor to make their lives secure from such a disastrous fate. The people are waiting; they are determined that a way of solution must be found. They are knocking al the doors and their call must be answered.”
After the women a stirring plea for peace was made by the churches and various Christian international organizations.
Then two university students were given the privileged setting forth the views of the young men and women m the colleges of the world. We shall never forget the address of one of those boys. With the frankness of youth he asked:-
Were those ten million young men, who loved life as whole hearted as ourselves, the victims of an illusion when they fell to the earth only a few years ago? Must the insanity known as war be repeated within our generation at the cost of our lives? Most important, what is to be our answer to the Governments in case of mobilization for war?” In a brilliant passage he poured scorn on the so-called glory” of war.
“Fourteen years after the armistice the glamour and heroism of that period fail to impress us. The swords have lost their brilliance; the helmets and shining buttons are tarnished. In fact, the whole glorious temple of Mars has crumbled into ashes.”
Concluding, he made this earnest appeal to the conference to save the rising generation from the fate that threatens them:-
“We are literally fighting for our lives. I stand before you as an attorney for the defense, begging for a reprieve. It is my generation which will be called upon to surrender all we consider worth while in life in order to become targets for machine-gun bullets and victims of the latest poison gases. It is the young men and women of my age who will be commanded to commit suicide. It is my generation which will be requested to destroy the best of human culture, perhaps civilization itself, for causes which future historians will discover to be erroneous, if not utterly stupid or actually vicious. We have lost interest in being prepared for cannon fodder. In a sense I am presenting an ultimatum rather than a petition. The students whom I represent are watching critically every action of this conference, for behind your deliberations stands staring down at us the specter of death.”
Following this amazing appeal of youth, a white haired elderly gentleman spoke with great solemnity on behalf of the International League for the Rights of Man. He called the delegates to remember that the ten million dead of the Great War demanded action. He spoke, too, of the dead of the next war. “If there is no generosity in your discussions,” he said, “the evil will become incurable. If the Disarmament Conference is merely a clash of national egotism then the time is soon at hand when no mother will be able to bear a child, whether male or female, without wondering what sort of death it will die-whether it will be crushed under the ruins of its home or poisoned by gas dropped from the sky.”
Lastly an appeal was made by the Workers’ Organizations. And here was sounded not only a note of protest, but an ominous, veiled threat of revolution, should war bc thrust upon the world again. In a speech that was loudly applauded, M. Vandervelde, representing the Socialist International, stated:-
"The patience of the peoples is strained to the utmost. We have not come here to utter prayers, to express hopes-we have come to state demands. We ask for the abolition of the distinction between victors and vanquished; the maintenance, but also the generalization, of the disarmament already imposed by treaty; and finally, international control. We demand it on behalf of the peoples who are tired of paying collectively the fabulous sum of one hundred milliards of gold francs per annum for the international war budget. We demand it on behalf of the socialist workers of all countries who refuse to march once again towards the abyss like blind led by the blind. If it were to start again they are firmly decided, if not actually to throw away their arms, at least not to use them against one another. We leave it to you, as statesmen, to draw the necessary conclusion."
Thus from all phases of life the cry for peace was raised. No one could listen to those desperately earnest appeals without being deeply moved. It seemed to us as though mankind, realizing at last its impending doom, was making one final, frantic, despairing effort to escape it.
“Deliver us!” was the prayer of the world to Geneva. “Save us from the terror that threatens to engulf us.” Oh, the pathos of that cry! Who dare despise it or ignore it?
And yet the task which that great conference set itself with such high hopes and noble endeavor was really beyond its capacity. The national delegates from the ends of the earth went there with it in their hearts to say, “Let us beat our swords into plough shares,” but it was not within their power to make their dreams come true. The obstacles in the way to any substantial measure of success were overwhelming. It was a task not for men but for Titans.
By some strange fate the great conference opened to the sound of the booming of guns in the Far East. Indeed, the Sino-Japanese conflict cast a gloom over the proceedings for many weeks. Delegates felt it incumbent upon them to apologize for discussing disarmament under such unpropitious circumstances.
Conflicting proposals as to the methods to be adopted in attaining the desired goal soon became evident. Those of France and Russia were utterly irreconcilable. In a word, France’s position was that she had disarmed to the limit already, but that she would be willing to go farther on one condition-that the League of Nations should be put in possession of armed forces adequate for the safeguarding of all its members. M. Litvinof, replying on behalf of Russia, affirmed most definitely that while his country would be willing to co-operate in general disarmament, if the League of Nations should be armed Russia would arm against it.
The German position presented a special difficulty. Her representative reminded the conference that though Germany had disarmed in harmony with the Treaties of Peace, it was on the distinct understanding that the victors’ pledge to follow suit would be carried out. If this were not done soon, he asserted, Germany would feel free to arm again.
Technical problems also arose which led the conference into many an impasse. The attempt to define the difference between offensive and defensive armaments occupied many weeks in vain endeavor. Indeed even Solomon himself might well have found the drawing of such a line of demarcation beyond his wisdom.
But worse difficulties than these blocked the path to disarmament. Lack of mutual confidence, lack of good faith, suspicions, fears, dark and evil rumors-these were the real obstacles.
This lack of faith, who can cure it? These awful fears, who can remove them? These rumors, who can slay them?
Europe is full of fears. France is still secretly afraid of Germany on the one hand and of Italy on the other. Poland is fearful both of Germany and Russia and is arming to the teeth. Russia is obsessed with the idea that she is going to be attacked both from the west and the east, and is making preparations accordingly.
And the rumors! Europe is full of them. The smallest happening is magnified by a nervous press into an event of international importance. Not long ago someone suggested that Holland was supplying Germany with great quantities of big guns. Immediately the French papers were full of it. The rumor spread over the whole Continent despite all denials. At last, to demonstrate their good faith and set all fears at rest, the Dutch Government actually took the extraordinary course of inviting the French minister in Holland to visit the armament factory that was under suspicion and make all the investigations he desired. He did so, and the guns proved to be some rusty old German war material which had been dumped on to Dutch territory just after the war, and had been lying out in the open until recently when the factory took it inside to melt it down. Yet all Europe was stirred! How could any disarmament conference succeed in such an atmosphere?
The tragedy of it all is almost too terrible to contemplate. We have seen, as one of the most amazing developments of this mighty hour, all nations gathering together to make the dream of the ages-a warless world -come true. And yet at the same time we have witnessed almost insuperable obstacles being raised up to render success impossible. This is the work of demons, not of men.
The writer of the Apocalypse puts his finger on the real cause of this paradoxical situation. In one of his references to the last great crisis of the world’s history, the time just preceding the return of our Lord, he draws back the veil and reveals an amazing activity of satanic forces. Just when Isaiah’s prophecy of a world peace movement should be meeting its long-awaited fulfillment, John sees “the spirits of devils” going forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, “to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” [Revelation 16:14]
This explains the failure of even the best efforts for peace. It helps us to understand why the great world cry for peace and disarmament has not yet been satisfactorily answered. There are devils at work, and against such evil forces only God Himself can prevail. Men are helpless in this struggle without Him. Their best efforts must fail without His aid. If ever there is to be permanent peace on this earth it will only come through the personal intervention of the Prince of Peace. He is the Leader the world needs, for to Him alone it is given to “make wars to cease unto the ends of the earth.” [Psalm 46:9]
Thank God, He is coming. Significantly enough, immediately following Isaiah’s description of the great world peace movement occurs this dramatic description of Christ’s glorious appearing:
“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.... And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake terribly the earth.” [Isaiah 2:10-19]
Judging by the proximity of these inspired passages it would appear that this divine intervention is due to happen in our time. The very strivings after peace in this day of world agony thus become additional evidence that we have reached Time’s greatest hour. Even from their failure we may take courage, because they herald that the kingdom of God is at hand. The stone “cut out without hands” must soon strike the image and destroy all that is unworthy, unholy, and unjust among the nations of men. Every cause of strife will then be removed. Like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor they will be carried away and “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” [Daniel 7:27] Then there will be peace indeed.
“Peace,” cry the lying prophets, “peace from the sowing of hate.” Gather you figs from thistles though you rise up early and late? Will you garner truth from falsehood, fresh fruit from a rotten tree? Will sweet come forth from bitter, fresh streams from the salted sea?
You have mocked and spurned My beloved, and built your house on the sands,
And the waves have beat upon it (behold how much of it stands).
You have made a tomb of My garden, and sown My wheat with tares, And now you look for a harvest that only My good seed bears.
You may seal and sign your parchments, your legions may disperse, You may strip the strong of his armor and place him under a curse; But except you become as children, and love as the children love, You find not the peace of nations, nor enter My peace above.
Major Guy Kindersley, O.B.E.
DESPITE all efforts for the preservation of peace there is a growing fear that war will come again. Strange and terrible as it is, the fact remains that few have much faith in the activities of the peace-makers. Even the League of Nations itself is an object of derision in many quarters. Skepticism as to the value of international conferences and peace pacts is all too common. War, it is said, is inevitable, and though these peace endeavors may postpone, they cannot prevent it. It is only a matter of time before the world will be bathed in blood again.
The glib way in which war is discussed today is almost unnerving. All its terrors and frightfulness, all its misery and wretchedness, seem to have been almost forgotten. And yet the main bulwark against the recurrence of war is really a remembrance of its horrors; for peace treaties are admittedly ineffective. As the last war recedes from memory, the next appears to be approaching.
One of the disturbing facts of the present situation is that to millions of young people the Great War of 1914-1918 is but a tale of history. Boys and girls born during that catastrophe are men and women now. They may have heard how their fathers, uncles, and older brothers were killed at the front, but they cannot visualize the agony and tragedy of their passing. All they know of those troublous days is what their mothers have told them, or what they have seen in the glamour and comfort of a cinema, or have read in some highly colored novel. They have not tramped through leagues of mud, or stood in water-logged trenches, or crouched in frozen shell holes. They have not suffered the pangs of awful wounds or gas-choked lungs. They have not seen thousands of their fellow-men mown down by machine-gun fire or blown to fragments by high-explosive shells. They have not seen whole cities on fire and multitudes of fear-stricken civilians fleeing for their lives.
No. They do not know. To this rising generation war appears divested of its frightfulness and decked anew in its deceiving, glamorous garments. To those who do not know its unholy past it seems all bands and fine uniforms, smart equipment and good pay. Indeed it has even been set forth as a cure f or unemployment and a way out of the financial crisis.
But war is hellish. During the four years of the Great War ten million men were killed. A parade of these dead men, marching five abreast from sunrise to sunset, with a new rank passing every two seconds, would take ninety-two days to pass a given spot. They would fill the Royal Albert Hall, seating 10,000, one thousand times. To this number must be added thirteen million wounded and missing. There were also ten million refugees and six million children who lost their fathers. The daily loss of human life throughout the war was 16,585. The total cost has been estimated at £60,000,000,000, or £3,600 for every hour since the birth of Christ. The war itself cost nearly £2,000,000 an hour to wage, and brought every nation that participated in it to the verge of ruin.
After such a colossal demonstration of the folly of war, after all the suffering and hardship, after all the calamitous economic consequences, one would imagine that the world would decide to be finished for all time with this barbarous method of settling its disputes. But, Alas, the lesson has not been learned. The nations have been ready enough to pay lip-service to peace, but they have not been prepared to translate their words into actions.
Hardly was the ink dry on the Versailles Treaty than the causes of new conflicts began to take shape. Indeed, ever since that memorable day in 1919 the world has never been free from the fear that the peace would be broken. Times without number Europe has been on the brink of war and has been preserved only by its exhaustion. Six years after the armistice Mr. Churchill wrote:-
“Let it not be thought for a moment that the danger of another explosion in Europe is passed. The causes of war have been in no way removed; indeed they are in some respects aggravated by the so-called Peace Treaty and the reactions following thereupon.”
“Two mighty branches of the European family will never rest content with their existing situation. Russia, stripped of her Baltic provinces will, as the years pass by, brood incessantly upon the wars of Peter the Great. From one end of Germany to the other an intense hatred of France unites the whole population. The soul of Germany smolders with dreams of a war of liberation or revenge. These ideas are restrained only by physical impotence.”
Years have passed since these words were written, and the international situation has by no means improved. Time has brought no healing to Europe’s open sores. Fears still abound. There is no real disarmament, despite all that has been said about it. Certainly there is no “disarmament of the spirit.” The old hatreds are still alive. Any hatchets that have been buried lie very close to the surface.
The boundary question is as fruitful a source of dissatisfaction as it ever was. If the treaty-makers of Versailles believed that their attempt at revising the map of Europe would gradually be accepted by the peoples concerned with serene resignation, they have certainly been disillusioned. The Polish Corridor, that strip of land cut, as it were, from the heart of Germany and handed over to Poland in order to give her access to the sea, was perhaps their crowning folly. No self respecting nation could permanently accept such a partition of itself. Imagine a section of England from Newcastle to Carlisle being owned and controlled by France, crowded with French soldiers, and with all the paraphernalia of passports and customs to hinder British citizens passing north or south of this barrier. Britain could not, would not, endure it unless she were powerless and enfeebled by defeat. It is the same with Germany. The Polish Corridor will only be tolerated until Germany has recovered sufficiently to warrant her attempting to regain it.
Nothing so stirs the heart of a German as the thought of bringing this to pass. The spectacular triumph of Hitlerism was undoubtedly due in no small degree to its insistence on the restoration of Germany’s lost territories.
And Poland is well aware of the situation. Of all the countries of Europe today she is perhaps exhibiting the worst symptoms of war fever. Observers tell of intense military activity. The correspondent of a Lon don newspaper, writing on May 17, 19,32, stated that the Polish Corridor was literally “stuffed” with soldiers.
Hungary was another of the countries partitioned at Versailles. With the undisguised intention of smashing for all time the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the treaty makers dismembered it. Its territory was divided and given to others. Out of the ruins rose Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Austria and Hungary became but fragments of their former selves. But the people have not forgotten. All through Hungary burns a fierce fire of resentment. Across the artificial boundaries the people see their friends and relatives forcibly made citizens of a “foreign” country. Associations of generations have been broken. Through peaceful villages and farms runs the line of the new frontier. Where unrestricted trading was enjoyed for centuries now tariff barriers loom up. All Hungary says, “This shall not last.”
Sir Philip Gibbs toured the country some time ago. He tells the story in his absorbing book, “Since Then.” This is what one Hungarian farmer said to him:
“There is not lasting peace in Europe. The Balkan countries are restless. There will be war again. And when things like that begin, Hungary will be there. The old women from the farms will march with our men and sharpen their scissors to cut the throats of our enemies who have stolen our land and our property and our kinsmen.”
“In every tramcar,” says Sir Philip, “on the walls of every school, in restaurants, and churches, and dance halls, over the fireplace of every Hungarian home, there is a map of the new Hungary, with the lost territories in black, surrounded by a crown of thorns. Underneath is the question: “Can it remain like this?”
“And beneath that question is an answer: “No. No. Never!”
Under such conditions disarmament is impossible. Europe cannot disarm. Hatred and fear prevent it. True, if the nations would disarm they would be able to pay their debts in half the time they have been discussing them and indeed might even enjoy an immediate return of prosperity. But they will not do it. The price is considered too great, the dangers too forbidding.
According to the latest figures scientifically collected by the League Secretariat at Geneva the total expenditure of the nations on armaments is still at least nine hundred million pounds a year, or nearly two and a half million pounds a day. No wonder the world is poor!
Lord Snowden is responsible for the statement that Great Britain is spending £1,000 a minute to provide for purposes. Of this, £800 pays for past wars in the form of pensions and interest on war debts, and the balance of £200 a minute, or one hundred million pounds a year, is required for the army, navy, and air force.
Considering her far-flung dominions, however, and the police force consequently required, Britain is a model of moderation compared with other great powers. During the six years, 1924-1930, while some countries increased their armaments by over l00 per cent, Britain reduced hers by 10 per cent. Here are the figures:
WORLD ARMAMENTS 1924.1930
Great Britain -10 per cent.
France +64
Italy +36
Japan -1.6
Russia +184
United States of America +28
The status of the armaments of seven great Powers is revealed in the following statistics published by the League of Nations just prior to the opening of the World Disarmament Conference.
COUNTRY | ARMY | NAVY | AIR | COST |
British Empire | 144,522 | 1,250,247 | 1,434 | 108.3 |
United States | 139,957 | 1,251,840 | 1,752 | 149.1 |
France | 651,320 | 628,603 | 2,375 | 110.4 |
Germany | 100,500 | 125,780 | 34.2 | 182 |
Japan | 259,304 | 850,328 | 1,639 | 53 |
Italy | 491,398 | 403,905 | 1,507 | 66.8 |
Russia | 562,000 | 166,204 | 1,500 | 115.8 |
These figures are more eloquent than all the speeches on disarmament. They reveal what the nations are doing while they are saying, “Let us beat our swords into plough shares.”
“The contradiction between Peace and armaments is the staggering paradox of the time,” says Mr. J. L. Garvin, the famous editor of the Observer. “When we look out upon the state of the world we perceive that in the epoch of the League, there is a more glaring contrast between words and deeds than was ever before known in the affairs of man.” Commenting upon the League’s Year Book of Armaments he says:-
“The volume is as big as a Bible. There are more soldiers than before the war. There are more powerful and sinister navies now that submarines have become a more general and menacing device. Air-power, super added in the post-war age, has become the most terrible instrument of destruction that ever threatened the economic organization of societies and the lives of civilian masses without regard to age or sex. Manuals of chemical warfare are becoming as much a matter of course as text-books of veterinary surgery. Not only have armies multiplied with the number of the nations, despite the disarming of the losers in the late struggles. With tanks and machine-guns and heavier bombs added to the shells, the killing power represented by the armies is twice as great as before the war.
“The laboratories are at work. They pursue their researches into the sciences of death and devastation. Fire and poison are to be rained upon the cities according to the new Apocalypse.”
In this passage Mr. Garvin tells the stark, unvarnished truth. No matter how much men may talk about peace and disarmament, preparations are certainly going forward for the next war. And not for a war such as men have known before, but for one that will be more callous, more cruel, more devilish, than any that has hitherto scourged mankind.
“The next war,” said Marshal Foch not long before he passed to his rest, “will be a world war in the fullest sense of the word, and, moreover, it can no longer be isolated. Almost all countries will take part in it, and not only the men but the women and children will fight, too. Poison-gas bombs will spread deadly fumes which will penetrate any mask and produce death in a few minutes. Phosphorus bombs, impossible to extinguish, will burn the flesh to the bone within half a minute. Hundreds of tanks, each one able to shoot a thousand deadly bullets a minute; machine-guns like automatic rifles which, in the hands of 1,000,000 men, will shoot 100,000,000 bullets a minute, will also be raging. And the heavens above will be darkened by a thousand airplanes pouring a rain of horror on the earth. Behind the lines, cities and villages will crumble in ruins under the destructive fire of the latest artillery. In the next war there will be no such thing as the front and the rear. The whole nation will find itself on the firing line.”
An almost identical prediction appeared recently in the German Berliner Morgenpost:-
“Chemical warfare, and probably also bacteriological warfare, will not develop with the course of the war, but will open the war and determine its course. Most probably every country involved will at once attack the most populous cities of the enemy country from the air and lay them in ruins, with the bodies of the population entombed beneath. The culmination of the ‘chivalrous game of war’ the plague-bacillus bomb: one direct hit can infect the whole continent. There is no need to strike a city: one infected village will do, for the disease will spread from that village all over the world.”
A similar terrifying picture was drawn by the late Lord Brentford when calling attention to the comparative weakness of Britain’s air force:
“The air raid of the future,” he said, “will show us terrors at which imagination boggles. Regiments of noiseless machines, flying 200 to 250 miles an hour at a height at which they will be invisible, will drop great bombs containing from 1,000 pounds to 3,000 pounds of high explosive. There may even be bombs filled with germs, and there will certainly be bombs filled with diabolical gases. The planes of the future will carry guns, and they will be electrically directed, without the necessity of human pilots. Death and destruction will be rained on defenseless cities, and the whole of these islands will be easily within the radius of enemy action. This means that every civilian, including women and children, will be in the fighting area, and will run the same chance of destruction as the soldier.”
The keen search for new weapons that is going on constantly in the armament factories and chemical laboratories of the nations is positively alarming. Not long ago it was announced that a German inventor had made a new bullet capable of piercing armor plate half an inch thick. Shortly afterwards notices appeared in the press that British armament research had produced an armor plate of about forty per cent greater resistance for the same thickness so that the new German bullet could be stopped. About the same time it was made known that Sir Robert Hadfield and Major Clerke had evolved a new type of shell which, made of steel of exceptional hardness and of a peculiar shape, will perforate hard-faced armor of the best quality over a foot in thickness at a range of nine miles. A new American device about a yard long, known as “the candle,” spreads a mixture of impenetrable smoke and poison gas, and can be planted and lighted anywhere. Another mixture of poisonous and phosphorus gas has been developed which will make its way through any protective clothing. Factories already in existence could supply tons of chlorine and mustard gas daily.
The almost limitless possibilities of wireless are also being exploited in the desperate hunt for new methods of destruction. Ships, aircraft, torpedoes, can now all be controlled and directed by this means. Bombs can be dropped on a far-distant target by airplane without any human pilot. An “invisible searchlight” has been devised through the researches in television. It is now actually possible, by using rays outside the visible spectrum, to see a person in the dark. In this way a night attack in war would be revealed though the attackers were unaware that they were in the infra-red rays of the searchlight. Thousands of men could be mown down helplessly by machine-gun fire in what to them would seem total darkness. Electricity has also been harnessed to produce a “death ray,” an entirely new and fearful method of collective slaughter.
‘We saw nothing in the last war,” writes Professor Cannon of Harvard University, “that compares with the destruction of industrial cities and the mass massacre which awaits us with the outbreak of a new war.”
Twelve big bombs of Lewisite gas, dropped on Rome or Manchester, would be enough to destroy all life in those populous cities within a short space of time. London, Paris, Berlin, or Chicago might suffer annihilation in the same way.
Whereas thirty different kinds of poison gases had been developed in 1914, today there are more. than 1,000 different kinds calculated to attack and destroy one by one the human organs. In the words of Emil Ludwig: “The sufferings of the martyrs of the future will be beyond anything endured by the medieval martyrs who were burned at the stake or tortured on the rack.”
It may be argued that such eventualities are impossible in this enlightened age; that such frightful pictures of the future are but the wild imaginings of disordered minds. Yet is it not the sober, far-seeing men of our time who are warning us of these impending perils? And if some would remind us of the international treaties against the use of gas or germs or civil aircraft in warfare we must ask them to remember the broken agreements of the past. On this very point, Surgeon-Commander F. G. Hitch of the Anti-Gas School at the Royal Naval Barracks Chatham, addressing the Royal Institution of Public Health, said:-
“There is no adequate guarantee that an unscrupulous enemy would not bomb the civil population with poisonous gases. It may be objected that there is no possibility of such inhumanity; but unfortunately we have no assurance. It is urged that such action is too inhuman, too cruel, and too frightful for its adoption to be envisaged by any civilized nation. I reply-that it is not so. Europe littered with broken treaties, and in spite of Hague Conferences, Washington Conferences, and the League of Nations, an unscrupulous enemy would have no hesitation in breaking one more treaty, if he could thus obtain a decisive advantage; and this he might hope to achieve by the combined use of aircraft and gas against the unprotected inhabitants of an enemy country.”
Addressing a public meeting Sir Ian Hamilton said: "As a sincere but, I hope, sane lover of peace, I want to make a protest on behalf of soldiers and sailors against the complete misunderstanding both of fighting and war mentality which is being exhibited by the highbrows of Geneva.
"Have they really so little imagination-so bad a memory? Is it possible they can really be so blind as to believe that when a nation is fighting for its life it will hesitate to use its ordinary civil airplanes for 'bombardment from the air'? Would they expect a drowning man who has clutched a straw to leave hold of it if you shouted at him through a megaphone, 'That's private property'?"
A similar warning was uttered by Mr. Baldwin in his solemn speech on disarmament to the House of Commons. He said:-
“Will any form of prohibition, whether by convention, treaty, agreement, or anything you like, not to bomb be effective in war? Quite frankly, I doubt it. If a man has a potential weapon and has his back to the wall and is going to be killed, he will use that weapon whatever it is and whatever undertaking he has given about it. Experience has shown us that the stern test of war will break down all conventions.”
He was right. The nations cannot be trusted to keep their word. When they are fighting for their very existence all treaties become scraps of paper. The Japanese attack on Shanghai is still fresh in the memories of most people. Undoubtedly there was provocation on the part of the Chinese. There was also impetuosity on the part of the Japanese. But t he main fact stands out that in the wild frenzy of the moment all pledges and promises were promptly disregarded. So also were even the elements of human kindness. Rich and poor, soldiers and civilians, men, women, and children were all without distinction made to suffer the worst terrors of war.
That occurred as recently as 1932, and only shows that war, with all its modern refinements of cruelty, is indeed possible in our time. If it has happened once, it can happen again. And if a fresh world conflict should break out we may be certain that the terrors which afflicted Shanghai will be eclipsed by a thousand new horrors and that all our worst imaginings will come true.
It is not a picture that anyone desires to contemplate. Indeed the very thought of it should be sufficient to stir the whole world to make a mighty, effort to stave off the threatening danger. But in any case the facts should be faced. There is a very real peril of another war. Like the sword of Damocles it hangs over the heads of mankind. And if all peace efforts fail and war should come again it will mean, it must mean, the end of what we know as civilization.
In this connection we are reminded of those startling words of the prophet Jeremiah, referring to the last scenes of earth’s history, to which we have already made allusion: “The Lord of hosts declares: from race to race calamity extends, a mighty storm is stirring from the Earth’s far ends.”
That storm is stirring today. The prophet Joel saw it also, for he said that, when the day of the Lord should be near, then once more the word would go forth: “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up: beat your plough shares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” [Joel 3:9,10]
What a contrast to the picture drawn in the second chapter of Isaiah! There the nations are seen discussing plans for converting their spears into pruning-hooks. Evidently one prophet hears the words they speak while the other beholds their deeds. The nations talk of one thing but they do the opposite!
And how easy it would be nowadays to transform pruning-hooks into spears. Every factory that makes sewing machines or typewriters today could manufacture machine-guns tomorrow. Every shipyard that turns out tankers or drifters could equally well produce destroyers and submarines. Every airplane that carries twenty-two passengers could carry the same number of soldiers at a moment’s notice. Bombs could replace letters in every mail-carrying plane. Every factory that is now using nitro-benzene for dyes could in a few hours turn out all kinds of poison gas. All coke ovens, gas works, artificial silk, and even perfume factories could be similarly converted overnight.
The stage is indeed set for the greatest cataclysm of history. The world is littered with powder barrels awaiting a match which some madmen in their folly may ignite. With terrifying suddenness we may discover that the little time of peace we have enjoyed has passed from us, that the flames of passion have burst forth anew, and that all the genius of science has been mobilized to bring death and destruction to mankind.
If these things are so, what a mighty and a terrible hour is this! Surely the evidence is overwhelming that we are rapidly approaching the greatest crisis of the ages.
The outlook would indeed be insufferably depressing but for the gracious promises of God. Fortunately He has given assurance that beyond the blackness of the immediate future a brighter day will dawn. Those who love Him need have no fears. He will keep them in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on Him. [Isaiah 26:3] He will care for His own through the last crisis, however desperate it may be. If our trust is in Him we may say with Confidence:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth he removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” [Psalm 46:1,2].
JUST as the old Roman empire was surrounded by barbarian tribes waiting their opportunity to pounce upon the fair domains of the Caesars, so along the borders of Western civilization today there are millions of primitive peoples, definitely hostile to its culture, jealous of its ascendancy, and rebellious against its domination. And as eager, impatient eyes watched while Rome’s moral deterioration sapped her strength and vitality, so other eyes today behold with equal satisfaction the dissension, the impoverishment, the corruption of the white race.
Among the Arabs, the Egyptians, the Africans, the Turks, the Indians, there have been phenomenal changes of recent years. The sleep of centuries which had settled upon them has been thrown off. All are awake and throbbing with new life. The “Unchanging East” has changed at last. In place of the old indifference and easy acquiescence there is a new spirit of resolution. Ambitions have been aroused. Dreams of independence and the recovery of long-lost glory have taken on new meaning. National passions, well nigh extinct, have been re-aroused. There is the sound of a going where once was the stillness of death.
A new religious fervor has seized upon many of these peoples. While Christendom has been denying its faith, slackening its missionary efforts, and doing its best to destroy the foundations of its own teachings, Mohammedanism has rekindled the fires of its first love. Not for generations has there been such a stirring among its adherents. A great forward movement has been initiated by its leaders and enormous propaganda is on foot. From its printing-presses in Cairo and elsewhere an ever-flowing stream of literature pours forth to revive the old aggressive spirit of its hosts of believers and to rouse them to action. Its emissaries are spreading out wherever new conquests seem possible. Pressing down into the heart of Africa they are invading the territory of Christian missions and throwing down a challenge to the gospel reminiscent of the early days of its history
The Western nations have largely themselves to thank for this ominous awakening of the peoples on their borders. In the desperate search for man-power during the Great War they taught them how to fight with “civilized” weapons. France imported tens of thousands of North Africans to face German machine-guns on the Western front. Colored men from all parts of the world came to fight and die to save the British Empire. Arabs were armed and bribed to array themselves against the Turks.
And when it was all over these men, or the remnants of them, returned to their own people to brood over what they had seen, to whisper in their huts of the diabolical deeds they had witnessed, to discuss around village fires the value of the deadly weapons they had used, to debate in their assemblies the decay of the power of their overlords. They had seen the white man at his worst, full of lust and hatred, his chief concern the killing of his fellows; and they realized that at heart he was much the same as themselves. The halo with which in their ignorance they had surrounded him, dissolved. Disillusionment was complete.
Unrest and discontent began to spread, fanned to a flame by the idealism of President Wilson. When he spoke the magic words, “self-determination,” hearts in all the world beat faster. Dissatisfied people in the remotest provinces and protectorates thought that they applied specifically to them. Every desire for freedom and independence was encouraged. Egyptian students seized upon them with avidity; they were bandied about in the bazaars of India and. talked of in desert camps. Exaggerated and oftentimes misinterpreted, they nevertheless set a new hope burning in millions of hearts. A new world seemed to be opening up for the colored races. The white man had definitely renounced his dominion over them. President Wilson had said so, and it must be true.
In Egypt the cry arose: “Egypt for the Egyptians.” Travelling there a few years after the war we heard it at every wayside station from Cairo to Luxor. Coupled with it was the ominous cry, ejaculated with great vehemence: “Down with the British!” The people were prepared to admit that great good had come to the country during the British occupation, that they had been ruled with even-handed justice; but now they wanted to rule themselves. They felt that they had been under a schoolmaster long enough. If other small nations were to be given an opportunity to govern themselves without outside interference, why should not a similar privilege be granted to them? Passions ran high. The Sirdar was murdered. Lord Lloyd was recalled. The Egyptians were given almost all they desired.
The revolt spread through Africa. Far-off tribes in the dense interior seemed to be affected. In Nigeria a great movement spread among the women-an unheard of thing-in opposition to the Government. Serious rioting took place over wide areas. In South Africa the already difficult problems of the administration were increased by the growing demands of the black population for further recognition of their rights.
India became a seething maelstrom of rebellion. Here the cry was raised: “India for the Indians,” coupled with the same ugly sentence, “Down with the British!” For a time it seemed as though an armed outbreak worse than the great mutiny was inevitable. Then Gandhi appeared on the scene and preached his curious doctrine of non-violent non-co-operation. There were many willing voices ready to echo his words, but not many were able to keep non-co-operation separate from violence. Many dastardly murders of high British officials took place. Attempts were made even on the Viceroy’s life. Congress assumed powers never committed to it. A boycott of British goods was proclaimed and a system of picketing installed calculated to ruin all who dealt in them. Bonfires of British cloth became a daily occurrence.
In an attempt to satisfy the insistent demands for independence and self-government a Royal Commission, under the presidency of Sir John Simon, was set up to make diligent inquiry into all aspects of the situation. The Simon Report, published in June, 19,3o, stands as the most comprehensive survey of modern Indian conditions, emphasizing in the first part the religious obstacles to progress and the general complexity of the problem of governing this vast, thickly populated country; and in the second part setting forth recommendations for the gradual Indianisation of all the social services, only the supreme ruling power and the control of the army being retained in British hands. But in spite of the very far-reaching proposals favoring virtual political independence, subject only to British guidance in matters affecting the safety and liberty of the people, the report met with almost unanimous condemnation throughout the length and breadth of the land.
Then followed the Round Table Conference. Distinguished Indian rulers and leaders of Indian thought came to London in a further endeavor to find a via media that would please everybody. Mr. Gandhi accompanied them. Many weeks of discussion followed. High hopes of a peaceful settlement were occasionally raised, only to be dashed to the ground largely through the intractability of the little wizened man in the loin-cloth. Finally the conference broke up with little of real value accomplished, except that everybody was made to see how very real are the difficulties blocking a settlement.
The Indian delegates returned home. Immediately disorder broke out anew. Accepting at last the challenge to its authority, the British Government took strong measures. Congress was dismissed and Gandhi arrested. Hundreds of agitators were imprisoned. Seditious propaganda was prohibited and stern edicts were promulgated to discourage crimes of violence.
The policy succeeded. With the chief agitators in prison the masses settled down to comparative tranquility, broken only by the barbarous conflicts between rival religious factions. But the trouble is by no means at an end. Sedition may have been driven underground, but it continues its deadly work none the less vigorously. Educated Indian students, returned from English universities, do not cease to preach their doctrine of revolt against Western domination. In tens of thousands of Hindu homes the dream of an India free from the accursed foreigner is constantly discussed. The liberation of the country from British rule is set before millions of Indian children as the noblest purpose to which they could devote their lives. Boys and girls hardly in their teens have been spurred on to murder by this infatuation. It is a situation full of danger and pregnant with terrible possibilities.
In Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Trans-Jordan, there have been similar heart-stirrings since the war. Great promises were made to some of the native peoples of these countries as compensation for their services at the front, Allegiance was purchased with dream-pictures very difficult to fulfil. Here again old ambitions revived and national aspirations blossomed forth.
In Palestine, however, a serious complication arose. Seeming to forget the feelings of the hundreds of thousands of Arabs already in possession, Mr. Balfour, in his famous proclamation, virtually handed the country over to the Jews. At least, that is what the Arabs thought when they heard the story of the proposed Jewish National Home. And when they saw the Jews begin to pour into their country from all parts of the world, buying up the land and little by little taking possession of it as their fathers long ago took it from the Canaanites, their worst fears seemed to be justified.
They could not resist the tempting offers of Jewish gold, and yet they bitterly resented the wholesale loss of their heritage. Many indeed did not realize what they were doing when they made the exchange. They were glad enough to be paid four or five times what they thought their land to be worth; it was in many cases more money than they had ever expected to see in their lives. But they did not appreciate the fact that they could not return to their homes again, that they must drift into the cities or begin to farm again elsewhere. And oft-times their money was spent before a new holding could be obtained, and all that remained to them was a deep-rooted sense of injury.
The simmering pot of racial and religious passions boiled over in August, 1929, at the Wailing Wall, claimed as a holy place by both Jews and Mohammedans. Following a dispute as to the right of Jews to worship there, stones were thrown. Then knives were drawn. The trouble spread. For several days the Arabs engaged in an organized slaughter of Jewish families all over Palestine. It was a ghastly exhibition of murderous fanaticism. When at last order was restored an inquiry was held, and it was admitted by Arab witnesses that practically the whole Mohammedan population was united in hostility towards the Jews because of the fear that they were being dispossessed of their country.
A statement made at that time by the Grand Mufti and president of the Supreme Moslem Council is of special significance:-
“What has happened in Palestine,” lie said, “will reverberate in every corner of Moslem Arabia. It is not a religious controversy but a national rebellion in which we have the sympathy and support of all the Moslem Arabs of Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and North Africa. British bayonets may impose tranquillity for the moment, but ultimate peace in Palestine and Arabia will never be made so long as the Arabs are forcibly deprived of their rights, their land, and their independence.”
Anyone who has been to Palestine cannot but have noticed the tense feeling that exists between the rival factions. Talking with a Jew in Jerusalem one day, we asked him whether he thought there was any possibility of the Jews recovering possession of the Temple Area and replacing the Mosque of Omar with a modern replica of the temple of Solomon. He replied optimistically, expressing confidence in the power of gold to overcome all religious scruples. The Rothschild millions, he said, might even accomplish this seemingly impossible transition. But we were quickly disabused of this fantastic notion. The sight of an angry mob of Moslems expelling an intruder from the precincts of the mosque was a sufficient answer to such questionings, and convincing evidence that the spirit that burns within the hearts of these dwellers in Jerusalem today is the same spirit that burned in the hearts of their forefathers.
The situation all through Palestine is still full of peril. There is little doubt that, but for the presence of the British, there would soon be general upheaval. If this restraining hand were for any reason withdrawn, the Jewish colonists would instantly be at the mercy of a frenzied and fanatical mob, supplemented by Arabs from Trans-Jordan and elsewhere, who would swarm to their kinsmen’s aid to complete the destruction of their hated enemies.
What happened in 1929 may not, as the Grand Mufti said, have been a religious controversy; but call it what one may, there are certainly all the elements present for a holy war of the first magnitude. And if such a war should ever break out, judging by the temper of modern Mohammedanism, it would be conducted with all the ferocity of the holy wars of old.
These primitive peoples may have absorbed something of Western culture, but at heart they remain as they ever were. They may have cast off their eastern cloaks for morning suits, exchanged the fez for the trilby hat, adopted new methods of eating, installed wireless and other products of European and American factories in their homes. But underneath all this veneer of civilization the soul of the Arab, the Turk, the Egyptian, remains untouched. There has been no large conversion to Christianity. No people are more impervious to its teachings. The fiery fanaticism that murdered the Jews in 1929 and massacred the Armenians during the war is by no means dead. The appetite for blind savagery is unabated. Beneath apparent serenity glows a veritable volcano which, in its ultimate eruption, must bring incalculable sorrow upon mankind.
All along the fringes of Western civilization there are dangerous movements on foot. Smoldering fires are waiting to burst forth in devastating fury. Evil forces are gathering momentum for some coming struggle. And all these perilous tendencies, these writhing of restless races, should convince us yet more fully that we have indeed come to earth’s mightiest, most tragic hour. They should also cause us to reconsider our personal relationship to the One who alone can be our refuge in the coming storm.
BEYOND the borders of India there are restless races yet more numerous. Over the great plains of China swarm a population of over five hundred million souls, primitive, poverty-stricken, illiterate, unorganized, yet stirring with a new sense of its possibilities in this strange new time.
Here again the West has made its impress upon the East. For generations Western ideas have been slowly percolating through this slow-moving mass of humanity. Traders and missionaries have brought tidings of the great new world outside. Engineering science, financed from abroad, has improved means of transport and communication. Railways have linked up large centers of population with the coast. A postal and telegraph service, such as it is, has quickened the pace of life. Airplanes and motor-cars have stirred the imagination. New industries have changed the mode of life for tens of thousands.
Education, though still in a very undeveloped state, has done as much as anything else to bring a revolution of thought. A modern adaptation of the Chinese alphabet has swept away one of the greatest barriers to progress Old men as well as children can now learn t o read in a few weeks instead of years. Illiteracy, still all too common, is on the wane. The printing-press has added momentum to the great awakening. Newspapers and books are widely read by an ever-increasing public.
Young men by thousands have ventured forth from their humble little homes all over China to pursue their studies in the universities of America, England, and the Continent. All the mighty works of the white man have been laid bare before them. They have inspected his marvelous factories, learned how to make and drive his machines, studied the secrets of his war equipment, imbibed his ideas on self -determination and, incidentally, discovered his limitations. And these young men have returned to China with their outlook on life altogether changed. They have said to themselves, China also is a great nation, with a past dating far back into the dim beginnings of history; why should not China be as strong and influential as the Western powers?
There is a great stirring through all the land of Sinim. This old giant of the East, who has lain wrapped in profound slumber for centuries, has aroused at last. He is sitting up, rubbing his eyes, as though wondering just where he is. A little unbalanced and muddle-headed after so long a stupor, but rapidly coming to his senses and preparing to play some great role in the closing scenes of time.
China’s chief lack is an ordered, stable government. She is in the period of the judges, or rather of the generals. Rival war-lords hurl threats at each other and march their armies up and down the country, fighting occasionally and preying upon the defenseless populace in the villages. Hordes of bandits, mostly deserters from these unofficial armies, roam the country unchecked and keep the peasants in a constant state of panic. Consequently fields are untilled, crops ungathered. Starvation and fearful poverty result. No one takes thought for the repair of dykes or breaches in the river banks, and when the water rises appalling floods inundate thousands of square miles of country, obliterating innumerable townships, destroying crops and cattle, drowning multitudes, and driving tens of thousands of utterly destitute refugees into the already overcrowded cities.
