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PEPE OID tee ee Or ns ee ane a le ee ee Me ee tN A te Me eee Se SP et ie a NR a Sake eh a Ae gee UE LER Ng Be NE OS a al a ls he gl in gn ne ernest 4 Bier 0 cet Va oe Pas i eee er ae : 4 ; c shes avd “ ap ‘ i fr eke ‘ a 7 p t L * ry AY Oey ss 2, ‘ j Pre, & esfoeee er ra arte “ = AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS = ee — ff yA , V AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS AN APPEAL ‘TO CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS TO ALIGN OUR COUNTRY WITH JESUS FOR HER SAFETY IN THE NEXT WAR wu BY: J. C.. McFEETERS, D. D. MINISTER IN THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AUTHOR OF “mE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH” “ETE COVENANTERS IN AMERICA” “SKETCHES OF THE COVENANTERS”’ “PEACE ON EARTH VERSUS ANOTHER WORLD-WAR” The Christopher Publishing House Boston, U.S. A. THIRD EDITION Copyright 1922 By J. C. McFeeters Copyright 1926 By The Christopher Publishing House DEDICATED TO AMERICAN PATRIOTS . MAY THE LORD JESUS MAKE THEM WISE AND VALIANT TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY IN THE COMING CRISIS “THESE SHALI, MAKE, WAR WITH THE LAMB, AND THE LAMB SHALL OVERCOME THEM; FOR HE IS LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS.” CONTENTS PAGE GSE UOR DM tree Ter ares ed Tones ta hts 1 pee A CHMMS hans pitas Miah be ubine Geeta diel) a 5 ¥ PENATION (DORN) TO LEAD 222 ibe) eee ests 9 II THE AMERICAN CONSCIENCE .............. 12 III PTR METOC ERERCTN atic ied Merron 16 IV (ERRUNATIONS) IN@ PROPHECY 055.0. vou 22 V POT EUIN PED IONSASILRADER. .! oe lee bys oe Wis ba 26 VI WiLL AMERICA LEAD THE WoRLD .......... 32 VII REOUISLIESHEOR’ LEADERSHIP a)... bo... os: 37 VIII PO NSETMETITEC WAY 22 ok Se oe ken hanes 43 IX Tine LORD'S) CONTROVERSY (200) oe cin 50 x PR ECREA TE RVVARNING Wor Ye ee ect 57 CONTENTS XI THE APPROACHING CRISIS ..... XII A Micuty Morar ConFuicrt ... XIII THE Last oF ALL Wars ....... XIV Is THE War PREVENTABLE .... XV RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY XVI THE TIME OF THE END ....... Vill FOREWORD By A. A. JOHNSON, D. D. PRESIDENT, GENEVA COLLEGE At the root of most of our social problems lies the theory that you can banish religion from the most important spheres of human activity and do it with impunity. Some there are who say that God has nothing to do with universal law. You may pray, if you wish, but you must pray circumspectly and only for spiritual gifts, for the world and its laws have come from material causes through material means. i Again there is the economic life which ab- sorbs so much of man’s energy and _ interest. Business is business. In other words, religion has no place here. Humanity and _ sentiment are to be ruthlessly banished. |The economic man is to have no heart or ideals, only wants to be satisfied. Then again, in the world of statesmanship, the interference of religious ideals with politics I FOREWORD has been held to be mischievous. In the name of national security and religious liberty, politics has carved out a province, in which it holds the Writ of God does not run. For this purpose this little book has been written—to declare boldly that the throne of the universe is not vacant, to instil into the hearts of men the old message—as old as his- troy itself, but ever forgotten—the message of the sovereignty of God. If the world is not willing to heed the message, then history will continue to be made up of stratagems, wars, treasons, broken treaties, captivities and name- less cruelties. It will be the same drama with only different names and scenes. In addressing the students of Edinburg Uni- versity, Carlyle said: ‘No nation that did not contemplate this wonderful universe with an awe-stricken and reverential feeling that there is an omnipotent, all-wise and all-virtuous Being Superintending all men and all the interest in it—no such nation has ever done much, nor has any man who has forgotten God.” The Bible expresses the truth in even a blunter fash- ion: “The wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the nations that forget God.” 2 FOREWORD As citizens we must swear our final alle- giance to Him who sits upon the throne of the universe, ruling like a great Father in the bene- ficence of His rule, wielding a divine authority and governing with superhuman wisdom. ‘The Government shall be upon His shoulder. Of the increase of His Government and peace there shall be no end.” Then, and only then will righteousness and peace run down our streets like a river. All nations will then be blessed in Him. This book brings to our attention a neglected truth which appears more vital since the per- fidious attack of Germany upon civilization. Unless we grasp its import, there is danger that the gloomy night of pessimism will descend upon us. A. A. JOHNSTON. Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. August 7, 1922. PREFACE We live in ominous times. The world is troubled; the nations are bewildered; the pow- ers are shaking; old foundations are crumb- ling. What shall be the end of these things? Eminent men, who represent the great pow- ers of the world, have endeavored to solve the problems of peace and safety. Hitherto the best results have been but ‘a _ gentleman’s agreement.” Will the agreement stand when tested by new and perilous conditions? The world’s counselors have failed to take into consideration two great powers that are in the field—Jesus and the devil. Either of these is able to upset the most cherished plans of men. Jesus and the devil have been long engaged in warfare for the possession of this world and dominion over the people. The nations have excluded Jesus from their government; the devil has brazenly obtruded. He must be cast out and Jesus admitted ere the world can have peace. PREFACE The decisive engagement is yet to be fought. On this the Word of God is clear and pointed. We get our information from divine revelation, re-enforced and illuminated by the events of the times in which we live. The Lord, by His surprising providences, impresses the thought- ful with the fact, that the day of decision is near; it may involve the present generation. We have had one world-war. From the hills that trembled with the thunder of cannon, and from the valleys that ran red with blood, God pleaded with the nations. His dreadful voice was a call to repentance, an appeal for loy- alty to His moral government. Man’s obstin- acy protracted the war till the cry of anguish arose from the perishing world. The heart of God was touched and He stopped the war. The armistice originated with Him; by His good-will it became effective. “We are now under the truce