All of which is quite unnecessary. For China is possessed of man power and material resources sufficient to make her one of the richest and strongest powers the world has ever known. Every valuable mineral is believed to rest beneath her soil. Vast fertile areas only await modern methods of cultivation to bring forth a sevenfold harvest. Mighty rivers reaching to the heart of the country afford cheap transport and suggest the development of great schemes of electrification. Excellent harbors invite world trade. Every degree of climate, from the tropics of the south to the cold regions of her northern frontier, make possible the raising of almost every kind of food within her own borders. Nature has indeed blessed this country with a bountiful hand.
But the treasure for the most part lies unimproved, awaiting some master hand to co-ordinate the contending forces, establish a strong central government, win the enthusiastic confidence of the people, and rule with authority and power. When that hand is seen China’s day will dawn and the consequences will stagger the world.
This vision of a revived Celestial Empire stirs many Chinese hearts today. Though confusion still abounds, the hope is spreading. Men of courage are planning for the coming new time. The younger generation, especially the boys and girls in schools and universities, are anxious to rebuild the fortunes of their homeland. Having imbibed the nationalism of the West they are eager to cry, “China for the Chinese,” and “Down with the foreigner!” A new national pride is spreading and feeding ravenously upon every fresh indication of national prowess.
The unyielding opposition shown by the nineteenth division of the Cantonese army against the Japanese invasion of Chapei electrified the country. The story of that courageous stand against fearful odds has become an epic in Chinese annals. It has passed from lip to lip, from province to province, to the most distant of her unnumbered villages. To young China in days to come that historic engagement will seem like Thermopylae to the Spartan patriot.
Such fearless devotion to duty was a revelation of latent qualities hitherto unsuspected. If the Japanese had been allowed free access, or had gained their objectives after the first skirmish, no one would have been unduly surprised. But that their mighty war machine should have been defied, repulsed, even driven back at times-this was amazing. In that hour China discovered herself anew. And it may well be that this gallant stand of the nineteenth division was a turning-point in the history of both China and the whole Far East.
The awakening of China, however, sends a red light into the Eastern sky. Her recovery bodes ill for the nations that have exploited her in the past. In many districts the people’s hatred of foreigners is intense. Sometimes the venom is directed more against one nation than another; but there is little love lost on any of them at any time. One of the planks of any strong, popular Government must inevitably be either the expulsion of foreigners or at least the curtailment of the special privileges they have claimed and exercised since they established themselves on Chinese soil.
Unwittingly, perhaps, this spirit of antagonism goes with their ambassadors to the very countries they despise. One day at the League of Nations we witnessed a remarkable scene outside the Council Chamber. Dr. Yen, the Chinese delegate, had just made his pitiful plea to the League for help against the Japanese invaders. The Assembly had dispersed and only a few people were about. Dr. Yen came out of the room, followed by the Chinese ambassador to Berlin, who was in a terrible fury. Seizing Dr. Yen by the lapels of his coat he stormed at him in a perfect frenzy of indignation, rebuking him for his lack of zeal in presenting the Chinese case. “Don’t you know,” he cried, “that these foreign nations do not want to help China because they are planning to divide her among themselves!” Sir Philip Gibbs tells a story to the same effect:-
“I remember going to a dinner party not long ago,” he writes, “at which a Chinese was present. He spoke English perfectly. He had charming manners-until he drank a little too much wine. Then he lost interest in the conversation around him---the need of closer cooperation among the nations of the world, and the blessings of disarmament. He dozed a little and spoke in a dreamy way. ‘The foreign devils must go,’ he murmured. ‘Every foreign devil must be killed. China for the Chinese!”
Turning our eyes farther east, more red lights appear in the sky. They are the danger signals hovering over the island empire beyond the China Sea.
Here in Japan an altogether different situation presents itself. True, the same intense nationalism is omnipresent, but it is coherent, directed, controlled. The military, under powerful leadership, are supreme, dictating even to the civil Government when occasion arises.
Here is a power to be reckoned with. Proud, strong, ambitious, consolidated, well armed, she dominates the Far East. Lifting her haughty head she can see no rivals until, beyond the Pacific, she beholds the United States returning her confident gaze with no little concern. Conscious of her supremacy, she seeks to impose her will upon surrounding countries. Realizing her strength, her resources in man power, the secure, impregnable isolation of her island home, she fears no foe.
Japan’s rise from obscurity to world influence is one of the most remarkable phenomena of history. Less than a hundred years ago she was practically unknown to the West. To visit the country was a dangerous adventure. Even the entry of foreigners was frowned upon. The population was absorbed in its own traditions and lived on the same circumscribed plane as untold generations of the past.
Gradually, however, Western influences penetrated. There was a great awakening. A passion for learning developed. A farming people turned to industry. They discovered that their products were valued in the world market; that there was an easier way to earn money than they had known hitherto; that, hateful as the foreigner might be, trading with him was very profitable.
Then came the war with Russia. It was a life and death struggle for Japan. She realized that her independence, perhaps even her existence, was at stake. Her people dedicated their lives to the national cause and fought with tremendous enthusiasm and courage. They revealed qualities of efficiency and persistence that surprised the world. Their eventual triumph brought Japan with disconcerting suddenness into the ranks of the first class powers. European governments that until then had acted much as they pleased in the Far East were now compelled to tread more softly, recognizing that here was a new force to be reckoned with. If so great a country as Russia could be defied and defeated, what other developments might not be possible?
Many years have passed since those thrilling days, but succeeding events have only added to Japan’s influence in the affairs of the nations. Her presence in their councils has been constantly sought, her friendship eagerly courted.
Meanwhile her chief problem has become increasingly acute. Sixty-six million people crowd her little islands. There is obviously not room for them all. The land cannot support so large a population, and any serious failure of industry must inevitably lead to very great hardship, perhaps even to starvation on a large scale. And the numbers constantly increase. Unlike the Western nations, Japan still has a large surplus of births over deaths. The next census will almost certainly reveal the presence of nearly seventy million souls. This progressive increase and the known limit of the country’s capacity to support it, is a continual source of anxiety to her leading statesmen. For years they have sought a suitable outlet. At one time they cast their eyes upon the fair western shores of America. Thousands crossed to California, which for a time was threatened with a peaceful Japanese invasion. Alarm spread through the United States and the immigration was arrested.
Australia, with its vast, sparsely populated plains, presented an inviting alternative, but again immigration laws closed the door. Doubtless it was very necessary for Australia, but it appeared very hard to Japan. Where else could she turn to find a home for her people? Only the mainland of Asia remained.
The acquisition of Korea proved some solace, but it was quite insufficient. Thousands entered China to embark on business careers. Others poured into Manchuria, where an important railway concession had given Japan valuable opportunities. If these openings remained unrestricted, the situation might be eased.
But the expansion itself created a new and unexpected problem. Increased business certainly added to the prosperity of the home country, but it also made it more and more dependent on this new foreign trade. Consequently when the Chinese, suddenly realizing how strong a hold the Japanese were obtaining on the business life of their country, proclaimed a boycott of their goods, consternation spread among the big industrialists of Japan. And not only big business was affected: the whole policy of settlement on the mainland was placed in jeopardy,
In such circumstances it is easy to understand how, upon the infliction of bodily harm upon some of her nationals, Japan was provoked, at the beginning of 1932, to dispatch her army, and navy to Shanghai. If her attack had succeeded at that time undoubtedly further concessions, affording wider opportunities for Japanese citizens, would have been demanded.
But the expedition failed to achieve its full purpose, despite the mighty display of force, and this was as great a surprise to Japan as to the rest of the world. It was indeed, as we have already shown from another viewpoint, an event of enormous significance. For a time at least it virtually arrested Japanese aggression in China itself. But, far more serious, it was a blow to the proud spirit of the island empire that will neither be forgotten nor forgiven.
Meanwhile Japanese interest was being concentrated on Manchuria. Ostensibly to protect the railway and her own nationals from bandits, the Japanese army had marched in and swept through to the Russian frontier. Under its protection, and clearly with the purpose of making a complete break between Manchuria and the rest of China, the old dynasty was revived, Henry Pu Yi, once emperor of China, was set on the throne, and the name of the country changed to Manchukuo.
There is no doubt whatever as to Japan’s intention to keep control of this country. In a speech the Minister of War, General Araki, pointed out that, whatever the League may do, Japan must keep Manchuria, and he called upon “all Japanese to take the field with guns or bamboo spears, in default of any other weapons, if the occasion demands.”
This attitude towards the League is characteristic. Modern Japan is almost fanatically nationalistic, and undoubtedly would resist all outside interference that seemed to threaten its interests. “A strong policy in Manchuria,” is the cry of the military leaders, and as, under the Japanese constitution, these are not responsible to the civil Government, but only to the Mikado, it is fairly certain that the policy will be carried out. Indeed, in 1931, the world gazed with amazement on the spectacle of the Japanese army invading and occupying Manchuria while the Cabinet at Tokyo was laboring in every possible way to mitigate the effects of the coup. The Japanese commander in the field even informed the press that “matters could not be conducted exactly in the way the Government wishes.”
This aggression in Manchukuo, prompted by a very real need for expansion, might mean little to the rest of the world but for one fact. Half its frontier abuts on that of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The USSR also has interests in Manchukuo. The Chinese Eastern Railway, for instance, under joint Sino-Russian control, is an important link in Russia’s railway system. Japan has cast covetous eyes upon it. A clash over such conflicting interests seems almost inevitable. Indeed it is said that the Soviet Government has assembled a considerable force at V1adivostock, and for some time has been accumulating large food supplies at that port. Meanwhile the world is talking of the possibilities with anxiety. An article on this theme in the Manchester Guardian Weekly contained the following paragraph:
“The more fanatic sort of Japanese imperialist has always dreamed of expansion by way of Russia, and now, when a victory over Russia would be popular in Europe, might seem the time to act. Two great hatreds would be involved in such a struggle-an economic and a racial hatred. Two great antagonisms -that between Communism and capitalism and that between European and Asiatic-would merge in a single conflict.”
The Paris Le Temps has expressed similar fears: “The Russian-Japanese tension is assuming a disquieting aspect. It is difficult to believe that the governors of Moscow may decide deliberately to provoke an armed conflict with Japan, a step which would be an act of folly on their part. But in the difficulties with which they are struggling, war may be a desperate resolution, and we must not lose sight of the fact that certain American circles are viewing with poorly concealed interest a crisis which would set Japan and the Soviet Union in the Far East by the ears and which would leave both victor and vanquished in an enfeebled condition for a long time.”
Meanwhile Japan is preparing for eventualities and making her position secure. Armament factories in various parts of the world are supplying her orders for ammunition. Exactly what her intentions are, no one knows, but that she anticipates an early outbreak of war seems evident.
Such developments would once have set the West agog with excitement; but now it is too concerned with its own problems to give more than a passing thought to these important developments in the East. When in June, 1932, the Manchulcuan Government seized the Dairen customs revenue. Formerly controlled by the Chinese Maritime Customs Administration - a clear breach of a solemn treaty, Mr. J. L. Garvin wrote in the Observer: “It is much too late in the day to worry about juridical formula in the Far East. Those zealous and indignant protesters who ask what is to be done about Japan merely beat the thin air. There is not even an audience to hear their question. Who can do anything? What can be done? The Far East is in the melting-pot. There are problems to be solved of endless consequence to millions of people. What should be is a matter of no practical value. The only practical thing is the fact as it is. The fact is that the initiative in the Far East rests with Japan.”
The writer in the Manchester Guardian Weekly, quoted previously, went further. He said: “The Far East is a tangle of conflicts, and will, unless we can find a remedy, be the scene of the next great war.”
There can be no doubt that we are living on the eve of great events in the East. If a storm is brewing nearer home it is equally true that one is stirring “from the earth’s far ends.--- There are red lights enough in the Eastern sky to warn us of the approach of deadly danger.
And it is of exceptional interest to notice that when the Apostle John was shown in vision the final events of history he saw among the actors the kings of the East. In Revelation sixteen we read these stirring sentences: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” [Rev. 16:12-14]
Whatever the future may reveal to be the full meaning of these remarkable words, it is certainly of no small significance that in this mighty hour the great nations of the East have at long last awakened to play their appointed part in the closing scenes.
NOT long ago, as we stood near the northern entrance to Hyde Park, the sound of bands approaching along Oxford Street reached our cars. Within a few minutes a huge crowd gathered and stood for the most part silent and wondering while a great labor procession marched into the park for its May Day celebrations.
The first sections carried the usual banners of various trade unions and workers’ organizations, but behind these tramped an army of unemployed, “down and outs,” and members of Communist societies. The sight of those gaunt, half-starved, frenzied men and women was one not soon to be forgotten. Nearly all were unkempt and poorly clad, with a wild look in their eyes as of those who have almost reached the limit of human endurance.
The burden o-f their hearts was revealed on the tawdry banners they carried; and there was no doubt whence their inspiration had come. “Up Soviet Russia!” appeared on one. “Support Soviet China!” was the message of another. Every now and then someone in the ranks would raise his voice and shout: “We want revolution!” and his cry would be echoed vehemently by his comrades with the words: “Revolution the only way out!”
Red flags and sickle, the Soviet emblems, were very conspicuous. Pictures of Lenin were held aloft with defiance. And when at last the procession reached the center of the park and surged around the many improvised platforms, dozens of fiery orators harangued the vast crowd, setting forth the hardships of the “downtrodden classes,” criticizing the Government, and boldly advocating revolution. At every thrust at the existing social order the huge audience cheered and applauded.
More than once we heard the ominous cries: “Down with Christ!” and, “Down with religion!” followed occasionally by the Russian slogan: “Religion is the opiate of the people.” And as the blasphemous words were uttered, sneering laughter swept over the sullen faces. A banner held aloft by some brave, godly Christian, bearing the words, “Christ Is Coming Soon,” was greeted with taunts and jeers and the mocking cry: “Tell Him to come and save us from starvation
It seemed incredible that such things should be said and done in London, at the very heart of the British Empire. Yet here indeed was undisguised Communism parading itself in the principal streets and centers of the city. True, it had come largely from the poorer quarters, from the tenements of White Chapel, the basements of Bethnal Green, overcrowded Hoxton, and the slums of Poplar. Nevertheless it was a revelation of what is going on beneath the seemingly smooth surface of modern society, It was like the deep, subterranean rumblings beneath an apparently quiescent volcano that betoken a coming eruption.
This situation is by no means confined to London. All over Britain, particularly in the larger cities and in districts where unemployment and poverty have prevailed for many years, similar scenes are frequently witnessed, coupled at times with serious rioting and clashes with the police.
Abroad, the revolt against the present world order is even more intense and widespread. The universal economic distress has provided Communism with the very soil in which it thrives best. Fearful poverty, a hopeless outlook, and a deep sense of injustice, are the ingredients out of which revolutions are made.
In Germany, where the sorrows of defeat were followed by the worse miseries of inflation, Communism has found millions of eager disciples. Indeed, before the revolution of 1933, one of the chief questions that troubled European statesmen was the possibility of a Communist coup d’ 6tal similar to that which overwhelmed Russia in 1917. Hitler, however, struck first, and as some think, only just in time. Yet though now savagely repressed by the victorious Nazis, the Communists have been by no means exterminated. Driven underground, they are biding their time.
In Spain, Communist propaganda undoubtedly exercised considerable influence in the overthrow of the monarchy in 1931. The Republican leaders had no sooner found themselves in possession of the reins of government than they discovered that there were other believers in revolution far more extreme than themselves. Only with difficulty did they prevent the ship of state being wrecked on the rocks of Sovietism. Even so, in certain quarters, the extreme Communists were able to make themselves exceedingly troublesome. Strikes and riots have been almost daily occurrences in the larger towns and the signs portend further serious upheavals in Spanish affairs.
There is no country uninfected by the Communist bacillus. The fever has spread from land to land, carried by ceaseless propaganda, and aided by the great depression and the widespread disillusionment after the war. It is found at work in the East, inflaming Indian passions against British rule, increasing Chinese confusion, and even disturbing the old order in Siam. In southern lands it is seen attempting to wreck Australia, stirring up trouble in South Africa, multiplying revolutions in South America. In the West it has invaded the United States and, making the most of her financial disappointments and collapsed enthusiasms, is constantly menacing the peace and stability even of that great power.
Everywhere this subtle revolutionary movement is adding to the perplexity of administrators, thwarting plans for reconstruction, increasing the world’s agony. Like muskrats, its emissaries are burrowing into the supporting banks of civilization and threatening to let the floods of strife through the weakened defenses and submerge the whole land.
That such a disintegrating force should be at work today on such a world-wide scale is a fact of grave importance, especially in view of the other startling developments of this mighty hour. True, bitterness has always existed in the hearts of the lower classes against those favored with a greater abundance of the world’s good things, and this dissatisfaction has at times flamed out in riot and revolt. But never in man’s history has such a raging flood of revolutionary propaganda flowed around the whole wide world.
From time to time through the centuries men have arisen with a great burden to change the existing order. Plato was one of the earliest of these visionaries, painting the picture of his ideal socialized state in his “Republic.” Sir Thomas More was another, startling the world of his day with his communistic “Utopia.” Robert Owen, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, endeavored to put similar socialistic principles into practice. Indeed the word “Socialism” was first used in connection with one of his rather disastrous experiments.
But by far the greatest apostle and exponent of Communist theories was Karl Marx, who lived from 1818 to 1883, spending the last thirty years of his life in England. He was both a scholar and a radical revolutionary. In his greatest work, “Das Kapital,” he launched his chief attack upon capitalist ownership of private property, denouncing the “capitalist usurpers who monopolized all the benefits of industrial progress, whilst the mass of misery, oppression, servitude, depravation, and exploitation increased.” He has been compared in some respects with Darwin, and his work said to be as epoch-making as the “Origin of Species.”
Marx died a poor man in comparative obscurity, with no conception of the tremendous effect his theories would afterwards have upon the world. When he passed, the European nations were still in the grip of the empire building passion. Revolutionary rumblings had indeed been heard among the awakening masses, notably in 1848, but there was little to give him hope that his doctrines would ever become the accepted faith of millions, or that they would overthrow one of the most powerful autocracies and be adopted by its destroyers as the basis of their national policy.
But his works lived after him and found an eager audience among the poor, the downtrodden, the discontented in every country. As his books and pamphlets passed from hand to hand, oft-times secretly, men dreamed of the goodly land that Marx had painted for them. They began to look upon capitalism as the prime cause of their distress and poverty. Hatred for the existing order of society increased, and a determination spread to change it by fair means or foul at the first opportunity. Societies were formed with this objective. New writers took up the story, and before long a world movement was on foot, backed by a strong press propaganda.
There was plenty of fruitful soil for these seeds of revolt even before the war. The industrialism of the nineteenth century had altered the mental outlook of multitudes, overcrowding the cities, multiplying slums, and breeding discontent. Trade unionism, inaugurated to arrest the grasping greed of unscrupulous employers, tended also to give to workers an exaggerated view of the value of their labor. Strikes and lockouts increased the bitterness between the two classes. In some countries the granting of wider franchise, and the existence of a free press, acted as a safety valve and prevented any serious explosion, but in Russia, where the populace was crushed under the dual tyranny of the Czardom and the Greek Orthodox Church, matters began to take a more serious turn.
Then came the war, and with it the shattering of millions of human hopes. To many it seemed the last crowning folly of the old system. Three years of this additional hardship brought the Russian people to the breaking-point. The seed sown by Marx fifty years before now bore its blood-red fruit. The nation rose against its persecutors and meted out to church and state the fate they had long invited. But the new rulers did not stop there. They decided to start their Utopia with a clean slate, free from every relic of the old order. And as capitalism was difficult to eradicate while owners of property still jived, the simple expedient of murdering them was adopted. Tens of thousands of the bourgeois class were massacred in the most awful red terror of all time. To be suspected of any connection with the old ruling classes, or of being in possession of private means, meant almost certain death.
This frightfulness completed, private property was officially abolished and private trading forbidden. This was Communism in unfettered operation at last. A whole nation was putting it to the test. But there were factors present on which the revolutionaries had not bargained. The peasants did not appreciate in the least the thought that the fruit of their toil was now to be regarded as virtually the property of the state. Communism might be all very good in theory, but not when it came so close home as that. So they refrained from cultivating their fields, only growing sufficient for the support of their own families and local needs. Consequently supplies for the big cities began to fail. Grain stores were depleted. Food shortage developed, and all too soon famine came.
Worse terrors were now experienced. Tens of thousands died the slow, lingering death of the famine stricken. Pestilence added to the toll of victims. Innumerable destitute children, orphaned by the colossal tragedy, roamed the country like animals, searching for food. The great cities themselves were threatened. Only the intervention of charity organizations from capitalist countries prevented complete national disaster. Communism in its rankest form had been weighed in the balances and found wanting.
But Communism was not crushed. The Soviet leaders changed their policy. Restrictions were eased. Private trading on a limited scale was again permitted. A great five-year plan for reconstructing the country on Socialist principles was adopted. Skilled artisans and engineers from other lands were invited to come in and instruct the citizens in the manufacture and use of the machinery that had made the capitalist countries prosperous. The system of mass production was developed and carried even into the farming industry, where a plan of “collectivization” was carried through. It was a bold bid for success against enormous obstacles.
THE AFTACK ON RELIGION
But though the financial policy was adapted to meet the exigencies of the time, the antipathy against capitalism was not abated. The fierce opposition to all forms of religion, manifested from the outbreak of the revolution, also continued. This alliance of Communism and atheism has indeed developed into the most amazing attack on religion known in history. The Bishop of London has declared that there has been nothing like this deliberate, nation-wide, anti-God campaign for a thousand years, while the Pope has openly denounced the “horrible, sacrilegious outrages” which have been perpetrated throughout the country.
Undoubtedly the corruption of the Greek Orthodox Church under the Czarist regime was the prime cause of this sudden revulsion of feeling among the Russian people; yet now not only has this one form of religion been assailed, but every sort of belief in God. Truly a certain degree of religious liberty exists, in that a man may hold his own convictions, but no denominational institutions, publications, or propaganda are permitted. Preaching in churches is tolerated, but under severe restrictions. Not only is no religious instruction allowed in the schools, but definitely anti-religious teaching is encouraged. Under a law promulgated iii 1929 all missionary work is prohibited. One clause provides that “the region of activity of ministers of Cults, religious preachers, etc., is limited to the place of residence of the religious unit which they serve and the place of existence of the corresponding house of worship.”
Under another paragraph of this law (quoted by the Times Moscow correspondent) religious organizations are forbidden, “(a) to create mutual aid funds, co-operatives, productive societies, and, in general, to use the property in their possession for any ends except the satisfaction of religious needs. (b) To render material support to their members. (c) To organize special meetings for children, young people, women, and for prayer, and in general to organize meetings, groups, courses, departments, etc., for Bible study, manual training, and religious education, and also to arrange excursions, to open libraries and reading-rooms, to organize medical aid.”
The attack upon religion has been carried to amazing lengths. At Christmas and Eastertide Christian teachings have been made the butt of blasphemous buffoonery. Cathedrals have been transformed into anti-God museums, where all the inconsistencies of the old church leaders are held up to ridicule, and the Christian faith pilloried. Atheism has superseded Christianity as the official “religion” of the country. Societies of the godless thrive under state patronage, supported by the eager youth of both sexes. Indeed, there has never been such a deliberate, organized attempt to extinguish belief in God from the minds of 160,000,000 people and to develop an absolutely godless generation.
Strangely enough, the Soviet leaders consider that they are doing the world service by propagating such ideas. Religion, they hold, is “the opiate of the people” and therefore the chief support of capitalism. Consequently they hold that in destroying religion they are hastening the day when Sovietism shall enjoy universal sway. With them their political teachings are as fervently held as are religious beliefs in other lands, and dissemination of them is held to be a matter of urgent duty. When asked on one occasion if the USSR would not cease its disruptive propaganda in India, one of its leading officials replied in effect: “How can we? If we should agree to do so at headquarters, our followers would continue their preaching; for it is to them what religion is to you.”
So the effort to bring about world revolution proceeds unabated. Soviet emissaries press on with their destructive work in every country where they can obtain admission. Wherever there is serious discontent they are there to foment it. A college for the training of revolutionaries has been established near Moscow and is regularly attended by scores of men and women from all nations. There they are taught the theory of Sovietism and the methods by, which it has been established in Russia, and from hence they return to their own countries to preach their gospel of world revolution.
Whether or not they will succeed no one as yet can tell. But the existence of this strange, terrible, godless power, so ruthless in its determination to carry out its projects, so fired with a blazing passion to impose its doctrines and its system upon the world, is perhaps the most serious menace that faces mankind today. Certainly its rise from obscurity to world influence in the midst of this mighty hour is of grave significance. Undoubtedly it lends new meaning to the words of James, written under divine inspiration: “Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is rusted; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall cat your flesh as it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days.” [James 5:1-5]
“Bolshevism,” writes Dr. Dillon on the last page of his remarkable book, “Russia of Today and Yesterday,” “is no ordinary historic event. It is one of the world cathartic agencies to which we sometimes give the name of Fate, which appear at long intervals to consume the human tares and clear the ground for a new order of men and things. The Hebrews under Moses and Joshua, the Huns under Attila, the Mongols under Ghenghis Khan, and the Bolshevists under Lenin, are all tarred with the same transcendental brush. Bolshevism takes its origin in the unplumbed depths of being. It is amoral and inexorable because transcendental. It has come, as Christianity came, not for peace but for the sword, and its victims outnumber those of the most sanguinary wars. To me it seems the most driving force for good or evil in the world today. It is certainly stern reality, smelling perhaps of brimstone and sulfur, but with a mission on earth, and a mission which will undoubtedly be fulfilled.”
Commenting upon this startling passage, Sir Philip Gibbs says:-
“That last sentence is a prophecy, and makes one’s soul feel cold, for if it is true the history of civilization will be torn up as Lenin tore it up, and there will be millions of victims and rivers of blood, and the agony of many people like that I saw in Russia. For the ideas of Communism are in deadly warfare with the social structure, the ethical traditions, and the religious faith -now weakening-of our Western civilization, and if that fails to defend itself it will perish as other civilizations have done before, and the transition to the next phase will be another martyrdom of man.”
What an age is this, threatened not only by economic disaster and renewed war, but also by the worse terrors of universal revolution! The immediate outlook may well cause the very stout hearts to tremble. Yet it may be laced with unflinching courage by those who trust in Cod. They may well take upon their lips the prayer uttered by Jeremiah in a time of similar distress: “0 the hope of Israel, the Savior thereof in time of trouble, why should Thou be as a stranger in the land. As a mighty man that cannot save? Yet Thou, 0 Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by Thy name; leave us not.” [ Jeremiah 14:8,9].
THUS far we have looked upon the distress of nations, torn by strife, riveted with dissension, broken by disappointments, unnerved by fearful doubts, struggling with colossal debts, striving after peace yet constantly menaced by war and revolution. But not. only are the nations in agony; the earth itself is in the throes of some terrible travail. Indeed, all creation seems strangely disturbed in this mighty, hour, as though groaning beneath the burden of human sorrow that it bears.
Natural disasters of staggering magnitude follow one another with disturbing frequency. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, cyclones, and tornadoes, have become increasingly familiar of recent years. Almost every day the newspapers report some new catastrophe with fearful loss of life. As Sir Arthur Salter has said, in words quoted previously: “The dispatches announce new strokes of fate in unending succession, like the messengers of Job, each heralding disaster. ‘And while he yet spoke, there came another.’
An editorial in the Daily Chronicle some time ago contained the following striking paragraphs:-
“Not only are revolutions occurring among the people of the earth, the earth itself is In revolt. The captain of a steamer which has just reached Manchester from Halifax (NS) reports that when in mid-Atlantic his vessel began to vibrate from stem to stern, and continued to do so for twenty minutes. This experience was repeated four times. “Some weeks ago a break was reported in a cable 800 miles north of the Cape, and investigations by a repair ship revealed the fact that the ocean bed at this point had risen from a depth of three miles to within three-quarters of a mile of the surface. Nor does this exhaust the story of nature’s recent upheavals. Instinctively our minds go back to the eruption of Etna and to the devastating earthquake and tidal waves in Japan. What do all these upheavals signify?”
No one would suggest that such phenomena are peculiar to this age. History testifies that earth tremors of varying intensity have been experienced from the earliest times. Since the development of the science of seismology investigations into the frequency and periodicity of earthquakes have revealed remarkable facts; and though the occurrence of these upheavals is utterly beyond the control of man, the regions where they are likely to take place are now well known. Montessus prepared a world map showing the incidence of 140,000 earthquakes, and from this and similar works the earthquake zones have been defined with accuracy.
All this study of earthquakes, however, which has been carried on with growing zeal during the past century, has left no doubt that these disturbances of nature have definitely increased in number and severity of recent years. The following record of earthquakes from the first to the nineteenth century, compiled by John Milue,
Allowing for the wider knowledge of the world that prevailed during the later centuries, the greater reliability of the records, and the invention of the seismograph during the nineteenth century, there would still appear to be a definite progressive increase. That this is so is borne out by the list of the “Great Earthquakes of History” which appears in Nelson’s Loose Leaf Encyclopedia. This list begins with an earthquake in China in the year 1038 and ends with the Japanese disaster of 1923. It reveals the startling fact that during the last fifty years of this period there were more severe earthquakes than during the 850 preceding years. From 1038 to 1875 there were twenty-six, and from 1875 to 1923 there were twenty-eight. What is perhaps more significant is that of these twenty-eight, eighteen, or about two-thirds, have occurred since 1905. Eighteen great earthquakes in eighteen years! An average of one a year- during the early years of the twentieth century-and yet, during the 866 years from 1038 to 1904, there were only thirty-six, an average of one every twenty-four years. Explain the figures how one may, it would surely seem as though something terrible has been happening of late deep down in the bowels of our old earth.
If anyone is perplexed by the difference in the figures in the two lists quoted, let it be explained that the second only has reference to violent catastrophes that wrought exceptional damage to life and property. Classification of earthquakes is always a difficult matter, because what may be regarded as serious by one may be reckoned slight by another. Thus between the years 1891 and 1920 Italy experienced no less than 4,954 shocks and yet most of these were known only to the scientists. Between 1885 and 1892 Japan was shaken no less than 8,531 times, but fortunately only a few of these quakes were of sufficient magnitude to cause loss of life. Even Great Britain, from 1889 to 1916, had 366 earthquakes, all of a very minor nature. It can readily be seen, therefore, that estimates of the number of “destructive” earthquakes may easily differ simply by reason of the construction put upon the term itself. Nevertheless the significant trend remains, and the occurrence of such an abnormal number of first-magnitude disasters of recent years, out of all proportion to the past, is undoubtedly a fact of strange and ominous importance.
These later catastrophes, moreover, have descended almost like judgments upon mankind. Never has there been such fearful slaughter. Since the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, when 50,000 perished, there has been nothing to equal the carnage of the quakes of the twentieth century. In the awful holocaust at Messina, in 1908, 100,000 persons were killed, or 50 per cent of the population of the district. At the time of the great Chinese disaster of 1920 in the Kansu province, 180,000 souls were lost. During the Japanese earthquake of September 1, 1923, and in the resultant fires, 156,693 were killed, injured, or reported missing.
No earthquake has ever changed the face of the affected region so completely as that fearful Kansu cataclysm. An observer, writing in the National Geographic Magazine, said that “mountains that moved in the night, landslides that eddied like waterfalls, crevasses that swallowed houses and camel trains, and villages that were swept away under a rising sea of loose earth, were a few of the subsidiary occurrences that made the earthquake in Kansu one of the most appalling catastrophes in history.”
But terrible as was this Chinese disaster it was surpassed only three years later by the fearful upheaval in Japan, involving the destruction of Tokyo, Yokohama, and scores of smaller towns and villages.
According to the official report, published by the Japanese Bureau of Social Affairs, no less than seven administrative divisions were shattered, the sufferers in the afflicted region totaling 3,404,898. It was the greatest earthquake recorded in history. Indeed to quote the report, “There is no authenticated record of a calamity so terrifying, so inclusive of every form of horror, so destructive of human life and property, as this.”
The day was fine and no premonition gave warning of the coming calamity. As noon approached the midday meal was being prepared in tens of thousands of unsuspecting homes. Then two minutes before the hour came the first terrific shock. In a moment whole cities fell. Hundreds of gas fires and charcoal cookers were suddenly overturned, and in the space of minutes fire joined fire until cities and towns became roaring furnaces, and those who had not at the first warning sought places of safety were cut off and perished miserably. Streets, parks, and fields, crowded with panic-stricken people, became ringed with fire, the ground meanwhile shaking beneath them as they roasted to death in thousands.
An eye-witness, writing for McClure’s Magazine, penned this graphic description:
“The gates of hell swung open for Central Japan two minutes before the noon hour on Saturday, September the first, and for two days the demons of destruction worked their will with all the elements of earth, fire, and water. Death in a hundred forms stalked abroad. The solid earth turned fluid. The sea invaded the land. Fire, unleashed and uncontrollable, fed upon the wreckage of half a hundred cities, towns, and villages, and drowned the shrieks of perishing thousands in its onrushing roar.”
In the years that have elapsed since then creation has not ceased her groaning. Further mighty earthquakes have brought death and destruction in many p aces. During 1928 the chief center was the Balkan peninsula, where Bulgaria suffered the demolition of Philippopolis, and Greece the loss of Corinth; while during the two following years New Zealand was the scene of serious upheavals in both her North and South Islands, involving much loss of life and property.
Not long ago a famous scientist put forward the startling theory, that the location of recent earthquakes would indicate that the earth is actually in process of splitting in two! Notice the map showing where most of the great earthquakes of the past thirty years have taken place. Whether or not there is any foundation for the suggestion of the earth’s cleavage, it is not a little significant that so many upheavals have occurred along a definite line that actually encircles the globe.
Volcanoes have also added to the tale of slaughter and desolation. These great smoking vent-pipes of the underworld, always a menace to mankind, have of late years aroused to fresh activity. Etna, after a long period of quiescence, has again belched forth a mighty stream of lava-200yards wide-blotting out farms and villages over a wide area. Old Vesuvius, too, has given signs of restlessness, while in many other parts of the world evidence is accumulating that a mighty stirring is taking place in the unfathomed deeps beneath us.
On April 11, 1932, a great part of the continent of South America was shaken by the sudden eruption of no less than eight mighty Andean volcanoes. So terrific was the upheaval that a pall of darkness spread over an immense area, broken only by the flashes from the blazing craters and the glow of the molten lava, while ashes from the explosions spread over millions of square miles.
The following account of an eye-witness, sent to a leading London daily by Mr. William Duffy, a British mechanical engineer residing in Melargue, graphically describes the terrifying scenes of those awful days:
“A strange and oppressive tenseness settled over the volcanic region on Monday morning. Gradually the sky turned from a dull gray to black.
“An acute fear of something awful about to happen caused the people to walk apprehensively, and they were in a state bordering on panic by noon, when darkness enveloped the city.
“The ash showers began almost before we realized that the volcanoes of Descabezado and Tinguiririca-between which the city is located-had erupted.
“But the ashes got pretty thick, like the first winter snowfall, and there was a sulphurous smell that caused one to cough. The authorities sounded warnings throughout the city against the danger of inhaling the dust; and word spread that great earthquakes might come.
“Then the panic began in earnest, with the inhabitants rushing hither and thither in mad confusion. What a situation!
“These 10,000 people, who up to that morning had gone about their tasks in the same untroubled way as the citizens of London, were suddenly confronted by a dreadful menace above and below the earth.
“If they remained indoors, they risked death by the expected earthquakes; if they sought refuge in the country, they risked suffocation in the impregnated atmosphere.
“To make matters worse, the power station broke down and the current failed, plunging the city into intense darkness amid a rainfall of hot ashes and cinders.
“The women and children clung to their men folk with cries and whimpers, but the men folk were equally panicky. Many of them commandeered any available vehicles, loaded their families upon them, and hastened out of the city.
“Everywhere I stumbled upon kneeling women and children, sobbing out prayers and loudly asking Heaven to spare them.”
But the increasing disturbances of nature are by no means confined to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Tornadoes, hurricanes, and cyclones of exceptional severity have occurred all too frequently of recent years. The tornado that swept over five of the southern states of America in the spring of 1032 was said to be the most destructive of property known in history. Over 300 persons were killed, 2,500 injured, 7,ooo rendered homeless, while the damage was valued at over £400,000. Ruinous droughts are numerous, while elsewhere terrible floods, such as those that covered vast areas of China not long ago, bring desolation to thousands. Diseases of vegetation also, of trees, vines, and grains, are becoming increasingly destructive. Never have the hosts of insect pests been so formidable. Indeed, their multiplying hordes recall Joel’s prophecy of the plagues that are to herald the coming of the Lord. [Joel 1:2-20, 2:2]
Surely, as the Apostle Paul says, “the whole creation groans and travails in pain together.” [Romans 8:22] As David and Isaiah prophesied, it is waxing old “like a garment.” [Psalm 102:26, Isaiah 51:6]. It is quaking like an old man with the ague, seeming to know that the time of its dissolution draws near. The fire and brimstone that it belches forth, the yawning chasms that open in its body, the fierce storms and tempests that sweep over its surface, are symbolic of its despairing anguish and indicative of the approach of its long-foretold and culminating catastrophe.
“Behold,” said the prophet Isaiah, referring to that day, “the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof. The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” [Isaiah 24:1,19,20]
AND the Apostle John, describing the scenes at the close of time, when all nations shall be gathered at Armageddon, when the work of the gospel shall have been completed, and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ be very near, writes as follows:-
“And the seventh angel poured Out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightning; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the, mountains were not found.” [Revelation 16:17-20]
Towards this supreme crisis we are travelling with startling rapidity. Events on the earth, above the earth, under the earth, the distress of nations, and the travail of the globe itself, proclaim that we have arrived at the most solemn moment of history. A world in agony demands that we recognize the tremendous import of this mighty hour. And the angels echo the warning with the startling cry: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; FOR THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT IS COME.” [Revelation 14:7]
THIS is indeed Time’s greatest hour. We live in earth’s golden age. Like some long-closed flower, slowly maturing through many millenniums, the genius of man has suddenly burst open with a blaze of radiant glory. The sleep of centuries has ended in a mighty awakening. Something miraculous has taken place. In a few short years the earth has been transformed. Applied science has revolutionized every process of life. Into the mind of man has flowed a great tide of new ideas, as when flood-gates are opened or a dam bursts. After generations of languid restfulness mankind has been thrust abruptly into the hurly-burly of this amazing time. From the leisurely meandering of the past it has stepped suddenly upon some fast-moving stairway that is hurrying onwards with bewildering momentum. There has come a speeding-up in every field of human activity. In the words of Mr. Lloyd George, “We are rushing on at a giddy pace, covering the track of centuries in a year.” The stream of life that long wended its way in tranquil serenity through peaceful plains has reached the rapids at last.
Of a sudden the crude simplicities of bygone ages have given place to amazing modern inventions. The customs and habits of many generations have been swept away like a village of log cabins ill a forest fire. Upon their ashes has been erected the colossal structure of twentieth-century civilization. Scientists, chemists, explorers, engineers, with minds aflame with new knowledge, and fired with zeal for ever-wider conquests, have combined to create this modern world of wonders. For wealth, power, and magnificence it has no equal in the annals of man. The most brilliant eras of the past pale into insignificance beside the effulgent splendor of this golden age.
What a pageant of glory passes before our eyes as we contemplate this marvelous hour to which we have come! Captured secrets and enslaved powers of nature pass by us in continuous procession, led in triumph by the modern Caesars of science. Moment by moment new wonders are unfolded. Dazzling achievements testify to the almost unlimited capacity of the genius of man.
From the earth, from the air, from the ether, from the sea, yea, from under the sea, come tributes to his conquering spirit, while across the centuries comes the sound of a Voice crying: “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see: for. . . many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them.” [Luke 10:23,24]
Behold first the first wonders in the earth. A car flashes past, travelling at 250 miles an hour; and we marvel at the skill of the mechanics and the nerve of the driver that made such speed possible.
A giant engine hurtles by at eighty miles an hour. Be-hind it are many coaches and hundreds of passengers. On, on it goes, across mighty viaducts, over massive bridges of latticed steel, penetrating mountain ranges and burrowing under rivers. On, on into every nation, linking up great cities and forgotten villages, carrying new life and thought to all the world.
There is a hum as of many dynamos. A great dam appears, blocking the waters of a river, directing them through prepared channels, and using them to transform the force of gravity into power and heat-compelling the waters of the valley to light the houses on the hilltop and drive the machinery of a thousand factories.
There is a blaze of many furnaces, and we see tons upon tons of iron ore being changed into fine steel and wrought and molded into giant girders, massive wheels, and other implements of industry.
The music of the presses breaks on our cars, and there come into view those masterpieces of invention that make possible the newspapers of today. Swiftly turning rollers feed miles upon miles of paper into the insatiable maw of these modern Titans, to be changed, at the incredible speed of 80,000 copies an hour, into complete chronicles of the world’s daily, doings.
There is a tapping of adding machines, and we see clerks adding columns upon columns of figures on these miracles of the inventor’s skill, subtracting, dividing, multiplying-all with absolute accuracy and a minimum of effort.
There is a rattling as of many harvesters, and we see great tractors moving rapidly down the corn fields cutting, bundling, and threshing with one swift action.
A thunderous roar breaks on our ears. Mighty pumps are raising water from the bowels of the earth, while a million citizens in surrounding cities lave themselves at their case in the far-drawn waters.
But now, behold the wonders in the air! There is a dull droning in the distance. We look up, and there in silvered glory an airship rides majestically towards us. Yonder comes another, and another, great liners of the sky, filled with millions of cubic feet of gas and carrying thousands of tons of merchandise around the world.
Above and below them are baby moths, giant bombers, and swift scouts that speed like eagles through the air. And hark! From out the distant haze comes that triumph of German skill, the flying-boat, Dornier DoX, carrying its five score passengers across the oceans. And whizzing Past our heads flashes “the flying bullet,” that traveled at 450 miles an hour in the race for the Schneider Trophy.
But what is this; A rocket plane, driven forward by a new method of propulsion. Strange and marvelous, loaded with supercharged rockets, it seeks to break the bounds of earth and speed’ through the last traces of atmosphere out, out into the great beyond towards the moon or the stars, wherever Fate may take it. And listen! For hither come the wonders of the ether.
Voices speak to us from the ends of the earth. Across ten thousand miles words reach us with the very inflection of the speaker’s voice. The faintest sounds, the splash of water, the shuffling of feet, the crumpling of paper, are all reproduced with scrupulous exactness.
The King speaks, and almost the entire population of the world is enabled to listen to his voice. Surely no monarch ever had such power and privilege in his possession!
But see! Here are moving pictures, coming from afar. Mysteriously, through the ether, the vibrations reach the instrument before us and are immediately translated into lifelike figures, running, talking, laughing, singing. Amazing triumph of this wondrous age!
Fading into the distance is that one-time queen of the Atlantic, the Mauretania,, which for more than twenty years has raced from continent to continent. A wonder-ship in itself, but now at last passing the blue riband to the stately Europa, the magnificent new German liner, which has crossed the Atlantic in nine hours less than the Mauretania.
And behold all those great mammoths of the deep passing in glorious array-the Majestic, the Olympic, the Leviathan, the Brenzen, the Empress of Britain, and scores upon scores of lesser ships, line upon line, line upon line, steaming by us, on to, the ends of the earth.
And see! The battleships are coming. Full of mystery and power---the best skill of man has been expended on their construction. The Rodney, the Nelson, the Renown, the cruisers, the destroyers, the mine-layers, the hydroplanes-what a plethora of wonders they each and all contain! And now, behold the wonders under the sea!
Rising from the depths before our eyes is a giant submarine-a cruiser with six-inch guns, yet able to descend to the ocean bottom in a few minutes and rise again at will. Equipped with powerful engines and supplies of oxygen, it can travel hundreds of miles without coming to the surface. Within its cramped interior men eat and sleep, work and play, down in the great deeps.
And what is this? A strange new diving bell let down from a ship’s side and resting on the ocean bed. Within it is a man and his family; studying, painting, and photographing the flora and fauna of the sea. What next will men devise?
But see! Behold the wonders in the heavens, revealed as never before by marvelous instruments recently constructed. Take this great telescope, with its huge lens, and look up into the infinite realms of God. How vast is His dominion! How immense is space! Stars upon stars, systems upon systems, nebulae, planets, asteroids, worlds without end. 0 God! How terrible is Thy power which Thou has revealed to men ill this great day!
Wonderful pageant of our time! And yet how incomplete a picture of all the stupendous marvels that are now the commonplaces of our lives!
Within the walls of every factory are masterpieces of machinery that would make the eyes of our forefathers stare with astonishment. The processes that bring the choicest fabrics, the finest silks, the rarest laces, within the purchasing capacity of those in moderate circumstances are nothing short of miracles of inventive genius. Mass production methods that turn out motorcars, sewing-machines, refrigerators, bicycles, by hundreds a day, and make it possible for men and women of comparatively limited means to possess them, are equally wonderful, though our familiarity with them may have bred a thoughtless contempt.
And what shall we say of the miracles behind the walls of our hospitals? Never in the world’s history have such wonders been accomplished there. Turning back the wheels of time a hundred years, one finds these benevolent institutions dens of horror by comparison Above the entrances might well have been written, “Abandon hope all you who enter here.” Anesthetics and antiseptics were unknown. Such operations as there were meant ghastly torture for the patient and a fearfully high mortality. Few had ever heard of “germs” or “nerves.” Sterilization and other common processes of modern medicine were still undiscovered. No doctor ever felt a patient’s pulse or listened to his heart beats with a stethoscope. As for radium and X-rays, they had not entered men’s wildest dreams.
In the middle of the nineteenth century physicians knew little more about the causes of fever, plague, and pestilence than did the ancient Babylonians, despite Jenner’s epochal discovery of the effect of vaccination ill 1796. Pasteur’s investigations into the germ theory, of infectious diseases were still in their infancy even in 1850, and it was not until over thirty years later that the malaria protozoon and the tubercle bacillus were isolated.
It almost makes one’s flesh creep to think what the sick had perforce to suffer even such a short time ago. The discovery of the anesthetic properties of ether was not made until 1846 and the value of antiseptics in the treatment of wounds was not recognized until Lister’s experiments in 1867. And it is only in very recent years that successful attacks have been made upon such diseases as typhoid fever, diphtheria, and cerebro-spinal meningitis.
But what a change one brief century has brought! Immense strides have been made in the conquest of disease. Physiology has become an exact science. Surgery and hydrotherapy are fine arts. Every bone, every nerve, every gland, every capillary of the body is now known and classified. Major operations of the most serious kind can now be performed without fear of death and almost without the knowledge of the patient. Blood can be transfused from one patient to another. Burnt skin can be replaced. Deformed features can be adjusted. Indeed, there seems no limit to the skill of the modern physician and surgeon, save only the bringing of the dead back to life again.
What is true in the realms of machinery and medicine is true also of education. Less than a century ago most of the inhabitants of the world, even of so-called civilized countries, were quite illiterate. One has only to read the descriptions given by Charles Dickens of the English schools of the nineteenth century to realize how appallingly incompetent they were. Only a small proportion of the population was able to benefit even from such elementary subjects as were offered; the rest relied for their information upon village gossip, the preaching of the parson, and the reading of books aloud by their more fortunate friends. As for foreign news ‘ this, such as it was, came for the most part through the medium of returned soldiers or merchants. Newspapers were a luxury confined to the few who could pay for them and read them. Not until late in the century were any definite steps taken towards giving the whole populace the education so long denied them. Then came a series of Education Acts, the building of schools in every city and village, the raising of standards for both teachers and students, and the dawn of a great new light in millions of minds the world around.
A century ago the greater portion of the globe was enveloped in heathen darkness and practically unknown to the nations of western Europe. In a very real sense “darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people.” True, explorers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had opened the eyes of many in the homelands to the existence of great new territories beyond the seas, but little more was heard of them. Occasionally hearts were stirred by rumors of distant treasures of gold and silver, and from. time to time expeditions went out in search of them. But it was not until the nineteenth century was well advanced that any great effort was made to map the world and chart the seas on a scientific. basis and open up their vast possibilities of trade. Then, however, came the great empire-building crusades. The white nations began to colonize on an unprecedented scale. Intrepid explorers went out to the ends of the earth and planted the flags of their respective countries on lands hitherto unknown. Great missionaries, like Livingstone and Moffatt, Carey, Morrison, and Hudson Taylor, opened up the interior of Africa, India, and China.
In those days-less than a century ago-steamships and railways were hardly known. A voyage from England to the East consumed many months and entailed serious hardships and privations to those who ventured upon it. A missionary or an explorer was cut off almost entirely from his homeland. He could not call for supplies, relief, or assistance, for there were no cables and no postal system worth the name. Arriving at his destination he found himself cast utterly upon his own resources. There was no government protection; no railway to take him up-country; no book to help him with the native language; not a page of print to assist him in his work. If he fell ill he had no safe method of combating tropical diseases. If he was killed and eaten no one at home knew about it-certainly not until many months afterwards.
Again, what a change has taken place! Now all the world lies open, not only to missionaries and explorers, but to thousands of tourists who annually visit the most distant places in the comfort of fast luxury liners. The globe is at last a unit, with every land linked by cables, wireless beams, railways, steamships, and airplanes. There are no more closed lands, no more unexplored continents. Even the poles have been visited so often that an expedition to the arctic regions no longer arouses more than passing interest. As Jules Verne wrote on one occasion, “There are no more impassable deserts, no more unfathomable seas, no more inaccessible mountains.” The explorer’s task is done.
By boat it is now but a thirteen days’ trip from, London to the Gold Coast and eighteen days will take one via Genoa and Suez to Mombasa. From there a two days’ trip on a modern railway carries one into the very heart of Africa. A fortnight will bridge the distance between England and India, and five weeks suffice to carry one to almost any of the chief ports in the Far East. Canada can be reached in a little over four days and South America in fifteen days.
But even these times are now obsolescent. The ever increasing speed of passenger-carrying planes has made them appear by comparison like the interminable journeys of a hundred years ago.
The first fleet which left England for New South Wales in 1787 completed the journey in slightly more than eight months. The clipper barque Phoenician astonished sailing men in 1849 by making the run in 91 days. In 1919 Sir Ross Smith flew from England to Darwin in 28 days. Fifteen years later Scott and Black traveled between the two countries at a speed of nearly 3,800 miles a day, completing the journey to Melbourne in a little less than three days.
THE HOUR OF DESTINY
These wonderful years! How full of tremendous happenings! Never was there such a time as this. Surely this must be “the time of the end” foretold long ago by the prophet Daniel, when knowledge was to increase and men run to and fro.
Strangely enough, this striking prophecy is found in the very chapter that describes the final time of trouble that is to come upon the world. Here are the very words of the heavenly messenger to Daniel: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of thy, people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, 0 Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” [Daniel 12:1-4]
Linked within this amazing prediction are three great unmistakable events: an unprecedented time of trouble for the nations, an unparalleled increase of knowledge, and the end of the world. Facts compel us to admit the present agony of humanity, and yet withal its, sudden and extraordinary enlightenment of recent years. Can we altogether ignore the further implication of the prophetic Word?
There seems little doubt that the prophet Isaiah must also have looked forward to this time when, describing the events preceding the end of the age and the coming of our Lord, he said: “Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 0 Zion, that brings good tidings, get thee tip into the high mountain; 0 Jerusalem, that brings good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” [Isaiah 40:3-10]
As we have seen, for a hundred years and more this preparation of the King’s highway has been proceeding. It has been an unexampled age of mechanical progress, exhaustive exploration, intellectual expansion, and missionary activity. One by one valleys have been exalted and mountains brought low by the onward march of science. Even literally has the prophecy been fulfilled as the great railways have belted the earth and brought even the remotest regions into touch with civilization and the gospel. Now today, when the preparation is well nigh completed, when the world is a unit as never before, when its most distant regions can be reached in the shortest possible time, the very message of the prophecy is being heard in all the world: “Behold, He comes!”
What a mighty hour is this, what a golden age! Every material blessing has been showered upon this generation by a bountiful Creator. Heaven has bestowed upon it the choicest gifts, revealing the dark and hidden secrets of the earth. A great light from above has illumined all mankind. Well might men say, “0 Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom has Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches.” [Psalm 104:24] Yet there are few signs of gratitude, and but little appreciation of the divine munificence. All is taken for granted. The wonders of yesterday become the commonplaces of today. Seldom is the cry heard: “What hath God wrought!” Few detect His hand in these stupendous happenings. They do not see Him standing in the shadows, working out His eternal purpose.
This age may be golden, but it is godless also. It has developed amazing inventions, but scorned the greater marvels of redeeming grace. It has erected the mightiest civilization the world has ever seen, but has refused the conversion that alone might have made its foundations durable. It has discovered gold in abundance, but has turned its back on the God who gave it.
Well might the heavenly watchers say to this generation, as was said by Christ in the long ago: “Woe unto thee! For if the mighty works, which were done in you, were done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Thou which art exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell.” [Matthew 11: 21-23]
LIKE Israel at Sinai this modern world of ours has made new gods for itself to worship.
In that far wilderness there had been an amazing revelation of Jehovah’s power. A vast fire-cleft cloud had settled on the mountain top; and while the earth trembled, “with a great voice out of the thick darkness,” God had spoken the Ten Commandments. It was a moment of fearful solemnity and great spiritual exaltation. Never before had a nation been so signally honored. Not since Eden had God come so near to men. It was an occasion to be remembered with reverence and awe through all generations.
But Moses tarried in the mount with God. The earth ceased its quaking and the darkness passed. Ere forty days had elapsed the impression made by the wonders of that tremendous hour had already faded and the commandments themselves had been forgotten. “Up, make us gods!” cried the people, “for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we don’t not what is become of him.”
So they made gods of gold. We read that “all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and then said, These be thy gods, 0 Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” [Exodus 32:1-4]
It was all very foolish and very wicked. And what was at first only, an exhibition of unpardonable forgetfulness and base ingratitude quickly descended into an unholy orgy of licentiousness. Idolatry, as it always does, led to lewdness, and only the mercy of God in response to the pleading of Moses preserved the camp from the full fury of the wrath of God. The golden gods were a delusion and a snare.
As the Apostle Paul says of all idolaters: “They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into ail image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts: ... who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.” [Romans 1:21-25]
Human nature has not changed with the changing years. Even the stupendous revelations of God’s power in this mighty hour have brought Him but little glory, from men. He has spoken also in earthquake and fire, in cyclone and tempest, by miraculous illumination of this last generation, in many promised signs fulfilled; but all in vain. The impression of His might and majesty has faded more quickly than from Israel at Sinai.
The creature has once more supplanted the Creator. Yet again man has succumbed to the temptation to worship the works of his own hands, and to ignore the One from whom all inspiration for achievement proceeds. Indeed, under the strain and stress of modern life, induced to no small degree by the very enlightenment that has come to the world during recent years, the thought of God has utterly vanished from the minds of multitudes. Of such it would be true to say that, “God is not in all their thoughts.” And in His place other deities have been erected amid the frenzied acclamation: “These be thy gods, 0 Israel!”
Chief among these is the god of gold. Christ called him Mammon. In every age he has had his faithful devotees. Avarice has always brought a large following to worship at his shrine. But today almost all the world bows down in homage. In the midst of universal poverty the craving for money has become an intense, unquenchable passion.
It breaks out from time to time in wild excesses of speculation, such as the “boom” that gripped the United States in 1929 and precipitated the world financial crisis. So intense was the greed for gain at that time that men bought vast blocks of shares for which they were entirely unable to pay, but which they held temporarily in the hope that prices would rise and give them spectacular profits. Homes and farms and businesses were mortgaged to provide means to carry on the colossal speculation, and assets of every available kind were thrown wildly into the whirlpool of this greatest gamble of all time.
When the fever spread to Britain hundreds of people of small means joined with the well-to-do in the great world chase of this golden will-o-the-wisp. Many sacrificed their all to buy, stocks and share,, in companies of which they had never beard before-nor have ever heard with satisfaction since. Even typists and office boys pooled their little savings and made themselves proud shareholders in big firms in the eager hope of sharing the profits they thought would come to them. There was a time when sober men thought the world had gone mad in this frantic scramble for gold.
The mighty, bubble burst at last, bringing ruin to thousands of homes. But the lust for gain seemed only to be intensified thereby. Sweepstakes, under the guise of a great philanthropic movement, seized the public imagination and took on huge proportions. Over £3,000,000 was subscribed in one such endeavor to aid the Irish hospitals. The enormous popularity of these “hospital sweeps” compelled the British Government to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the advisability of legalizing them in that country.
Shorn of their veneer of benevolence, however, these great national gambles merely give further indication of the general trend towards the shrine of Mammon. There is no denying that, upon the announcement of some great new “sweep,” or lottery, a thrill goes round the world. Every purchaser of a ticket says to himself “Perhaps luck will fall my way this time and I shall be rich at last.” Old women in the East End of London have been known to pawn their very bedsteads that they might have a share in the great lottery. “Dole” money has been sacrificed and children left without necessary food in the vain, mad hope of reaping sudden plenty by this means.
Allied to the lure of sweepstakes is the betting evil, ever present, but taking on rapidly widening dimensions. The hold that it has upon the public is indicated by the space given to racing results in the daily press. Few, indeed, would care ought about a horse race if there were no money on the winner. Who would give two thoughts to half a dozen greyhounds playing in a field if there were no odds on the fastest runner? It is the greed for gain, the longing for money without labor, that make dog-racing and horse-racing so popular today.
Yet gambling, like Mammon, is a god of sorrow. It has ruined countless homes. Every day it raises false hopes of fortune in thousands of hearts only to dash them pitilessly to the ground. It saps vitality, spoils love for honest toil, and breeds dissatisfaction, discouragement, and despair. One thing it never does-it never brings happiness. For happiness is contentment, and no one who has ever won a bet is content with his gains. He wants to bet again. He believes that he has found the royal road to easy money. So he continues to bet until he loses, then returns to it to recoup himself, invariably finding at last that he is poorer than when he began.
Those who are already, in the clutches of this ruinous habit-for such it surely, is-would be well advised to call a halt without delay. And to the young and those who have not as yet become entwined in the coils of this serpent, the path of wisdom and safety lies in complete abstention-in a settled determination never to make the first bet.
Another deity of the modern world is the god of pleasure. Since the war there has come about a new exaltation of selfishness, an inordinate craving to satisfy the “lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” Though the terrible happenings of this solemn hour might have been expected to solemnize all hearts and stimulate a mass movement towards the things of God, there has developed, on the contrary, what seems to be an attempt to drown all sorrows and disappointments, all fears for the future, in reckless indulgence.
In most countries today the uppermost thought in the minds of the populace is “sport.” The daily conversation of millions is concerned chiefly with nothing more elevating than the conflicts of rival football teams, the possible issue of a cricket match, the result of a boxing contest, the latest racing tips, or the rise of some new star in the tennis, theatre, or cinema heavens. More and more this discussion of “sport” is monopolizing the newspapers. In fact, no paper stands any chance of existence unless it devotes a large proportion of its space to the subject.
But it does not stop at discussion. Naturally people want to see the Subject of their conversation on every possible occasion. Even, week, therefore, millions of people sit or stand for hours watching the various games. Never have the football crowds been so large. First-class cricket is an equally attractive draw. If a popular boxing contest is arranged no hall is large enough to accommodate the would-be spectators. If there is a race meeting in progress vast numbers flock to the course. People, for the most part, no longer play themselves, which might do them good and bring them health. Instead they prefer to pay to watch others play before them.
This gazing and gambling upon the fierce contests of highly paid professionals, this wild orgy of pleasure seeking that seems to have captured our modern world, is ominously reminiscent of the scenes connected with the gladiatorial combats in the Roman Colosseum. And it should not be forgotten that the decay of the Roman empire began when the people, ignoring the stern times in which they were living, cried to the emperor: “Give us bread and circuses!” Civilization might well ask itself today, if it is not witnessing a repetition of history.
Of all the seductive pleasures of this time none equals the cinema for popularity. These so-called “palaces” where moving pictures are shown have quite displaced the churches in the affections of the people. Thousands flock to them day after day, night after night. It is another world craze that has spread from the United States to every corner of the globe. Indeed, there is no longer a town of any size that does not boast at least one picture house. An American writer says:-
“There are multitudes of people in the United States who see moving pictures every day; hundreds of thousands of working girls and school children who see moving pictures every noon and night. There are literally millions of children in our great centers who know nothing of love, work, home life, business, politics, nature etc.
Recently the London County Council issued a report on the attendance of children at cinemas within its jurisdiction. It was based upon an inquiry among 21,280 children from three to fourteen years of age, and revealed that out of every hundred children: Nine go to the cinema twice a week; Thirty go once a week; Forty-eight go at irregular intervals; and Only thirteen never go at all.
Of the children under five, sixty-three in every hundred go to the cinema, thirty weekly, and seven twice a week. “The commonest time is Saturday afternoon, when special children’s performances are given at low prices, but many children attend ordinary performances, and it is quite common for them to see films, licensed for adults only.”
Pictures have always been a source of special interest and happiness to the young, and the lure of the moving picture for them is not hard to understand. But with such an audience, how fearful a responsibility rests upon the promoters of the cinema business! In their hands lies the molding of millions of plastic lives. The destiny of a whole generation of boys and girls is theirs to fashion. They possess an instrument for good or ill with simply terrific possibilities. It is within their power to defeat all that educational and religious workers are attempting to do for the uplift of the race. Before them also is the glorious possibility of implanting beautiful ideals, of turning the minds of youth towards nobler ways of living, of stimulating them to great deeds of self -sacrificing service.
The sin of the cinema lies in its failure to live up to its splendid, unexampled opportunity. Instead of proving a blessing to humanity, and firing youth with holy ambitions, it has contented itself with playing upon the baser passions, exalting folly, advertising crime, debasing love, making sin attractive. Not that all films are bad. Great travel films and stirring dramas with valuable moral lessons have appeared from time to time. Wheat has been mixed with the chaff, but the chaff has predominated. Through almost every performance there runs a “sex element,” a leaven of licentiousness, which pervades and spoils the whole. That is why it is so perilous for the young even to enter these places of amusement. While there may be much to amuse, and a little to edify, they are almost certain to see something which will leave an ineradicable scar upon both mind and conscience.
When the Sunday Entertainment Bill was being discussed in the House of Commons early in 1932, a terrible indictment was brought by dozens of members against the salacious nature of the modern film. Listening to the debate from the Stranger’s Gallery we wondered why, when such strong feelings were held by the nation’s legislators, something is not done to cleanse these Augean stables.
At a conference held recently under the auspices of the Birmingham Cinema Inquiry Committee, Sir Charles Grant Robertson stated that a film representing a great piece of heroic mountaineering was refused by the trade for the sole reason that there was no “sex appeal” in it. It was given an audience by the King, but was not passed on to the general public. To such a charge the reply of the cinema producers is that they exist to give the public what it wants. They claim to know what it wants. Box-office receipts testify to the truth of their assertion; and therein lies the crux of the problem.
The pleasure mania that has seized this generation in its unholy grip finds expression in many varied ways. It can be seen in the avalanche of highly colored novels that flow unceasingly from the press. Many of these books are utterly unfit for circulation in decent society. They can only be described as moral poison.
Music also has been affected, resulting in the horrible distortions known as jazz. “Our pianos,” says one writer, “are heaped high with senseless slush. The old popular songs of sentiment, even the picturesque ragtime of a few years ago, have vanished, and we have instead blatant orgies of sound of the ja-da, Da-da, monkey talk, and jungle sounds that mean nothing to the mind, but may convey endless significance to the animal nature-mere grunts and squeaks and gasps, suggestive of cave men or gorillas reveling in their beastliness. The ‘music’ in almost any respectable parlor would give the alien material for a whole survey of the degeneracy of modern taste.”
The dance has been similarly influenced. The old folk dances are far too tame for modern young people. They have been changed to suit the passions of the times, bringing the participants into such attitudes that their grandmothers, could they see them, would blush for shame.
Upon the altar of the pleasure god many costly libations are offered. In Britain alone, despite the hard times and unemployment, £260,000,000 a year is spent on alcoholic liquors, as against £80,000,000 for bread and £70,000,00 for milk. If the money spent on strong drink in Britain in the last hundred years could have been saved and allowed to accumulate at compound interest, it would have been sufficient to provide for every family in the country, quite apart from what they earn or receive in interest or dividends, an income of £4 per week, not merely for their lives but for the lives of their children and their children’s children. It would have paid off the whole of the national debt of £7,000,000,000.
But the money was spent, and is still being poured out in a constant golden stream. Think of it! Hundreds of millions expended annually with no return save broken homes, spoiled lives, and crowded prisons! Could folly be carried further? Why is it tolerated? There is only one answer. The people want it. The craving for drink must be satisfied. The god of pleasure must have his due.
The incense at his shrine is supplied by the tobacco fumes of a thousand million smokers. No reason supports this incredible absurdity that blows more money, away in smoke year by year than was consumed in the greatest battles of the war. No good comes of it, only undermining of health and blurring of the mental faculties. Why, then, are these added millions offered up on this altar of self-indulgence? The answer is the same. The people want it. They have become enslaved by the lure of nicotine and they cannot break the shackles of the habit they have formed. Day by day they bring perforce new tribute to the god they have chosen to serve.
So while the world hurries on to the stupendous scenes of the crisis of this mighty hour, while the dark night of the time of trouble such as never was settles upon it, the inhabitants are turning from the One who alone could save them to the gods of their own creation. They worship the works of their own hands and revel in the lusts that such idolatry invariably begets. As the Apostle Paul predicted in his inspired description of “the last days,” they have become lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” [2 Timothy 3:1-5]
But, rejecting the Lord of glory, men find no satisfaction in their dreams of avarice. No lasting joy rewards their unceasing search for new delights. Even their realized ambitions turn to Dead Sea fruit in their hands. Their petty deities, to whom they have offered such rich oblations, fail them. The darkness of discontent transmutes their choicest treasures into basest metal. They discover that gold without God makes one poor indeed.
MORE than a century, ago a beautiful bridge was thrown across the Thames in the heart of London. Built to celebrate the victory of Waterloo, no pains were spared to make it a masterpiece of the bridge-builder’s art. Succeeding generations acclaimed its graceful lines and durable qualities. For a hundred years traffic thundered over it in ever-increasing volume.
One day cracks appeared and engineers were hurriedly summoned. They took measurements and discovered that one arch had already dropped several inches. The subsidence continued until it became evident that the whole structure was imperiled and would have to be renewed. Then it was found that the massive stone piers, so imposing, so strong in themselves, were resting, far down in the river mud, upon piles sunk deep into London clay. These humble wooden posts had been supporting the huge edifice since the days of Wellington and Napoleon! At last, however, the ceaseless vibration above, combined with natural forces below, had caused them to give way.
Beneath the beautiful city of Venice, also, there are countless thousands of similar wooden piles driven thickly into the ooze of the Adriatic. Together they form the firm base upon which cathedrals and palaces have been erected. So long as these piles remain intact the city will stand. But let decay do its deadly work, let the piles sink slowly from their appointed levels, and the noble works of man must perish before the triumphant onrush of the surrounding sea.
Likewise the magnificent gilded superstructure of modern civilization rests upon the foundation of millions of little homes. All the blessings that science has conferred upon the world, all the material advantages enjoyed today, depend for their continuance upon the stability of these little units of society. So long as the homes of the people remain intact, strong, courageous, contented, free from sin’s decay-civilization may continue. But once these supporting piles begin to disintegrate, to shatter under the swift vibration of modern life, to rot through contact with the dark waters of evil, nothing can save the whole grand edifice above and around them from crashing in ruin.
Ominous and multiplying signals, however, indicate that all is not well below. Widening cracks give warning of sinking foundations. Outspoken addresses by leading churchmen tell of the corrupting influences that are sapping vitality and ruining moral fiber. Learned judges have expressed themselves concerning the perils that threaten the rising generation. Doctors have spoken of the spread of certain dreadful diseases, the prevalence of nervous disorders, and the increase of lunacy.
These men know that something has happened to the homes of the nations. From their vantage ground they see that a process of deterioration is going forward with alarming rapidity. And they know whither this lowering of ideals, this letting down of standards, this decay in society, must inevitably lead.
When newspapers talk glibly of divorce, and hold up divorced cinema stars as heroes and heroines for the adulation of their readers, scorning the virtues of the simple home, they do not appreciate the fearful consequences of handling this ark of God with such irreverence. When novelists laud the license of unholy living and theatre managers invite the public to view their “bedroom scenes,” they do not consider the Nemesis they inviting upon themselves and all mankind. Yet every article, every book, every play, every film, that conduces to immorality and to the break-up of home life is a definite contribution to the forces threatening the final collapse of civilization.
It is one of the mysteries of this mighty hour that the advent of countless wonders, the sudden enlightenment of the whole race by the advance of science, should be accompanied by this moral failure. Yet despite all the increase of knowledge and the multiplication of divine blessings, the evidences of degeneracy become ever more apparent.
As little by little the barriers to divorce have been lowered, increasing numbers of unhappy couples have flocked to the courts to have their marriage ties dissolved. Year by year more homes are devastated, more hearts are broken, more children are left with shattered ideals, cut off from the happiness and protection of parental love.
Of recent years there has been a steady increase in the number of divorces granted. Here are the figures for the first quarter of the twentieth century, showing the average yearly number of divorces and annulments of marriage over five-year periods for England and Wales:
1901-1905 | 563 |
1906-1910 | 624 |
1911-1915 | 656 |
1916-1920 | 1,510 |
1921-1925 | 2,734 |
From 1926-1930 the average figures reached the total of 3,358, in some years numbering one-quarter of all the cases beard in all the high courts. To these figures must be added the Very large number of separation orders granted. And to obtain a complete picture of all the persons and homes affected, the number of divorces and separations must be multiplied at least three times, without reckoning the children so frequently and tragically involved.
Bad as the situation is becoming in England, it is far worse in the United States. There every seventh marriage ends in divorce. On an average, over 500, divorces are granted every day of the year. judges in certain districts pride themselves on the number they can issue in a limited time. One claims to have given 20,000 decrees during his twelve years on the bench. Reno, in the State of Nevada, has established world notoriety for easy divorce and thousands flock thither for this purpose every year.
Dissolution of marriage has become the chief industry of the city and the main source of its prosperity. In Canada, where divorce is still only granted on very limited grounds, there has been a large increase in the number of petitions of recent years, while in France, where divorce is notoriously easy to obtain, it is no unusual occurrence for tens of thousands of cases to be before the courts at one time. Visitors to Paris will remember the striking posters to bc seen on the boards announcing the fame of lawyers who specialise in “divorces rapides” and offer consultations for the equivalent of one shilling!
Similar increases are recorded in Germany and other Continental countries, while in Russia the new regulations of the Soviet Government have made divorce obtainable for the price of a stamp. Japan comes second to the United States, with a divorce rate of one to every nine marriages.
Marriage has become in many countries merely a civil contract, but in multitudes of cases the old traditional religious forms are still carried out. In the course of the ceremony the man is asked by the minister: “Wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor her, cherish her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her so long as you both shall live?”
The man responds in the affirmative, and the same question is then asked of the woman concerning her loyalty to him. After which both assert publicly that they will remain true to each other, “for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
Invariably at the many weddings it has fallen to our lot to conduct we have been impressed particularly by that last striking sentence, “Till death do us part.” The implications are tremendous. It makes of the promise a fearfully solemn oath. All future life is pledged at that moment and the seriousness of the vow is emphasized by the remembrance of the ultimate destiny of both participants.
It is incredible that such a contract can be so easily forgotten, or, what is far worse, so callously broken. Yet the sad fact remains that promises thus solemnly made before God are but lightly regarded today. The fact that a marriage has been performed by a minister of the gospel in the house of God is no deterrent to the parties concerned when they desire release from their commitments. When occasion demands they have no hesitation in jettisoning all their religious scruples that the lusts of the flesh may be gratified.
The world has wandered far from the ideals of marriage set forth by the Founder of Christianity. It considers such standards far too severe. And an increasing number of influential people, including many churchmen and not a few women, are advocating the provision of much wider facilities for divorce. Already in America divorce can be obtained upon the flimsiest pretexts. Judge Bartlett, of the Reno Divorce Court, says:-
“I gave a woman a divorce because her husband persisted in smoking a short clay pipe that smelled terrible. ‘I gave a divorce to another wife because her husband played the saxophone all evening until midnight.
“I have granted divorces to women because their husbands wore horrible neckties, because they used profanity, and in one case because the husband kept stepping on his wife’s feet.”
There has also conic into common use that elastic term, “incompatibility,” which may mean almost anything, and has already been employed by thousands as an excuse to break their marriage vows. So frequently do some men and women marry and remarry that their behavior has been described as “consecutive polygamy.”
Yet such conduct is not of God. It is simply plain, unvarnished paganism. Certainly it finds no sanction in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He allows divorce on one ground only-adultery, and expressed His views on this subject very outspokenly in a conversation He had on one occasion with the Pharisees:
“The Pharisees also came unto Him, tempting Him, and saying unto Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?”
“And He answered and said unto them, Have you not read, that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
“They say unto Him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
“He said unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and who marries her which is put away does commit adultery.” [Matthew 19:3-9]
Christ’s lofty standard of morality is set forth in further penetrating detail in His sermon on the mount: “You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shall not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” [Matthew 5:27,28]
Such noble sentiments, however, find no sympathy with large numbers of the rising generation. The cry of the modern youth is for freedom from all restraint, full scope for the development of self, license for promiscuous mating. If we are to take the suggestions and prognostications of the more popular novelists at their face value it would seem as though the world is heading straight for a twentieth-century Sodom.
To quote Sir Philip Gibbs: “The most modern school of American writers are intellectual Bolshevists, proclaiming a contempt for the old ‘Moralities, demanding freedom of ‘self-expression,’ denying the virtue of self discipline, hating asceticism, which to them is a betrayal of life, advocating moral anarchy, and escape from all inhibitions, suppressions, and tyrannies of the mind and body. They are the leaders of the new paganism which is spreading, apace all over the world.” [Since Then, Page 297]
One of these writers has said that the time has come for trial marriages of from three to six months, and another that marriage will soon be entered into and dissolved like any ordinary business agreement. That there is more than money-making gossip in their remarks is evidenced by the prediction of judge Lindsay, author of “The Revolt of Modern Youth,” that in the near future “people may live together without being married in the conventional way.”
According to Dr. William T. Manning, Bishop of New York, there has arisen a group even within the church in America which sanctions “an open mind” on the subject of relations between the sexes without marriage, provided birth control is exercised. This group employs the high-sounding phrase of “companion marriage.” In a widely published speech the bishop told how college professors are discussing the subject with their students and including questions concerning it in examination papers. In a passionate peroration he concluded: “If I thought the church would listen with an open mind to the idea of companion marriage I would not lift another finger for the building of a cathedral or for any other cause in the church. But I know the church will not listen, for the advocacy of unmarried unions and sex experiments is not only shameful but a damnable sin against God and an affront to all right minded people.”
As the bishop suggests, the whole subject reeks with sordidness; yet the existence of such teachings at this time is a terrible fact that must be faced. The advocates of the new morality are very active, exceedingly self assertive and overbearing, and a very real peril to youth as yet uncontaminated by their abominations. As for the birth-control propagandists, they also have the zeal of ardent crusaders, confidently believing that their doctrines will save the world from all its ills. On this point, however, Sir Leo Chiozza has something to say in a searching article in the English Review:
“If the people of a country do not mate,” he said, “and if pairs are not born to mated pairs, the population must die out, and it is high time we look note of the fact that Britain has already begun to die out. The nation is not now producing pairs to succeed pairs, and presently, as the aging present generation passes, the fact will reveal itself in a population that will fall rapidly even if no emigration takes place.
“In all Europe there is only one leading statesman, Mussolini, who appears to have any clear ideas on the subject; he may be right or he may be wrong, but he does know where he stands, and he publicly proclaims his belief that a woman’s finest jewels are her children. Here no authoritative voice is heard to remind women that in resigning motherhood they deprive themselves at once of health, of mental poise, and of happiness, even while they deprive their country of a future.”
In the same article Sir Leo also pointed out, as many other writers have done of late, that the birth-rate of nearly all white countries is falling, and for precisely the same reason. The arguments in favor of such curtailment may be weighty; there may be overcrowding in certain places, economic difficulties, and widespread unemployment. But the decline of the white race and the ultimate passing of the white leadership of the world is a startling possibility that lies heavy in the balances on the other side.
But apart from such considerations there is something obnoxious and repulsive about these strange inventions that are being so secretly yet so assiduously urged upon an eager yet perplexed public. Their enormous and increasing sale is an indication of the trend of modern thought and a fearful menace to true morality.
All of which is strangely reminiscent of the Savior’s words, “As it was in the days of Lot; even thus shall it be in. the day when the Son of man is revealed.” [Luke 17:28,29] Horrible and beastly things were done in Sodom and Gomorrah before their cup of iniquity was filled to the full and the fires of God’s wrath consumed them. Judging by the relics one sees at Pompeii and Herculaneum, conditions must have been much the same in those adulterous Roman cities before Vesuvius belched forth the clouds of ashes and lava that blotted out their abominations.
Rome herself fell to her barbarian invaders for precisely the same reasons. In his story of “Ancient Rome” Guglielmo Ferrero paints the following terrible picture of those times:
“An evolution which had transformed the family life within four centuries changed the strength and rigidity of a despotic organization into the freest form of sexual union ever seen in Western civilization. If a man took a free woman honorably to live with her, the act made them man and wife and their children legitimate; if the marriage state proved displeasing, they separated, and the marriage was dissolved. Such, in its essential features, was marriage in the age of Augustus. It marked the downfall of family life, since the women of the upper classes had lost the old feminine virtues of modesty, obedience, industry, and self-respect.”
As it was in the days of Rome, of Pompeii, of Sodom and Gomorrah, so it is today. Only nowadays the diabolical deeds that brought fair manhood and womanhood to ruin in those olden times, that dragged cities and nations to destruction, are practiced on a worldwide scale. Not openly, everywhere, it is true; but there is no country whither one can flee from them. The corruption has become a world disease, a cancerous growth upon the home life of this last generation, blighting, maiming, spoiling, wrecking. So widespread is the evil that it can be nothing short of a Satanic plot to plunge the world in ruin and bring the fair edifice of our civilization crashing about the heads of a disillusioned race.
The foundations indeed are sinking in this mighty hour. The collapse of all the complex fabric of modern life is threatened. And what hope is left save the promise that at such a time as this the Son of man shall be revealed?
THERE is something terribly wrong with this golden age. Behind its gay, glittering exterior are innumerable signs of rottenness and decay. Like the depredations of termites, the ravages of sin are fast eating out its heart, leaving only a hollow shell to deceive uncritical eyes.
Our modern world may possess many pleasant amenities, rapid transport, swift means of communication, manifold labor-saving devices, all of which have demonstrated the universality of natural law, and the wonderful benefits to be found in obedience to law, yet it has failed to develop that respect for moral law upon which its continuance depends. It is indeed one of the strangest paradoxes of our time that the generation most blessed with material benefits and spiritual enlightenment should have produced the worst criminals and drifted farthest into godless paganism.
Before the war-and even after it, in the first flush of new hope at the armistice-many were found ready to affirm that the world was getting better; that all evil would gradually disappear; and that prisons and penitentiaries would in time become merely monuments of an unhappy and unholy past. But all that has changed. Instead of crime decreasing, it has increased. It is no longer compared to a wave, which advances only to recede, but to an ever-rising tide which, unchecked, must eventually overwhelm and destroy all the fair works of man. In all countries, and particularly in those boasting the most highly developed civilization, the forces of lawlessness have made enormous inroads of recent years crimes of violence and daring robberies have multiplied, while the growth of law-breaking among youth is alarming.
There has been a moral breakdown. Man has endeavored to live by bread alone, and has failed. He has sought to build up a new world without considering the claims of God, but has found that his mortar does not bind. He has tried to develop a golden age free from the restrictions of the Ten Commandments, only to discover that a civilization that scorns righteousness carries within itself the seeds of its own decay.
Already many of the moral safeguards so carefully erected by earlier generations have been broken down. The rising waters of unsanctified life, piling themselves up against the restrictions and prohibitions of our Godly ancestors, have burst the dam at last, and are rushing forward to spread devastation wherever their course may flow.
Some say the war was responsible for the sudden passing of the old moralities. Certainly it had much to do with it. Millions of young men, against their will and their better judgment, were dragged from their homes and peaceful occupations and. taught how to kill their fellow-men. Office boys, apprentices, jolly lads from the farms, were al1 jostled together in the great war machine. They were handed deadly weapons and assured that this type of murder was the highest form of patriotism. Most of these boys had never killed anything in their lives. To hurt an animal was repugnant to them. To kill a man was a deed so terrible that they had never allowed the thought of it to cross their minds. Now, however, they were taken by tens of thousands to witness death on a wholesale scale. They saw the “enemy,” against whom they had no personal hatred, mown down by machine-guns in hecatombs. They were forced to charge against this foreign “foe” in the face of withering gun-fire, drive their bayonets into writhing human bodies, smash skulls with the butts of their rifles, and blow men to pieces with hand grenades and bombs. It was not good moral training.
And when these fine young men were not engaged in fighting they lived in muddy dug-outs or in crowded encampments behind the lines, where they learned things they should never have heard. They tasted freely of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And when they were off duty Satan found plenty for idle hands to do. After all, life seemed so short, why should not its joys be tasted to the full? If only a few days were left, why should they not be spent upon the most hectic pleasures within their reach? And surely, men said, there could be no worse judgment in the after life than this frightful way.