of God.” Thus spake Lloyd-George. The lull in the storm affords the nations time to consider the Lord’s terms of peace. ‘Their representatives have met in conference; great problems have been discussed; important meas- ures have been adopted; but God’s terms of peace have not been considered. What can be 6 PREFACE expected but the renewal of hostilities. The Lord’s truce surely has a time-limit. Another war is on the horizon. ‘The issue is well defined—Who shall rule this world? Shall Jesus and His people govern the nations? or shall the devil and his minions continue in power? The question must be settled. This little volume is the author’s plea for our beloved country, so highly favored of the Lord. O that she may be found under the banner of King Jesus in the world-crisis which is rapid- ly approaching! In the horrifying crash of the falling nations, our safety will absolutely de- pend on right relation with God and loyalty to Jesus Christ. J. C. McFEETERS. Parnassus, Pa. August 1, 1922. ; teu - wf ua? 5 ty vA ap ea : \Y he * ‘4 iat valde horny Say Fe , a : \ ( ae \ j J yrs Nad ¥ tah? ty 4 sit ; i? Fi) ‘ ip i ' ae | ! re im et : i i f a . f had ‘s re { , {a tet 4 ‘4 ; * P| : tf l . 3 } as j ki i { j ' Die: : Yotd | ‘ \ ‘ y \ ie ie | : are ; / 4 ry 7 | i | | | i | a c " Ma ; ’ : ay ery g 6 } y ‘ if \ (ae ; ¥ hearty . } A 4 ” { ‘ ) _ mr 1 j i by! [ ; | ) ; 4 an’ r ; id >. . ' 1 4 4 ‘ ' a ; Si 5 f ? , , ’ i st 4 ‘4 ss; ' A egy, igh, h ‘ i ‘ ( bgt ) ; i We! j ! { f \ f . i 5 bd A 4 sg iy : "ia b ' 4 ’ ] » "4 Toes | ee ee ee AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS A NATION BORN TO LEAD When the American nation was born, the Liberty Bell rang for joy and the music echoed around the world. The mother, however, was not elated over the notable event, as mothers generally are when a child is born; rather did she give the unwelcome infant a vast deal of trouble. The cradle was rocked with the storms of war; childhood was spent amid contention and hardships; the days of youth brought tasks that developed a strong, intrepid and adven- turous life. Growth, maturity and_ responsi- bility came as the years went, until the United States of America ranked among the great powers. Our country commands the respect, if not the good-will, of every nation on earth; has merited universal admiration for her sense of 9 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS honor and right; receives credit for readiness to use her might in defense of justice and hu- manity; has won unlimited confidence as a fearless and dependable champion of inter- national righteousness. The American pioneers were a hardy stock. They were fitted by their Creator for achieve- ments beyond the ordinary; were distinguished for foresight, power of endurance, adaptation to new conditions, ability to create environ- ments, and especially for their faith in God. They accepted His will as their rule of conduct and followed it as the sure way to true success and greatest happiness. When God would plant a great nation in this Western Hemisphere, He winnowed European seed and sowed the virgin soil with the Hugue- nots of France, Puritans of England, Presby- terians of Holland, Covenanters of Scotland, Scotch-Irish Protestants and other selections of like quality. The Church of Jesus Christ in America has taken deep root and flourished as a noble vine planted by the Lord; her fruitful branches over- spread the mountains and valleys from coast to coast. 10 A NATION BORN TO LEAD Among the early settlers the men of faith were in power. They were sufficiently numer- ous and influential to stamp the religion of Jesus Christ upon public institutions, thus making our country famous for the open Bible, the holy Sabbath, the ideal home and free edu- cation. These were men who lived. on the Word of God as truly as on the fruits of the earth; while the physical in their lives was nourished and matured, the spiritual was neither neg- lected nor inactive. This gave them force, efficiency and character. They began and closed the day with family worship. They suspended work on Saturday evening and repaired to the house of God on Sab- bath morning. They fed their children on porridge and the Shorter Catechism. They established public schools with the Bible as an indispensable textbook. They formed a free government, under which all should enjoy equal rights and every conscience should deal direct- ly with God. America was well born. II II THE AMERICAN CONSCIENCE America has developed with astonishing rapidity; ranks already among the great world- powers; has attained to phenomenal, if not exceptional, prominence. And in her splendid march toward the front, let it be remembered that she has steadily retained a fine sense of right and honor among the powers and peoples of the world. Conscience has kept pace with her other powers; rather has lead them, as has been repeatedly demonstrated in her magnan- imous dealings with sister nations. America has amazed the world betimes, and her own self, too, by the vastness and prompt- ness of her reserve forces of men and material hastening into action at the beck of emergen- cies, or when a righteous cause appealed for help. In the Sixties her conscience arose in its mighti- ness for the deliverance of the colored race and abolished slavery, the fiend that attempted to strangle the American spirit of liberty. 12 THE AMERICAN CONSCIENCE More recently she outlawed the traffic in in- toxicants, flinging from her bosom the mon- strous viper, that had poisoned her vitals for ages, wasted her treasures, corrupted her govern- ment and disgraced her sons and daughters. Dishonored and injured by imperious Spain, she used the occasion to hurl her bolts of war on behalf of the oppressed, delivering Cuba and the Philippine Islands from their haughty op- pressor. Looking abroad, she sickened at the sight of the fields of carnage and the flow of blood in the Russo-Japanese war, and by judicious mediation caused the war to cease. Seeing the Kaiser push the battle to the gate with determination to reverse the wheels of civilization and rule the world with “the mailed fist” and a despotic will, America’s sons, by the million, rushed to the field of conflict; nor shrank they from the service and sacrifice till, with the help of Almighty God, the tide of war was turned and the world saved from ruth- less despotism. Our country has shown fitness to take her place among the foremost nations, if not at the very front. Her high-grade qualities, developed 13 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS by the free use of the Bible and backed by man- power never yet defeated, adapt her for except- tional service as a