How many ideals were shattered in the Great War will never be known; but certainly millions returned to their homes in all parts of the world not only wounded in body, but with their conceptions of life, morality, and religion entirely changed. While doubtless some passed through with souls unscathed, many more were definitely seared for life by the terrible things they had seen, heard, and done.
When at last they reached home it was to find, in many cases, that they were no longer needed by the firms that had urged them to the colors years before. Other men, or possibly girls, occupied their places. Thousands, of course, were taken on again, but many, weakened and aged by what they had endured, were turned away by employers who required only the strong and fit to advance their business. Thus many heroes of the war became the nucleus of the new battalions of the unemployed, soon to grow to greater dimensions than the armies that had been sent to France.
It was but natural that some should attempt to apply in times of peace the lessons they had learnt in war. In those days, “borrowing” other people’s goods without intention of returning them was considered quite lawful, and good sport. Anything belonging to the Government was regarded as common property. The employment of force was looked upon as an evidence of bravery. The most daring were considered the most patriotic, and rewarded accordingly. The battle was to the strong.
To translate these lessons into peace terms, for home consumption, was not difficult. Only at home they were not appreciated. People began to talk of the increase of crime and to denounce violent deeds and the growing disregard for law. They cried out to the Government to strengthen the police force and repress the lawbreakers-though, after all, they might have expected to reap some evil harvest from the seed that had been so freely sown.
As the years passed the effects of this first cause of increased crime began to diminish. Meanwhile, however, there had been growing into maturity the young people who had been boys and girls when the war broke out. They had experienced a14 the lean times of food shortage, and suffered a good deal physically through lack of nourishment. Worse still, they had been almost entirely without paternal guidance. Many of their ideals had been shattered also. They had grown up with a war mentality, with all the shrill calls of the war propagandists ringing in their ears. They were the children of troublous times. They did not understand all that was happening, but gradually they became conscious of a new freedom, the breaking down of old restraints, the passing away of the old Victorian Puritanism of which they had heard; and they felt ready for any new adventure. The dull routine of factory life bored them; the slavery of an office chair tortured them; the monotony of the mine maddened them. And they said, Let us do anything rather than this! And when some saw how easily the world’s good things could be acquired, with small risk and little expense-a brick and a fast car were the only requisites-is it any wonder that they decided to become the dashing Dick Turpins of this strange new time?
Unquestionably, too, the growth of unemployment has had much to do with forcing both young and old into the ranks of the criminal classes. If discontent with the dull routine of labor has affected some, the hopelessness engendered by continual unemployment has affected many more. But for the “dole” matters would have been far worse than they are. Even with it men with families have a hard time. And when for any reason they are deprived of the allowance, through failure to pass the means test, or expiration of benefit, and their income is reduced to parish relief, even normally law abiding citizens are liable to become desperate. It is not easy to maintain tranquillity of soul while one’s children starve in the midst of plenty.
It is such conditions as these that have sent the crime statistics soaring. Addressing the House of Commons some time ago, the Home Secretary observed that there had been “a very marked increase in the number of indictable offences, which had risen from 2,700 for every 1,000,000 of the population before the war to 3,700 in 1930.”
In the Report of the Commissioner of the London Police for the year 1933, it is stated that the total number of indictable crimes in the metropolis had risen by 668 to 83,868. Manslaughter cases increased by 12, and attempted suicides by 83.
Commenting on the crime statistics for Great Britain for 193o, and comparing them with those for 1929, Mr. Arthur Locke, assistant secretary in charge of the Criminal Division of the Home Office, wrote in the preface to the official report:
“The number of crimes or indictable offences known to the police was higher by 12,450 than in 1929, having risen from 134,581 to 147,031. The greater part of the increase was due to rises in the numbers of recorded crimes against property. Thus simple and minor larcenies rose by 7,467, from 77,230 to 84,697. “Breaking-in” and related offences by 3,256, from 22,681 to 25,937, and various frauds by 1,141, from 12,200 to 13,341.
“Crimes of violence against the person (other than sexual crimes) which for years had shown a tendency to fall steadily, rose by 136, from 1,987 to 2,123, robberies from 167 to 217, blackmail from 49 to 94, and bigamy (which previously had greatly decreased since early post-war years) from 338 to 374.”
Britain is blessed with an honest, efficient, and generally good-natured police force, but with all its vigilance, assisted by the most modern equipment, it is unable to keep pace with the growing criminal activities of the underworld. Every day the papers record fresh murders, sometimes perpetrated with fiendish cruelty, and daring robberies carried out, with growing frequency, in broad daylight and in full view of a street full of people. The night is also taking on new terrors, for the modern bandits do not hesitate to hold up motorists and rob them like the highwaymen of old. In some suburbs of London, also, there are whole streets where Almost every house has been visited by burglars, some on several occasions. This rising tide of crime is a very real menace.
Even when law-breakers are caught and convicted they carry the same spirit of revolt against society into the prisons where they are sent. The outbreak at Dartmoor in 1931, when hundreds of prisoners rebelled, the warders and setting the prison on fire, is still fresh in most people’s memories. Since then like symptoms have revealed themselves in other prisons and bought many, anxious moments to the authorities. There is a general feeling that prison reforms planned to ameliorate the lot of the inmates have already gone too far and that the concessions granted have only encouraged abuse.
Other countries have experienced a similar development of criminal tendencies. Russia, Spain, Italy, India, and Ireland have all passed through periods of violence and wanton bloodshed of recent years. In all these countries men of opposing political views have been killed and wounded in the streets, in public buildings, in private offices, even in their beds.
But it is in the United States that the most serious increase of crime has taken place. By another strange paradox the richest country in the world, boasting the highest civilization, has taken the lead in lawlessness. There ever y form of wickedness has advanced by leaps and bounds. The statistics are staggering. Think of twelve thousand murders a year! In the past decade the country has lost twice as many lives by murder as the number of her soldiers killed in the war. Chicago and New York record a murder a day, and sometimes several in one day. Taking the United States as a whole there is a murder every hour, night and day; and if suicides be included, deaths by violence occur at the rate of one every half-hour the year round.
Other crimes have multiplied in proportion. Burglaries and highway robberies have become notoriously frequent, while fraud and graft in business and politics abound. An editorial writer in an important American newspaper describes the state of affairs in the following graphic language:
“However caloussed one may have become to human suffering, he cannot fail to be impressed by the increasing volume of frightful crimes of violence which are sweeping over the country like a strange mental malady. They are startling alike in their number and variety. There are automobile killings that are nothing short of murder; there are hold-ups, crimes against chastity, burglaries, bank robberies, murderous assaults of husbands upon wives. Mothers kill children newborn and yet unborn; wives and children are killed by husbands and fathers. Addicts kill to secure money to buy prohibited drugs and liquors; defaulters kill to cover traces of their crimes; radicals burn and slay, cloaking their murders under the guise of patriotism.
“There seems to be an irrepressible mania for shedding blood and experimenting with vice and the illicit. The laws of God and man are alike helpless to prevent this Saturnalia of crime. A whole generation is seeing red. Some of the killings are from sheer wantonness. Cults of reds commit murder in search of a new sensation. Often a crisis of nerves is deemed sufficient justification for taking human life. The inhibition ‘Thou shall not kill’ is as much out of date in certain social and non social circles as the other nine commandments.
“The deeds of violence are greater in number and more horrible in detail than ever before. We are in the midst of a storm and whirlwind of insurrection.”
Responsible men in high public office are becoming alarmed at the pace at which the country is slipping down into the abyss of unbridled lawlessness. Judge Kavanagh, of Illinois, has published a solemn warning in his book, “The Criminal and His Allies.” Here is his opening sentence: “At this hour the most urgent and persistent call of patriotism in the United States demands the rehabilitation of justice, and requires that the nation take heed to the wide and spreading extent of crime.” Then he declares:
“In spite of all these laws and the uncountable fortunes spent for the protection of our citizens, twelve thousand unshielded inhabitants perished last year at the hands of assassins. Stay a moment! Unless the national mind becomes saturated with the realization that under the dreadful pall of these figures lie stretched twelve thousand stark, pathetic bodies, and that above them weep at least sixty thousand agonized kindred. And unless the man on the street and the woman at her task are made to feel that for all this crime and suffering, they themselves bear a part of the responsibility, there will fall twelve thousand more next year and a like number every year after. Thirty-nine thousand people were robbed last year; thirty two thousand others had their homes or other premises broken into. It is sinful to minimize the situation.”
He compares in the following striking illustration the nefarious work of the criminals to the presence in the country of an invading army:
“At this moment the country is being attacked by an army of three hundred and fifty thousand, who form an invisible foe; hosts of the air, whose stroke is sudden, remorseless, and unspeakably cruel. In other words, American soil is occupied by an invading hostile army more formidable in size and efficiency than any that before the World War ever invaded civilized country. It is twice the size of the armies that fought at Waterloo. In the battle of Gravelotte, which decided the Franco-Prussian War, French and Prussians combined had thirty thousand soldiers less than the number we have of dangerous women and men who constitute a never ceasing threat and menace to our lives and property. Our Black Army is twice the size of the Union and Confederate armies that fought at Gettysburg. No story of atrocities told against the Germans by the newspapers of the Allied countries during the World War, no inflammatory tale of French cruelty published by German writers at that time, half equals in savagery the actual deeds this advancing army is sure to inflict on the patient, law-abiding American citizen during the coming twelve months.’
Having exhausted every known species of wrongdoing, the demons of the underworld have devised new methods of preying upon law-abiding citizens. A diabolical development of recent years has become known as “racketeering.” There is a “racket” for almost every commodity and every type of business. It resembles a club or trade union, only that the real controlling party is often unknown, and deals only in secret through his subordinates. The shopkeeper is compelled to enter one or more of the various rackets, or take the consequences. If he refuses to join, he may find his shop mysteriously blown up. If he declines to pay the exorbitant tribute exacted by the secret powers of gangster rulers, his home may be destroyed, or he may be “taken for a ride” or knocked down “accidentally” by a passing car.
The tyranny of the racketeers is worse than anything known since the Dark Ages. One can find nothing with which to compare it unless it be the stranglehold exercised over men where a religious hierarchy holds undisputed sway.
“Ten thousand racketeers,” says a leading Washington newspaper, “are compelling the people of New York to pay them staggering sums each year, while the police, who know all about the gangsters and their methods, do not lift a finger to stop their depredations.-
The overlords of gangsters seek to control every phase of American life. Local and national politics have been corrupted by their machinations. If men who are opposed to their tyrannous dominion offer themselves for election they are either put out of the way or threatened with death unless they withdraw their candidature. According to Mr. Frank Loesch, president of the Chicago Crime Commission, five candidates for the key position of ward committeemen in March, 1932, were taken from their homes at the point of the revolver and forced to sign notices of withdrawal. He also stated that “fully two-thirds of all the labor unions in Chicago are controlled by, or pay tribute directly or indirectly to, AI Capone’s terrorist organizations.” He brought to light the fact that AI Capone, the prince of gangsters, imprisoned, curiously enough, for falsifying his income tax returns, continued to control his army of gangsters from his prison cell. And that his private bodyguard, numbering 185 gunmen, each receive a salary of between £60 and £80, a week. On behalf of the law-abiding citizens of Chicago, Mr. Loesch appealed to Washington “to assist us here, fighting for our lives and safety from the most far-reaching and powerful criminal organization which ever afflicted this nation.”
Kidnapping, like most other crimes, has been cultivated by the gangsters with the keen zest of masterminds. It has become a fine art with them. Every year hundreds of men, women, and children are spirited away and held to ransom. If the extravagant sums demanded are not paid, they do not hesitate to kill their hostages. One of the worst cases was the kidnapping and subsequent murder of the Lindbergh baby, the enormity of this crime being heightened by the extraction of a ransom of £10,000 from the distracted father long after the baby had been killed. Not only the United States but the whole world was stirred to anger by this most callous and diabolical deed.
It seemed for a while that desperate measures would at last be taken to stamp out the gangster menace. Mr. Hoover announced that orders had been given that efforts were never to be relaxed until the criminals had been brought to justice. Leader writers in every state cried out for vengeance and threatened gangsters with annihilation.
“Let us firmly resolve,” said the New York Evening Post, “that this shall be the high mark of crime in the United States. That we shall first clear out the evil thing that is breaking respect for law and financing wickedness, and that we shall then go on to put justice into our courts and the fear of God into our criminals.”
“Sobered by this awful experience,” added the Indianapolis News, “and with the springs of sympathy stirred as never before, the American people should kneel down in a new devotion to the laws of God and the faith of our fathers.”
“This crime was not a fiendish freak,” declared the Chicago Tribune. “It had causes in American life. After every allowance has been made, the people of the United States must read the indictment of themselves, an indictment of their easy tolerance of corruption in public life, of its consequent encouragement of criminals, and its effect upon the administration of justice. They must face their own sentimentality and their disregard of the ordinary, inconspicuous victims of crime, their perverted emotionalism, and their bland or blind attitude toward viciousness in public life. They are mad now. They would love to have the execution of justice in their own hands. Will they stay angry long enough?”
If nothing else were accomplished by the untimely death of little Charles Lindbergh, it at least revealed to the American public the corrupt, subversive influences at work throughout the country. To many the gangster menace became a reality for the first time. The whole nation suddenly perceived how terrible was the foe it was tolerating so complacently in its midst. Yet how little has been done to crush the menace! The gangsters still hold the country to ransom, while the police look on, seemingly with their hands tied by invisible cords, as powerless to intervene as the lock-shorn Samson.
It is a terrible picture such as no one cares to draw, and yet one strangely reminiscent of the Mosaic description of the world before the Flood. At that time, we are told, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” [Genesis 6:5,11]
That, too, was a golden age. God’s own garden was still in the midst of the land. On all sides were evidences of His creative power, not scarred by any catastrophe. Men of noble stature and giant intellect roamed the unspoiled country. Never was the earth fairer or more productive. A delightful climate and abundant means of sustenance made possible a life of abounding happiness. Yet even then sin wrought its deadly work. Even under such conditions discontent crept in. Unbridled lusts clamored for satisfaction. Covetousness led to envy and hatred, and in due time to robbery, rape, and murder, till at last to the heavenly watchers the earth seemed altogether corrupt.
Finally, and with tragic suddenness, the triumphs of that first civilization sank beneath the avenging waters. The glitter of that golden age faded in the darkness that covered all the earth. The generation that had forgotten God met Him in the Flood.
And “as it was in the days of Noah even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” How striking that the world’s greatest Prophet should have taken such words upon His lips! Yet in the light of the facts considered in this chapter they assume tremendous significance.
We, too, have come to a golden age. Not since those glorious days at the dawn of history has there been a time to compare with it. In many respects it far transcends every other period in the checkered story of mankind. It is the greatest era of all time. Yet it is an age that has largely banished God. As in the days before the Flood, all thought of Him has been displaced by a passionate searching for the satisfaction of fleshly desires. Lawlessness abounds. Corruption spreads like a cancer. Once again violence fills the earth. But for the presence of a righteous remnant, God might justly say as He said of old: “Every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts is only evil continually.”
This is perhaps the supreme tragedy of this mighty hour. Blessed so abundantly with earth’s good things, man, under the smiling approval of his Maker, might be marching on to yet more glorious conquests. But in rejecting Him and neglecting His counsel he has invited disaster. By turning towards evil and tolerating lawlessness he has set the seal to his own destruction. The glorious civilization he has created, so honeycombed by evil, cannot last. With its foundations shaken, its superstructure cracking, its whole interior eaten away, the moment of collapse cannot long be delayed.
Without doubt we are moving swiftly towards some terrible retribution. Increasing lawlessness beyond human control demands a divine visitation. The blood of numberless victims of the cruelty of wicked men cries out to God for vengeance. Angel voices respond with the stirring message: “The hour of His judgment is come.” [Revelation 14:7]
Across the centuries rings the warning cry of a prophet: Lo, the Eternal soon shall lay the earth bare and wild, rendering it shapeless and scattering its inhabitants. The priest shall fare no better than the plain man, the master shall fare like the slave, mistress like maid, seller like buyer, borrower like lender, and creditor like debtor; the earth shall be laid all bare, the world shall be stripped empty: such is the sentence of the Eternal. For earth has been polluted by the dwellers on its face, loose to laws and scorning statutes, breaking the eternal compact.” [Isaiah 24:1-5]
Believe it or not, there is judgment ahead for this evil and adulterous generation. As the world of Noah’s day was overwhelmed by the Flood, so “the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” [2 Peter 3:7]
“Come near, you nations, to bear; and hearken, you people,” says the prophet Isaiah, “let the earth hear, and all that is therein. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations: for it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” [Isaiah 34:1-8]
This great day, when “the Son of man shall be revealed” draws ever nearer. In the words of Zephaniah:
“The Eternal God’s great day is near, near, speeding apace! The Eternal God’s bitter day is near, rushing on like a warrior! A day of wrath, that day, of woe and anguish, a day of stress and distress, darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thundercloud, a day of trumpet blast and battle-cry because against the Eternal they rebelled.” [Zephaniah 1:14-17]
What a solemn hour is this! “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God?” [2 Peter 3:11,12]
AT such a time as this, with civilization on the brink of disaster, with the mutterings of war, the rumblings of revolution, and the groaning of creation itself sounding in our ears, it would be reasonable to expect a mighty warning message to issue from the leaders of the great Christian churches. Surely we should see a great awakening among the professed champions of religion-a mustering of the forces of Christendom for a world crusade against the advancing hordes of evil. Surely in such an hour we should witness the stirrings of a great revival in every congregation of believers. Surely in every city church, in every village mission, in the heart of every disciple, there should arise a new spirit of consecration, a keener zest for the advance of Christ’s kingdom, a deeper sense of responsibility for His lost and wandering sheep amid the careless millions of a perishing world.
True, some church leaders have uttered occasional warnings, but one seeks in vain for signs of any general awakening. The members of the large Christian bodies resemble, for the most part, the virgins of the parable who, on the eve of the bridegroom’s arrival, “all slumbered and slept.” Apart from a lone voice here and there, crying in the wilderness, no clarion call to prepare for approaching judgment is heard. The ministers are silent on such issues. They have no message. Priests and people together seem to have lost their way.
Appalling apathy abounds. People simply don’t care. They no longer retain the old, unquestioning confidence of earlier generations in their spiritual leaders. In what way, they ask, is a parson better than anybody else? Has any other profession of late produced such a succession of moral scoundrels? And as for the Bible, they don’t bother to read it any more, for the preachers themselves have destroyed what reverence they once had for its teachings. They do not pray any more-except in dire emergencies. There isn’t time to pray, they say, not in these busy days; and anyhow, what difference does it make?
As for attending church, they have long since discarded this Victorian habit. And why, they ask, should they go? They can hear a better address on the wireless if they want to listen-and if the preacher is a bore they can shut him off in the middle, without offence. In any case, they say, it’s much nicer to spend Sunday by the sea, or on the river, or in the open country. And healthier, too. And doesn’t someone say somewhere that we are nearer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth?
The drift away from organized religion is proceeding at a tremendous pace. If anyone doubts it, let him watch the traffic on any of the main roads of England-or America, or the Continent, or Australia, or New Zealand -any fine Sunday morning. A route to some seaside resort offers the best illustration. Thousands upon thousands of cars, of all types and descriptions, lavish limousines and dented Fords, rusty old Morris-Cowleys, all filled with eager, happy faces, tell the story of the vast, silent transformation that is taking place. They say to the leaders of the churches: We are tired of you prattling parsons; you have destroyed our faith; we will go our own way now; we are weary of your insincerity and “fed-up” with your religion.
When the secretary of the Lord’s Day Observance Society endeavors to persuade members of Parliament to maintain the Sunday Observance Acts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, he simply reveals an amazing ignorance of the real religious situation in the country. Sunday, for most people, is no longer a holy day. In the minds of the populace it is just as much a holiday as Easter Monday or Boxing Day. It is looked forward to by millions with eager anticipation as “a day off” for hiking, boating, fishing, motoring, golfing, tennis, car-cleaning, gardening - anything except churchgoing. The old Sunday at home, with prayers and Bible readings in the drawing-room, is as obsolete as crinolines. It simply does not exist, except here and there in humble backwaters where the tide of this swift new life has not flowed as yet.
What has happened to Sunday is happening to every religious custom-baptism, confirmation, communion, marriage. The services, truly, are still carried out but they have largely become hollow conventions, devoid of spiritual significance. They resemble to some extent the great cathedrals. People like to know they still exist. Now and then they visit them with pleasure. There is something appealing about their antiquity, something reassuring in their solemn architecture. Everybody would be sorry if they were suddenly to be removed altogether. But as to taking part in them, from a sense of their spiritual value, that is another matter.
Whether we like it or not there is taking place around us a widespread revolution in religious ideas. Millions have cut their old moorings, and are drifting out, without a compass, on a wide, uncharted, and perilous sea. Some have set their helm definitely, as they think, away from God. Many more are merely drifting, befogged and bewildered by what they have seen and heard, but anxious to do right, groping for some harbor, trusting to find safe anchorage at last.
Despite all the accessions to atheism, however religion is not dead yet. On the contrary, some say that there is more of it about nowadays than there ever was. Perhaps there is. But it is religion of a new order, radically unorthodox, extremely unconventional, rebellious against clerical authority, suspicious of all ceremonial, naked indeed in its stark simplicity. Shorn of their faith in the doctrines so ardently believed by their forefathers, dissatisfied with the many mockeries perpetrated in the name of Christianity, thousands are contenting themselves with this new religion of their own devising.
Their creed, if such it can be called, is a vague conglomeration of the beatitudes, the golden rule, and the Sunday newspapers. They will tell you that, in their opinion, if a man does his best to live a good life that is all that is required. Beyond this-into the intricacies of the old doctrines of salvation and redemption and the future life-they positively refuse to go. It is a sort of attenuated Christianity, well watered down, sweetened to taste, and with all the reproach of the cross carefully eliminated. One might almost term it a benevolent atheism, a sort of religion that desires the good of humanity with as little connection with God as is respectably possible.
What has brought about this decay of religion, this fading of the faith of Christendom? What is it that is quenching the fires of holy fervor that enabled f rail women to face lions in Rome’s arenas, martyrs to glory in persecution, preachers to withstand the anger of infuriated mobs, missionaries to endure the hardships of inclement climes? What is it that is sapping the vitality of the church of Christ, and is leaving it as a whole so enfeebled, so helpless in the presence of evil, so lacking in evangelical zeal, so disinterested in the promulgation of the principles of righteousness it professes, so unwilling to sacrifice further for the advance of the kingdom of God?
Undoubtedly the war was partly responsible. It revealed so much blatant hypocrisy that it made men sick of religion. The spectacle of Christians of almost all creeds on both sides of the firing line doing their utmost -in the name of God and righteousness-to maim and mutilate each other was enough to smash faith in organized Christianity for all time. The heathen, looking on, laughed mockingly and said, “See how the Christians love one another!” And others, beside the heathen, said it, too. But worse than the actual fighting in its ultimate effect, perhaps, was the urging by patriotic preachers that all able-bodied young men should take up arms and fight. Innumerable pulpits were desecrated by such war-mongering sermons. Everywhere churches became recruiting stations, and battalions of boys were sent to their death through the instrumentality of parsons who had forgotten their mission as ambassadors of the Prince of Peace. Only a few smaller bodies, like the Quakers, the Brethren, the Christadelphians, and the Seventh-day Adventists, stood out against the surging tide of militarism; the rest were up to their eyes in the unholy business.
It was not good for Christianity. The boys -those who were fortunate enough to come back-did not forget. Those awful years of bloodshed and beastliness, to which so many of them were lured by the specious pleadings of some Christian minister, made an ineffaceable impression. They began to ask awkward questions. Why had not the Christian churches in every country combined to prevent the war, or at least to stop it after it had started, instead of fomenting the war spirit and praying God’s blessing on the accursed thing? How could Anglicans on the one side and Lutherans on the other pray for success at the same time? Was it right that Christians should bayonet each other and drop bombs on women and little children? Did God mean what He said in the sixth commandment, not to mention the others? Or didn’t God or the commandments matter very much any more? It was all very perplexing, and many lost what little faith they had brought with them through the flames.
The suspicion of insincerity, which fastened on the ministry in those days was augmented by the publication of the fact that there were actually thousands of recipients of stipends in the Church of England who were definitely opposed to the Articles they had signed when accepting their positions. Occasional doctrinal disputes among “the doctors of the law” could be understood by the ordinary layman, but this holding on to position and money by, church leaders who, by their own confession of disbelief, had forfeited their right to such employment, was beyond him. His simpler code of honor called for adherence to a contract when once made-or, if that were impossible, getting out of it honorably, by making amends for failure to keep it. But here were men, churchmen of all people, breaking a solemn, oath-bound agreement, and carrying on as if nothing were the matter. It did not seem right.
It was the Prayer Book controversy that really brought this distressing situation to the attention of the general public. When this issue was finally considered by the House of Commons it became plain to everybody-as it had been to many, observers for a long time previously that there was a strong movement in the Church of England working openly and secretly to reintroduce Roman Catholic practices, with the ultimate intention of bringing England back into communion with Rome. The man in the street said, This is rank dishonesty. If these people want to be Roman Catholics, there is nothing to hinder them. Let them go over to Rome now. But don’t let them act like spies and thieves, taking money from one cause while working for another. And the man in the street was right. Duplicity in a worldly business is bad enough, but in ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ it is despicable beyond words. And if there has been any one factor more than another that has brought organized religion into disrepute of recent years it has been the tactics of the Anglo-Catholic party in the Church of England.
But another destroyer of faith has gone forth into the ranks of Christendom. More deadly and devastating than a prairie fire modernism has swept through the churches, consuming every fundamental of belief, scorching every page of sacred Scripture, drying up the very springs of Christian ideals. Like a plague of locusts the higher critics have descended upon the fair garden of Christianity, devouring every green leaf, every lovely flower, and leaving only a desert of dead faith and shriveled hopes.
These supposed friends of the church, many of them occupying high positions in its fold, began their nefarious work more than a century ago. At first they were few in number, and there were many champions of the old faith ready to resist their sinister attacks and to roll back their false accusations upon their own heads. Now, however, the situation has changed. The critics are virtually in complete control. Even bishops have admitted that they have accepted the modernist position and thousands of the clergy in all the churches are with them. Fundamentalists, who still hold to the inspiration of the Bible, are a constantly diminishing remnant, the butt of newspaper ridicule, the jest of the careless crowd.
Aiding and abetting the critics has been a group of scientists who have gratuitously stocked their armory with numerous theories concerning the age of the world and the origin of man. The most potent weapon thus donated was the doctrine of evolution, which was seized upon by the critics with great zest and applied with full force against the very foundations of Christian belief. For years they had raised clouds of doubt and suspicion concerning the authenticity of the books of the Bible, pouring scorn on their claim to inspiration, ridiculing miracles, mocking at the faults of the patriarchs, and denying the fulfillment of prophecies. But such attacks were a superficial bombardment compared with the mine they were able to explode under the whole Christian position with evolution in their possession.
Genesis, with its record of the creation of the world and mankind by the fiat of Almighty God, was the first to suffer. The critics had long held a grudge against Genesis and rejoiced at being able to last to work it off very thoroughly. “A fairy tale,” they had called it, “a relic of ancient folk-lore.” But now, with evident triumph, they added: “The scientists, you see, substantiate our surmising. The world is not six thousand years old, but six hundred million, and man has been in process of development all this time from a tiny speck of slime in the primeval sea. As for the Flood that is another absurd old fable; modern geology has quite disproved that.”
But having destroyed the authority of Genesis to their satisfaction, it was not difficult for them to proceed to other acts of spiritual brigands. For if, as they asserted, there never had been any creation, if man had been slowly evolving upwards through long eons of time, how could there have been a Fall? Obviously the story of the temptation of Adam and Eve must also be an allegory. And sin must be merely a “state of mind,” an incubus on the upward progress of man, to be discarded in due time as his evolution should proceed.
“We are the highest of the mammals,” said Bishop Barnes, in an address delivered at the University of Cambridge. “We have emerged quite recently, as geological time is measured, from some group of anthropoid apes. The gorilla and the chimpanzee are literally, our cousins. Our sins result from the persistence of animal instincts which war against the recent moral and spiritual growth that is still sadly imperfect in humanity.”
But if sin were only the “persistence of animal instincts,” if indeed there had been no Fall, surely the story of a Savior from sin was also open to grave question. How could there be a Savior from something that was merely a passing phase of man’s evolution? As for the vicarious death of such a Savior, and a reconciliation between man and God, well there simply was no necessity for it.
Similarly the expectation of a second advent went by the board without a word. Such an event would be supernatural and entirely out of harmony with an evolutionary process. So also the re-creation of the world -the making of “new heavens and a new earth” depicted by the Apostle John-how absurd to anticipate such an upheaval when evolution would bring about all necessary improvement in due time! Merely give evolution long enough to work, said its champions, and all would be well.
It is easy to see how the acceptance of the theory of evolution immediately destroys confidence in almost all the essential doctrines which have been associated with the name of Christianity for the past nineteen centuries. Indeed, if evolution be correct, untold millions of honest souls have been grossly deceived. All the great preachers and missionaries of the past who have proclaimed Jesus Christ as man’s Savior from sin, the Redeemer of the world, and the coming King of glory, were hopelessly mistaken and wasted their lives repeating pious platitudes without substance or meaning. All the interpretations of Christ’s words and mission given us by the apostles in their letters to the first Christian churches were vain and baseless assumptions. The acceptance of evolution indeed means nothing less than the discarding of the greater part of both the Old and New Testaments and almost every doctrine based upon Biblical teaching.
Some people assert that they can be both Christians and evolutionists. Conscience keeps them from breaking completely from the old traditions, yet something seems to compel them to accept this latest speculation of the armchair scientists. It is like attempting simultaneously to serve God and Mammon. It will not work. The more fully evolution is received, the weaker must be the Christian witness. In fact, no sooner is it admitted than there is an end to fervent proclamation of the old beliefs. A little water puts out a great fire.
How completely the churches of Christendom have evolution and departed from their old belief ill the Word of God was demonstrated by an investigation carried out by an enterprising newspaper in the Newcastle area, England. As a result “there was not found a single member of the cloth who was prepared to deny the evolution of mankind from lower forms of life.”
One of those visited was the Revelation J. C. Bacon of the Presbyterian Church. He said: “From my point of view, discoveries in modern anthropology do not touch the spiritual truths which the early stories of Genesis are intended to convey. To regard these stories as literal history, however, is not only foolish but interferes with our understanding of their spiritual message.”
The Revelation H. Barnes, of the Unitarian Church, expressed his opinion thus: “Openly and frankly I accept the evolutionary theory. Modern religion has got to be based upon its truth. The Genesis theory of man’s origin must frankly give way to the scientific. Man has been on this planet for hundreds of thousands of years. He is not a fallen creature, but a rising and ascending creature.”
Such teachings are typical of those being set forth by religious leaders all over Great Britain, in the United States, in Australia and New Zealand, and indeed in every place where Christianity has penetrated. Bishop Barnes - whose modernism is notorious - even claims that from his vantage ground he can see signs that “among both Roman Catholics and fundamentalists belief in man’s descent from an ape-like stock is being gradually though grudgingly accepted.” These teachings have also entered the universities, denominational colleges, grammar schools, and council schools, so that there is now scarcely any educational or religious institution where the rising generation may escape their demoralizing effects.
The seriousness of the situation in the schools is emphasized by this letter sent to the Christian by one who signed himself “B.Sc.”:
“I have been teaching for more than twenty years in secondary schools in various parts of the country, and have only on rare occasions found Scripture being taught by a master or mistress who believed in what was being read. I am now in a large school, with a staff of more than thirty, and, as far as I know, there are only two of us who believe that Jesus Christ was anything but a man. I hear prayers being read by men who jeer about it all in the common room. Any Scripture lessons given-and these amount to one per week per form-are by such persons. Little wonder is it that our boys and girls leave school with not even a literary knowledge of the Bible, much less with any realization that it is the Word of God.”
Is it any wonder then-with the professed champions of Christianity virtually denying the faith they are paid to preach, with the keepers of the oracles of God betraying their sacred trust, with the very teachers in the schools quietly inculcating the new atheism-that the common people are losing their confidence not only in Christianity, but in all that pertains to religion? Can we wonder at the fading faith of Christendom?
But what will the harvest be? Have all the consequences been considered? What will result from this scattering of the seeds of doubt and unbelief in millions of minds the world around? If men have sown the wind, shall they not reap the whirlwind?
Already there is growing up around us a generation of potential atheists and agnostics, recruits for the growing army of those who are not only indifferent to religion but are working to encompass its downfall. In assisting the destruction of faith, are not the critics playing into the hands of those who are seeking to bring upon all the world the same red ruin as lately swept through one of its greatest powers?
It was Christianity,’ that made possible the building up of our complex civilization, unchristian as much of it may be. The Christian code of honor, morality, and respect for law, founded primarily upon the Scriptures and faith in Christ, has been the cement which has bound it together. Once let this cement disintegrate and the whole fabric will tumble in ruins.
And it must not be forgotten that the roots of Christianity are embedded in the Bible. The mighty tree that now spreads its branches so impressively over every land has drawn its life, its nourishment, its powers of growth and fruit-bearing, from the truths enshrined in that wonderful volume. Separated from the Book the tree must inevitably wither and decay. Christianity cannot exist without the Bible. Apart from it the church is impotent; it can have no saving message; it can know no converting power; it must inevitably perish. And if this happens, all that is fair and beautiful, all that is of real value in this golden age, must perish with it.
At such a time as this, when iniquity is rife, when it would seem that the very legions of darkness are at work to nullify the work of Christ, to devitalize the gospel, and to destroy the work of generations of His disciples, it becomes those who have not yet become enmeshed in these subtle snares to take up their Bibles afresh and renew their faith and confidence in their God. There is no need to fear the doubts and sneers of the higher critics, as we shall see in the following chapter. We may take comfort, too, from the fact that those who would discredit the Bible have nothing whatever to put in its place. They have invented no substitute that will so comfort the sorrowing, uplift the fallen, and satisfy the hunger of weary souls as this Book they are trying to destroy.
Until the critics have something better to offer, let us retain our confidence in the Scriptures of truth. They have been the guide and stay of the people of God for centuries and are still “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” [2 Timothy 3:16] They only can breathe new life into the dry bones of a dead or dying religion; they only can stir the cooling embers of a fading faith into the glowing fire of a new enthusiasm. They only can stop the drift away from the things of God and recapture the interest and loyalty of the disappointed and careless multitudes.
Every church, every minister, every member of Christ’s family on earth today needs this spiritual renewal, this awakening of soul, this strengthening of confidence, that Wily the Word of God can beget. Without it none can face with safety and assurance the increasing perils of this mighty hour.
“THERE is death in the pot,” [2 Kings 4:10] cried the sons of the prophets to Elisha. And there is, under the guise of the theory of evolution, worse poison in the modern melting pot of religion. Already we have shown how it has captured the imagination of religious and educational leaders everywhere and is fast undermining all confidence in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. We have seen, too, how, like some potent drug, it is putting the whole church to sleep and sapping its spiritual vitality.
As though it were nectar from the Elysian fields evolution has been accepted by bishops, priests, and preachers of almost every denomination apparently without thought of the disastrous consequences it must ultimately bring to themselves and all that they represent. A strange blindness seems to prevent them from seeing that the pleasant potion of which they have drunk so freely has been drawn, not from above, but from the dark, poisonous depths of some Stygian pool.
But surely, with such an imposing array of intellectual giants supporting the theory, there can be no question as to its accuracy! Surely such a galaxy of the great could not be deceived! It seems impossible, but we recall that there were many celebrities sadly mistaken in the days of Christ - and oftentimes since. The battle is not always to the strong, nor the race to the swift, nor the reward of truth to the self-sufficient.
Of course, if evolution is a fact it must be received as such and all old beliefs must be adapted thereto. Facts must not be rejected merely because they are inconvenient. Any religion that declines to acknowledge the proved findings of science must ultimately perish. Truth will finally triumph over all false creeds.
The question therefore resolves itself into an inquiry concerning the authenticity of the credentials of evolution. Is it, or is it not, a well-proved, incontrovertible, scientific fact?
Frankly, it is not. In all well-informed circles it is still spoken of as the evolution “theory.” True, it has received such enormous publicity that people have come to think that there must be extensive confirmatory evidence behind it. But publicity is not evidence. Evolution is still only a suggestion made by certain scientists -notoriously apt at guess work-as to the probable origin of the universe and man. No one as yet has brought forward any proof for it. Indeed, evolution spreads itself over such immense periods of time that no one could ever hope to prove anything about it at all. It is easy to surmise what happened six hundred million years ago, but quite impossible to be sure about it.
The briefest study of the theory is sufficient to disclose its appalling weaknesses. It is indeed the most glaring example of unblushing guesswork ever foisted on the public in the name of science. The phrase, “We may well suppose,” occurs more than eight hundred times in Darwin’s two principal books. In an article published in Popular Science Monthly by E. E. Free, Ph.D., a great champion of evolution, the following phrases occur: “Where these first living particles came from we do not know.”
“But how, you ask, can we know what the original matter really was like? Strictly speaking, we do not really know at all. But we can make a pretty safe guess at it.”
“How can one little piece of living matter do all these different things-breathe, eat, grow, reproduce? Scientists have not yet solved this mystery.”
“How did it happen, in short, that there came together here on this little dust mote of an earth, in the midst of the vast void of space, exactly that combination of heat and light and water and chemicals that made it possible for life to start? This is one of the greatest mysteries still tempting the imagination of mankind.”
Such expressions are typical of all evolutionary arguments. “We do not know, but we can make a pretty safe guess,” is the watchword of these “intellectual Bolshevists” who have thrown this monkey-wrench into the machinery of Christendom. They bring it into play whenever someone digs up a piece of a skull in an unexpected place. Immediately there is a perfect buzz of “scientific” guessing. Some say it is a million years old, others fifty million, others a hundred million. The length of time does not seem to matter to them. Nevertheless it is not a little amusing to the looker-on to see men of such supposed scientific repute differing in their estimates of the age of a bone by anything up to a hundred million years.
The pictures of the “Java man,” the “Heidelberg man,” and the “Piltdown man” on these pages are of exceptional interest in this connection. Compare them with the bones from which these “reconstruction” were drawn. Think of the audacity of drawing such a face as that of the “Heidelberg man” from a fragment of a lower jaw! Such a picture could not have been made without a vivid imagination and definite preconceived ideas. Far from it being evidence for evolution it is merely an unwarrantable attempt to bolster up an untenable theory with the flimsiest evidence. Indeed, no such monstrous guesswork would be tolerated in any other branch of science.
What is more, all these guesses explain nothing. They bring us no nearer to truth or to the solution of the problem of origins. The scientists merely guess their way into a worse fix than they were in when they began. They launch themselves on an imaginary course back through eons of time to “the first speck of slime on the primeval sea.” But they are no better off when they get there. Whence came that speck? Whence came that sea? And whence came the land upon which the speck finally crawled after evolving for a few billion years? If it is admitted that a supreme Power must originally have made these elemental things---as some are inclined to grant-then what reason can there be for refusing to concede the possibility that He exercised His power to create all things in a much shorter period at the dictate of His own will and for the accomplishment of His own divine purposes?
The evolutionary chain that is supposed to link that speck of slime with intellectual man is definitely broken in many places. There are, indeed, three missing links of major importance.
No scientist has ever succeeded in bridging the impassable gulf between the living and the non-living. Not one of them has ever been able to point to a living being of any description that has come from anything but a living organism. Nothing alive has ever come from a mineral “ancestry.” The term itself is absurd.
Similarly there is a mighty gulf separating the plant and animal kingdoms. The two forms of life are fundamentally distinct.
Then there is that greatest of mysteries, the yawning chasm that separates unreasoning animals from intellectual man. Animals, truly, may be trained to perform all sorts of amusing tricks; they imitate with extraordinary ability; but who ever thought o£ preaching the gospel to monkeys, or opening a university for elephants? Would not the most ardent evolutionist rely with more confidence upon the judgment of his youngest child than upon that of the cleverest chimpanzee in the Zoo?
Besides major gaps there are, between all the great species of plants and animals, similar lines of cleavage. Each reproduces, according to the command in Genesis, “after his kind.” There may be intermingling within the species, but none without. Occasionally closely related species may produce offspring but, as with the mule, produced by mating horse and donkey, the progeny is invariably sterile. Even fowls and pheasants produce a sterile brood-and all cockerels. Species more widely separated cannot be mated. Obviously no giraffe could produce a lion cub. Neither could a fern cross with a chrysanthemum. Unscalable barriers have been erected and Someone has decreed, Thus far and no farther!
This evolution theory simply bristles with absurdities. It exudes folly from every pore.
One of the favorite arguments of its supporters is that based on “similarities.” Because the blood, teeth, heart-beats, etc., are similar in certain animals, therefore they must be related, the more advanced having evolved from the less intricate forms. But that is the same as saying that because a Singer and a Daimler both have tires, brakes, engines, and triplex glass, the one has evolved from the other, the Singer, of course, being ten billion years older than the Daimler because it is not such a deluxe model. Or it is like insisting that because in a housing scheme, there are certain dwellings with six rooms, six windows, and six doors, and other houses with ten rooms, ten windows, and ten doors, therefore the larger and more elaborate mansions evolved from the cottages-which, of course, must have been erected in prehistoric times. Such fallacious reasoning is only possible when there is unwillingness to admit that one Architect planned and built them all.
Another prop frequently used to support the evolution theory is that known as “vestigial remains.” There are certain organs in the human body-such as the appendix and the ductless glands - which evolutionists once said were useless and therefore merely survivals from the hoary past, vestiges of organs that were of use in our more primitive state, but which have long since Ceased to function. But to their dismay distinguished doctors have announced that some of these supposedly, inactive organs are the most important in the body, controlling the highest functions, and that life would be impossible if they were removed. Sir Arthur Keith himself has admitted that “our list of ‘useless’ structures decreases as our stock of knowledge increases.”
But perhaps the greatest argument in all the armory of the evolutionists is that based upon the fossils. In the rocks are to be found the remains of all manner of fishes, animals, and plants, sometimes even of birds. Many of these fossils resemble pressed leaves in a child’s scrap-book. They are found sometimes far down in the earth. The great coal seams are but the fossilized remains of buried forests.
The evolutionist says, with confidence, “Behold further evidence of the antiquity of the earth! The layers of rock were all deposited gradually, girdling the earth like the many skins of an onion, the animals and plants alive at the time being entombed with each successive deposit.” Of course, they add, it all took infinite ages, but each layer of rock denoting a certain period of time can be identified by the kind of fossils it contains.
The theory sounded plausible enough until in certain districts it was noticed that the layers were upside down. Evolutionists, however, were quick to find an answer. They affirmed that this strange situation was caused by an “over-thrust” in the rocks. But then it was found that there are actually thousands of square miles of mountainous country in North America and elsewhere where the fossils occur in this inverted order! They are still endeavoring to explain this phenomenon.
Certainly such guessing is far more difficult to accept than the simple explanation afforded by a world catastrophe such as the Bible describes in the story of the Flood.
The absurdities multiply the more the theory is probed. The late William Jennings Bryan pointed out many of them. “The evolutionists think,” he said on one occasion, “that it is a sign of superior mentality and learning to make sport of Biblical explanation of creation. And then they turn about immediately and offer a theory of the beginning of things that is absurdity itself. Not long ago a college professor said: ‘Evidence that early men climbed trees with their feet lies in the way we wear the heels off our shoes-more at the outside. A baby can wiggle its big toe without wiggling its other toes-an indication that it once used its big toe in climbing trees. We often dream of falling. Those who fell out of the trees fifty thousand years ago and were killed, of course, had no descendants. So those who fell and were not hurt, of course, lived, and so we are never hurt in our dreams of falling.’
“Evolutionists certainly lack a sense of humor,” he added. “When I want something funny to read, I don’t tip a book of humor. I just get hold of some evolutionist’s speculations about how a worm was crawling along and developed a wart on its stomach, and how this wart kept growing until it developed into a leg and so forth; so that finally a respectable-looking animal appeared.
His argument concerning the supposed evolution of the eye is simply devastating:
“How does the evolutionist explain the eye when he leaves God out? Here is the only guess that I have seen-if you find any others, I shall be glad to know of them, as I am collecting guesses of the evolutionists. The evolutionist guesses that there was a time when eyes were unknown-that is a necessary part of the hypothesis. And since the eye is a universal possession among living things, the evolutionist guesses that it came into being, not by design or by act of God, but just happened; and how did it happen? I will give you a guess-a piece of pigment, or, as some say, a freckle, appeared upon the skin of an animal that had no eyes. This piece of pigment or freckle converged the rays of the sun upon that spot, and when the little animal felt the heat upon that spot, it turned that spot to the sun to get more heat. The increased heat irritated the skin-so the evolutionists guess-and a nerve came there, and out of the nerve came the eye! Can you beat it? But this only accounts for one eye; there must have been another piece of pigment or freckle soon afterwards and in just the right place in order to give the animal two eyes.” Continuing, Mr. Bryan says:
“The evolutionist guesses himself away from God, but he only makes matters worse. How long did the light waves have to play on the skin before the eye came out? The evolutionist is very deliberate; he is long on time. He would certainly give the eye thousands of years, if not millions, in which to develop. but how could he be sure that the light waves played all the time in one place or played in the same place generation after generation till the development was complete? And why did the light waves quit playing when two eyes were perfected? Why did they not keep on playing till there were eyes all over the body? Why do not they play today so that we may see eyes in process of development?
And if the light waves created the eyes, why did they not create them strong enough to bear the light? Why did the light waves make eyes, and then make eyelids to keep the light out of the eyes?”
A teacher in the W- Grammar School, attempting to explain the evolution theory to his pupils, actually told them that, after prehistoric man had accidentally discovered the secret of fire, the hair fell off his body because he no longer had need of it-and this was the reason why monkeys are covered with hair and men are not! No wonder a boy in the class asked him why the hair did not fall off his head at the same time, and why dogs do not lose their hair when they live indoors!
But evolution not only exhibits multitudinous absurdities, it is definitely opposed to scientific facts. If it were true we should today be digging up not dinosaurs, but dwarfs; not mammoths, but pygmies of the animal world. Our natural history museums, with all their giant specimens of extinct species, afford striking evidence of the falsity of the evolutionary hypothesis. Professor Alfred Russell Wallace himself admits, in his “Geographical Distribution of Animals” that: “We are living in a zoologically impoverished world, from which all the highest and fiercest and strongest forms have recently disappeared.”
Fossil remains indeed contradict the whole scheme of evolution. Bats were once as large as eagles, one specimen having been found with a twenty-foot wingspan. Another great bird existed that was fifty feet long. A sea-serpent has been found with a body eighty feet long. In his “Earth and Man” Dawson describes a tortoise eighteen feet long and seven feet high, and another enormous animal whose head was six feet long, and whose body must have been three times as large as an elephant’s.
The same phenomenon is observable in fossil plants. Professor Ganong, in his “Textbook of Botany,” says: “Viewing the pteridophytes (ferns) as a whole, it is a striking fact that the living forms are insignificant in number and size as compared with those which flourished in past geological ages.” Referring to another common plant, generally called the “horsetail,” he says: “Of fossil forms a great many are known, of which some grew to great trees and our existing herbaceous kinds are their degenerate descendants.”
Strange evolution this, that commences with perfection and ends in degeneration-that places its largest, most powerful forms of animal life, its greatest and most wonderful vegetation, first on the stage of action!
But there is something else that must be recorded against it-an arresting fact that gives the coup de grace to the whole theory. Out of the lips of an evolutionist the final condemnation arises. Says Alfred Russell Wallace in his “Social Environment and Moral Progress”: “There has been no definite advance of morality from age to age, and even the lowest races at each period possessed the same intellectual and moral nature as the highest.”
In his concluding chapter, summing up his arguments, and reviewing the state of modern civilization, he gives his final verdict as follows:
“Taking account of these various groups of undoubted facts, many of which are so gross, so terrible, that they cannot be overstated, it is not too much to say that our whole system of society is rotten from top to bottom, and the social environment as a whole, in relation to our possibilities and our claims, is the worst that the world has ever seen.”
What a stupendous admission! No moral advance in all the millions of years of man’s supposed existence on this planet-no evolution in that which matters most, only deterioration and decay-and the present age admitted to be the worst the world has ever seen!
Wearied with the vain speculations of science “falsely so called,” we turn back to the simple pronouncements of Holy Writ-the story of a real creation, a perfect world, the cataclysm at the Flood, the degeneration of all life, the sending of a Redeemer, the hope of a new creation-and find a full and sufficient explanation of all questions concerning the past and the future. Indeed, returning to them from the vain vapors of the evolutionists, they seem by comparison more reasonable and satisfying than before. Perplexities concerning the rocks, the fossils, and the dinosaurs dissolve as faith accepts the divine Record and gladly grants to the great Architect of the universe power both to create and to destroy.
There is no need therefore to believe in evolution nor any reason for doing so. Neither is there any cause to lose faith in the Bible as the Word of the living God. It has suffered much at the hands both of its friends and its enemies, but it stands inviolate through every crisis. H. L. Hastings once said, it is like a solid cube of granite. Men turn it upside down, but it is right side up still. They fire at it their heaviest broadsides, but it is like “shooting boiled peas at Gibraltar.” Again and again they advance to destroy it completely by their criticism, but always it confounds their puny attacks with its majestic strength.
It is positively remarkable how new proofs of the authority of the Holy Scriptures are springing up in all sorts of unexpected places. The spade of the archeologist has of late years unearthed thousands of objects that testify to the unerring veracity of the old Bible stories. The critics once said, for instance, that the Hittites never existed, that there never was a King Sargon, that the fall of Jericho’s walls was another fairy tale, that writing was not known in the days of Moses. But all these and many other sneers and taunts have been turned back on those who uttered them. In Palestine, in Mesopotamia, in Egypt, in the Sinaitic peninsula, the very stones have cried out in support of God’s Word, and to confirm our faith in its imperishable teachings.
There is still solid ground on which stalwart faith may be built. There is still safe anchorage amid the storms of these closing days. The Christian fort need not be surrendered to the critics. This is no time for disloyalty. Now, when civilization is threatened, and the world is breaking up around us, those who still love God should renew their courage in Him, lift up the ancient standard, and march out bravely against the oncoming foe.
Many leaders in the churches may have lost their way and given up their faith. Many members may have followed them; but there is a remnant in every congregation that has not bowed the knee to Baal. Let them arise and complete the unfinished task. Let them give the message so desperately needed today.
In this mighty hour angel voices call to us to open our hearts anew to the love and the fear of God, to acknowledge more fully His creator ship, His sovereignty, His dominion over all, crying in warning tones: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come. And worship Hint that made heaven, and earth, and the, sea, and the fountains of waters,”
IN the melting pot of this great new time, with the fierce fires of modern thought playing upon it, not only are the elements of religion breaking down and the conventions of orthodoxy melting away, there is also a tendency for the barriers between diverse bodies to dissolve.
The coalescence of Christendom, the unification of its many denominations in one undivided, universal church, so long the dream of ecclesiastical statesmen, seems at last to be in process of realization. Of recent years some of the larger organizations have been coming ever closer together, and many indications of approaching fusion have appeared.
Leaders in the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Greek Orthodox, and Old Catholic Churches have all been putting their heads together to see if anything could be done about it; and even Roman Catholics have talked it over with their Anglo-Catholic friends behind the scenes. Undoubtedly it is a movement of unusual importance and one that, with its immense implications and possibilities, constitutes one of the great issues of this mighty hour.
Reunion is by no means a new idea. It has been a subject of common, and sometimes very lively, discussion since the Reformation. Probably, at one time or another, every Christian has been conscious of a twinge of regret that the glorious gospel of Christ should have to be revealed to the world through such diverse and conflicting agencies, and has wished that it need not be. But it has only been within comparatively recent years that any real hope has been entertained that a basis of unity could be discovered.
The modern movement may be traced back as far as 1888 when the Lambeth Conference of the Church of England propounded a fourfold basis of reunion called the “Lambeth Quadrilateral.” But this was only an abstract proposal for consideration, and little if anything resulted from it.
Two decades passed. Then, in 1910, the year of the great interdenominational Missionary Conference at Edinburgh, the first definite step was taken towards bringing church reunion to a practical issue. In that year, largely through the personal efforts of Bishop Brent, the General Convention of the American Episcopal Church appointed a Commission “to bring about a conference for the consideration of questions touching Faith and Order, and to ask all Christian communions throughout the world which confess our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior to unite in arranging for and conducting such a conference.”
So far as England was concerned the Lambeth Conference of 1920 interrupted preparations for the proposed World Conference, attention being directed -though somewhat vainly-towards healing the breach between the Church of England and the Free Churches. In the United States, however, the 1910 proposal was kept steadily in view and definite plans were laid for the conference. Representatives of various churches met August 12-20, 1920, at Geneva, where fundamental questions were discussed, and where a Continuation Committee was appointed to carry on the preparations in conjunction with committees of the several churches. A Subjects Committee, created by the Geneva meeting, prepared and circulated five series of questions for preliminary local discussion in 1920-1925, and was charged by the Continuation Committee to receive and consider further preliminary reports, The Continuation Committee met at Stockholm, Sweden, August 15-18, 1928, and decided unanimously that the World Conference on Faith and Order, to consist of representatives of almost all the non-Roman churches, be convened at Lausanne, Switzerland, in August, 1927.
It was our privilege to attend this unique and unprecedented gathering, and to witness the sincere and strenuous efforts there put forth to make reunion possible.
In the University of Lausanne there gathered nearly five hundred delegates, representing eighty-six different Christian communions. Among them were the Church of England and its branches in various parts of the world, the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, Baptists and Seventh-Day Baptists, Congregationalists from America, Britain, South Africa, and New Zealand. The Disciples of Christ, the Czechoslovak Church, the Eastern Churches, including the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, the Churches of Greece, Cyprus, Rumania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, Georgia, and Armenia. Here also came representatives of the Society of Friends in America and in Great Britain, the Lutheran Churches on both sides of the Atlantic, the Churches of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and evangelical bodies in Germany, Switzerland, France, Hungary, Estonia, and Latvia. The various Methodist bodies were strongly represented, as also were the Presbyterians. Intermixed were Mennonites and leaders of the “Old Catholic” Churches, “United Brethren in Christ,” the United Church of Canada, the Reformed Church of Alsace- Lorraine, and the Belgian Christian Missionary Church.
The Church of Rome was not included in the list of participants. In 1919 Pope Benedict XV was approached by the promoters of the conference, but replied that “as the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church with regard to the visible unity of the Church of Christ was well known to everybody, it would not be possible for the Roman Catholic Church to take part in such a conference as the one proposed.”
When upon another occasion a high official of the Roman Catholic Church was appealed to on the subject of reunion, he replied, “The door of the Church is wide open, let the heretics enter one by one”-a very apt summary of Rome’s real position on the matter.
However, despite the abstention of the Roman Catholic Church, this World Conference on Faith and Order was the nearest approach to an ecumenical council that Christendom had witnessed for many generations. Certainly it was the most ambitious enterprise attempted by the Protestant churches since the Reformation.
Seven subjects were considered by this conference, and on four of them there was general agreement. “The Call to Unity” needed no discussion, and over “The Church’s Message to the World” there was complete and enthusiastic accord. The “Nature of the Church” was a little more difficult, but a measure of agreement was reached, as also on the subject of the “Church’s Common Confession of Faith,” where the main proposition was that the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds should be accepted by, all participants in the Unified Church.
On the subject of the ministry, however, the conference could do no more than state the points of agreement and disagreement. The statement about the sacraments also was so discreetly worded that High Churchmen and Evangelicals could each read into it approval of their own position. But when the last subject was tackled, “Unity and Its Relation to Existing Churches” so great were the difficulties encountered, that it was decided not to issue the committee’s report. Naturally enough, consideration of this theme involved discussion of plans concerning the authority that should control the Unified Church. Obviously a mere verbal agreement by a number of churches on certain points of doctrine would bring them no nearer tangible unity than if they had never discussed them. Unless some central authority were finally set up to control the policies and activities of the Unified Church, unification would be of little practical value.
Clearly, here was the crux of the whole problem. Who or what should be that authority? Should it be a parliament of the church? That might be feasible. But upon what power would it depend for the enforcement of its decrees so as to prevent its becoming the laughingstock of the world?
Evidently the Subjects Committee of the World Conference foresaw this stupendous obstacle to practical organic unity, for in the Draft Agenda it stated:
“Subject 6 (E). It is desirable to postpone to a future meeting the questions, what organ of central authority is proper, right, and advantageous for the whole of Christendom, if in God’s good providence it is to regain a visible unity, and what should be the functions of the central authority.”
However, the Subjects Committee eventually went quite fully into this matter, indeed so far as to submit the following significant statement:
“There remains one question which any body of men anxious to restore the visible unity of the church on earth must face, and that is the question where the ultimate authority of the church on earth should reside. Even two churches cannot unite without settling what they, when united, will regard as the ultimate authority of the united body. The diversities of men are so great that very great local liberty may be justly claimed. The course of past history shows that ecumenical decisions on doctrine have only been given when they were most imperatively demanded, and it has been well for the church that they have been comparatively few. Still, no picture of a reunited Christendom can be formed without including an ultimate authority, and this is among the matters with which on some occasion a World Conference dealing with Faith and Order must deal. Three forms of such an ultimate authority would be advocated by the Christians of today---the Pope, the Ecumenical Council, in which bishops alone vote and an elective representative body composed both of clergy and laity. It is for future discussion to show whether one of these forms will ultimately win general consent, or whether any form can be devised which will be felt to combine the advantages of all.”
Inevitably a question of such major importance was beyond solution at that time and it was postponed, with many other problems, to some future meeting. Indeed, the conference concluded without having moved very far, if at all, towards its objective. Unexpected difficulties were encountered in the positions taken by the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Lutherans, Friends, and others. However, a note of hopefulness was sounded. That it had failed to bring about “corporate unity” was readily agreed, yet the promoters refused to admit either discouragement or defeat. A new “Continuation Committee” was formed, and preliminary plans were laid for another similar conference to be convened at some later time. It was agreed that all resolutions adopted should be forwarded to the headquarters of participating churches for discussion and action, with the expectation that the next conference would find everybody more tractable and ready to take definite steps towards reunion.
Several years have passed since that great gathering at Lausanne. Like many other similar enterprises, reunion has suffered temporary eclipse in the presence of the appalling economic conditions prevailing in the world. But the movement has not by any means died out. Its ardent supporters have quietly continued their propaganda and there is no doubt that more will be heard of it in the near future.
That such a movement should arise when faith in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity is on the wane-is remarkable, and yet not altogether inexplicable. The passing of pronounced convictions has made men less dogmatic and begotten a friendlier attitude between bodies that for generations have maintained a splendid isolation.
Where no compromise of essential principles is involved reunion is all to the good. Everyone rejoices, for instance, at the merging of various branches of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the similar unification among Methodists. The linking up of Nonconformists with the evangelical party in the Church of England provided they could settle the ordination question-would also, no doubt, be a very popular development.
But when zeal for one universal church tends to fraternization between the Anglican Church and, say, the Greek Orthodox Church, or the Roman Catholic Church, it is surely time to call a halt. What possible basis of communion could there be in such a case? The Church of England-nominally, at least-is a Protestant, reformed body. The Greek Orthodox Church is neither Protestant nor reformed and, in fact, is still a persecuting body, steeped in priest craft. What real fellowship could the one have with the other-unless on one side at least there were a surrender of vital principles?
Moreover, whether the success of the reunion movement would be an advantage to the denominations concerned and to the world in general is very much open to question. A League of Churches-embracing Protestants, Greek Orthodox, Old Catholic, and Roman Catholic bodies-might not be an unmixed blessing. Its influence in certain matters would be very great. On occasion there would certainly be danger lest its executive be tempted to wield despotic power. Certainly it would be a grave menace to the religious liberty of minorities that refused to acknowledge its authority. One could well imagine it becoming, should it fall into unscrupulous hands, a veritable “image to the beast” a replica of papal tyranny-such as that predicted in the Book of Revelation in its description of the world forces of the last days. [Revelation 13:11-17]
Perhaps, with all its divisions, Christendom is better off as it is. After all, if reunion means the pooling of modernistic Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, and the evolution of a mongrel religion bearing the characteristics of both, of what value would it be to mankind? Moreover, if it were to result merely in a conglomeration of organizations with no living faith in Christ or in the Bible, what possible influence for good could it exercise? What kind of evangelist could it offer to a perishing world? Indeed, could any good thing emanate from such a ramshackle religious association?
In this hour of crisis there is something infinitely more important than a reunion of churches, and that is the personal reunion of every individual Christian with his Lord. That is Christendom’s greatest need today. And if such a reunion were carried out on a scale commensurate with the need there would be such a revival of faith and godliness that the merging of church organizations would soon take care of itself.
The attempt to reunite the churches is indeed a very superficial method of attacking the problems that confront both them and the world at this time. With religion itself in the melting pot, with faith in the fundamentals failing, something of far greater consequence needs to be done than the creating of a vast artificial amalgamation of apostate churches. To be very frank, the promoters of the scheme would employ their time to far better advantage, and with greater prospect of success for their own cause, by seeking to revive in the hearts of the people their lost love for the simple gospel of the grace of God.
Many of the great divisions of Christendom are due to separation from their Founder. Men have wandered so far from Him, and in so mans, different directions, that they can no longer recognize each other as members of His family. Yet if they would but return in penitence to Him and fall down anew in worship at His feet, they would find that all essential differences would disappear. Divergences of viewpoint, of race, of color, of temperament, would naturally remain, but the harmony of truly converted souls would transcend them all, and make world brotherhood and fellowship a reality, at last. Indeed, all who sincerely acknowledge Christ as King and seek in humility to do His will are already bound together as one, with cords that cannot be broken. As men draw nearer to Him they cannot fail to come closer to each other. Hearts that beat in harmony with this must of necessity beat in unison.
Is not this the kind of reunion for which we should strive in this great hour? Facing its terribly, perplexing issues, do we not need, above all things, a new vision of Christ, that there may come to us a clearer understanding of His purpose and a greater willingness to do His will? It would certainly solve many of our problems. And if we truly seek Him with all our hearts “we shall surely find Him”; discovering thereby the highroad to real unity, not only with our Lord Himself, but with all who likewise love Him the world around.
OCCUPYING a conspicuous position amid the whirling, fuming contents of this melting pot is a large and familiar object that exhibits strange phenomena as the furious forces of this great new time play upon it. On one side it appears to be breaking up -large sections becoming detached and drifting away-but on the other, by reason of some strange, magnetic power it seems to possess, it is drawing to itself a stream of particles from other disintegrating bodies and forming accretions of disquieting proportions.
Recent developments in connection with the Roman Catholic Church indeed afford one of the most remarkable features of this mighty hour. There was a time when this body dominated the civilized world, but, breaking at last into many fragments, it declined almost to the point of disappearance. Then, a century ago, it began feebly to recuperate, slowly taking on again something of its old proportions. Now, while the world looks on in amazement, it faces disaster again in lands where its power has been supreme, while at the same time registering astonishing advances where resistance to its dominion has been most intense.
In Spain, in Russia, in Mexico, in South America, the past decade has witnessed violent reactions against clericalism and papal supremacy. The proud ruler at the Vatican has been compelled impotently to watch the forcible ejection of his priests, the banishment of his secret agents, the burning of his institutions, and the loss of immense revenues. Nothing he has been able to say or do has in any way stemmed the onrushing tide of revolt. His interdicts and anathemas alike no longer strike fear to the hearts of nations, and no more, as of old, can he raise a crusade against those who challenge his authority.
On the other hand, in the United States, in Germany, in England, in Canada, in Australia, and indeed throughout all the British Empire, the forces of Rome are sweeping forward with great vigor and startling success. In every Protestant country they are building cathedrals and churches, colleges and schools, capturing the press, control1ing-wherever possible-both local and national governments, and laboring with enormous zeal to re-establish the authority of the pope.
It is an intriguing situation, an enigma that compels inquiry. Why is it that the Catholic countries are throwing off their allegiance to Rome? How comes it that in Protestant lands there is such a revival of papal activity? Does some special significance attach to the occurrence of these remarkable happenings at this time?
As to the first question the answer is not hard to discover. All the countries where anti-Catholic demonstrations have taken place of recent years are among those that never experienced the blessings of the Reformation. The torch of reforming zeal indeed blazed up within their borders for a little while, but it was quickly quenched in blood. Ruthlessly the Inquisition warred against the Reformers with sword and stake, rack and dungeon. Dark night settled down upon the Catholic lands once more, to remain practically unbroken until the present day.
This rejection of light has brought its own dreadful retribution upon all these peoples. They have suffered nationally, morally, financially. By permitting the Roman power to remain uncurbed they have become victimized and impoverished, hordes of priests, monks, and nuns, like leeches, swarming over them and sucking their life blood. Education, to a very large extent, has been denied them and illiteracy has kept them for generations in ignorance and subjection.
Yet all the plotting of the priests could not prevent the gradual influx of ideas from the great progressive world without. The people saw the prosperity of other lands which had broken their Romish shackles; they heard of the freedom that other men enjoyed; and they said to themselves, “We, too, at all costs, must follow the same course and end our bondage.” So they broke with Rome, not now to champion the Reformation’s cause, but because they had discovered at last that a priestly hierarchy at & helm of state means the doom of the nation that permits it.
The second question opens up a subject of enormous importance. Since the Reformation the countries which broke away from Rome at that time have been regarded as the bulwarks of Protestantism. Under the beneficent influence of the freedom they so dearly purchased they have thrived and prospered, some of them rising to rank among the great powers of the world.
But of late years their Protestantism has weakened. Their fires of faith have died down. Their spiritual ramparts have been left unguarded, a prey to any aggressive and unscrupulous foe. Their gates, like Babylon’s of old, have been left open to any modern conqueror who cares to enter them. They have presented the Papacy with the very opportunity it has awaited for many generations.
That Rome may succeed in storming these bulwarks and in re-establishing its authority over the very nations that revolted against its rule is a possibility by no means so remote as some might think. It must never be forgotten that the unfading dream of the Vatican is complete world dominion. This ambition was born and bred in its system.
Never can it forget the days of its absolute supremacy, when nations could scarce breathe without the pope’s permission. For more than a millennium the Roman pontiff was the supreme figure in Europe. Kings and emperors bowed at his feet. His word was law to millions. Nations trembled at his interdicts. None dared gainsay his will. Disobedience or opposition were met with torture and death. By cruelty and subtlety of satanic character this power maintained its dominion over the bodies and souls of men all through the long black night of the Dark Ages. That was the hey-day of the Papacy. And it is the abiding hope of all true Roman Catholics that the time will come again when, either by consent or compulsion, all men will once more yield humble submission to its authority.
To this end every agency of Rome is now incessantly striving. Despite all the recent reverses in Catholic countries they are still expectant of ultimate success. Comparing the present status of their church with its condition before the war they realize that enormous strides have already been made since those days.
It is often forgotten that for over a century prior to 1914 the Papacy was virtually lying at the point of death, nursing the deadly wound received at the hands of the French army in 1798. Not since the sound of Luther’s hammer reverberated through Europe had such a blow been struck at this ecclesiastical tyranny. Never had a pope suffered such ignominy. People everywhere at that time were convinced that the whole papal system was about to crumble in ruins. Yet it survived; and throughout the nineteenth century maintained a precarious existence, losing more and more of its territory, until, in 1870, its remaining lands were confiscated, this time by the soldiers of an awakening Italy. From then on to the beginning of the war the symptoms of senile decay, became more and more evident. Even Roman Catholics themselves entertained fears that the end of the organization might be approaching.
Writing in the Current History Magazine for August, 1926, Michael Williams, an eminent Roman Catholic layman said:
“Before the World War it was pretty generally supposed that the Catholic faith had ebbed to its lowest point. Its intellectual opponents freely predicted its death from anemia and exhaustion. There were few national representatives at the Vatican. Modern philosophy of a varied form had seemingly conquered the modern intellect and swept aside the influence and almost the memory of those great thinkers of the past like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas and Bellarmino and Suarez, and the whole host of the school men. What was predicted before the war was apparently justified by the earlier events of the great cataclysm of blood and tears which deluged Europe and affected America so bitterly as well. Catholics were slain by the million on both sides of the firing line. So were Catholic priests. Worse still, from the Catholic point of view, the priests of the future, the seminarians, were swept away by thousands. The physical structure of the church schools, cathedrals, hospitals, monasteries, and so forth, was destroyed on a gigantic scale.”
Then came a sudden change. Acting like a stimulant upon a convalescent, the World War brought new life to this “anemic and exhausted” power. Though almost facing extinction itself, it had vision enough left to realize that the world’s wasted condition provided the long-awaited opportunity to regain its own lost fortunes. The pope was not slow to seize it.
“When the war was over-and increasingly so since then-it became clear,” continued the same writer, “that the church was not destroyed by the war or by the causes that brought on the war. Recovering not only from the wounds of the war, but also from the lassitude and negative forms of action imposed upon her by the events of the Reformation, and later the French Revolution, the church has not merely held her own but has advanced by giant strides. Virile activity in a myriad different ways is now the great fact of her existence.”
This “virile activity” has manifested itself not only in the re-establishment of the temporal power of the pope, the settlement of the Roman question, the birth of a new Vatican State, the acquisition of a broadcasting station, railway, and postal facilities, but also in a concerted attack upon the strongholds of Protestantism. The master-minds of the Roman Curia have not been slow to perceive the effects of the spread of modernism upon the once stern, Puritan faith of the non-Catholic world. With surprised and eager eyes they have watched the growing signs of disintegration in the Protestant bodies, the passing of evangelical fervor, and the decline of dogmatic convictions. Noting also the incoming of a wider tolerance, begotten largely of indifference to all religion, it has decided that the moment to strike has arrived. While Protestants slumber in careless unconcern, drugged by the fallacious deceptions they have imbibed, the signal to advance has gone forth to the papal forces in all the world.
Writing in the Christian Century, Dr. Adolf Keller declared that “the Protestant churches of Europe are facing a determined effort on the part of a revived Roman Catholicism to win control of those countries hitherto Protestant.” He continued:
“A great propaganda for the conversion of the Protestants, directed especially by the Jesuits, the specific anti-Protestant order, has begun. Societies with this specific aim have been formed, and campaigns have been organized not only in Germany, but in such old Protestant countries as Holland, Scotland, and even the Scandinavian countries, where a special apostolic legate has been sent for this purpose.
“The Pope has sent his nuncios into nearly all countries where it has been possible to create such centers of Roman influence. This influence has not only religious, but also political aims, as always in the history of this church. “In Germany, with its 65 per cent of Protestant population, the four last chancellors of the republic have been Catholics. In Holland, where the majority of the people are Protestant, the majority of the Ministers are Catholic.
“In Germany, in 1924, eighty-eight evangelical institutions had to be closed for lack of funds, but since 1919 more than 700 Roman Catholic institutions and monasteries have been opened in that country. The 65 per cent of Protestants have 16,700 pastors, the 33 per cent of Catholics have an army of 22,262 priests.”
“Not only little provincial periodicals,” asserted Dr. Keller, “but even such an official organ as the Osservatore Romano has been outspoken enough to say that the time is not far distant when Germany or England will come back to the ‘infallible church.’
It is but natural that the strongest efforts of all should be concentrated upon the British Empire and the United States. These contain the strategic centers of the world. They present a prize that, if won, would compensate for many losses in less prosperous places. In these two nations, despite all their economic difficulties, is still to be found the bulk of the world’s wealth; and it would be hard to believe that the Vatican has not calculated that it is here that its coffers may most readily be replenished.
Among the many recent evidences of papal interest in these Protestant lands has been the holding of Eucharistic Congresses in Chicago (1926), in Sydney (1928), and in Dublin (1932). These huge demonstrations, when over a million Roman Catholics from every country in the world gather to celebrate the mass in the open air amid gorgeous pomp and ceremonial, are nothing but colossal advertisements designed to convince both Catholic and Protestant onlookers of the power and vitality of the papal church. That two of these great festivals should have been held in Protestant countries and another within the borders of the British Isles within the space of six years cannot be without significance.
It is true, of course, that the actual membership of the Roman Catholic Church in Protestant lands forms but a small proportion of the total population. In Great Britain, for instance, there are only two millions among forty-five millions. In the United States there are about fourteen million adult Catholics out of a hundred and twenty-four millions. Nevertheless the influence of a minority, provided it is sufficiently active and noisy, can be much greater than its numbers warrant. Especially is this the case with a Roman Catholic minority for, urged on by a vigilant and aggressive priesthood, it is for ever demanding its rights, insisting on special privileges, and attempting to fill every office of power in press, politics, local government, or civil service with its own nominees. If all the facts were laid on the table and the secrets of Fleet Street and Whitehall were unveiled, we should probably be startled to see how far we have already been brought under the direction and the dominance of Rome.
Towards the end of 1916 Count Melgar, a distinguished Spanish nobleman and devoted Catholic, visited England. When writing an account of his visit he said:
“The most profound impression I brought away from this contact with official English life was an utter amazement at the remark able number of Catholics I encountered holding the highest positions in the administration of the state. When I was introduced to the War Office in London, the general and two staff officers who received me were members of my own communion. At the Savoy Hotel banquet, with which I was honored by Sir Maurice de Bunsen, who for so many years was English ambassador at Madrid, three fourths of the guests -all eminent men in. the army or in the political world-were Catholics, too. At other public offices, and especially at the Foreign Office, the proportion was even greater.”
Further evidence of Roman Catholic influence in affairs of state has been afforded by the retention, despite many protests, of a British representative at the Vatican, the alteration of the coronation oath, the visit of the King and Queen to the pope, and the more recent developments in connection with the political affairs of Malta.
Strong efforts are being made to turn the rising generation Rome wards. The latest Roman Catholic directory shows that there are now 519 Catholic secondary schools in England and Wales, with an enrolment of 58,278, and 1,331 elementary schools, with an enrolment of 384,129.
As to the final objective of all this activity no secret is made. “We are out to reinstate the pope,” said Cardinal Bourne on one occasion. Equally outspoken was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham when addressing a congregation at St. Philip’s, Mansfield:
“Let there be no hesitation about what our church is here for,” he said; “it is to undo the Reformation and to bring this country back once more into the blessed and inestimable union with God’s Holy Catholic Church. We shall not effect it today and perhaps not tomorrow, but it will be effected.”
Ever fresh in the memory of the leaders of this church are the marching orders committed to them by Cardinal Manning after the re-establishment of the Roman Catho1ic hierarchy in Great Britain in 1850. Addressing the priests gathered at the Third Provincial Council of Westminster, the cardinal said:-
“It is yours, right reverend Fathers, to subjugate and to subdue, to bend and to break, the will of an imperial race. You have a great commission to fulfil, and great is the prize for which you strive. England is the head of Protestantism, the center of its movements, and the stronghold of its powers. Weakened in England, it is paralyzed everywhere; conquered in England, it is conquered throughout the world; once overthrown here, all is but a war of detail. All the roads of the whole world meet in one point, and this point reached, the whole world lies open to the church’s will. It is the key of the whole position of modern error. England, once restored to the faith, becomes the evangelist of the world.”
Even more serious, however, than the open encroachments of Rome is the amazing landslide towards Roman teachings and practices in the Church of England. During the past half century a tremendous, epochal change has taken place. Whereas fifty years or so ago a ritualist was an exception, today ritualism is fast becoming the universal rule.
Every Sunday, upon twelve hundred altars of the Established Church, the Roman mass is celebrated. Out Of 24,000 English clergy, 6,300-more than one in every four-belong to societies openly working for reunion with Rome. The Revelation Arnold Pinchard, secretary of the English Church Union, has stated that, in his opinion, “the number of clergy who may be described as distinctly Catholic in their outlook in the Church of England today is not less than between six and eight thousand.” In hundreds of churches the services cannot be distinguished from those conducted in Roman Catholic places of worship. Candles, incense, pictures, vestments, holy water, Latin prayers, Mary worship, adoration of saints, confession. the eastward position, and reservation of the sacrament, have all been restored.
Many of the cathedrals have become almost entirely Roman. High mass is celebrated every Sunday in St. Albans Cathedral, while at Chester the cathedral has a dozen altars, at which masses are held daily and incense burned.
It is the same in small country churches as in the great cathedrals. When visiting the little out-of-the-way church at Ore, in the Doone country of North Devon, we had perforce to listen to an address on the miraculous virtues of the “Holy Eucharist.” Thus the propaganda for Rome goes on without cessation.
Figures given in the Anglo-Catholic Tourist Church Guide show that confession is practiced in ten city churches, 228 other London churches, and 1,236 churches in the provinces. There is perpetual reservation of the sacrament in 180 London churches, and in hundreds of churches in the provinces.
Besides all this, religious houses are multiplying under regulations indistinguishable from those of Rome. Over 5,000 nuns are confined in convents belonging to the Church of England! The Mirfield monks, although avowedly clergymen of the Church of England, openly deny the Protestantism of that church, advocate auricular confession and “the holy sacrifice” of the mass, and proclaim the virtues of monasticism. Many Church of England clergymen belong to such organizations as “The Guild of All Souls,” which has for its object the offering of prayers for the dead and masses to get souls out of purgatory-and the “Society of the Holy Cross” and “the Cowley Fathers,” both of which are zealous to introduce the confessional.
The Revelation H. A. Wilson, Secretary of the Anglo-Catholic Congress held in 1923, stated: “The Anglo-Catholic movement started as a rebellion; it is now a successful revolution patronized by half the bench of bishops.”
Many of the bishops indeed are up to their necks in this deplorable business of trying to Romanize the church whose Protestantism they have sworn to defend. The Bishop of Salisbury stated in his New Year’s message in the Diocesan Gazelle, 1928: “We know hosts of ‘illegalities’ in all our services, some trivial and some important, which we hoped would by this time be legalized.”
How far the Rome ward movement in the Church of England has proceeded was made very evident during the debates concerning the proposed new Prayer Book in 1928, the old Prayer Book being, as Bishop Knox once called it, “a hopelessly Protestant book,” it was but natural that the ritualists should leave no stone unturned to get it altered so that their illegalities might be legalized. By large majorities the various bodies of the Church Assembly approved the “revisions” which were finally brought for ratification to the House of Commons. There the real significance of the proposed alterations was made plain, the mask was torn away, and the public were enabled to see for the first time how seriously the Protestant basis of the National Church is menaced, The “Deposited Book”, is rejected amid stirring scenes of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, in virtual defiance of Parliament, the thousands of copies of the books which had been printed in anticipation of success were distributed -with the full knowledge of the bishops.
No doubt longer exists as to the origin and the ultimate objective of the whole movement. Many Anglo-Catholics unblushingly admit their desire for reunion with Rome. At an Anglo-Catholic Congress held in London the following telegram was sent through the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster to Pope Pius XI. “Sixteen thousand Anglo-Catholics assembled offer respectful greetings to the Holy Father, humbly praying that the day of peace may quickly break.”
Some admit that though they have accepted every doctrine of Rome they are brazenly remaining in the Anglican Church in order to catholicize it. In a pamphlet issued by the Catholic Truth Society, entitled, “Catholic Because Roman Catholic,” by a priest of the Diocese of London, there appear these words:
“By the courtesy of the Catholic Truth Society, I am able to explain why, though a Catholic in faith and practice I remain in communion with the Provinces of Canterbury and York. The object in view is to assist in the most glorious of all movements, that of bringing back England to the faith of our fathers. In all respects I have endeavored to live as a Roman Catholic clergyman in the Church of England.”
Worse still, it has been definitely proved that Roman Catholic priests have actually worked in Church of England parishes under the guise of Anglicans. Just before the war, in a case that came before Mr. Justice Darling, and was reported in the Times of April 12-17, 1913, Father Matthew, a Roman Catholic priest, stated that, whilst known to the vicar as a Roman Catholic priest, he had officiated at Holy Trinity Church, Sloan Square, as a curate of the Church of England, though the congregation was kept in ignorance of the fact. Mr. Justice Darling was so astounded that he made him repeat his statement, so as to make sure he understood his evidence. Father Matthew further stated on oath that he knew many Roman Catholic priests who were officiating in the Church of England. He gave the name of one of them, and offered to give many more if required.
Thus by fair means and foul the Papacy is seeking to gain control of the English Church.
“As those who love their church,” wrote the late Lord Brentford, not long before his death, “we cannot but feel a rave anxiety in looking forward to the immediate future. The plain fact is that determined effort is being made to undo the work of the Reformation in the Church of England. The duty of loyal churchmen is clear. We are not at liberty to barter the heritage of truth which has come down to us.”
That other great Protestant champion, Sir Thomas Inskip, has uttered an even more solemn warning:
“A crisis is coming in the Church of England. It is coming to a head before our very eyes, and before another two or three years have passed we will have reached what has so often been spoken of as the parting of the ways, and decisions will have to be taken which will determine the future of the church, and probably of the State, and it may well be, of the Empire.”
But most astounding of all the Rome ward movements of the present day is that now proceeding within the Nonconformist churches. While no one would suggest that at heart the great mass of Nonconformity is anything but staunchly Protestant, it is nevertheless true that within the larger bodies of Free Churchmen there is an ominous trend toward ritualism. Similar to the Oxford Movement in the National Church during the nineteenth century, this “Free” Catholicism is spreading like leaven among Congregationalists, Methodists, and even Baptists.