guide to bring the benighted world out of bewilderment and confusion into the marvelous light of God, shining in the face of Jesus Christ, the King of nations. The times call for action; the call is loud and intense. Action should be quick, heroic and effective, for the world is in jeopardy and will again be wrecked, if the spirit of lawlessness be not checked. Forgetfulness of God, resulting in utter disregard for righteousness, spreads and sickens our nation like a pestilence. Action without delay is the need of the day; action along new lines, with new incentives, new power, new determination, toward a new objective. Leagues, conferences, councils and_ interna- tional alliances have been tried and found in- sufficient. They all have failed to furnish a remedy for the world’s ailments, or a preventa- tive to save from worse conditions. Their best services have been like attempting to bind the demon of destruction with ribbons of silk. They cry, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. Will America heed the urgent call? Will she 14 THE AMERICAN CONSCIENCE recognize it as the voice of the Lord seestaitiat her a new and notable position and an excep- tional service among the nations? Will she wisely utilize her privileges? Will she insure herself against disaster by entering into right relation with God? Will she thus become a moral and political example for the world and save the race from a direful cataclysm, that is even now casting its shadow over both hemi- spheres? 15 III NOT YET PERFECT America in her position among the nations is worthy of imitation in many respects. All the powers on earth might follow her example to good purpose in certain directions. In some ways she is a model; and the model, if wisely used, would surely lift the world out of many a slum and save from many a slump. And yet our republic, with all her attainments, has by no means arrived at perfection. This is an accepted fact. The goal has not yet been reached. The nation hastens onward. Progress is a word, in its strictest sense, distinctively American. The limit to advancement and achievement is not within our present-day ho- rizon. The great suggests the greater and in- spires to its possession. The very genius of our country is evolution in the best sense and de- velopment to the highest degree; bringing to the light and into action mental, moral and physical forces that lie hidden’ within her illimitable domain. 16 NOT YET PERFECT Yet with all the elements of greatness that enter into her life and the growing powers that give her character, it may be said to this nation as Jesus said to an accomplished young man, clever and wealthy, “Yet lackest thou one thing.” Our country is without official connection with Jesus Christ, the King of nations and the Prince or Peace.* Multitudes of the people honor Jesus as the Almighty Saviour, but the government neglects Him as the Supreme Ruler. The defect is serious; it greatly’ impedes progress and prosperity, is fruitful in defects and failures among officials and results in law- lessness and distress among the people. Jesus has said, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing.’ + This divine aphorism is wide enough to include nations. Our government, by self-separation from King Jesus, forfeits His favor, lies under His displeasure, and is handicapped by His just reprisals. The losses incurred through penal- ties inflicted and blessings withheld are beyond calculation. Nations have to deal with Jesus. By His will Pl eaeo70.08; Onn. 15:5. 17 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS they rise or fall, live or die, continue to prosper or pass into oblivion. To ignore the Lord Jesus is folly; to disown Him is madness; to succeed without Him is impossible; to exclude Him from civil government is to invite wrath and retribution. The world is strewn with the ruins of the powers whose rulers dared to supersede Jesus. They ignored His authority and He demolished their empires. Will our nation enter into right relation with King Jesus? Will she affiliate with Him, “who sits upon the circle of the earth and the inhab- itants thereof are as grasshoppers; in whose presence the nations are as a drop of a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the balance?”* Will she do this with a true heart and by public action? Then will Jesus, the Royal Son of God, the world’s Almighty Sav- iour, become her Ruler, Friend, Protector, Benefactor. By honoring Jesus Christ, our country will be honored; by duly recognizing Him, she will secure His favor. By placing the government under His authority and harmonizing her insti- * Isa. 40 :12-23. 18 NOT YET PERFECT tutions and laws with His will, she will have His support, guidance, co-operation and the unlimited supplies of His storehouses. “Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord.”* The benedictions of heaven will then descend like summer showers. Will our nation be wise in the day of oppor- tunity? Will she arise and take the step es- sential to true greatness, permanent peace, genuine happiness, endless progress and un- limited prosperity? God grant that she may put herself in line with His will, in harmony with the laws of His universe. Thereby will she escape the doom of ancient Babylon and modern Germany. “Vet one thing thou lackest.” The goal of nations, the true goal of peace and right, of honor and might, of gladness and light, lies far beyond present conditions. As it has been written of individuals, so may it be said of nations—‘‘EKye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things God hath prepared for them _ that * Psa. 144:15. 19 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS love Him; but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.” * The Lord has a future for the nations far surpassing man’s sublimest conception. The greatness, gladness, goodness and security of the inhabitants of the earth, as the nations arise to their legitimate place on God’s pro- gramme, will exceed the loftiest flights of poetic genius. Imagination on boldest wing cannot see what the nations yet shall be, nor can artist, with transfigured soul, portray their coming glory. Will our nation grasp the vision? Will she study God’s ideal and strive to make it real? Will she acquire the new qualities and be dis- tinguished as a Christian Republic, true to Almighty God and loyal to Jesus Christ? When thus she rises in character and becomes notable as a people ‘‘whose God is the Lord,” she will be qualified to lead the world out of darkness into light and onward into the heights of pro- phetic blessedness. Our country, in the name of Jesus, can turn the prophecy of national blessedness into splen- did history. Will she do it? O that she had *I Cor. 2:9-10. NOT YET PERFECT such noble ambition! O that she would choose the highway to permanent power and _ largest success! “QO that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!”