For many years past this Romanising process within the Free Churches has been going on. As far back as 1910, the Revelation R. J. Campbell, then a Congregationalist, writing in the Christian Commonwealth, said:
“The word mass is hateful in the ears of the extreme Protestants, but not in ours. I would rather worship at Father Adderley’s altar than at an ordinary Nonconformist church. I am very much at home when in a Catholic church, witnessing and partaking of the mass.”
In 1916 the “Society of Free Catholics” was inaugurated. One of its members was Dr. Orchard, then pastor of the King’s Weigh House Congregational Church, London, but now a convert to Rome. He stated quite openly in 1918 that he considered it his duty to “stay inside the Free Churches and catholicise them.”
In “The Coming Free Catholicism,” by the Revelation W. G. Peck, once a pastor of the United Methodist Church, but now an Anglo-Catholic priest, remarkable evidence is offered concerning the growth of this movement. On page 92 we are told:
“Within the Free Churches there is growing up a new respect for Catholic practices, and the adoption of liturgical forms of worship is rapidly increasing. The younger generation of Free Church ministers is emphasizing the importance of sacraments, and many wish to see the sacrament of Holy Communion recognized as the central act of worship and given a corresponding prominence in church life.”
D. M. Panton, in his work, “The Growth of Rome,” corroborates this statement. He writes:
“Anthems, holy days, and ‘altars’ have crept back into the Baptist and Congregational hymnals; a Baptist cathedral in Paisley, built at a Cost Of £500,000, has its stone altar and surpliced choir; ‘festivals’ and centralized federations multiply on every hand. The drift back to alliance with the state, thus sanctioning its oaths and wars, is open and rapid; even a return to a highly ecclesiastical architecture betrays the change of atmosphere within.”
Having well nigh completed the conquest of the National Church, Rome has set on foot this movement for the leavening of the non conforming churches with her ideas and principles. Everyone knows that in Nonconformity is to be found the backbone of England’s Protestantism. If that can be seriously weakened by the introduction of Catholicism into the teachings and services of its larger bodies, then the Reformation will indeed be undone. I here will be left only some of the smaller denominations to withstand the inrush of Romanism.
As this is the hour of crisis for the National Church, so also is it for the Nonconformist bodies., If they shut their eyes to the approaching peril they, too, will awaken to discover the enemy within the gates and their blood bought privileges lost.
Such startling developments in the religious world, occurring in the midst of this time of universal tribulation, when ominous portents of some coming crisis multiply around us, cannot but be of special significance. This sudden re-birth of an effete and anemic power after a century of impotence, this fresh bid for world dominion by an organization that once ground Europe under its tyrannous domination, are facts of stupendous importance in this hour of destiny. What is their message for these stirring times?
One cannot but recall the marvelous prophetic summary of the course of this power’s history found in the Book of Daniel. There, in the seventh chapter, is traced with unerring fingers a complete outline of its career from its rise to its final overthrow at the end of time.
By the prophetic symbols employed in this chapter we are first introduced to the four great powers of the ancient world, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and pagan Rome. They passed before the prophet as a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a fourth beast more terrible than an known in the animal world. This last beast had ten horns, signifying the ten great divisions of the pagan empire. In the midst of them arose a little horn “with eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Immediately the prophet’s attention was concentrated on this central feature of the vision. He wondered what the strange development could mean, but he was not left long in doubt. An angel spoke to him explaining the meaning thus:
“The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” [Daniel 7:24-26]
Every detail of this specification has met its fulfillment in the Papacy. It was a different power, being religious; it rose among the ten kingdoms that sprang out of the ruins of the pagan empire. It caused the overthrow of three of these kingdoms; it spoke great words against God by assuming titles and powers that belong to Him alone. It wore out the saints of God in the most diabolical persecutions history records. And it sought to change the law of God by deleting the second commandment-the constant rebuke to its idolatrous practices-and by so altering the interpretation of the fourth that Sunday instead of the Sabbath became the rest-day of the church. What is even more remarkable, its supremacy continued for precisely the specified period of 1,260 years, from AD 538 to AD 1798.
No other power has ever arisen to fulfil with such exactitude the terms of this inspired prediction. Every unbiased commentator, cognizant of the facts of history, points his finger at the Papacy with the words: “Thou art the man!”
Turning to the thirteenth chapter of Revelation one recognizes immediately the same power as that spoken of by the prophet Daniel. There is a similar reference to a lion, a bear, and a leopard, only now all mingled in one. This power also opens its mouth in blasphemy against God and makes war with the saints and lasts for the same period of twelve hundred and sixty years, here designated “forty and two months.”
But there is one feature of thrilling interest, not mentioned in the earlier prophecy. Says the Apostle john: “I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; And It’s deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” [Revelation 13:3]
A deadly wound healed! Could prophetic pen have drawn more accurately the modern story of the papal power? We have seen how it was wounded-so sorely that all Europe thought its end had come-and how it lay from the close of the eighteenth century until the end of the Great War, suffering from “anemia and exhaustion.” We have beheld also its spectacular revival, its renewed activity, its recovery of temporal power.
What an hour, then, is this, with words of such thrilling import coming true before our eyes! Indeed, the voices of the prophets seem to be calling across the centuries to tell us that the culminating events of time are now bursting upon us.
One further fact these prophecies reveal must be noticed. They disclose that God’s face is set against the Papacy. Though undoubtedly Roman Catholicism numbers in its ranks thousands of godly Christians, and has produced missionary heroes of sublime, self -sacrificing courage like Father Damien, nevertheless there are features of this system of religion to which Heaven is unalterably opposed. Indeed, judging by the statements of Scripture they seem to stir the divine wrath as nothing else on earth.
Because of its colossal pride, its daring claim that its priests can create their Creator, its exaltation of Mary above His Son Jesus, its fondness for images and the idolatry of the mass, the superstitions it approves and fosters for its own gain, its self righteousness, its claim to infallibility, its spirit of intolerance, and its practice of shutting up tens of thousands of helpless women in convents worse than prisons-for these and many other evils the fires of God’s wrath wax hotter at the very mention of its name. No words in the Bible are more terrible than those that predict the punishment of the people who, despite God’s clear warnings, obstinately continue to associate themselves with this system. Listen to the words of His final and most solemn admonition to mankind, due for this very hour:
“And the third angel followed them, saying with -a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.” [Revelation 14:9-11]
In the face of such a warning it is astounding that men should still hanker after the gaudy trinkets that Rome has to offer. Yet they love its ceremonial. They are lured by its lavish pomp and circumstance, its outward appearance of unity, its visible head.
Yet these things are all of the earth, earthy. Jesus, our great High Priest in heaven, is of more value in the warfare with sin than ten million human priests. We need no other mediator than Jesus to give us immediate access to God. Neither do we need any other sacrifice than His to make us welcome. “He was once offered” to take away sin, and needs not to be offered again, day After day, year after year, a thousand million times, at the will of an earthly priesthood. Indeed, we are told plainly that “He offered one sacrifice for sins for ever.” [Hebrews 10:12] Through Him alone we may come boldly to the throne of grace and find abundant help in even, time of need. [Hebrews 4:14-16]
What we need in this great hour is not more priest craft, but more knowledge of Christ; not more incense, but more prevailing prayer; not more superstition, but more genuine faith; not more ceremony, but more heartfelt devotion to Him. And we may find all these simplicities of the gospel without aid of monk or nun, priest or pope. They await our seeking in the Word of the living God and in the daily practice of its divine teachings.
BUBBLING up from the bottom of this melting pot is a dark, noxious substance, that appears to be permeating and coloring the entire contents. Already it has penetrated many of the larger bodies and seems to be acting as yet another solvent upon religious conventions and denominational barriers.
The revival of ancient spiritualism in our time is, indeed, one of the most amazing-and the most perilous--developments of this mighty hour. Christendom has become impregnated with its doctrines. Of recent years, and particularly since the war, there has grown up an enormous, world-wide interest in the subject. One of its leading exponents claims three million believers in Great Britain alone, and affirms that private seances are held in 10,00 English homes every week.
Religious leaders and members of Christian churches have been the most active in propagating its teachings under the title of “Christian Spiritualism.” Clergy of various denominations have formed themselves into a “Psychic Evidence Guild” to encourage study of the cult, and among their plans is the establishment of a school for the training of mediums.
Men and women in every walk of life have been drawn to investigate the extraordinary claims of this new religion. Many of the world’s celebrities have already accepted them. Scientists of repute and authors of international fame have become their ardent advocates. Discussion of psychic research has even been permitted at the annual meetings of the British Association.
This widespread interest is easily understood. Spiritualism’s claim to bring the living in touch with the dead is sufficient of itself to command attention. That is something the bereaved have desired from the day death entered the human family. And when this claim is supported-as it is-by facts of a truly startling order, it is but natural that the sad and the curious should desire to know more concerning it. Those who have lost their loved ones, and yearn with a great longing for their companionship, are bound to ask whether Spiritualism can indeed help them to break through the barrier the tomb has erected. And all who are thrilled at the sight of magic and miracle are likewise drawn to witness for themselves the phenomena which Spiritualist mediums are able to produce.
These phenomena take various forms. Sometimes they consist merely of raps on the wall, or the clanking of chains. Small articles are flung about the s6ance chamber, while sometimes heavy furniture is moved, even being carried out of the window and back again, without human aid. Musical instruments are played by ghostly hands. Spirit photographs appear on exposed plates. Strange voices speak through the medium, at times purporting to come from departed relatives of persons present at the s6ance. Frequently they speak nothing but gibberish; but occasionally they refer to events and dates with uncanny accuracy. At times materialization takes place, a strange substance called astral matter oozing from the body of the medium and taking the form of some deceased person known to one or other of the onlookers.
Phenomena of this kind are sufficient to convince the majority of inquirers as to the genuineness of the teachings of those through whom they are performed. The evidence presented to their senses of sight and hearing seems overwhelming. Such exhibitions of supernatural power, they say, cannot but be of divine origin and must surely hold the explanation of the age-old problem as to the survival of life beyond the grave. Surely, too, they affirm, such eminent scientists as Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir James Barrett, Sir Alfred Wallace, and Sir William Crookes, could not all have been mistaken. Certainly a detective genius like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could not have been duped.
Nevertheless one of the most disconcerting facts which the inquirer into Spiritualism has to face sooner or later is the prevalence of the most unblushing fraud among mediums. In the famous case heard before the late Mr. justice McCardie in 1932 between Mrs. Morris and the Daily Mail, witness after witness referred to the large number of fraudulent mediums and “their dexterity with regard to spirit photographs, sealed letter reading, and other matters.”
On September 18, 1931, Mr. Charles A. Beare, who for three years practiced as a professional spirit medium, confessed in the Daily Express that during all this time he had deliberately deceived his audiences.
“I have deceived hundreds of people,” he said. “I have been guilty of fraud and deception in spiritualistic practices by pretending that I was controlled by a spirit guide. I am frankly and whole-heartedly sorry that I have allowed myself to deceive people.
I believe that when they read my full and frank confession they will forgive me for the way I have deceived them, and I am convinced that Spiritualists could not do better than clear their own ranks of the fraud and deception which I know exist in the greater part of these practices.”
Sir Ernest Bennett, M.P., a member of the council of the Psychical Research Society, writing in the Daily Mail of July 1, 1932, stated:
“It is, alas, a pitiful fact which often turns inquirers away in disgust, that all over Great Britain today certain mediums who have been detected in deliberate and shameless fraud are still championed and employed by Spiritualist leaders.
“To a large extent, indeed, the Spiritualist movement is honeycombed by fraud on the one hand and credulity on the other.”
In the United States, deception of this sort has taken place on such a scale that Spiritualism has been brought into serious disrepute; and Houdini, the world-famous conjurer, once challenged Spiritualists to produce phenomena which he could not duplicate by his own sleight of hand.
Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle admitted in an article written in 1917 that he himself had been hoodwinked on many occasions. “The same circle may assemble,” he wrote, “with the same medium in the same room under the same physical conditions to meet with utter failure upon the Monday and complete success upon the Tuesday. Still more embarrassing is the fact that the same medium may upon one day deliver a message which proves to be absolutely true, and on the next day, or even in some cases at the same sitting, will deliver another which is a detailed fabrication.”
However, despite the perpetration of so much deception in connection with Spiritualism there is little doubt that genuine supernatural phenomena occur. So exhaustive have been the tests applied by scientists of the highest repute to certain of the strange and eerie happenings of the seance chamber that the question has become not so much, Are they genuine, but, What power produces them?
Some seek an explanation in psychology or telepathy; but that is quite insufficient. Others affirm that the spirits of the dead are responsible and that, therefore, the s6ance provides a trysting-place where living and dead may meet again.
If this be true, then surely it is the most amazing discovery of this wonderful time. If, on the other hand, it is incorrect, then many thousands are being daily deceived by some mysterious power and for some nefarious purpose.
Those who feel drawn towards Spiritualism for any reason should reflect that its fundamental claim concerning intercourse with the dead, notwithstanding the very lofty, moral pronouncements made through some of its mediums, is contradictory to one of the basic teachings of Christianity. However eagerly Spiritualism may seek to appropriate the name “Christian” and take its place on an equality with other Christian bodies, this assertion of power to make contact with the dead stamps it as something utterly foreign to the gospel. That gospel, according to New Testament writers, calls for a resurrection of the dead at the Second Coming of Christ. So important is this doctrine in the eyes of the Apostle Paul that he declares. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain; you are yet in your sins.” [1 Corinthians 15:13-17]
The gospel of Christ, indeed the whole plan of salvation, is based upon the promise of a literal, bodily resurrection of the dead at His appearing. Christ Himself affirmed it, and it was reiterated many times by His disciples. It follows therefore that, if this is indeed His plan, if He is waiting to give the righteous dead immortal bodies at His coming, they cannot in the interim be subject to disturbance at the whim or call of any medium. Nor is it reasonable to suppose that Christ would permit them to visit s6ances in order to move furniture, play musical instruments, or write foolish messages on slates.
But Spiritualism not only runs counter to the doctrine of the resurrection, it is also diametrically opposed to Biblical teaching concerning the state of the dead. In this, sad to say, it has been aided and abetted by many Christian churches, for by their teaching that the body has within it a separate and detachable “soul,” which at death speeds off to heaven, hell, or purgatory, they have prepared the way, for Spiritualism’s sweeping successes. For some reason they have overlooked the fact that there is no reference to an “immortal soul” in all the Scriptures, that it is there plainly, stated that God “only hath immortality” and that man will not receive this precious possession until the resurrection. [1 Timothy 6:16, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55]
There is indeed no such thing in existence as a “disembodied spirit.” The dead are not now “immortal souls” flitting about the universe taking post-graduate courses on distant spheres and visiting their old homesteads from time to time. Such ideas are entirely unscriptural and are in harmony with Satan’s first falsehood in the garden of Eden, when, contradicting God, he declared to Eve: “Thou shall not surely die.” [Genesis 3:4]
The fact is that the dead are resting in unconscious sleep, awaiting the resurrection, some the resurrection of life, and some the resurrection of damnation. [John 5:28,29] Until that resurrection there is no life after death for anyone. Until then “the dead know not anything.” [Ecclesiastes 9:5,6]
This teaching appears consistently throughout the Bible. In the Book of Job we find this declaration: “Man lies and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” [Job 14:10-12]
In the Psalms occur many- similar statements: “In death there is no remembrance of Thee.” [Psalm 6:5] “His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” [Psalm 146:4] In Isaiah we are told: “They that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy, truth.” [Isaiah 38:18]
And our Lord Himself, speaking of a dear friend who had passed away, said: “Lazarus sleeps. Lazarus is dead.” [John 11:11-14] The Lord God who made man, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that he became “a living soul”; who sent His Son to die that all who believe Him might not perish, but have everlasting life.” Who is soon to send back His Son to raise the dead and bestow the boon of immortality upon His own-surely He can be trusted in His description of the state of those who have passed away. And He tells us they know nothing, they feel nothing, they do nothing. In silence, and completely unconscious of the passing of time, they sleep on “until the day break, and the shadows flee away.”
Clearly, then, the phenomena of Spiritualism are not produced by the “spirits” of the dead. Some scientists have come to the same conclusion. Said Dr. William Brown, Wilde Reader in Philosophy, University of Oxford, speaking at the Leeds meeting of the British Association:
“The investigations carried out by the Society for Psychical Research during the past fifty years and the society’s results and provisional hypotheses can rightly claim a place in modern psychological science. Nevertheless, if due allowance is made for the possible working of such factors as conscious or subconscious fraud, telepathy between the living, and chance coincidence, the scientific evidence for personal survival of bodily death is not very strong.”
To what, then, can the phenomena be attributed? If the possibility of activity on the part of the dead is completely ruled out, what other cause can there be?
Turning to the Bible again, we find it frequently asserting that certain intelligent but invisible forces exist in the universe. It refers to them as “angels” or “spirits,” pointing out that many have definitely evil intentions toward the human race. The Apostle Paul represents the Christian life as primarily a warfare against such unseen evil powers. To the Ephesians he wrote:
“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having overcome all, to stand.” [Ephesians 6:12,13] That there are “good angels” and “bad angels” in the universe is much more than a fairy story. It is a fact taught throughout the Scriptures. The Apostle John, in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, records his vision of a primeval rebellion when one-third of the created intelligences of heaven were cast out. Genesis opens with the battleground transferred to earth, our first parents ensnared by the arch-rebel himself, and driven from the precincts of the tree of life by the cherubim with the flaming sword.
Through all the Bible story we find incidents of contact between angels and men. Good angels on several occasions appear, in great emergencies, to succor the children of God, even ministering to our Lord Himself in Gethsemane. While on the other hand evil angels are depicted as working for the downfall and corruption of the race, as for example in the case of King Saul and in the many instances of demon possession mentioned in the Gospels and the Acts.
Instances of actual materialization are recorded, revealing that the angels, in certain circumstances, have the power to take on human form. Thus two angels appeared as men to Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the witch of Endor caused the materialization of “Samuel” in the presence of Saul. As to the nature of this power of spirit beings to appear in the guise of humanity, we have no knowledge, but the fact that its occurrence is described in records that are millenniums old is of inestimable value as indicating the true explanation of the specters that haunt the modern seance.
So-called communion with the dead, far from being a modern outgrowth of Christianity, as some would have us believe, is a very ancient practice, invariably carried on through witches and wizards, and definitely condemned by God as demonology. Terms have changed, witches have become “mediums,” and evil spirits the “spirits of the departed,” but modern “Spiritualism” is none the less the same old devilish business. So many titled people having become involved in it makes such language appear harsh and excessive; but when dealing with a deception of such magnitude and subtlety, one must needs call a spade a spade.
Prophets of God have employed the most denunciatory terms when referring to this cult, and to them no language has seemed too strong to use in expressing the utter abhorrence in which it is held by the Most High Thus we find in the ancient law, quoting Dr. Moffatt’s translation:
“There must be none among you who practices divination or soothsaying, no augur, no sorcerer, no one who-weaves spells, no medium or magician, no necromancer. Anyone given to these practices is abominable to the Eternal; indeed, it is on account of such practices that the Eternal dispossesses these nations before you. Before the Eternal your God you must be blameless; for while these nations which you are dispossessing listen to mediums and magicians, the Eternal your God has not allowed you to do that.” [Deuteronomy 18:10-14]
Again, in Leviticus we read: “Never go to a medium or a wizard, never defile yourselves by consulting them: I am the Eternal your God.” [Leviticus 19:31]
In the days of Isaiah this warning was given to the people of Jerusalem: “When they tell you to consult mediums and ghosts that cheep and gibber in low murmurs, ask them if a nation should not rather consult its God. Say, ‘Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?’ Consult the message and the counsel of God!” [Isaiah 8:19,20]
There is certainly no mistaking God’s attitude on this subject. He could not have spoken more plainly or revealed His disapproval in stronger terms. All dealings with the dead, everything savoring of demonology, are anathema to Him. Out of His love for His people, with their well-being and safety in view, He has warned them to have nothing to do with such things. Such counsel can only be ignored at grave peril.
Some people, however, fascinated perhaps by some striking phenomena they have witnessed, or impressed by the eloquent moral teachings of some “control,” are inclined to discount the Biblical explanation of spirit manifestations and scorn the divine admonition concerning them. They are so convinced that the dead are responsible for them that they refuse to countenance any alternative view. They say that demon possession is impossible and unreasonable.
In this connection it is interesting to recall the New Testament story of Paul’s meeting with a damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, who, by the way, was also exploited by certain persons for commercial gain. The words which this girl used under the power of that spirit were pious words calculated to appeal to Christian men who might have heard them. “These men,” she said, speaking of Paul and Silas, “are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of salvation.” But the apostle would not accept this testimony from such a source. “Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” [Acts 16:17,18]
The consistent teaching of the Scriptures on this matter indeed affords the only explanation which satisfactorily meets all the questions which such exhibitions of supernatural activity arouse.
First, it explains the phenomena. As beings on the angelic plane must be possessed of far greater knowledge of the laws of the universe than man, there is nothing to prevent them from performing feats far beyond human capacity. Materialization, also, may well be within the power of a demon. The Apostle Paul has told us that even Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. It is therefore not unreasonable to suggest that his followers may appear at seances as ministers of righteousness. [2 Corinthians 11:14,15] “Spirits of devils” are indeed the only adequate explanation of the amazing miracles of the seance chamber.
Secondly, it explains the messages. At practically every seance messages are received from “the other side.” Sometimes they are true, sometimes false, and very frequently they are made up of trivialities and nonsense. Speaking of the unreliable nature of the messages received, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote in
“The New Revelation”:
“We have, unhappily, to deal with absolute cold-blooded lying on the part of wicked or mischievous intelligences. Everyone who has investigated the matter has, I suppose, met with examples of willful deception, which occasionally are mixed up with good and true communications. There is nothing more puzzling than the fact that one may get a long, connected description with every detail given, and then ft may prove to be entirely a concoction.”‘
This admission by so eminent a student of the subject that “wicked and mischievous intelligences” may possibly be the authors of the messages is most important. But Sir Oliver Lodge has gone farther, saying in his book, “Raymond”:
“The only alternative in the best cases is to imagine a sort of super-normal mischievous so elaborately misleading that it would have to be stigmatized as vicious or even diabolical.”
It may be news to some that these two leading exponents of Spiritualism, who studied the question so thoroughly, and examined the messages with such minute care, were led to doubt whether or not they were being deceived by some diabolical power, but there are the facts; and they are in exact harmony with the divine assertion that this is indeed the case.
Not only, however, does the Biblical explanation reveal the true cause of the true cause of the cold
blooded lying, but it also accounts for every other phase of the spirit messages, including those that refer to private and history and the location of long lost objects. Such information would indeed be beyond the power of “disembodied spirits” to obtain, but to a supernatural being with the intellect of a fallen angel-a myrmidon of the well-organized army of Satan-the gathering of such facts would be a simple undertaking.
Thirdly, it explains the anti-Christian teachings of the spirits, Despite all the attempts of certain Spiritualists to prove to the world that their beliefs and teachings are in harmony with Christianity, it is very evident from the published reports ‘Of s6ances that the powers behind .Spiritualism are aiming at the overthrow of the very fundamentals of the Christian religion.
In “Spirit Teachings,” a book which consists of matter written by spirits, who used the hand of Mr. Stanton Moses, one-time editor of Light, as their medium, statements occur which reveal the true character of the power behind the s6ance. For instance, they say concerning Christ:
“It is sufficient to say that the incarnation of an exalted spirit for the purpose of regenerating mankind is not confined to a single instance. The special salvation that mankind derives from these special saviors is that of which at the time it stands in need. Christ came to die for and to save man in the same, though in a higher sense, that all regenerators of men have been their saviours.” Man is also taught to look to himself for salvation and righteousness:
“Neither have we made any mention of a boundless store of merit laid up for him by the death of the sinless Son of God. No such fable finds a place in our knowledge. We know of no store of merit save that which man lays up for himself by slow and laborious processes.” Regarding the Bible the spirits say:
“You have no desire to hide the plain fact that there is much in some parts of the Bible which does not amalgamate with our teaching, being, indeed, the admixture of human error which came through the mind of the chosen medium.”
“We mention this to avoid at once the necessity of replying to any texts from these books which may be quoted as an argument.”
Concerning the second advent of Christ, the spirits say:-
“What you are now witnessing are the signs and wonders that prelude the opening of a new dispensation, the advent of the Lord, not as man has fancied and as your teachers have vainly taught, in bodily presence to judge an arisen humanity, but in His new mission (the fullness of the old), through us His messengers and ministers, in the declaration of a new evangelist to your world.”
“ Is this, then, the return of Christ? It is the spiritual return. There will be no such physical return as man dreamed of.”
In the Metropolitan Magazine (New York) for January, 1918, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was quoted as follows:
“One can see no justice in the vicarious sacrifice, nor in a God who could be placated by such means. Above all, many cannot understand such expressions as: ‘The redemption from sin,’ ‘Cleansed by the blood of the Lamb,’ and so forth. Never was there any evidence of a Fall. But if there were no Fall, then what became of the atonement, of the redemption, of original sin, of a large part of Christian mystical philosophy? Even if it were as reasonable in itself, as it is actually unreasonable, it would still be quite divorced from the facts. Again, too much seemed to be made of Christ’s death. It is no uncommon thing to die for an idea.”
Again, in another publication, the Spiritual Telegraph, No. 37, appeared the following:
“What is the meaning of the word Christ? It is not, as generally supposed, the Son of the Creator of all things. Any just and perfect being is Christ. The crucifixion of Christ is nothing more than the crucifixion of a spirit, which all have to contend with before becoming perfect and righteous. The miraculous conception of Christ is merely a fabulous tale.”
It will be noticed that these statements are all directed at the very hub and center of the Christian religion that Christ and His atoning death. It is the very teaching one would expect the arch-enemy of Christ to attempt to foist upon the world. One further quotation, however, will make it abundantly clear whence these blasphemous teachings have come. In the Banner of Light for November 4, 1865, the following question and answer, given at a seance, appeared:
“Question. Do you know of any such spirit as the person we call the devil?”
“Answer. We certainly do. And yet this same devil is our god, our father.”
For once, at any rate, the spirits told the truth.
It explains the effects of Spiritualism. Evidence is abundant that the practice of Spiritualism leads to all manner of nervous disorders, and is a frequent cause of insanity.
Giving evidence before the late Mr. justice McCardie, in the famous trial to which allusion has been made, Mrs. Violet Tweedale, a Spiritualist of fifty years’ experience, frankly admitted that “there are millions of evil spirits who would like to take control of one” and that “madhouses today are half full of people who have yielded themselves to their influence.” Replying to a question by, the judge, she said: “Possession is a very common thing.”
Mrs. Osborne Leonard, a well-known medium, in her autobiography published in 1931, records her personal experience with horrible and malevolent influences in the seance room. Sitting on one occasion with two girl friends she attempted to hold a materialization seance in the dark. A slight aperture in the blind enabled her to see what at first seemed a shadow, but what by degrees revealed itself as a thin, dark arm, covered with hair, which clutched at the throat of her companion, “Nellie,”’ and attempted to strangle her.
The electric light being thereupon switched on, Nellie was found “in a pitiable condition, and trembling from head to foot.” Having felt the hand upon her throat, she had “jumped up with a piercing shriek, knocked over the chair, pushed us both to one side and rushed blindly for the door.”
Whatever explanation may be offered as to the cause of this occurrence, certainly the possibility of such dreadful happenings taking place should be sufficient warning to those who are tempted to meddle with the occult.
Similarly another prominent medium, Mrs. Travers Smith, daughter of Professor Dowden, and niece of a former Bishop of Edinburgh, warns the readers of her book, “Voices from the Void,” that possession is a real and alarming possibility. She describes how at certain sittings held by her “some external entity of a most dangerous kind was present,” and adds that such a personal experience “illustrates one of the greatest dangers connected with psychic work.” Sir William Barrett, FRS, and the well-known American investigator, Mr. Hereward Carrington, give similar warnings.
Dr. C. Williams, in his book “Spiritualism and Insanity,” writes as follows:
“Another injurious result of these studies is that those who pursue them, through constantly straining the senses of sight and hearing so as to ‘see’ something at seances, ultimately get these senses morbidly developed and are, in consequence, particularly prone to visual and aural hallucinations. Now visual hallucinations are harmful enough and sometimes lead to a nervous or mental breakdown, but aural hallucinations are much more serious. It is in consequence indeed of hallucinations of this kind that a person is led to commit the most insane acts, e.g., to make some silly and disastrous speculation in business, or to take some foolish step in life: and worse still, it is generally owing to bearing some voice saying, ‘Go and drown yourself,’ or ‘Go and shoot yourself,’ that most of the numerous suicides among Spiritualists have been brought about.”
This is the devil’s work, and to blame it upon the “disembodied spirits” of the departed is only further evidence of the diabolical nature of the deception.
Plausible as Spiritualism’s theories may seem to some, respectable and even “Christian” as it may appear in public, it is obviously a last great effort on the part of the powers of darkness to gain control of the minds of men. Not only are its teachings contrary to the gospel of Christ, but its fruits are seen in disordered minds -and a stream of entrants to the world’s asylums.
“To dabble at all in such matters,” says the editor of the Christian, “is to come within reach of demoniac forces, and it is no unfamiliar experience to find skepticism and curiosity about spiritual manifestations changed to hysterical ‘possession’ in those persons who have lightly attended seances ‘just to see.’ The things of which we speak are among the most serious problems of the day, and we would utter a solemn warning against confidences that are away from God and tend to the tragedy of demon possession.
Perhaps you who read these words have already felt yourself drawn towards this strange movement. Perhaps some overwhelming sorrow has driven you, against your better judgment, to seek comfort at this forbidden shrine. Already you may have heard the whispering of mysterious voices from the unseen or felt the cold, clammy touch of some spirit hand. If so, as you value your life, your peace of mind, your mental balance, retrace your steps before it is too late. Take yourself in hand with a firm grip. Determine that you will be free from the web that is being woven about you. Seek God for deliverance. And if you feel that you have gone too far, that you cannot throw off the dark, evil presence that haunts you, still do not hesitate to pour out your heart’s need to Him. Speak the name of Jesus in confident faith, and peace will return. The mightiest demon from hell must flee before the power of His holy name.
Facing this supreme peril of these stirring times it is of vital importance that every child of God discover the secret of victory over the powers of darkness. With Satan and his hosts at work with “great power and lying wonders,” laboring feverishly knowing that they have “but a short time,” those who would be preserved from their snares and deceptions need as never before to don the heavenly armor. The apostle’s admonition was never more timely: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” [Ephesians 6:11]
Among all the prophetic descriptions of the developments of this mighty hour, few are more terrible than those revealing the machinations of evil spirits that seek to obtain control of God-forsaken human souls. Says the Apostle Paul: “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” [1 Timothy 4:1]
When the seer of Patmos set forth in symbolic language the tragic world situation of the last days, he wrote: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” [Revelation 18:2]
Describing in further detail the final events of world history, he declared: “I saw the spirits of devils go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” [Revelation 16:13,14]
“Spirits of devils” in all the world! What a picture of our time and of Spiritualism’s sweeping successes! Yea, and what an hour is this, when even such prophecies as this are meeting their fulfillment! Was there ever a time of such fearful solemnity since man was upon the earth? We face not only the wrath of man but the rage of demons. Who is sufficient for these things? Surely they should impel us to seek God as we have never sought Him before. Only He can preserve us from the perils that lurk in the darkness of the days ahead.
ONE stormy day, some time ago we stood in the Palace of the Nations at Geneva watching the white-crested waves of the lake as they rolled by unceasingly to dash themselves into spray upon the harbor breakwaters. A gale was blowing and clouds were scudding across the sky, now enveloping, now uncovering, the gray, rugged slopes of the distant Alps. Suddenly there was an exclamation of excitement. Someone was pointing towards the mountains beyond the southern shores of the lake.
We turned to look in the direction indicated. There, in the far distance, a majestic, snow-covered peak stood out serenely against a broken background of fleecy cumulus and pale-blue sky. Through some cloud-rift a ray of sunshine kissed its summit, suffusing it with silver radiance. Then the vision passed. Clouds swooped down again and gathered the glory into their bosom.
But we had seen Mont Blanc. And having seen it, we realized that, far above this international city, this nerve-center of the modern world, there towers this mighty, snow-clad pinnacle, unmoved by all its conflicts unscarred by raging storms, unchanged through changing years. The League of Nations might dissolve; Geneva itself become a deserted city; but this massive, magnificent mountain would ever stand to command the admiration of men.
Even thus above this storm-swept world rises the throne of God, towering, in solemn majesty, “over the wrecks of time.” Beyond the clouds of wretchedness and despair that envelop the nations, beyond all their agony and pain, rules One of infinite wisdom and boundless love. With the reins of world government in His hands, He watches and waits, working out, in patient serenity, His eternal purpose.
Centuries ago the prophet Isaiah beheld a vision such as this. In his youth a disaster befell his people. King Uzziah died. And with his passing Judah was plunged not only into sorrow at his death but into new fears for the future. Would Israel or the Syrians seize this opportunity to pounce upon the bereaved nation to plunder and ravage as was their wont? Would the new young king be as courageous and successful a leader as his illustrious father? What did the future hold? The air was full of rumors and the wisest were sore perplexed.
But in that very year of distraction and upheaval the eyes of the prophet were opened upon a scene of calm tranquillity and transcendent glory. He writes: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” [Isaiah 6:1]
Angel hands drew back the veil between temporal and eternal things. Instantly, his outlook was transformed. Events of earth which, till then, had seemed so vitally important, fell into their true proportions. His mind, so recently filled with tragic concern about the throne of Judah, now saw how infinitesimal it was beside the great white throne of God! How tawdry were all its gilded trappings in the dazzling radiance of eternal light! How pitifully poor and mean appeared all earthly pomp and splendor against the unspeakable glory of heaven! How feeble and transient seemed all human dynasties beside the eternal majesty of the Most High! How foolish and petty became the strife of man ill the presence of the calm serenity, the unbroken peace, of the everlasting God!
Confidence and courage filled his heart anew. He returned to face life’s battles with a new perception of the relationship of earthly and heavenly things. He might be called to endure great hardships but never, in all his life, could he forget that vision of the throne of God. Always in darkest nights of trouble or disaster its glowing radiance came shining through. Again and again when facing direst difficulties he lifted his eyes above them to the Holy One of Israel whose power and glory he had been privileged to behold. The knowledge that, above all earthly strife, God still reigned, sustained him through every trial.
Such a vision is sorely needed by mankind today. As in the year that King Uzziah died Isaiah saw the Lord, so now in this far greater hour of world distress we need to see Him too. Our eyes should be lifted from temporal to eternal things. The dazzling glory of the throne of God must burn its way into our souls also. We too, must recognize His universal sovereignty, His infinite power, His unfailing providence. Only thus can we hope to understand the meaning of the tremendous events that thicken about us and find courage and strength sufficient to endure to the end.
Nevertheless, viewing all the chaos of these turbulent times, seeing the world strewn with the debris of a thousand disasters, and sensing the approach of yet more terrible catastrophes, many are tempted to question the existence of any divine, over-ruling Power. Moving amid scenes of tragedy, or crushed perhaps themselves by some heart-rending sorrow, they ask, with agonized or defiant voices: “Why does God permit such things to happen? Where is His omnipotent power, His overflowing love? How could One of infinite grace, confronted by such universal suffering, withhold His hand so long?”
All too quickly men are ready to take upon their lips the thoughtless, despairing words: “There is no God.” All too soon they permit their judgment to be warped, their perspective spoiled, because the immediate prospect is blurred and dismal. Their hearing is dulled by the roaring of the winds, their vision confused by the raging of storm-driven clouds. They fail to see the swift movements of a guiding, controlling Hand; and the sound of a commanding Voice is lost upon their ears. Past deliverance are forgotten amid present perils. Like Israel of old in the wilderness, when bread and water fail, their first thought is to “murmur against the Lord.”
Yet that guiding Hand is indeed at work. That Voice, though sometimes small and still, is yet heard in all the earth. God still lives and reigns. High above all the turmoil of this contentious and rebellious world He watches over the destiny of men and nations. “He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.” [Daniel 2:22]
There is no need to question God’s existence in this crisis hour. Never were so many evidences available to convince the most skeptical of His power and love.
If doubts are in your mind, go out under the open sky upon a starlit night. Gaze up into the mighty vault above you and count, if you can, the blazing orbs that shine from the depths of space. Look through a telescope and behold the multiplied millions that crowd the remotest recesses of the starry heavens. Then ask yourself, Who placed them there? Who keeps them there? Who orders their going with such unfailing precision?
Of, if you will, behold the glory of the sunset. Watch the light rays leaping upwards, gilding the curling fringes of dark cloud-banks, blazing triumphantly through fleecy mists, changing gray to glowing gold, and touching with fiery fingers the billowy chariots on the wide horizon. Ask yourself again, Who paints the sky with such resplendent glory? Who makes it possible for puny man to behold such pageantry divine?
Turn to the flowers at your feet. Take up a common daisy and note the regular formation of its pink-tipped petals. What marvelous inventive genius is here revealed. I Behold, too, all the multi-colored blossoms in your garden, with all their dainty perfumes and tender loveliness. Who bestowed upon them these delicate graces and endowed them with the mysterious power to reproduce and multiply exceedingly? Who brings them forth again, year by year, from tiny seed and unpretentious bulb?
Watch the birds as they speed so confidently through the air. Note the rhythmic beating of their wings, their perfect poise. Who gave to them the power of flight? Who made it possible that they, too, should beget after their own kind?
Take a microscope and examine nature’s smallest treasures, ‘the construction of tiny insects, the rare qualities of infinitesimal things. Notice the marvelous perfection of every detail, the exquisite delicacy with which every part has been designed. Then ask yourself once more, Who made these things? What mighty intellect planned and executed with such refinement on such a scale as this?
Only one answer is possible. As no house can exist without a builder, so the presence around us of endless natural wonders demonstrates the existence of an infinite Creator. The marvels of starlit nights, sunset glories, and fragrant flowers, serve but to reveal how inexhaustible are His resources, how vast His power. The song of the silent spheres is the cry of all creation:
“In reason’s ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, For ever singing as they shine The hand that made us is divine.”
Fulfilled prophecies of Holy Scripture add further testimony to prove that God still lives and reigns. We have considered many already in previous---chapters, but the Bible literally abounds with predictions concerning men and nations so exactly fulfilled that no one can justly deny the claim of the Prophets themselves that they spoke by inspiration. Certainly they could not have foreseen the future themselves. That is beyond the power of any man. The wisest cannot tell with certainty even the nature of the weather more than a day in advance, much less the fate of empires. Ability to prophesy with accuracy demands supernatural vision; and a sequence of fulfilled predictions affords overwhelming evidence of divine guidance.
More than a century before Nineveh was sacked and burned by Nebuchadnezzar, while Assyria was still the greatest power in the world and men thought it would never be, overthrown, Nahum the prophet wrote: “Nineveh shall be empty, and void, and waste.” [Nahum 2: 10]
While Babylon was in its prime and all the world marveled at its wealth and might, Jeremiah dared to foretell its doom in these striking words: “Babylon shall become heaps without an inhabitant.” [Jeremiah 51:37]
In the days of Tyre’s supremacy in the Mediterranean, when her island fortress still proudly defied the world and her ships ruled the waves, God declared through Ezekiel: “They shall destroy the walls of Tyre. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea.” [Ezekiel 26:4,5]
While Egypt was still a power to be reckoned with in world affairs, the same prophet announced: “It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations.” [Ezekiel 29:14,15]
Of the beautiful temple that was standing in Jerusalem in the days of our Lord, He Himself foretold: “There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.” [Mathew 24:2]
As for the city itself, He said: “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” [Luke 21:24]
A glance over history demonstrates how every word of these predictions has come true. The site of Nineveh is a sandy waste. All that remains of Babylon is a heap in the desert. Fishermen today spread their nets on the rocks where Tyre once stood. Certainly Egypt has never again exalted itself above the nations. As for Herod’s temple, it was thrown down within forty years of the prophecy; and to this day Gentiles still rule in Jerusalem. No wonder H. L. Hastings once wrote:
“So long as Babylon is in heaps; so long as Nineveh lies empty, void, and waste. So long as Egypt is the basest of kingdoms; so long as Tyre is a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; so long as Israel is scattered among all nations. So long as trodden underfoot of the Gentiles. So long as the great empires of the world march on in their predicted course just so long we have proof that one omniscient Mind dictated the predictions of that Book, and ‘prophecy came not in old time by the will of man.’
Yet one need not depend solely upon the evidence of nature or even of fulfilled prophecy to be sure of God’s existence and His intimate interest in the affairs of men. The God of whom they testify is a living God, who can see and hear and help. He may rule upon a throne “high and lifted up,” but He is ever approachable by the least of His children. He did not suddenly create the universe and then abdicate His throne. He did not inspire the prophecies and then leave events to take care of themselves. He lives today. Even from “everlasting to everlasting” His reign endures. And by His Spirit He comes very near to those who love Him, yea, “closer even than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.” All through the ages He has been the faithful Friend of those who have put their trust in Him. Prophets and kings and men in every walk of life have brought their petitions to Him and found the help of which they stood in need. The sacred record abounds with such instances of answered prayers. One thinks at once of Moses, Solomon, Daniel, Hezekiah, and many New Testament characters. The words of the writer to the Hebrews are most appropriate: “And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah. Of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong.” [Hebrews 11:32-34]
And if the testimony of the past is not sufficiently convincing, there is nothing to prevent a personal experiment today. A standing invitation exists for every human being to come boldly unto the throne of grace, [Hebrews 4:16] Why not accept it? Put God to the test. He wants all men to know that He lives and loves, and He will not turn a deaf ear to any honest petition. Go to Him in the name of Jesus and see how marvelously He will solve your problems and smooth the most difficult path.
No answering voice may reach you through the darkness of the night, no blaze of light illumine your upturned face. But rest assured God will answer in His own good time. The feeblest prayer from a sincere and earnest heart sets the arm of Omnipotence in motion. Be the answer immediate or long delayed it is equally certain. It is His delight to make “all things work together for good” [Romans 8:28] for them that love Him.
In this dark and terrible hour we need to rediscover the reality of God. Facing such grave developments in the national, social, and religious phases of modern life, with civilization itself threatened, and evidences multiplying of the approach of some universal catastrophe, nothing is of more importance than that we should find our way back to Him. By communion with Him in prayer, by patient study of His Word, by watching His marvelous workings in nature we must bring Him evermore fully into our lives. For we need Him to give courage an-rid heart-sickening perils, hope when hope seems gone. We need Him, too, as an anchor amid the rising seas, a refuge in the gathering storm.
And that storm is coming. Let there be no mistake about that. It is stirring from the earth’s far ends. No one can escape it. All mankind will be involved. But we can at least make certain of God’s loving care through all the tragic times the future may unfold. From the judgments that are coming upon the earth God has promised to spare His own. Those who yield their hearts to Him and enter His family will discover in this crisis the priceless privileges of their son ship and witness the greatest marvels of His saving power.
“Come, My people,” He says, “enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over past. For, behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” [Isaiah 26:20,21]
“The Lord also shall roar out of Zion,” says the prophet Joel, “and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” [Joel 3:16]
Amid the coming upheavals of these stirring times the familiar promises of the ninety-first psalm will also take on new meaning: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He will cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shall thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday. Because thou has made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” [Psalm 90:1-10]
A promise of equal beauty and wondrous comfort is found in the concluding verses of Haggai’s prophecy. The word of the Lord came to him, saying: “I will shake the heavens and the earth. And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, said the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, said the Lord of hosts.” [Haggai 2:21-28]
What a striking picture of the world’s last crisis! -God seizing both heavens and earth in the wrath of the judgment day and shaking them with His outstretched hands, while armies flee, cities crash, and thrones and kingdoms fall. But on His finger is seen His signet, the symbol of His holy people. Thus the very hand that shakes the universe keeps His children safe. Mountains may be moved and all nature suffer the pangs of dissolution, yet they are preserved. Nothing can loose them from His finger. In the very hour when all things that can be shaken are removed they find glorious deliverance in Him.
FROM the earliest times it has been God’s desire to have upon this earth a holy people-a people after His own heart, living in harmony with His laws and revealing to all mankind the exceeding riches of His grace.
In the beginning, when He created the world “to be inhabited.” [Isaiah 45:18] It was His purpose that every member of the human family should in loving obedience and unbroken fellowship enjoy every good gift that an infinite God could bestow. The entrance of sin thwarted that purpose. It became necessary for the security of the universe that this rebellion be permitted to work itself out. Thus only could be demonstrated to all God’s infinite creation the folly and futility of sin and the justice of its ultimate destruction.
To this end the life of the race, forfeited almost at its beginning, was allowed to continue; and immediately the forces of good and evil ranged themselves for the long controversy to be waged around its destiny. The war that had broken out in heaven was transferred to earth, with succeeding generations of men the prize of the contending powers. [Revelation 12:7,9]
Through the ages that have elapsed since then evil has seemed to have the best of the battle. As the first family multiplied, instead of growing in grace and divine favor, it steadily degenerated until, so wicked did the world become, God intervened and removed all but eight persons in the cataclysm of the Flood.
Then the struggle began again. Noah’s descendants soon became little better than those who had been overwhelmed in the Deluge. Sin dragged the new nations down into all manner of abominations. Idolatry spread until almost all knowledge of the true God was lost. Vice and violence, bloodshed and oppression, ruled afresh, and the sad story of degeneracy has stained the pages of history to this day. The centuries of the past are littered with the wreckage of untold millions of ruined and wasted lives.
Yet through all the years there have been noble men and women who have loyally maintained their allegiance to the God of heaven, consistently keeping His commandments, faithfully fighting His battles against the hosts of evil. From generation to generation the torch of truth has been handed on and never has its light been suffered to go out.
Abraham was one such champion of righteousness, and God, delighting in him, proposed to make of him a great nation that should likewise witness for Him before the world. As Abraham’s seed multiplied He led them, in His wisdom, into Egypt; then from Egypt through the wilderness to Sinai; and finally, after many vicissitudes, over Jordan to the promised land.
Through His servant Moses He made very plain to this people what He wanted them to be. At the beginning of their history He said to them:
“Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you. Thou shall therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.” [Deuteronomy 7:6-11]
A marvelous opportunity opened out before this God led people. For His special purpose He placed their capital city “in the center of the nations, with the lands of the world around her.” [Ezekiel 5:5] If their witness for truth and righteousness should prove unblemished, nothing would be too good nor too great for Him to bestow upon them. Loyalty to God would mean their exaltation above all nations upon the face of the earth.
Alas, only failure followed. Once more sin spoiled God’s gracious purposes. Among all this people there was never more than a small remnant that maintained, irreproachably, their allegiance to Him. Occasionally, under some godly king, there were sudden bursts of spiritual fervor on the part of the nation as a whole, but gradually declension became more and more rapid until, in the time of Isaiah, they deserved this awful censure:
“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.” [Isaiah 1:4-6]
Though God must have been sorely disappointed, His love for the people He had chosen was still unexhausted. With amazing long-suffering He said to them: “Come now, and let us reason together: .. . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” [Isaiah 1:18,19]
Later, through His prophet, He went still further, renewing His original offer to lift them up above all nations despite all their miserable failures, if only they would turn again to Him and keep His commandments.
“If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable. And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: then shall thou delight thyself in the Lord. And I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” [Isaiah 58:13,14]
Again, however, the gracious offer was scorned or neglected, and though renewed again and again by, later prophets, the glorious opportunity so long held out was never seized. “And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending. Because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling-place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” [2 Chronicles 36:15,16]
“Last of all He sent unto them His Son, saying, They will reverence My Son.” [Matthew 21:37] In a final, supreme effort to save His chosen people from utter ruin, to give them one last opportunity to fulfil His sublime purpose for them, He came and dwelt among them in the Person of Jesus Christ. Had they accepted Him as their Lord and Master, had they as a nation repented of their sins and surrendered their lives to Him, the whole course of history would have been changed. The Jews, with Jesus at their head, would have become the mightiest spiritual force in the world. Innumerable blessings would have fallen upon their nation and through them upon all mankind. But they did not accept Him.
Though they professed to be looking for their Messiah, they did not recognize in Jesus the fulfillment of their hopes. Because His teachings did not harmonize with their ideas of kingship they thought He must be some impostor. So to crown their folly and ingratitude they crucified Him.
It was the last drop in the cup of their iniquity. Their national privilege as God’s special witnesses was forfeited for ever. The sound of the hammer on the nails that pierced the hands and feet of the Savior was the death-knell of the Jewish race as God’s favored people.
Yet out of that very tragedy God raised up new witnesses to make known His name among the children of men. The resurrection morning saw the birth of the Christian church. Within a week there were adherents all over Palestine. Before Pentecost was past thousands more had joined its ranks.
The impossible had happened. The death and resurrection of Jesus had done more in a few weeks than all the preaching of all the prophets through fifteen centuries. At last there existed on earth a body of people pledged to live the life of Jesus and obey His Father’s will. Only it was no national movement now. Soon the cry was heard: “Lo, we turn to the Gentiles,” and within a few short years courageous leaders were pioneering the gospel path through the length and breadth of the Roman empire. By the end of the first century witnesses for Jesus were to be found in every province. Both Jews and Gentiles were now united in a common allegiance and a common task.
God’s purpose seemed fulfilled at last. Scattered in all the world was a pure and holy people, bound together by one faith, one hope, one fervent love. Upon this unsullied, pristine church He proceeded to lay the responsibilities He had once committed to Israel. Through the Apostle Peter He said to them-in words reminiscent of those already quoted from Deuteronomy: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people. That you should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God.” [1 Peter 2:9,10]
The Apostle Paul bore a similar message to the new church at Philippi, exhorting them to be “blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” [Philippians 2:15]
Writing to the youthful Titus he sought to instill into him a like appreciation of this solemn responsibility: “For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. [Titus 2:11-14]
Yet, tragedy of tragedies, the church failed also. Sin entered this beautiful new Eden and pursued its devastating course. The mangled remains of the martyred apostles were scarcely buried before apostasy had set in. The membership rolls were augmented, but character declined. Standards were lowered and half-converted pagans entered the fold, bringing with them their heathen ceremonies to supplant the simple ordinances of the early church. As the centuries passed, and persecution by the emperors subsided, deterioration proceeded until the professed church of God had wandered farther from His ideal than Israel in its worst period of apostasy. Nevertheless God 1eft not Himself without witness.” When wickedness triumphed in the church there were always loyal souls to be found here and there to keep alive the knowledge of Him in the earth. Some, perchance, were in prison cells, some hiding in mountain caves, others in distant lands whither the worst corruption never reached. Always there were some honest men and women striving to do His will, keeping His commandments to the best of their knowledge and ability. Never even in the darkest ages was there a time when He could not point to some and say, “These are My witnesses.”
This longing of God for a special people, bearing His name and acknowledging His leadership, has never faded. As in all generations of the past He has been able to reckon at least some godly souls unswervingly loyal to Him, so in these last days also He would have His band of trustworthy champions to maintain His cause of truth and righteousness in the earth.
And if such champions were needed in days of old, how much more in this mighty hour when all the forces that have striven in the age-long controversy between good and evil are gathering for the final struggle, when evil spirits are openly at work, when idolatry in modern forms is springing up anew, when false teachings are spreading like leaven, and violence fills the earth? Surely now, of all times, there should be found in the world a people more loyal, more courageous, more jealous for His honor than any who in times gone by have been privileged to witness for Him.
That God is seeking such a people today there can be no doubt. The words of Hanani the seer to Asa, king of Judah, are more true than ever in this crisis hour: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him.” [2 Chronicles 16:9]
What a wonderful and pathetic picture! God searching for men and women whose hearts are towards Him. How many, many times, as His eyes roam through the earth, must He not sadly say to Himself: “Not this one; he is too busy to think of Me. He is wrapped up in his business; his heart is towards money rather than towards Me; he prefers to taste the pleasures of sin for a season.”
Yet now and then He finds some soul anxious above all things to do right, to speak the truth, and uphold purity and justice. How His heart must rejoice at every such discovery! And as others, responding to the pleadings of His Holy Spirit, turn from their evil ways to join His band of holy witnesses, what joy there must be among the angels of heaven!
In the Book of Revelation there is a remarkable picture of the gathering out of such a people in all parts of the world as the shadows of the last great crisis descend upon it. Describing events to take place when “the harvest of the earth is ripe” and the coming of the heavenly Reaper is near at hand, the Apostle John says: “I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come. And worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” [Revelation 14:6,7]
There followed a second angel, announcing the fall of modern Babylon, and a third warning men against worshipping the beast or his image or receiving his mark in forehead or hand. And then the fruitage of all this God-inspired labor is described: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” [Revelation 14:12]
In this stirring passage it is not only made clear that God will have a people for Himself in the world in the closing days of its history, but the special characteristics of that people are definitely indicated. They will be found in every nation whither the eyes of the Lord have searched for them. They will courageously withstand the most powerful evil institutions; they will possess, in all their contending for righteousness, the patience of the saints; and above all things they will keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
But the fact that a people with these rare qualities and fulfilling these divinely drawn specifications is to arise in our own time raises questions of tremendous importance. Naturally, everyone will ask himself, Does God reckon me to be among them? Has He, looking into my heart with those piercing eyes of His, decided that it is perfect towards Him? Am I indeed keeping God’s commandments as He intends they should be kept? Is my witness for Him as unselfish and fearless as it should be? Is my belief in Jesus genuine and sincere?
Reflecting upon all the mighty issues of this solemn hour and the omens of oncoming disasters, realizing that the world is hurtling towards some major catastrophe and that the only hope of security in the crisis lies in seeking divine protection, it is imperative that questions such as these be answered without delay. We must know where we stand. If we would shelter under His wings in the coming storm we must bring our lives into harmony with His will before it breaks.
God’s conditions, after all, are not onerous. All He asks of His people is that they keep His commandments and believe in Jesus. Faith and obedience-the one complementary to the other. For the commandments cannot be kept without faith in Christ, and true faith in Him will invariably reveal itself in an earnest desire to do His will. As righteousness without faith is impossible, so faith without works is dead. [James 2:17] The two together ensure the preservation of His people from the evil that is in the world. They are calculated to mold them into ambassadors of whom God need never be ashamed.
His insistence upon the observance of His commandments is not without good reason. When first He gave them to the children of Israel it was “for their good always.” [Deuteronomy 6:24] He intended them to form the foundation of their spiritual life and the witness they were to bear for Him before the world. When He promised to exalt them “above all people that are upon the face of the earth,” it was on the distinct understanding that they, on their part, should keep His statutes. He knew that His law would be a real protection from the wickedness in the world around them. So, today, when He requires obedience of His people it is with the same beneficent purpose of blessing both them and the world in which they live.
If they keep the first and second commandments they will be preserved from all idolatry.
If they keep the third, their lips will never be tainted with swearing or blasphemy.
If they keep the fourth, observing the seventh day of every week as the Sabbath of the Lord, they will never forget His creative and redemptive power. However sorely they may be tempted they will never wander far from His side. Week by week they will return from all their labor and travail to find rest in Him.
If they keep the fifth, there will be peace and happiness in their homes.
If they keep the sixth, they will do no murder and speak no angry word to foe or friend.
If they keep the seventh, they will be kept from all impurity and the sorrows that unfaithfulness begets.
If they keep the eighth, they will be an honest people, whose every business transaction will bear the light of day.
If they keep the ninth, they will be in every respect a people of truth, whose word is their bond.
If they keep the tenth, they will be an unselfish people, giving rather than getting, preferring sacrifice to ill gotten gain.
No wonder God wants His people to keep His commandments! He knows the salutary effect their
observance will bring about. He once hoped to watch their uplifting influence upon Israel: with like eager
expectation of success He looks to the people He is calling today.
Jesus has removed all difficulties from the matter of observance. To all who desire to do the will of God He has opened the rich reservoirs of His grace. He has promised to keep them from falling and to present them faultless before the throne of His glory with exceeding joy. [Jude 1:24] Nothing He can do to achieve that happy purpose will be left undone. He has Himself declared that all things are possible to him that believes; and the unleashing of illimitable power waits only upon the earnest cry: “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.” [Mark 9:24]
To those who secretly would belong to His people but yet are fearful of making a full surrender, remembering their weakness and failure in the past, special help is promised. By His Holy Spirit God provides a remedy that will remove every besetting sin. As in the springtime the sap rises in the trees, flowing into the outermost branches and causing the last dead leaves that have fought the winter’s gales to loose their grip and fall, so when the flood-tide of God’s Spirit enters a human life evil habits, that have resisted all human striving, fade away. In their place the buds of great spiritual possibilities, long dormant, burst forth at last in radiant beauty.
As to His willingness in this respect, there is no question. He says Himself: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” [Luke 11:9-13]
By His Spirit God is calling to all mankind today. “It shall come to pass in the last days, said God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.” [Acts 2:17] He is pleading with men to turn from their wicked ways and live. He is withholding His judgments “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” [2 Peter 3:9] Nothing would please Him more than that all should become “His people,” renouncing sin and choosing His ways, coming back to keep His commandments and the faith of Jesus.
But all too many have become so ensnared by the subtleties of Satan that they desire nothing better than they have. The world has captured them and -they are content. Their eyes are too blind to see the greater glory God holds out to them. Their ears are too dulled by sin to hear the pleading of His still, small voice.
Yet His voice still calls. Through all the busy thoroughfares of Babylon the Great, into every house where graft and greed find lodgment, into every den where lust and vice hold sway, into every home where cold indifference gathers, into every church whence light and truth have fled-everywhere, through all the earth, His last appeal is sounding. “Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues!” [Revelation 18:4]
Perhaps you who read have heard and heeded this call already. Perhaps it has not come to you till now. Perhaps it will not come again. What does it mean to you? Its application is infinite, touching every phase of life. To those engaged in some dishonest business, it says Come out! To those enshrouded in dark clouds of doubt, it says Come out! To those entombed in some dead, apostate church, it says-Come out! To all whom sin still holds in cruel bondage, it says-Come out!
It is a call that cannot be ignored with impunity. As it sounds around the world it is separating the people of God from the people of the world before Heaven’s judgments shall fall. If you have heard it now, enlist in the ranks of God’s witnesses, join the company of those who are pledged to champion His cause in this crisis hour.
To enroll is simple. You may tell God about it at the bedside or in the busy street. His ear is ever open to hear such words as these. And He will bring you, in His own good time, to others of “like precious faith.” He has His people in every country. They may be recognized anywhere by the fact that they “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
MANY years ago an Englishman, travelling in a foreign country that was at war with its neighbor, was arrested as a spy and condemned to death. Having lost his papers he could not prove his identity and was at last led away to the place of execution. As the soldiers of the firing squad raised their rifles he suddenly pulled from an inner pocket a small Union Jack and, spreading it across his breast, cried, “Shoot if you dare!” The rifles were lowered and the man’s life was spared. He was saved by the emblem of his loyalty.
A flag carries with it such a world of meaning. It is an embodiment of national honor, a memorial of all that has been accomplished in its name. As it flutters in the breeze it recalls the service and sacrifice of many generations that have built the fortunes of the country it represents. It is far more than a piece of colored silk or cotton; it is a symbol of a people’s strongest affections, a token of their devotion to all they hold most dear.
When King Edward visited Italy on one occasion it was suddenly noticed that the carpet laid across the pavement was too short to reach his carriage. An officer, seizing an Italian flag, spread it chivalrously upon the uncovered ground. The king, however, to the delight of the populace, stepped aside, declining with much grace to accept so high an honor. He recognized in the flag the soul of a great people.
Of late years the growing spirit of nationalism has tended to emphasize the importance of such tokens of allegiance. At Geneva, the city is made gay, when the League is in session, by the flags of sixty nations fluttering on the motor-cars of the attending delegates. In most countries, and particularly those that have but recently acquired their nationhood, much waving of flags accompanies all demonstrations of patriotism. But the movement is proceeding further still. All goods for export or import must now be stamped with the country of origin, and are taxed accordingly. Thus *even in material things a national mark is a matter of importance.
This modern development has a Biblical counterpart in the Exodus story, when the Lord commanded Israel to mark their houses with the blood of unblemished lambs lest the destroying angel visit their first-born with death. That national mark was of priceless value. As. a sign of their devotion to God it meant their salvation.
Ezekiel also tells how, in vision, he was shown a similar deliverance of a God-marked people. First he was taken to see the awful wickedness that was going on in Jerusalem despite the judgment that had befallen it as a. result of the first two Babylonian invasions. So, bad had conditions become that word had gone forth that everyone in the city should be slain, save only those who had had no part in the abominations which were being perpetrated. Six men appeared to perform the work of destruction and among them the prophet saw a man “clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”
The man clothed in linen went on his way, impressing the mark on the true people of God. Then, says Ezekiel, “To the others he said in mine hearing, Go you after him through the city, and smite. Let not your eye spare, neither have you pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark.” [Ezekiel 9:1-6]
Of what that saving mark consisted, there is no indication. It was something, however, which made a definite line of cleavage between the children of God and those who had sold themselves to sin. Whether it was a literal mark upon the forehead or a spiritual impress upon the mind, we are not told; but it was certainly a sufficient distinction for the angels to recognize when the hour of God’s judgment arrived.
These records are of special interest as indicating that the possession of an emblem of loyalty is not necessarily confined to the nations of the world. They show us how God’s people were delivered by reason of the fact that they possessed some mark or characteristic that made them easily recognizable as belonging to Him.
This thought is borne out by a remarkable passage in the seventh chapter of Revelation, where the Apostle John dwells upon some of the events to take place upon the earth immediately prior to the tremendous upheavals of the last great day. He draws a picture strikingly similar to that beheld long before by Ezekiel, but involving the whole world. First he sees four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds, as though waiting for the order to release them and plunge the world into final and irreparable ruin.
Then there appears, not “a man with a writer’s inkhorn,” but an angel ascending from the east “having the seal of the living God” and crying to the four angels holding the four winds: “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” [Revelation 7:1-3]
Evidently, then, the true people of God in the last days are also to bear some mark or seal that shall demonstrate to all that they are indeed His servants, and ensure their deliverance when the last judgments fall. If this be so, then we are faced with the solemn fact that now, while the winds of strife are still being held, the marking of God’s people is proceeding: that now, in this mighty hour, His messengers are seeking out in all the earth those whose hearts are towards Him, bringing them into full harmony with His will and by His Holy Spirit sealing them in a way that will not only separate them clearly from the world but link them inseparably with heaven.
It is imperative, then, that one should understand what is meant by the seal of God. Those who desire to belong to His people, to witness for righteousness and champion His cause in the earth, will want to carry His ensign and wear His badge.
Now we have already found that God’s remnant His people of the last days-will always be recognizable by the fact that they “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” In other words, they have whole-hearted faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and, in consequence, keep all the commandments of God. This being so it would be reasonable to suppose that their distinguishing characteristic which, more than anything else, sets them forth as God’s champions, is likely to be found connected with one or other of these indispensable qualifications.
The Apostle John himself gives us a most helpful suggestion. Describing those who are sealed when at last they appear before the Lamb of God, he says: “I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.” [Revelation 14:1]
Evidently the seal and “His Father’s name” are synonymous, for both are found “in their foreheads.” But in what practical way could God’s people demonstrate that “Jehovah” is written there? Truly, they must have His name constantly in their minds and champion it against all the forces of evil; but surely such solemn words mean even more than that.
Can it be that there is some connection between the general description of the people as keeping “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” and the statement describing their special characteristic as “His Father’s name”?
For a moment think through the commandments and all that they embrace. The first. The second. The third. The fourth. What does this say again? “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” [Exodus 20:8-11]
Here is a commandment definitely affecting the name and the honor of God. It provides for the observance of a weekly Sabbath as an everlasting memorial of His creative power. Those who keep it proclaim to the world by their action that they believe in the living God who made heaven and earth. Their presence on earth is tangible evidence of God’s existence in heaven. They say, in effect, every week that passes, “We are Jehovah’s champions, we honor His name, we trust in His power, we will, by His grace, keep His commandments.”
Those who observe the seventh-day Sabbath under deep conviction that it is the will of God, have thus, in a special and very practical way, the Father’s name in their foreheads. For they cannot attempt to keep this one commandment without bringing their lives, by His help, into harmony with the other nine. There is something very public about the fourth. It is the one command that cannot be kept in secret. Those who stop their work at sunset on the sixth day of the week, and rest until sunset on the seventh day, become conspicuous, especially in a community that cares little for the things of God. And this very publicity demands consistency. True observance of the Sabbath and dishonesty in business, for instance, are incongruous. The best Sabbath-keepers must always be the best citizens.
People of the world may taunt Sabbath-keepers with being cranks and kill-joys, but they are usually willing to admit the godliness of their lives. They cannot help but see the signs of their heavenly allegiance, although resenting the constant rebuke that it brings against themselves. As a worldly business-woman said not long ago: “These strict Sabbath-keepers may be peculiar, but I prefer to do business with them because they always pay their bills!” The seal of God is not stamped in vain.
The suggestion that the distinguishing mark of God’s own people is the observance of the Sabbath is by no means new. Moses was commanded by the Lord to give this message to Israel: “Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the Lord that does sanctify you.” [Exodus 31:13]
Speaking also as God’s mouthpiece, the prophet Ezekiel-who described the marking of the remnant in Jerusalem-brought a similar message to the people of his day: “Thus said the Lord God. In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up Mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known unto them in the land of Egypt. I gave them My statutes, and showed them My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” [Ezekiel 20:5-12]
Later in this same chapter we read God’s express commandment concerning this matter: “Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.” [Ezekiel 20:20]
Undoubtedly this command had a special application to the Jews so long as they occupied their honored position as God’s chosen people. But the observance of the weekly Sabbath is not Jewish. It was a sign of allegiance to God long before the first Jew was born. It dates back to creation, of which, as the fourth commandment states, it is the perpetual memorial.
One of the first acts of God in Eden was to inaugurate the Sabbath institution, which shares with marriage the honor of His primeval blessing. We read in the second chapter of Genesis: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” [Genesis 2:1-3]
The knowledge of the Sabbath was kept alive by God’s champions through all the early years of the world’s history and, in the heart of Noah and his family, survived the Flood. That Abraham also was a Sabbath keeper there can be no doubt, for God says of him: “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” [Genesis 26:5]
Thus from generation to generation the tradition was handed down and the memorial preserved. Those who chose to walk in God’s ways courageously donned this emblem of their loyalty to Him. When Moses went into Egypt to deliver the people from bondage he sought to procure for them the privilege of Sabbath observance. One of the charges leveled against him by Pharaoh was that he made the people “rest [Hebrew “Sabbatize”] from their burdens.” And when at last they reached the wilderness, before the law was given from Sinai, he said to them: “Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Six days you shall gather it [the manna]; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.” [Exodus 16:23-26]
Clearly the Sabbath is not Jewish. It is an institution that belongs to all time and all people, an everlasting token of loyalty to God. Jesus Himself observed it, though He sought, by precept and example, to lift it out of the formalism into which it had been dragged by the Jews of His day and to restore to it all the beautiful meaning intended originally by its Maker. The apostles themselves kept the same day and, despite the subsequent wholesale apostasy of the church, there have been found, in every succeeding century, noble men and women who have kept the banner flying despite all attempts of the enemy to tear it from their hands. Today, when God’s Word is doubted and His power to create so generally denied, the observance of the Sabbath is of special significance as marking those who champion His cause in the earth.
That there is some deep spiritual value in God’s sight in the keeping of the Sabbath is made evident by the fact that it is to be carried over from this world into His eternal kingdom. Isaiah, describing that time, says: “From one Sabbath to another ... shall all flesh come to worship before Me, said the Lord.” [Isaiah 66:23]
Thus though God’s people may never have possessed a flag of their own like other nations, they have carried an emblem of loyalty of far more durable quality. Moreover, scattered as they have ever been in all countries, a material flag would have been a constant menace, calculated* to give to the world an entirely erroneous impression of their spiritual mission. It would have been easily destroyed by God’s enemies, and its use for ever prohibited; but nothing could utterly efface the priceless spiritual token provided by the unbroken observance of the weekly Sabbath. If the knowledge of it should be stamped out in one quarter by bitter persecution, there would always be someone somewhere to keep alive the remembrance of it until better times should come.
The only way such an emblem might be lost would be by the introduction of a counterfeit so similar in every respect that even those most anxious to do the will of God might be deceived. Provided that the outward appearance should bear a sufficiently close resemblance to the original, so many might be persuaded to accept it that ultimately the vital meaning of the true emblem would be lost.
And that is exactly what happened. After the passing of the apostles and the decline of the early church from its pristine purity, its lowered standards not only made the apparent conversion of the heathen easier, but also permitted the infiltration of many pagan customs and ideas. Among these was the use of the first day of the week, which had long been associated with the worship of the sun, for services in memory of the “Sun of righteousness.” The transition from the seventh day to the first was for a long time hardly noticeable, but before many centuries had passed, what with the edicts of emperors and the blessing of misguided bishops, the first day had almost completely supplanted the true Sabbath.
It is not possible in our limited space to follow the fortunes of the two respective days through all the nineteen hundred years of the Christian era. Those who are specially interested will find much of great value in “The History of the Sabbath,” by J. N. Andrews and J. R. Conradi.’ The outstanding fact for us to notice here is that, though the true emblem was displaced, it was not destroyed. Certainly God did not change it because His arch-enemy had created a counterfeit. The confusion of the issue did not alter the facts. The true Sabbath still stands as the sign or seal of God’s own people. No divine command has ever been given for its abrogation, nor does any Biblical evidence exist to authorize the change to which the greater part of the Christian church has consented.
This does not mean to say that all who have ever observed the first day as the Sabbath were thereby excluded from the ranks of God’s people. Far from it. Some of the godly saints of history have followed this course. They knew no better. In all good conscience they lived in the full light that had been revealed to them and would have gladly accepted God’s true emblem had they known of it. We may rest assured that a God of infinite mercy will accept the motive that inspired their lives of consecrated service. But though, as the Apostle Paul said when addressing the Athenians on Mars’ hill, “the times of this ignorance God winked at,” He “now commands all men everywhere to repent: because He bath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world.” [Acts 17:30,31] Ignorance ceases to be an excuse when knowledge has displaced it.
Those who today perceive God’s will in this matter should not hesitate to carry it out. Indeed, it is the only course open to those who would be His chosen champions in this crisis hour. To realize the importance of some divine requirement and yet refuse to obey it would be to mark oneself as belonging, not to God, but to the world.
As we have seen, the call of the Lord to those in Babylon “Come out of her, My people” is also an earnest invitation to those whose hearts are towards Him to pledge themselves to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Yet it means even more than that. The special perils- of this mighty hour, the fierce efforts of a desperate enemy, demand that those w o would enlist in God’s army shall come out boldly for Him and wear His chosen emblem of loyalty.
Nevertheless this emblem must be no mere outward adornment. The most hardened hypocrite might observe the weekly rest-day all his life and never gain the seal of God. Sabbath-keeping is only of value when it is a token of loyalty to God in every aspect of life. The Father’s name is reserved solely for His own sons and daughters; and only those who have fully consecrated themselves to Him may enjoy the high honor of receiving it.
On the other hand, the first and most ardent desire of those who have truly given their hearts to the Lord will be to do His will in everything. Realizing the value that He has set upon the Sabbath as a sign of His people’s allegiance to Him, they will determine by His grace to keep it holy. As King Edward declined to dishonor the flag of Italy, so they will refuse to tread upon this more sacred emblem. They will refrain from doing their own ways, or finding their own pleasure, or speaking their own words, during its God-blessed hours. They will call this holy day of the Lord honorable and rejoice in all its ample provision for rest and communion with Him.
There is good reason why God desires that His people in these days shall keep His Sabbath holy. He knows the swift pace at which the stream of life is moving, and how easy it would be for them all to be engulfed in its surging tide. The weekly day of rest is both a protection and a refuge, like islands of peace amid a rushing torrent, where they can pause, with rhythmic regularity, to replenish their spiritual resources.
Undoubtedly, to keep God’s holy Sabbath on His appointed day and with the deep spiritual significance that He intends, will seem to some a hard thing to do. But the true disciple will ever desire to be as his Master and to follow whither He leads. After all, there is nothing too difficult for those whose lives are knit with God’s. Every fear is swallowed up in His never-failing promise: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
SHORTLY before Israel went out of Egypt, a great darkness fell upon the whole land, so thick and impenetrable that it could be felt. The busy life of cities and villages was brought to a standstill. Labor in workshop and field ceased. Once crowded market-places were enshrouded in inky gloom, and no footfall broke the stillness of the silent streets. The very gift of sight seemed useless, for the people “saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days.”
Yet while darkness reigned over all the land of Egypt “the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” Though enveloped in the same pitchy blackness, those little slave-huts were not hidden from God. The homes of His people, they were the objects of His special care. Within them were the fathers and mothers and little children of a race He had called to be His living witnesses among men. They had suffered much from the savage cruelty of their overlords, but they had not for gotten their heavenly allegiance. Despite all their hardships and many back sliding their hearts were still towards Him. Of all people on the face of the earth at that time they alone desired to do His will.
So as that awful shadow settled over all the land, a soft, warm light glowed within Israel’s dwellings, growing brighter as the darkness without became more dense. On the eve of the great deliverance those little homes became in a special sense the habitation of God. He who later hovered over the wilderness camp as a pillar of fire now visited the humble abodes of His people to bring comfort in the hour of judgment. The smallest was not beneath His notice and none too poor for Him to enter. Where there were but two or three of His children gathered in His name He was there in their midst, suffusing their crude shelter with heavenly radiance, and bringing hope, joy, and courage for the crisis just ahead.
Approaching as we are a far greater crisis than Israel ever faced it is still more imperative that God should illumine the dwellings of His people today. Amid the gathering gloom of these tragic times the homes of God’s champions should be more and more radiant with His light. As “darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people,” the glow of His presence should be seen and felt wherever His children dwell.
With wickedness increasing and the foundations of civilization sinking, the preservation of godly homes is a matter of first importance. They are the only safeguard of the rising generation against the snares and allurements of sin. They stand as the chief bulwark of noble ideals and holy standards of living. They form the main buttress of religion and social life, the strongest defense of life’s purest and most beautiful things. Without them the world would be a sorry place indeed.
The importance of the home may be judged by the savageness of the attacks being leveled at it by the forces of evil today. As we have shown in earlier chapters, there is proceeding a concerted effort to belittle the value of home life, to ridicule its holy sanctions, and make light of the solemn bonds which bind it together. Yet whether it be such subversive teachings, or divorce, or gambling, or alcohol, or any other destroyer of the home, it should be recognized and resisted as an enemy of the race.
As an act of self-preservation mankind in general should set itself to oppose all influences calculated to undermine the home institution. Yet to those who would be numbered among God’s own people the matter is of still greater moment. To them the home is of divine origin, and its maintenance a divine requirement. As God’s ambassadors it is for them to champion, by precept and example, this precious gift of His to the human race. Especially must their own homes meet His standard. Therein, of all places on earth, peace and joy and love should be found, and a light that has been lit by the Lord.
In this dark hour, as in the time of Israel’s need, God has provided a light for every home. Not one need be without it. In His bounteous goodness He has made provision for all, though all may not accept His gracious offer.
Thanks to the marvelous inventions of our day His Word has been so multiplied that there is no home so poor that it need go in want of it. Translators have made its message intelligible to people of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. It can be purchased today in more than a thousand of the world’s languages, and the mighty missionary movement of modern times has carried it into every corner of the globe. The light of the glorious gospel contained in its sacred pages has shone upon far islands and lonely oases. It has illumined tribes in Africa’s dark interior and in the unfrequented backwaters and gloomy forest glades of the Amazon. Indeed, it has been preached, as Jesus predicted, “as a witness unto all nations” before the end should come. [Matthew 24:14]
This marvelous Word of the living God, that brings the light of heaven to darkened hearts in all the world, becomes likewise the light of every home in which it is enshrined. As the Shekinah glory rested upon the mercy seat that covered the Ten Commandments in the tabernacle, so the blessing of God rests in special measure upon every home where His Word is regarded with reverent affection and its precepts faithfully observed. Such homes have the light of God within them as surely as Israel’s dwellings in the midst of Egyptian darkness.
Yet the mere possession of a Book is not sufficient to bring about this happy result. Even the Bible is only cloth and paper and printer’s ink until its pages are opened and its living message assimilated. So long as its covers are closed its light is obscured. And there is many a beautiful family Bible that might brighten a home with divine radiance, which has become merely a pious-looking plant stand in the front window, or a convenient support for a loud-speaker. The light is still within it, burning with undimmed glory, but cut off from the very souls it was designed to bless. What a transformation would take place if only the obstructions were removed and the light restored to the position of preeminence it deserves!
How great a blessing the Word of God may be in a home is illustrated by the story of the miracle of the widow’s pot of oil. The poor woman came to Elisha with a sad tale of woe. Her husband had died, and as she had no money to pay his debts the creditor had come to take away her two sons as bondmen.
“What shall I do for thee?” asked the prophet. “Tell me, what has thou in the house?” The woman replied that she had nothing in the house but a pot of oil; whereupon Elisha instructed her to go to her neighbors and borrow as many empty vessels as she could obtain. “Borrow not a few,” he said.
This done, she was told to go into her house, shut the door, and begin to pour out from her one little pot into all the empty vessels. She did so, until every vessel was full. Not until one of the boys said, “There is not a vessel more,” did the oil cease to flow. Then she sold sufficient to pay her debt and lived with what remained.
So it may be in every home which possesses a copy of God’s Book. Like that pot of oil, while hidden in some cupboard, or on a dusty bookshelf, the Bible is of little intrinsic value, though possessed of boundless possibilities of blessing. Taken up and read in the spirit of prayer it becomes a never-failing source of spiritual sustenance, “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” [John 4:14] The more it is drawn upon the richer and deeper is its flow. Its capacity for blessing is only restricted by the number of vessels waiting to be filled.
The study of the Bible not only brings the light of heaven into the home; it has a softening and refining effect upon every member of the family. Children especially are affected by its elevating power. The contrast between homes where the Bible is constantly read and those where even its name is never mentioned is as great as between light and darkness.
A minister friend once told us that his greatest joy in working for souls was to watch the marvelous development that takes place in the lives of the people for whom he labors as he leads them into ever deeper study of God’s Word. Men and women who once were coarse and uncouth, took on, he said, a definitely gentler mien. Others, who had been slaves of foolish and wasteful habits, shed them with unexpected facility; still others, who were given to fears and afraid of responsibility, courageously accepted various offices of leadership in the church.
This mysterious but very real power of God’s Book to transform human lives makes for the uplifting of all home ideals. The more it is read day by day the more does service displace selfishness. Thoughtfulness for the comfort of others supersedes care for oneself. Ill temper gives way to pleasantness and cutting jests to words of peace.
Money-seeking is no longer held up as the chief aim of life. Rather is emphasis laid upon the greater objective so often stressed by the Master: “Seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” [Matthew 6:33] Worldly pleasures tend also to lose their ‘fascination as holier and deeper joys are discovered.
The God-lit home will also, of a surety, be a house of prayer where father, mother, and the children freely open their hearts to Him. God’s people will always desire to keep in closest communion with their Lord. Bible study and prayer are indeed inseparable. The one calls forth the other. In the Bible God speaks to His people, and in prayer they talk with Him. If His Word is light, prayer is breath; and both are indispensable to the preservation and growth of spiritual life.
Yet how often prayer is neglected! In many homes days go by without a whisper of communion with God. The busy rush of the daily routine crowds out all thought of this neglected duty until some dire necessity arises. Then there is sudden repentance, an admission of failure, and a heartfelt request for the help required. No doubt such petitions are answered, but this is not prayer at its best. I t is the prayer of fear rather than of fellowship. It is not making the most of the privileges of son ship; it is not exploring the mines of God’s grace for the infinite riches of Christ; nor is it seeking to discover the exceeding greatness of His power to us ward. Those who would discover such treasures must needs take time to pray.
In such an hour as this all need to pray much more, both as individuals and families, for prayer keeps men in touch with God, preserves from sin, gives courage in face of difficulties, and develops sound judgment and discretion.
At least once every day, if only for a few moments, all members of the family should kneel together to commit themselves into God’s keeping and renew their consecration to Him. Time may be short, work pressing, buses waiting, school chums calling, but nothing should be permitted to break this daily tryst with God. It is short enough in any case; let it not be lost altogether. Viewed in the light of eternity these moments are the most precious of the day.
With so much evil in the world parents cannot pray too frequently for their children nor train them too carefully to seek God themselves for the ever-expanding interests of their little lives. Supported by godly precept and noble example, prayer is the strongest possible influence in the salvation of the precious boys and girls for the kingdom of God. To the weary mother also it brings rest from her many anxieties, solace in her sorrows, and hope amid bitterest disappointments.
For mothers’ prayers are answered. How often when reading the story of some noble leader of men one meets the familiar phrase, “His mother was a godly woman,” or, “His parents were God-fearing people.” And how much is wrapped up in these simple words! What volumes they tell of careful training, patient teaching, and years of ceaseless praying.
From mothers’ prayers and godly homes have come some of the noblest souls who have ever lived-John and Charles Wesley, John G. Paton, David Livingstone, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, D. L. Moody, and thousands more who have been conspicuous in their championing of righteous causes and maintaining the honor of God. The little mothers did not always live to see the triumph of their illustrious sons, but their earnest petitions were not forgotten by the Lord, who answered them in His own good time. There will be many a happy meeting some day “over there.”
“It is quite true,” said Joseph de Maistre, “that women have produced no chefs-d’wuvre. They have written no ‘Iliad,’ nor ‘Jerusalem Delivered,’ nor ‘Hamlet,’ nor ‘Phaedre,’ nor ‘Paradise Lost,’ nor ‘Tartuffe’; they have designed no Church of St. Peter’s, composed no ‘Messiah,’ carved no ‘Apollo Belvidere,’ painted no ‘Last judgment’. They have invented neither algebra nor telescopes, nor steam engines; but they have done something far greater and better than all this, for it is at their knees that upright and virtuous men and women have been trained-the most excellent productions in the world.”