* Then would our nation be an example, awakening world-wide interest and inspiring universal imitation; a concrete case of God’s ideal for all nations; a demonstration of the possibility of peace, power, righteous- ness and security in every land. Then would America be a standardbearer entrusted with the banner under whose folds the world will yet rally. Such would be the most prevailing argument and effective force that could’ be employed to lift the benighted nations out of the depths of diabolism and despair. Oo Se eta a Mie ei Sel MAE SR ET Rd * Deut. 32:20. 21 IV THE NATIONS IN PROPHECY The Bible is the sure word of prophecy con- cerning man and equally sure concerming na- tions. The Lord, who sees the end from the beginning, revealed to His servants, the pro- phets, many outstanding events of the future; and what they saw they faithfully recorded in His Word. We do well to take heed to what is written and open our eyes upon those visions, that we may know what the nations shall be, when lighted up with the glory of the Lord in the latter days. No better antidote than this for pessimism. Gaze upon the splendours of the nations as they appear in prophecy, and notwithstanding the present political distractions, if the soul be not dead, a song of praise will arise in the heart to the Lord, by whose power the vision will yet materialize and the realization will become world-wide. The word that goeth out of His mouth will not return unto Him void, but shall 22 THE NATIONS IN PROPHECY accomplish His pleasure and shall prosper in the thing whereto He hath sent it. Here we may raise the question, What has the Lord said concerning the future of the na- tions? What has He determined to do for them? We employ space to produce merely a few of the many predictions of peace, right- eousness, prosperity and happiness guaranteed; predictions that illuminate the pages of God’s Word and beam upon the earth like the rising sun. “And it shall come to pass in the 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 He shall judge among the nations; and shall rebuke many peoples: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole Bee Sch is homens AD ESR acta TE a eS ley an TeISA2 12 £ Isa. 2:4. 23 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an ever- lasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” * “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, that shall stand for an ensign of the peo- ples; to it shall the nations seek: and His rest shall be glorious.” + “Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him. His name _ shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.” + A happy future awaits our troubled world. The Lord’s forecast of a golden age will not be a disappointment. His word is pledged: “Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I also will do it.’§ His oath is on record: “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” {] Jesus has made the supreme sacrifice to save the world; He has sprinkled the earth with Satya Isa. 11:10. ~ Psa. 72:11-17. § Isa. 46:11. Isa. 45:23. 24 THE NATIONS IN PROPHECY His own precious blood, consecrating it to the highest use. He has also been exalted to the seat of omnipotent power with instruction from God, His. Father, to subdue the nations and bring them into harmony with the divine mind and with one another. Surely He will not cease operations till the whole earth be filled with His love and become the abode of peace and righteousness for all people. The nations have a great inheritance in pros- pect; a land flowing with milk and honey, lying in the lime-light of prophecy just beyond the desert; an unprecedented condition of healthi- ness, wealthiness, righteousness and happiness. What nation will lift up the banner of Jesus and lead the way? America has the opportunity, the prestige, the power, the means, the call. Has she the vision, the moral courage, the noble ambition? 25 V THE NEED OF A LEADER The times call for an efficient leader, a de- pendable standardbearer, to bring the nations into the promised land. Not a man; _individ- ual ability is puerile in presence of the gigantic task of restoring peace and order to our dis- tracted world. Not a group of men; though they have the wisdom and bear the dignity of the ‘Supreme Council of the World.” The wisest group would merely grope and perish in the bewildering darkness. The nations need a leader of their own rank; a leading nation to go before and set the pace; a nation established in right relation with God and experienced in Christian statesmanship; a nation honoring the Lord Jesus as her Moral Governor and through Him pressing toward the zenith of power and usefulness. The world awaits the coming of a Christian State that will be an example and an inspira- tion; awaits the coming of people governed 26 THE NEED OF A LEADER by consecrated men in the name of Christ, ruled by officials who are “the ministers of God,’* recognizing their accountability to Him. The nations are wandering in darkness, or at best, in twilight. Conditions are nowhere satis- factory; never have been. Progress has ever failed to reach the grand objective. When suc- cess is greatest, a jolt comes that checks the speed or reverses the engine. Every effort to forestall disaster, or prevent reverses, proves in the end a failure. Human devices for na- tional saftey are futile. Nor do the experiments of the past furnish any reliable guide for the present or the future. Statesmen have long tried, and are still try- ing, to place the nations on a solid basis of se- curity and peace; and yet the world has never been so drunk with blood as now, so delirious with demons, so crushed with debt, so sick and sad and almost in despair. The Temple of Peace at The Hague was praiseworthy in its purpose, but proved an utter failure in effect. The Czar, its promoter, perished, and his empire with him, in orgies of * Rom. 13:4. 27 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS blood. The intention was right, but the system was radically defective. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was not admitted. The League of Nations at Versailles was a grievous disappointment. The confusion at the Council Table was like that at the Tower of Babel, * the cause in each case being practically the same. The historic tower was built in de- fiance of God; the modern tower, independent of God. The Armament Limitation Conference at Washington has in a certain sense revealed an excellent spirit. The foremost men of the world, having visions of peace, are striving to lessen the horrors of war. The purpose is certainly in harmony with the mind of the Creator. But have they been working on a basis that insures success? The demon of war may be limited by the rulers of earth; his operations on the _ battle- field may be temporarily suspended; but will he not return again to find opportunity ripe and inviting? The demon of war is the devil. If the devil be excluded from civil government, * Gen. II.1-9. THE NEED OF A LEADER there will be a political vacancy unless Jesus Christ be admitted. Jesus must be admitted to keep the fiend out. The devil will assuredly return and attempt to re-occupy the place he calls “his own home.” * The nations have been wasted and destroyed by incompetent and degenerate rulers, though all rulers have not been degenerate or incom- petent. Every country under heaven has been drenched with blood and tears; mightiest cities have been desolated; ruinous piles mark their graves. Men in authority have seen all their methods of government fail to reach the ultimate good; every form of administration has proved abortive; every expedient, even the best, yields bitter fruit with the sweet. The wisdom of the world’s leaders is mixed with folly; their fondest hopes sink in disappointment and grief. One expedient alone remains to be tried; only one within the range of human knowledge,— the establishment of a Christian State with laws according to the Word of God and officials ruling in the name of Jesus Christ. The union of Church and State is by no means * Luke II: 24-26. AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS involved in a Christian form of government when constituted according to the Word of God. The two, as ordained of God, are distinct and separated in purpose, nature and administra- tion. The Church and the State are equally of God; the Church to meet the spiritual side of life; the State to meet the physical. In correct functioning, they are mutually helpful and co- operative, each being under the authority of Jesus Christ but never intermingled or con- fused. Jesus is the Governor of the State by the un- alterable decree of the Father. Therefore the normal relation of the State to Jesus is that of a loyal subject. Why should not this notable fact have a legal acknowledgement? Why should not the nation, in her government, honor and obey the great Sovereign? To refuse this in a country where Christianity is prom- inent and dominant is at least inexcusable carelessness; the sense of self-sufficiency is well-nigh idolatrous. Such a course, if per- sistently pursued, will surely meet with God’s righteous retributions. Nations must learn to obey Jesus Christ or suffer the consequences. 30 THE NEED OF A LEADER When will the experiment of a Christian State once be tried? Have not the cruel dis- asters, the torrents of blood, the burdens of debt, the floods of tears been sufficient to halt wrong government and swing the world over to the administration of Jesus Christ? Will the leaders of our great republic have the goodness and courage to break the bonds of usage, step out on new ground and in the name of Jesus put our nation in line with the Lord? The noble effort would make them the pioneers of the New Earth. Such men will appear some day and achieve success; future generations will arise and call them blessed. 31 VI WILL AMERICA LEAD THE WORLD The nations are destined to become Christian. On this the Word of God is clear. The time is coming when the people and the government, in every country on earth, will be according to the mind of the Lord. Jesus Christ will be the acknowledged Leader and honored Ruler, and all peoples will rejoice in His beneficent reign. This the Lord has promised; He will not fail to bring it to pass. ‘Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him.”* He, who reads the Bible and understands what he reads, cannot fail to be an insupressible optimist. He looks out with great concern upon the war-worn and woe-beleaguered world. Great storms have wrought havoc; other storms darken the sky. Yet notwithstanding all this, he sees a great light in the distance. The earth is flooded with the glory of the Lord; all nations are peaceful, prosperous and happy under the sul tt: lye Eo 2 32 WILL AMERICA LEAD THE WORLD reign of Jesus Christ, the honored Governor of the world. What resplendent brightness in that pro- phetic outlook! While the mind contemplates, the heart is in raptures. We have the assurance from the mouth of the Lord that the thrilling vision shall have its fullest realization. The world, by the grace of God, shall surely reach the shining goal. Listen to the voice of the Lord’s prophets who spake as He gave them utterance, reveal- ing the purpose and plan of the Lord for our world and its nations: “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations.”’* “The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory.” + “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the peoples righteously, Wisay Or sii. f Jer. 4:2. 33 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS and govern the nations upon the earth. Let the peoples praise Thee,O God; let all the peo- ples praise Thee.’’* “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” t We have quoted a few of the many prophe- cles revealing the coming glory of the nations, as the Lord has purposed in His heart to exalt them, and recorded on His chart the ideal con- ditions which they shall reach. His promises relating to them shine like the stars of heaven, among which the Bright and Morning Star in- spires assurance and confirms faith beyond the possibility of doubt. Assuredly the nations are on the road to better conditions; yea, to blessedness of the highest order possible on earth. Present prospects are not bright, but the goal will certainly be reached. They may pass through tribulations on the way, but eventually they will bask in the prophetic splendours. Will America be the first of the nations to *Psa. 67:4-5. +1Sa,.T120: 34 WILL AMERICA LEAD THE WORLD catch the vision and enter into the glory? Will she become the recognized leader of the world, having herself passed out of darkness into the marvelous light? Will she lift up the standard of the Lord Jesus Christ and bear it aloft, that under it the world may rally? Will she pre- pare herself for this noble service by becoming a worthy example, a nation constituted and governed according to the will of God? Will she distinguish herself as a Christian Republic, ruled by efficient men in the name of Jesus Christ, to the glory of God and for the