The God-lit home will also be a haven of peace. Between all members of the family there will be mutual respect and forbearance. God is not only Light, but Love, and where He dwells love also must abide. The homes of His people, “sanctified by the Word of God and prayer,” [1 Timothy 4:5] will inevitably become little replicas of heaven on earth.
There is indeed nothing more beautiful anywhere in the world than a united family where husband and wife, parents and children, are bound inseparably together in the bonds of a great affection, sharing each other’s joys and heartaches through all life’s journey. The loyalty of such love-knit souls through every crisis, expanding, if need be, till the whole world is compassed or the last resources expended, is marvelous to behold. Happy is the home that, beginning at the marriage altar, preserves such precious relationships unblemished as its circle widens through the passing years.
Yet, as in Eden, there are mutual obligations even in such miniatures of Paradise. The Apostle Paul touches upon some of them in his letter to the Colossians:
“As God’s own chosen, then, as consecrated and beloved, be clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and good temper-forbear and forgive each other in any case of complaint; as Christ forgave you, so must you forgive. And above all you must be loving, for love is the link of the perfect life. And let the peace of Christ be supreme within your hearts. Wives, be subject to your husbands; that is your proper duty in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, do not be harsh to them. Children, obey your parents at every point, for this pleases the Lord right well. Fathers, avoid irritating your children, in case they get dispirited. Servants, obey your masters here below at every point. Whatever be your task, work at it heartily, as servants of the Lord, and not of men.” [Colossians 3:12-23]
Not all homes can rejoice in such unbroken unity and heavenly peace. Discord in families is all too common. Fathers are at variance with their sons, and daughters with their mothers. Commands are obeyed only with sullen acquiesence. Friction accompanies almost every undertaking. Rebellion smolders in the hearts of the children and seizes every opportunity to show itself in unkind words or shirked duties. There is a hopeless lack of understanding.
Yet such things should not be. Always reprehensible, in such an hour as this they are tenfold more displeasing to God. They let down every barrier designed by Him to resist the onslaughts of evil. They open the floodgates to the tides of sin that surge without. If permitted to continue they must inevitably lead to the break-up of the home and the final destruction of all the bright dreams of those who made it.
What is needed in such cases is a peacemaker, someone whose presence can dissolve the differences, close the breaches, and make all friends again. A minister or an’ old chum may help towards such a reconciliation, but more often than not their intrusion is resented. Strange how even in the most divided homes loyalty is one of the last virtues to depart! And yet, even if such a friend were successful, his assistance could be but temporary. For permanent results stronger help is needed.
It is here that the divine Peacemaker comes into His own. This is a task in which He delights. As soon as His help is sought by some praying soul, the first step towards peace has been taken. By His Holy Spirit He begins to move upon the hearts for whom prayer is made, and results inevitably follow.
Such seeking of God may indeed meet with rebuffs, even with ridicule, at first, but persisted in with tact and good judgment it will win its way and leave upon all concerned an ineradicable impression. In any case, if harmony and concord are to come at all, someone must start out in search of them; and it is always those who love most who venture first.
In the last two verses of the Old Testament there appears a remarkable prophecy concerning the provision of special help in such situations as this. Says the Lord through the prophet Malachi: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” [Malachi 4:5,6]
A limited fulfillment of these words was seen in the powerful ministry of John the Baptist. His marvelous work of conversion was carried on, as the angel of the Lord said to Elisabeth, “in the spirit and power of Elias.” It was his privilege and joy “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” [Luke 1:17] So important was his work that our Lord said of him: “If you will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.” [Matthew 11:14]
Nevertheless a further and wider fulfillment is indicated by the expression “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” That is the time in which we are living today. We may therefore expect to see a mighty revival spreading through the earth. Carried on with the flaming zeal that stirred the soul of Elijah, binding the hearts of parents and children, saving homes from ruin, and preparing a people to meet the Lord.
In this revival God’s champions will lead the way. As ever-deepening darkness falls upon the earth the light in their homes will grow brighter. His Word will become increasingly precious, while prayer and praise will preserve more perfectly their peace and joy. Amid the troublous scenes of the world’s last days, their lighted dwellings will shine out like stars in the midnight sky.
No one can fully realize the solemnity of these stirring times who has not heard the tramp of the oncoming generation.
Growing up around us all are thousands upon thousands of boys and girls, young men and young women, an army of glorious youth, throbbing with vitality, radiant with hope, overflowing with enthusiasm. They are thronging the elementary and secondary schools, crowding colleges and universities, absorbing, under the most advantageous conditions, the accumulated knowledge of the ages. Full of courage and ambition, they are striving to succeed, planning great conquests, dreaming of love and home and life’s most precious things. Keen, alert, active, critical, they are looking out with wondering eyes upon this strange, troubled world in which they find themselves.
What does the future hold for all these boys and girls? How should they relate themselves to the awful issues of this mighty hour?
Alas, the dark clouds of world ruin and despair, rolling up fast from every horizon, are already casting their shadows over these fair young lives. The economic collapse that has brought about universal wage reductions has led to thousands of children being withdrawn from school long before their projected course was finished. Dreams of grammar school and university have been rudely swept away. Thrust out into the cold, hard world, many have discovered that there is no work for them to do, that there are millions of unemployed already, that they are not wanted, no, not even in their teens.
This unemployment among youth is one of the saddest features of the present world distress. Debarred from school, not wanted at work, supported by state grant or private charity, their lives are spoiled at their beginning. In almost every industrial town these soul stunted young men can be seen by dozens lounging at street corners with nothing save an occasional football match or a little gambling to break the unceasing monotony of existence. It is a sight to make angels weep.
But bad as the situation is in England it is far worse in other countries. An official inquiry in the United States has revealed the amazing fact that there is an army of over 200,000 young men under twenty years of age, many of them mere boys, wandering helplessly and hopelessly up and down the country, with no work and no place of abode. Being ceaselessly “moved on” by the authorities, they swarm on to freight trains, board passing cars, get lifts on lorries, and travel ever onward, hoping against hope that at the next stopping-place they may find a little work or at least food and shelter from local charity. Some of these poor, lonely, homeless lads, it was found, had been travelling thus for over two years, never stopping in one place more than a single night.
The shadow of hunger and hardship has fallen upon the young in every land in these tragic days. Some have suffered more than others, though the distress is universal. In his description of the fate that befell large sections of Russia a few years ago Sir Philip Gibbs tells of the tens of thousands of children and young people orphaned by the famine, who roamed the country in bands, like wild animals, seeking food. One poignant story reveals the measure of that terrible disaster:
“I remember two little figures I saw one day. For some reason they haunt my memory more than the others and they typify the tragedy of Russian childhood in those days of famine. It was a boy and girl, perhaps of six and eight years of age by the size of them. They were trudging along hand in hand, and their hands were like birds’ claws. I could hardly see their faces under their fur caps and above the ragged sheepskins that fell in tatters about their wizened bodies, but presently, as they stared about them I saw that they looked like an old man and woman at the end of life’s tether. They-sat down in a doorway, and could go no farther. ‘Abandoned children,’ said a man by -my side, and I nodded.”
The sufferings that have come to so many children of recent years, the disappointments that are breaking the spirits of so many young men and women, emphasize still further how serious is the time to which we have come, how terrible indeed is this mighty hour. More than anything else they inspire the agonizing cry: “How long, 0 Lord, how long?”
Youth cannot escape the crisis. They are in it. The storm rages round them. Loving hands may for a time keep it from beating in full force upon their heads, but they cannot provide permanent shelter. Sooner or later all must be involved, for the issues before the world today are on a huge, unprecedented scale, embracing all mankind. As Sir George Parish has said, “It is not the wreck of a single nation, but the wreck of a world” that we face. In politics, religion, and social life the stage is set for tremendous upheavals that may well change the course of history. Wars, revolutions, and famines are threatened on a world scale. With vast new sources of power in the hands of men, with wild passions not subdued, with devils at work, almost anything is possible. And in all these developments the youth of today will be called upon to play their part.
As in the past great crises have called forth the men to meet them, so undoubtedly today many young men and young women will feel a deep urge to rise above the besetting troubles and triumph over depression. They will aspire to great achievements, despite the forbidding circumstances. The darker the prospect the more desperately will they strive to break through to light. It is the way of youth.
Youth delights in difficulties. If there is a battle to be fought, they are there to fight it. If there is a noble cause languishing for help, they rush up with their enthusiastic aid and glory in giving to it the best they have. Old men may say that youth is indifferent and careless, but show them a task that no one else has accomplished, a problem that has baffled solution, a goal none other has reached, a record that needs to be broken, and they will spring, sometimes with disconcerting suddenness, into life and action.
Great issues invariably produce great souls from the ranks Of Youth. Every crisis, in war or peace, has led to the discovery of young men and young women of unsuspected capacity and latent power. So also in this greatest crisis of the ages young people in every walk of life, and particularly those who have consecrated their lives to God’s service, will be moved by the very solemnity of the times to deeds of heroism and self-sacrifice without equal in the annals of time. The tenseness of the final struggle will beget earth’s noblest sons.
After all, it is no small privilege to be living in such an hour as this, and with youth still on one’s side. To watch events moving towards the culmination of God’s eternal purpose, the unfolding of the last fragments of unfulfilled prophecy, the gathering of the forces of good and evil for the final conflict, is surely a rare opportunity -coveted by patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, but reserved for the youth of this generation.
Young men and women who appreciate the significance of these stirring times may well say, in the words of Spalding’s soul-moving poem: -
“Oh, I am glad that I was born in Time,
Ere the great war of God had passed for aye,
When they that would delight in deeds sublime
Must press the ancient: ‘Tell us of that day.’
‘Tell us I see them clustering around the seer,
The youthful habitants of new-born stars
‘Tell us those wondrous tales of Heaven’s fear,
When Heaven’s life was flung into earth’s wars.
“Tell us of that last legion, glorious band,
Who stood with iron-nerved limbs and steadfast look
Through the last battle of the crime-racked land,
While mountains crumbled and the heavens shook.
‘Tell us how final triumph crowned the war,
With the great rebel to oblivion hurled;
Tell us how everlasting peace afar
Flung her eternal mantle o’er the world.
“They ask and hear, those sons of later days;
And Time’s great story masters all their mind;
And deep they marvel at God’s wondrous ways
In that far eon now left all behind.
“Oh, I am glad I live in Time, and Time’s last hour,
And I shall see the last great fight, and shout
Upon the mount of triumph, when the power
Of Satan has gone down in utter rout.
“Oh, I am glad; for surely nevermore
I Can love unfold such pageantry divine;
And through what little part therein I bore
There shall be joy and glory ever mine.”
In such an hour as this the call of God comes to every young person as it came to Queen Esther when peril threatened her people: “Who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” [Esther 4:14] Through the scheming of the wicked Haman, the king had published an edict permitting the massacre of the Jews. It was a crisis of terrible moment for them. Their only hope lay in the successful appeal of the beautiful young queen. Being a Jewess, though queen of Persia, Esther realized that God had raised her up for this very task. Bravely she shouldered the responsibility, though to visit the king uninvited was to court disfavor and perhaps death. “If I perish, I perish,” she said, as she went forward courageously to play her appointed part. The crisis stirred her soul to noble action and God wrought a great deliverance for His people. As the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth today, seeking those whose hearts are towards Him, they light again and again upon the fine, stalwart young men, the keen, thoughtful young women, of the rising generation. He longs that they shall give themselves unreservedly to Him, that He may use them mightily in the closing scenes. He has great tasks for them to perform, calling for the highest courage, the steadiest nerve, the greatest endurance. Among their ranks He seeks His strongest champions who will maintain the honor of His name against the fiercest opposition of Satan. To them He looks for witnesses who will remain loyal to Him though the heavens fall.
These may be times of unemployment so far as worldly activities are concerned, but for the people of God there was never more to do than now. No young person who desires to do His will need be out of work. Idleness for God’s champions is unthinkable. To them He commits the task of taking to all mankind His last warning and saving message. It is for them, with all the power of their being, by voice and pen, by preaching and visiting, by missionary service and the printed page, to arouse men and women everywhere to a realization of the full significance of this mighty hour. By loving ministry to the poor, the sick, and the needy, God would have them reveal His love for men and woo them back from their evil ways to serve Him with all their hearts.
God’s invitation to young people today is indeed a call to noble tasks. The very gravity of the crisis provides for them abounding opportunities for service. All who yield themselves to Him and throw themselves whole-heartedly on to His side, determined to champion His cause against all opponents, and at all costs to “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” will find that He will honor their faith and courage. He will not disappoint them. Their bread and water “shall be sure.” [Isaiah 33:16]
When the rich young ruler came to our Lord and talked with Him about the way of life, we are told that “Jesus beholding him loved him.” [Mark 10:31] He wanted to do right. He was keeping the commandments to the best of his knowledge. Jesus was drawn to this fine, strong, upright young man, and rejoiced in his pure and beautiful life. So far no one had come to Him of such rare promise. What rich possibilities were here! Surely in this splendid youth was the making of a mighty champion of righteousness. To turn his life into richer, deeper channels, He suggested an act of sacrifice. He wanted the young man to realize that the keeping of the commandments, though very commendable and very necessary, was not sufficient of itself. Faith was indispensable, and could not in his case be developed until confidence in riches had been shaken.
The young man went away sorrowful, not willing to make the surrender asked of him. Though he knew it not, the greatest opportunity of his life had passed. He held on to his money, but lost eternal riches. Instead of becoming a great leader in God’s cause and championing the fortunes of the early Christian church, he faded out of the picture, and all that remains is the record of his tragic failure.
By His Holy Spirit God is speaking to the youth of today. Beholding them, He loves them. To every young lad He is saying, “My son, give Me your heart.” [Proverbs 23:26] With every girl He is pleading: “Come unto Me. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me.” [Matthew 11:28,29] He desires to save them from the evil that is in the world and to preserve them from the judgments that so soon must fall upon it. He wants them to give their lives to Him that He may make of them strong men and women after His own heart. He calls them that He may send them to lift up His fallen standard in the dark places of the earth. He waits to use them to prepare a people to meet Him at His coming.
Money or position makes no difference with Him. He found David with the sheep, Gideon at a winepress, and Paul on the Damascus road. It is not place or social standing that matters in His sight, but willingness to listen and obey. Amos was only a herdsman, a gatherer of sycamore fruit, the poorest of the poor, yet the Lord took him as he followed the flock and said: “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.” To him also was given the stirring message: “The end is come. Prepare to meet thy God.” [Amos 7:12, 8:2, 5:15]
Once in a time of Israel’s trouble, when God sought for a leader who might deliver them, He found a lad who worked as a helper in the temple courts. In the dead of night He called to this boy with the God-ward heart: “Samuel, Samuel!” And he replied, “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant hears.” Then, though but a child, God opened his mind that He might understand His purposes, and ere many years had passed “all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.” [1 Samuel 3:20]
Have you, dear boy or girl, heard the call of the Lord? Perhaps He is speaking even now. If so, it is
a moment of supreme opportunity. Listen with all care. Tell Him that you want to do His will, that you desire His help. And if He asks you to be His champion in this mighty hour, accept His commission. Say to Him, as Isaiah in his youth, “Here am I, send me.” Such an act of surrender will bring you immediately into the company of His chosen ones and open out the widest possibilities of rich and joyous fellowship and service with Him. You will become something far greater than you could ever have been without Him, a living power for good, a constant source of blessing. As F. B. Meyer once wrote: “There is no limit to the possibilities of the life that is fully surrendered to God, that has become the aperture, or channel, through which God can pour Himself forth to the world.”
CONTEMPLATING all the vital issues of this mighty hour the conclusion becomes more and more irresistible that world events are moving towards some stupendous climax. The universal depression, the international dissension, the strivings after peace, the preparations for war, the writhing of restless races, the developments in the Far East, the rumblings of revolution, and the groaning of creation, all betoken the approach of some epochal change in the course of history. The increase of lawlessness, the lowering of moral standards, and the growth of godlessness, give warning of the coming collapse of civilization. The fading of Christendom’s faith, the revival of the great apostasy, and the spread of Spiritualism, announce that the great controversy of the ages between good and evil, Christ and Satan, is nearing its final and decisive encounter.
All these stirring happenings are indeed the writing on the wall of modern Babylon. As at Belshazzar’s feast a mysterious hand appeared before the assembled guests, proclaiming the imminent doom of the golden city, so the solemn events of today signal the passing of our golden age. They say to this evil and adulterous generation, as they said to that idolatrous king and his drunken lords: “God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” [Daniel 5:26,27]
As we have seen, the issues of this great hour are all subjects of prophecy. Divinely inspired men, centuries ago, described them in surprising detail. The curtain that hides the future from human eyes was drawn back by the Spirit of God, and they were privileged to see the course of history to the end of time.
Jeremiah beheld the great depression that has fallen upon the world, with calamity spreading “from race to race.” Daniel saw the divisions and dissension of the nations lasting until the setting up of the kingdom of God. To him also was shown the coming of a time of trouble such as never was, coincident with the intellectual enlightenment of mankind. Isaiah beheld the world peace movement and Joel the arming of the nations for the final war.
Paul predicted the spiritual apostasy of the latter days, the moral failure, and the defiance of law; while Peter recorded in advance the destructive work of the higher critics. John saw the revival of the Papacy, the coming activities of demonic forces, the awakening in the East, the preparations for Armageddon, and God’s last call for a commandment-keeping people. Our Lord Himself told of the world distress and perplexity, the return of days like those of Lot and Noah‘ and the preaching of His gospel as a witness in all the world.
Like rays of light through a lens all these prophecies converge upon this mighty hour with arresting accuracy, burning the conviction into the soul that the end of the age must surely be at hand. Indeed, could the men who tittered these predictions speak to us today, they would cry in chorus across the centuries: “You are living in time’s greatest hour; the climax of history is upon you; the coming of the Lord draws nigh.”
These prophets of old were indeed unanimous in their assertion that the age would end with a divine visitation, and that God, when His hour was come, would openly intervene in the affairs of men. One can trace this confident expression in all their writings from the dim beginnings of time. We are told that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.” [Jude 1:14,15]
The patriarch job expressed the faith and hope of God’s servants in those early days in the following inspiring terms: “Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” [Job 19:23,26]
“Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand,” said Isaiah, “and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” [Isaiah 40:10]
And in another place, referring to the ultimate conquest of death, lie said: “He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us.” [Isaiah 25:7-9]
“In the days of these kings,” said Daniel, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.” [Daniel 2:44] And again: “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of thy people: ... and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” [Daniel 12:1,2]
The same hope burned in the heart of the Apostle Paul. In his letter of instruction to Titus he revealed the deep convictions of his soul on this matter, saying that he was “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus, Christ. Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” [Titus 2:13,14]
The Apostle Peter had a similar understanding as to the end of the Christian dispensation. He wrote: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” [2 Peter 3:9,10]
John adds this testimony: “Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.”[Revelation 1:7] And in his record of the opening of the sixth seal he describes the upheavals of that solemn day in the following graphic language: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall oil us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His Wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” [Revelation 6:14-17]
In this connection it is of vital importance to recall Christ’s own promise to return. To His discouraged followers He said on one occasion: “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” [John 14:1-3]
Later, when speaking with them again on this subject, after telling of the signs that would indicate the approach of His second advent, He said: “Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” [Luke 21:27]
When brought before Caiaphas and asked definitely whether or not He Was the Christ, the Son of God, He replied: “Thou has said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall you see the Son of man sitting on the right band of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” [Matthew 26:64]
There can be no doubt as to Christ’s own promise and anticipation. He certainly expected to return, and gave His disciples definite assurances that He would do so. They in turn accepted His pledged word and built all the teaching of the church around this central theme. Christ crucified, risen, and coming again, was the powerful gospel with which they roused the world of their time.
As to Christ’s present attitude concerning His promised return we have this word from the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His foot stool.” [Hebrews 10:11-13]
What a world of meaning is contained in those words, “henceforth expecting”! They suggest that the same Christ who died upon Calvary, who rose from the dead and ascended to heaven as the great High Priest of humanity, is not only alive today, but is also watching with profound interest the course of events through the passing years. They reveal Him waiting with undisguised eagerness for the hour to strike when He may return to the scene of His sufferings, to gather His people to Himself, and make an end of sin.
One catches a further glimpse of this divine yearning in the last chapter of the Epistle of James, where we read: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it. Be you also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.” [James 5:7,8]
“I am the true Vine,” said Jesus on one occasion, “and MY Father is the Husbandman.” [John 15:1] And “the Husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth!” How reminiscent is this of the longing of the Lord for His own uttered through the prophet Malachi: “And they shall be Mine, said the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My special treasure. And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.” [Malachi 3:17]
It would appear, therefore, that the second coming of Jesus Christ is a certainty, for in no other way could His promise be kept, His purpose achieved, and the hopes both of Himself and His people realized. It is unthinkable that the faith cherished by patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and Christians of every generation since, should have been held in vain. Surely all these noble men and women could not have been deceived. It is impossible. If Christ lives and reigns He must return. He cannot dishonor the promise He has made, nor disappoint the eager expectations of the multitudes who have trusted in Him. The promises, the hopes, and all the sacrifices based upon them, demand His reappearance.
Bearing all these considerations in mind, it becomes progressively clearer that the climax of the ages towards which we are moving so rapidly, and of which present world events are the dread harbingers, must be none other than “the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
The material mind recoils at first from such a suggestion, considering that it is impractical and visionary. Yet, when all is said against it, is it not the only hopeful solution of the world’s problems? Everything else has been tried and has failed miserably. Conferences, leagues, pacts, wars, tariffs, and what not have been explored to the limit, but all in vain. So muddled and twisted have human perplexities become that only one with more than human wisdom could unravel this Gordian knot. Man has been caught in an evil net and the more he struggles to liberate himself, the more entangled he becomes. His desperate plight calls for a divine deliverer.
It is important also that due weight be given to Heaven’s viewpoint. The old struggle between the powers of light and darkness, that began among the angels and reached its climax at the cross, has not ended yet. And it cannot end until Satan has been finally vanquished and destroyed. Indeed, not until Jesus Christ has returned to the scene of His humiliation in the glory that rightly belongs to Him will His honor be fully vindicated before all creation. Not till then will justice be done to those champions of righteousness who have suffered for His sake. Not till then will death be swallowed up in victory and the redeemed of the Lord enter their eternal inheritance.
Truly Christ’s glorious return is the only sane solution of the world’s tremendous problems, the only way out of the chaos caused by sin.
Looking out over all the sorrows that have fallen upon mankind in this tragic hour, what brighter hope could one cherish than that Jesus should come back? Is He not the Carpenter needed to rebuild the waste of ruin around us? Is He not called “Wonderful” because of His amazing capacity for helpfulness? Does He bear the name “Counselor” in vain? As “the mighty God” does He not hold the key to a treasury with eternal riches sufficient to banish all poverty? As the “Everlasting Father” has He not the understanding sympathy, the undying affection, to melt the hardest hearts and break down the walls of partition that men have erected against each other? As Prince of Peace is He not the only One able to banish the curse of war and make it cease to the ends of the earth?
He is all this and much more: for He is the Comforter the world needs in its sorrows, the Physician to heal its diseases, the Savior who alone can save men from their sins. And because He is so all-sufficient “the government shall be upon His shoulder” and of the increase thereof and of peace “there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.” [Isaiah 9:6,7]
That is the government the world needs today. It is that under which redeemed mankind will thrive through the eternal years of Christ’s unending reign. It will be the government of the next universal empire whose inauguration is to be the stupendous climax of this mighty hour.
AN event involving such mighty issues as our Lord’s return will not occur “in a corner.” Heaven’s triumph day will afford no paltry spectacle. When Christ is revealed as King of kings and Lord of lords, Conqueror of sin and death, there will be witnessed a manifestation of the might of the eternal majesty that will stir the universe to wonder.
This earth may be but a minor planet of the solar system, a speck of dust in the vast immensity of space, yet it holds a unique relationship to the rest of creation. For six thousand years it has been the center of interest for all created intelligences. Hither came the arch-rebel of heaven when cast out of the courts of glory. Here the great controversy between good and evil has raged. Here the Son of God flung Himself into the fray to bring deliverance to the lost race. Here His cross was upraised. On one of earth’s hills He died. In a tomb cut from its side He lay in death’s awful stillness. From this rock-hewn grave He strode forth in triumph, returning to His Father, but bearing the marks of His earthly sufferings upon His Person for ever.
Upon no other world in all God’s great creation has been enacted such mighty drama as this. None other has witnessed such prodigies of valor, such unexampled heroism, such self-effacing sacrifice. None other has been so signally favored of Heaven nor tasted so freely of the divine munificence. Like the one lost sheep of the parable it has been the object of more loving care and devotion than ninety-nine others that needed no repentance.
For all these reasons Christ’s return to this world will be no mean episode in its history. As the climax of the age-long conflict, as the consummation of the divine purpose, it will be the most brilliant spectacle of His power and glory ever beheld by created eyes. It will surpass the dreams of angels and the most fervent imaginings of men. The sufferings and death of Christ upon this planet demand that His second advent shall be indeed time’s grandest pageant.
During His earthly pilgrimage our Lord endeavored to impress upon His disciples that this would indeed be the manner of His coming. Foreseeing the danger that impostors might arise claiming to fulfil His promise, He cautioned them with these words: “For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” [Matthew 24:24-27]
Men may arise and claim that Christ has appeared among India’s millions, or in a Tibetan monastery, or in the Mormon temple of Salt Lake City; but their assertions, however supported by signs and wonders, are not to be accepted. Spiritualists may state that He has been seen at a s6ance, and that this was the second advent He intended, but their story is to be rejected as spurious. Still others may affirm that He returned unseen many years ago, or that He is coming secretly in the near future, but these assumptions also are contrary to His clear declaration. No such coming was ever in His plan.
Describing in further detail the nature of His return, and the effect it would have upon those alive at the time, He said: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” [Matthew 24:30]
No secret coming was in His mind when He used such words as these. His will be a glorious return, and the majestic scene will be visible to all the tribes of earth. “They shall see the Son of man coming.”
His next statement was even more definite on this point: “He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” [Matthew 24:31]
So His coming will not only be visible, but audible. With this agree the words of the Psalmist: “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.” [Psalm 50:1-3]
It was such an advent as this that the Apostle Paul proclaimed. Writing to the Thessalonians, he said: “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [2 Thessalonians 1:7,8]
The Apostle John, who wrote sixty years after the ascension of his beloved Lord, and to whom was given the privilege of recording the Revelation of Jesus Christ concerning the consummation of His purpose for this world, has given us this definite word: “Behold, He comes with clouds and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him. And all kingdoms of the earth shall wail because of Him.” [Revelation 1:7]
Later he was shown in vision the stupendous scene that will burst upon the world in that great day. “I saw heaven opened,” he writes, “and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.” [Revelation 19:11-16]
Stupendous spectacle! Far in the distant depths of space the prophet sees the approach of the shining hosts. Paling the light of sun, moon, and stars, the glorious procession sweeps earthwards, spreading ever wider and wider, till it fills the mighty vault above. In the forefront is Jesus, crowned as King, but with the scars of Calvary still upon Him. Behind and around Him are the armies of heaven, battalion upon battalion, phalanx upon phalanx, of glistening forms innumerable, “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” filling the air with their songs of joy and triumph.
Thus will He come again. As He said Himself: “The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” [Matthew 16: 27]
Yet though Christ is coming amid such effulgent glory, it will not be as a stranger that He will appear. He will not have changed since He went away. Time will have left no marks upon His face. Age will not have wearied Him, nor bent His form. Centuries may have elapsed by human reckoning, but He will be just the same; for a thousand years, in His sight, “are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.” [Psalm 90:4]
At the time of Christ’s ascension, as His disciples were gazing up in wonder and astonishment at His retreating form, suddenly “two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:11]
Could any more comforting promise have been brought by angelic messengers to those disconsolate and perplexed disciples? “This same Jesus shall so come.” This Jesus whom they had loved so dearly. This Jesus, to whose words they had listened with such rapture, whose miracles had captured their hearts. This Jesus, who had healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, and raised the dead, who had shown such affection for little children, and championed the cause of the poor. This Jesus, who had witnessed before His enemies with such sublime courage, who had gone to the cross without a murmur against His tormentors and had asked forgiveness for them with His dying breath. This Jesus, who had triumphed gloriously over death, and yet had remembered to go back to Galilee to meet His friends and help them again in their fishing. This Jesus-this same Jesus, unaltered in any respect, as kind, as wise, as strong, as helpful, as friendly, as “full of grace and truth,” would surely come again.
When the Lord Jesus Christ returns in His glory those disciples will be thereto meet Him. It could not be otherwise, for Christ’s promises to them were so definite. Yet, obviously, such a meeting would not be possible without a resurrection of the dead. Peter, James, and John and all the rest of those pioneers of the Christian church “fell on sleep,” many of them suffering a martyr’s death. They have not yet met their Lord, for even “David is not ascended into the heavens.” [Acts 2:34] With all the saints “who from their labors rest” they await, in unconscious sleep, the resurrection morning.
This was the Apostle Paul’s understanding of the matter. Writing to the Thessalonians, he said: ‘I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” [1 Thessalonians 1:16,17]
The reader will recall also how, in Daniel’s startling prophecy of this mighty hour, he foretold that the time of trouble such as never was would terminate in a resurrection of the dead. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,” he wrote, “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [Daniel 12:2]
On the day of Christ’s appearing, therefore, the friends of His earthly pilgrimage will be raised to meet Him-and not only they, but the righteous dead of every age will live again. Then from their dusty beds all who have died in fellowship with God will rise in the glory of immortality. Those who perished in dark dungeons, or by cruel torture, or the sword, for His sake, will awaken to share His unending life. Those who passed away, aged and weary, after a lifetime of service for Him, will leap forth with the bloom of eternal youth upon them. Patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and faithful souls from every clime will be there. No one who has served God loyally will be forgotten. No one who has permitted his life to be molded by the heavenly Potter will be overlooked. As job says: “Thou shall call, and I will answer Thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Your hands.” [Job 14:15]
That will be a day of glad reunion for the saints of God, with their Lord, and with each other. God’s champions of the last days, delivered now from its snares and perils, their faithfulness rewarded with glorious immortality, will greet with joyous acclamations His heroic witnesses of all generations. In happy chorus they will cry: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” [Isaiah 25:9]
Then “He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” [Psalm 50:4,5] Angel hosts will sweep down to do His bidding and bring His people to His presence from the four corners of the earth. Godly families long separated will be reunited. Mothers will see their dead brought to life again, and with swelling joy will catch their long-lost children in their arms. Fathers will clasp their sons, and sons their fathers. Crowning all their bliss will be the meeting with their Savior, and the knowledge that, through Him, they will never part again.
Yet such happiness will not be for all. Only those who have loved the Lord in sincerity can hope to share in such high privilege. For the rest that day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, “a day of clouds and thick darkness.” [Zephaniah 1:15]
As the ever- increasing light in the sky arrests the attention of the world’s inhabitants, the faces of the wicked will grow pale. From lips that have too often blasphemed His name the cry will be raised, “Christ is coming! Christ is coming!” Panic will seize the unsaved multitudes as they pour out from their homes to behold the majestic approach of the glittering hosts of heaven. Terrified and ashamed, all who have despised. the commandments of God and refused to listen to the pleadings of His Holy Spirit will rush for whatever cover may be nearest. In their frenzy of fear they will call “to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” [Revelation 6:16,17]
As the sound of the last trump shatters the tombs of God’s sleeping saints, the whole earth will be convulsed by the severest shock in its history, “a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” [Revelation 16:18] At this the cities of the nations will fall and the overthrow of the wicked be completed. “And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried.” [Jeremiah 25:33]
Towards this day of judgment, the glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the destruction of the wicked, and the translation of God’s righteous remnant, the world is hastening in this mighty hour. What part shall we play in this most terrible, this grandest pageant of all time?
So vast will be the changes effected by Christ’s return that one almost hesitates to look beyond. Everything will be different then. Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that for a thousand years thereafter the world will lie desolate, without human inhabitant, while the redeemed taste the glories of God’s dwelling in the heavens. [Revelation 21:1-4]
Then, after a thousand years have elapsed, the earth will be cleansed by fire, and all traces of sin’s reign removed. [2 Peter 3:10] In those fierce flames, that will cause the elements to “melt with fervent heat,” all that may then remain of our vaunted civilization will also be consumed. Overgrown foundations of once famous cities, moss covered ruins of deserted cathedrals, rubble that was once king’s palaces, government buildings, universities, banks, and museums, twisted girders of collapsed skyscrapers, broken bridges, rusty machinery, derelict liners, abandoned railway trains, moldering airplanes-all will vanish for ever in that mighty conflagration.
Then from the ashes of that colossal funeral pyre, at the flat of the Almighty, there will emerge a new and far more beautiful earth. The Apostle John saw the transformation that will then take place, describing his vision in the following exquisite language:
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” [Revelation 21:1-5]
Like a chime of silver bells the promise of that eternal day rings on our ears. No sorrow, no pain, no worry, no heartaches, only happiness without end! All the sadness of the past blotted out by joy abounding. No fears for the present, no anxiety for the future, only peace unbroken through eternal years. No sin to weaken, no age to cripple, no disease to spoil, only glorious, radiant youth for ever and ever.
“And God shall wipe away all tears.” With infinite tenderness He will remove from all His people every cause for crying, and none will ever weep again. They will have no unhappy memories, no more disappointments, no more partings, no more saying good-bye. As William Cullen Bryant says in his beautiful poem, “The Flood of Years”
“Beyond That belt of darkness, still the years roll on more gently, but with not less mighty sweep. They gather up again and softly bear All the sweet lives that late were overwhelmed And lost to sight, all that in them was good, Noble, and truly great, and worthy of love. As its smooth eddies curl along their way. They bring old friends together; hands are clasped In joy unspeakable; the mother’s arms Again are folded round the child she loved And lost. Old sorrows are forgotten now, Or but remembered to make sweet the hour That overpays them; wounded hearts that bled Or broke are healed for ever. In the room Of this grief-shadowed present, there shall be A Present in whose reign no grief shall gnaw The heart, and never shall a tender tie Be broken.”
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” [1 Corinthians 2:9] Indeed the half has never been told of the innumerable joys of the home He is preparing for His people. No one has imagined a tithe of its glories, nor of the endless variety of interests and delights that will unfold unceasingly through the ages to come.
The earth itself will be altogether changed. Dreary deserts and great wastes of water will have disappeared. The whole globe will return to Edenic fertility. “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” [Isaiah 35:1,2]
There will be no divisions and dissension then, no writhing of restless races, no mutterings of war, or rumblings of revolution, for all men will be at peace with one another, abundantly satisfied with the overflowing goodness of God. The very desire for strife will have been purged away, with every root of bitterness. Says the prophet Zephaniah: “Then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.” [Zephaniah 3:9]
It will indeed be heaven upon earth at last, for the principles of heaven will be enshrined in the heart of every inhabitant. By beholding, all will have become changed into the similitude of Jesus. Their lives will bear in rich profusion the fruit of the Holy Spirit. “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,” will mark every action.
Contentment will pervade every, heart. Unholy ambitions, greed, envy, and jealousy, will be unknown. There will never be anything to be sorry about, no unkind words to recall, no wounds to heal. Love will reign eternally in every heart. “The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.” [Zephaniah 3:13]
Even the animals will be at peace, and the life of the weakest will never be in danger. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, said the Lord.” [Isaiah 65:25]
Everybody will enjoy abounding health. There will be no hospitals there. Our good doctors and dentists, surgeons and nurses, so indispensable here, will happily find fresh occupation in the earth made new. For “there shall be no more pain,” and “the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick.” [Isaiah 33:24] There will be no cripples in that glorious realm, no deaf or dumb, no blinded soldiers of the cross: for “the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” [Isaiah 35:5,6]
No slums will disfigure that happy land. Indeed, the New Jerusalem itself will be a garden city. No one there will be poor or under-nourished. Starvation, famine, and hunger will be unknown. There will always be plenty of food for everybody. Never will there be need to worry about the provisions of the morrow. God will care for all that. Says the Apostle John: “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing [literally “service”] of the nations.” [Revelation 22:2]
The city itself, he adds, will appear as one dazzling jewel, “like unto a stone most precious clear as crystal.” [Revelation 21:11]
Summing up the glories of that eternal home, and addressing it in exquisite language, the Lord through the prophet Isaiah says: “I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shall call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be your everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I maybe glorified.” [Isaiah 60:15-21]
It seems too good to be true. But it is true. God has it in His plan to provide for His people just such a home as this. And it will be a real home; let there be no doubt about that. It will not be some ethereal realm where disembodied spirits roam. It will be a real home for real people whose bodies will be as tangible as was the resurrected body of their Lord. Their dwellings will be as substantial as resurrected men shall need. Their employment will be definite and lasting. Stressing the reality of the earth made new, the prophet Isaiah said: “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. And Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.” [Isaiah 65:21-23]
But far transcending every other joy of the redeemed will be the presence among them of their Savior. Nothing in the glory land will compare with the spiritual ecstasy of direct and constant communion with Him. Golden streets, pearly gates, beautiful homes, exquisite scenery, would indeed be of little value without this priceless privilege.
“Oh, heaven without my Savior would be no heaven to me; Dim were the walls of jasper, Rayless the crystal sea.” But Jesus will be there, “and they shall see His face.” [Revelation 22:4] King of the undivided earth, and beloved of all His people, He will “lead them unto living fountains of waters,” [Revelation 7:17] opening their minds to an ever fuller understanding of God’s purposes, studying with them the mysteries of the universe, acquainting them more and more with the illimitable heights and depths of the wisdom and love of God.
It is a glorious prospect, a prize worth striving for, and one that all may share. For “the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” [Revelation 22:17]
Turning from this delight some vision to view again the distress in the world around us, its sorrows and tragedies, its conflicts and confusion, its wretchedness and misery, we cannot but wish that this wondrous heavenly home might soon be ours. Too long has sin reigned, blighting the earth and spoiling the lives of men. Too long have the wicked spread themselves as a green bay-tree. Too long have the powers of darkness wrought ruin in the earth. It is high time there was a change. Yea, “it is time, 0 Lord, for Thee to work.” [Psalm 119:126]
Yet this change, so desperately needed, so often described by God’s prophets, so long desired by His people, depends upon and awaits the return of Jesus in glory. It can come no other way. Without His advent all is lost. Unless He returns there is no hope for humanity. Well may we pray:
“0 Prince of peace, who once did rise In splendid triumph to the skies, Before the rapt disciples’ eyes, 0 come, Lord Jesus, quickly come! For Thy appearance all things pray, All nature sighs at Thy delay, Thy people cry, ‘No longer stay’0 come, Lord Jesus, quickly come! “Hear Thou, the whole creation’s groan, The war-swept nations’ plaintive moan. The lands made deserts all forlorn; 0 come, Lord Jesus, quickly come! See signals of distress unfurled By states on stormy billows hurled; Thou Polestar of a shipwrecked world, 0 come, Lord Jesus, quickly come!
“Come with Thy beauteous diadem; Come with embattled cherubim, Come with the shout of seraphim. 0 come, Lord Jesus, quickly come! Come on Thy seat of radiant cloud; Come with the Archangel’s trumpet loud; Come, Savior, let the heavens be bowed. 0 come, Lord Jesus, quickly come!”
Not long have we to wait now for this prayer to be answered. Though no man knows the day nor the hour of His appearing, [Mark 13:32] yet the stupendous happenings of these stirring times tell us plainly that He is near, even at the doors.”
Ezekiel, addressing the inhabitants of the doomed city of Jerusalem, sent them this stirring message: “The hour has come, the hour is striking, and striking at you, the hour and the end!” [Ezekiel 7:5,6]
Thus the events of this mighty hour are striking at every soul on earth today, warning of approaching judgment, telling the way of escape. “Flee from the wrath to come!” they cry, “Prepare to meet thy God!” “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek you the Lord, all you meek of the earth which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” [Zephaniah 2:2,3]
How shall we respond to this warning and pleading of the Lord? He wants to save us from the perils He knows are coming upon the earth. He longs to bestow upon us eternal life and take us to the glorious home He is preparing for His redeemed. Shall we not yield our hearts to Him now? Before it is for ever too late, shall we not each one say, “Jesus, my Lord, I come!” If we do, we shall be repaid a hundred fold both in this life, and in the life to come. To all who surrender their lives to Him, and take up His cross, determined by His grace to keep His commandments, to reveal His character, and nobly champion His cause of truth in this crisis hour, He whispers this comforting assurance. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed. For I am thy God: I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” [Isaiah 41:10]
And upon their ears, in the day of His appearing, will fall the words of His gracious welcome: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
[Matthew 25:34].