highest welfare of the people? Will our nation qualify as the world’s leader? Our country is quite a distance on the way to this important and honorable position. Her Christian attainments are by no means to be despised. One of our jurists, a distinguished judge, has officially affirmed that this is even now a Christian nation. His decision, in an important sense, cannot be reasonably disputed. This nation bears the impress of the religion of Christ. She is thereby distinguished from pagan nations. Besides, a majority of the people, not Jess than sixty million according to published reports, are Christian by profession or affilia- 35 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS tion. Our country is Christian, not Moham- medan, nor Confucian, nor Brahman, nor any thing else but Christian, by way of contrast or comparison. Will not the sixty million, who agree that Jesus is the Mighty Saviour, rally for the uplift of our nation, that she may honor Him as her Supreme Ruler? Will they not confer upon her the moral requisites of a worthy standard- bearer, that having realized the wonderful possibilities of a Christian nation she may lead other nations into the predicted blessedness and peace? 36 VII REQUISITES FOR LEADERSHIP Perfection should not be expected of any nation. Faultlessness is not attainable under the sun by man or nation. While the world stands, defects will appear, errors will arise, mistakes will be made; yet if the heart be right, the good Lord will pardon. If the main pur- pose of life points loyally to the throne of Jesus Christ, the favor of the Lord will not be for- feited. When certain essentials enter into the civic organization and become active in public life, a nation becomes truly Christian, and may be properly so called notwithstanding existing defects. We mention four of these essentials; they are axiomatic and can be recognized at a glance. FIRST: JESUS WILL BE OFFI- CIALLY CONFESSED AS THE NA- TION’S RULER AND SAVIOUR. 37 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be in- structed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. | Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.’’* The confession of Jesus Christ by the nation may find its proper expression in the preamble of the Federal Constitution. It would also add dignity and force to certain official messages and proclamations if judiciously inserted. The name of Jesus in political life is the sup- pressed name. It is not to be found in the vocabulary of our government. The ommission is remarkable. Was it an oversight, or by de- liberation? The friends of Jesus are embar- rassed over it. They know the fact of His exaltation as Universal King and are distressed because He is discredited among official circles. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and on earth, * Psa. 2: 10-12. 38 REQUISITES FOR LEADERSHIP and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”* Surely it is in order for our nation to bow the knee and make con- fession. SECOND: LEGISLATION WILL BE CONSTITUTIONAL ONLY WHEN IN HARMONY WITH THE WORD OF GOD. “Should not a people seek unto their God? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” f The nations are God’s own. He has their welfare at heart. His will, as expressed in the Bible, is their guide to greatest happiness and prosperity. Departure therefrom involves in derangement and distress. | Compliance there- with opens the storehouses of the Lord’s good- ness and fills the land with substantial benefits. Nothing more pathetic on record than the la- mentation of the Lord over a refractory nation,— “QO that thou hadst hearkened to my command- ments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.”t * Phil. 2:9-11. + Isa. 8: 19-20. t Isa. 48:18 39 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS THIRD: LOYALTY TO THE CHRIS- TIAN FORM OF GOVERNMENT WILL BE A QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE. “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens; and let them judge the people at all seasons.” * The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in re- ward for His sacrifice to save the world, has placed Him on the throne from which He rules heaven and earth. His authority is universal; His power is without limit. “The government is upon His shoulder.’ How unwise then, in the face of all this, and inconsistent where gospel light prevails and Christian people are a majority, to place in power the enemies of Jesus, authorizing them to rule over His territory occupied by people He has created for himself! Is not such procedure virtually, yea, actually, treason against the rightful Ruler? * Exo. 18 :21-22. 7 Isa. 9:6. 40 REQUISITES FOR LEADERSHIP FOURTH: OFFICIALS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE TO THE LORD AND TO THE PEOPLE. “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; when the tender grass springeth out of the earth by clear shining after rain,” * This implies right relation with Jesus Christ, the Supreme Ruler, and a loyal heart. Civil officers are invested with authority to admin- ister government; but only as accountable to God and responsible to the people. They should ever set before their eyes the glory of God and the well-being of man. The Word of God honors them with the title, ‘Ministers of God.” + These ministers of God, by faithful service, become channels of His inexhaustible goodness. Their ministry refreshes the nation with showers of blessings; radiates light and heat like the rising sun; produces harvest like well watered fields in summer; distributes the munificence * Ti Sam. 23 :3-4. 7 Rom. 13:4. 41 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS of the open hand and loving heart of King Jesus. A godly ruler is a public benefactor. These are four of the essential factors to be found in a nation truly Christian. National life without these will be radically defective. The health conditions of the State will be both sub-normal and abnormal. Political ailments and derangements may pass beyond control. Where these factors are wanting, a sufficient remedy must be found and applied, or the death of the nation is inevitable. Correct functioning will grow more and more difficult until it ends in a hopeless collapse. The voice of ancient empires, crying from the desolate mounds that mark their graves, gives solemn warning. Will not the sixty million, the Christian patriots of America, arise in the name of Jesus Christ, and impart to our nation the essential principles of exalted and permanent life? Im the strength of a working majority and of Jesus will they not inoculate her with the qualities of true, vigorous, prosperous Statehood, sufficient to resist decay and defy death? 42 LIONS IN THE WAY VIII Strong opposition to Christianizing the govern- ment of our country may be expected. (All men have not faith.) The wisdom of it will be questioned; the justice of it will be chal- lenged; the “square deal” will be quoted against it. There will be no limit to the accusations, denunciations, misrepresentations and _ carri- catures. The advance workers, occuping the field of reform, have drawn the enemy’s fire; they know the resistence that must be met and overcome. The fourteen-inch guns are even now hurling immense epithets, withal to shell-shock Chris- tian patriots. Sectarianism, uncharitableness, intolerance, fanaticism, injustice and other like terms of ponderous weight are screeching through the trembling air. But they who are true to Christ and country will remain un- daunted; they will neither halt nor doubt till success be achieved. 43 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS The effort to stabilize our nation on the basis of Christian principles is challenged as sectarian- ism. The challenge proceeds from a preverted, or an inverted view of the Christian religion. Never did a more magnanimous thought arise in the human heart; never did a better, nobler cause appeal to man for his highest endeavor. Must they whourge our nation to own Jesus Christ as her Moral Ruler and the Bible as authority in law and government be regarded as sectarians? As well impute narrowness to the atmosphere that breathes life and health around the world, or to the sun that sheds light and comfort upon every land. The spirit that prompts such efforts is the very essence of good- will, acting with broad-minded intelligence and working for the greatest benefit of all people. The Bible is not a sectarian book; it is the world’s Book, God’s message of love to the hu- man family, His proclamation of amnesty to our guilty race. “And Jesus said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” * Christianity is not a sectarian religion; it is * Mark 16:15. 44 LIONS IN THE WAY the world’s religion, destined to bless every land. “For God sent not His Son into the world to condem the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” * Jesus is not a sectarian Saviour; he is the only Saviour. ‘Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” f The throne of Jesus Christ is neither local nor limited; it is universal and omnipotent. “His kingdom is from generation to generation. He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?” ¢ Thus the accusation of sectarianism falls with less weight than a pillow of down, where ordi- nary intelligence exists; and likewise all similar terms of reproach. The enemies of Jesus contest His right to honorable mention in our government on other grounds also and wax hot in their debate. They claim that thereby they would be deprived of *fonn, 3:17) Acts 4:32. Ft Dany 4:34-35. 45 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS the privilege of citizenship. They could not subscribe to a Christian Constitufion. But Christians, too, have a conscience, and find it embarrassing to subscribe to an infidel Con- stitution: some of them positively refuse for conscience sake and accept of the hardships involved. How may this important question be decided? With ali fairness, by a referendum. Let it be appealed to the people. While majorities have no power to determine the moral quality of any question, they have the power, under popular government, to determine the course of action, leaving action free. Also it is argued that the eligibility to office would be limited by a Christian Constitution to the friends of Jesus. And what valid objec- tion to this can be offered? In the light of the open Bible,—the Bible that has made America to differ socially, morally, politically, educa- tionally and commercially from Brazil, China, Turkey, and most of the world,—in the light of the Bible, how can Christian government be opposed by any candid reader? The nation is the Lord’s; the country is His; the people are His; the authority is His; the 46 LIONS IN THE WAY welfare of all He has at heart. His thoughts for our nation are as far above men’s thoughts as heaven is higher than the earth. Then why, in the name of reason, place His enemies in power to rule? Even Christians hesitate to honor Jesus with a place in our national government because they think the time for action has not yet come. The plan is ideal, they say, but the ideal is for the future; at present it is not practical. It will suit the Millennium; just now it is entirely too drastic. The world would be turned up- side down; the changes would be entirely too radical. But do not existing conditions de- mand the unusual, the extraordinary, to save mankind from despair? Is not our nation heading in a wrong course? Is she not like a ship on the tempestuous ocean? Mighty winds are sweeping her toward the rocks. Without radical changes may she not be wrecked like other great nations that have forgotten God? And is not our world on the rapids, hurrying toward new dangers, with the roar of the cata- ract resounding in her ears, which may mean a cataclysm of frightfulness equal to that which 47 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS we have recently experienced? Possibly greater. May God forbid. May Christians use all their power to prevent another cataclysm. Our nation is evidently approaching a crisis. The whole world is facing desperate conditions. Present efforts to prevent disaster are utterly inadequate. The most active and efficient men employed in guiding the political world are like children playing with toys; their power is puerile in the face of stupendous tasks. The ordinary has become futile and obsolete. The wisdom needed must be divine; the strength, colossal; the methods, extraordinary. Will not the people, who know their God, arise and do exploits?* In the strength of the Lord Almighty will they not spring into action and prevent the crash? In the Lord Jesus, the Merciful Saviour, they have the power; in our country they have the majority; under God they are responsible. The supreme task is to put our nation right with Jesus Christ. Will not the sixty million, the Christian pa- triots of America, stand up in the presence of all opposition and exclaim with the voice of * Dan. 11 532. 48 LIONS IN THE WAY united action, “Thine are we, O Jesus; and on Thy side, Thou Son of God.” * * I Chron. 12:18. 49 IX THE LORD’S CONTROVERSY The rulers of this world have an important lesson yet to learn. Thus far they have failed to become informed concerning the authority of Jesus over the nations; or if informed, they indifferently, or defiantly, withhold due honor. The Lord has been speaking from His throne in mercy intermingled with judgement for cen- turies. But in recent years He has proclaimed His sovereignty over nations in judgment al- most without mercy. From the hill-tops of France, wreathed with fire and clouds of smoke, He spake and the world heard ‘and trembled. Yet the rulers have not hearkened; nor have they recognized the hand that has smitten them. Nevertheless they shall yet know that the heavens do rule.* They must reckon with One “whose kingdom is over all.’ + God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in reward for His sacrifice on the cross, has exalted Him in «Dan 4120: + Psa. 103 :109. 50 THE LORD’S CONTROVERSY power and authorized Him to rule the world. Jesus said to His disciples, just before He as- cended to heaven, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.’ He is King over all; His authority is supreme; His word is final. A heathen king who reigned in ancient times, when he came to his senses, lifted up his eyes unto heaven and blessed the Most High God. Recording his experience, he said, “I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation; and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhab- itants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?” * King Nebuchadnezzar’s glowing tribute shows his conception of the presence and power of the Lord in the government of the nations. He had been absent-minded for a time. When reason returned he saw the facts and glorified the Lord. He has left a notable example for * Dan. 4:34-35. SI AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS all rulers; and every one of them, when reason becomes normal, will follow his example. The Lord is deeply interested in the affairs of the whole world. ‘He ruleth in the kingdom of men.” ‘He hath made of one blood all nations of men, and hath determined the bounds of their habitation.” * | He has endowed the people everywhere with the inalienable right of liberty, protection, education and all the benefits of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has appointed civii government for their moral and material welfare. He has all their interests at heart. But rulers, by mis-use of power, have greatly hindered the Lord’s benevolent purposes. Long, long have they interfered with His gracious designs. It cannot be thus for ever. The Lord is long suffering. But His patience can become weary to the breaking point; the meek- ness of the Lamb of God may burst into flames of wrath under continued provocation. The Lord remonstrated repeatedly with Judah, when that favored nation declined His author- ity and discarded His laws. The provocation was continued until impelled to use _ severest * Acts 17:26. 52 THE LORD’S CONTROVERSY language He exclaimed, “Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord; shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?” * They repented not and He relented not. Their armies were defeated; their cities were pillaged; the people were deported. Hosea, another prophet of the Lord, fore- warned his country with the passion of a patriot, saying, “The Lord hath a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doing will He recom- pense Him.” “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniqui- ties.” £ That nation yielded not in the con- troversy and went to her doom. A controversy with the Lord is more to be dreaded than a conflict with all the armies and navies of the world. Contention with the Lord God Almighty is the sure road to disaster and ruin; no prevention without repentance. They who rush upon the thick bosses of His buckler, whether man or nation, willsurely fall in ig- nominious defeat. “Who shall strengthen him- self against the Almighty and stand?”§ Pets .0.. bt r0sea 12:2.- » t Hosea: 14:1. § Job 15 :24-26. 53 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS t 4 The Lord’s controversial spirit has not abated. The nations still persist in ruling themselves independent of Him. This He controverts and for ever will. The world will never be right, nor will the people be safe and happy, till Jesus be accorded His proper place among the world’s official circles. For this He is pleading. The contention grows acute. Long has He waited for favorable action. His patience has been insulted. The days of gentle pleading may possibly be ended. He is now speaking in deeds and judgments that stun the world. All the nations are vet heedless and obstinate. Their attitude invites heavier strokes. The great war was God’s most emphatic argument to persuade them to honor King Jesus in their government, and secure His aid in _ restoring order and peace on earth. But when the firing ceased the Lord was forgotten. One of the Hebrew prophets, observing the judgments of the Lord, how they were repeated because of obstinacy, and each time with in- creasing rigor, exclaimed with the passion of a disappointed and broken heart, ‘For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” 54 THE LORD’S CONTROVERSY Repentance alone can roll back the tide of God’s wrath against rebellion and defiance. Persistance in the face of warning is the sure road to perdition. “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish from the way.” + The distress of nations arises out of their ruinous policies of government. The clashing and crashing of empires, the wrecking of king- doms, the desolation of states and cities spring from the spirit of ambition, jealousy, revenge and self-promotion among rulers. All this is antagonistic to the Lord; directly opposed to His good-will toward mankind. Civil power not used for the world’s welfare, must have an end. Much more must the power employed to crush the people be crushed. ‘The face of the Lord is set against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” + The Lord Jesus, who shed His blood for man’s redemption, is on the throne. A scepter of mercy is in His hand. His very soul prompts a gracious and generous reign. His love for (sen nest cent pment lI aati ead SS 8 paalte SS ka. (12) 17°21. + Psa. 2:10-12, t Psa. 34:15 55 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS the nations impels Him to destroy the destroyer, and avenge the oppressed. The removal of the men who destroy the earth is determined. Merciless, incompetent and _ incorrigible rulers must go. The Lord has a controversy with them; He will make no compromise. Will not the sixty million Americans, who have the light and know the Lord, prove true to God and country, by placing our nation in line with the will of the Almighty Ruler? Let us beware of trying out conclusions with the Lord. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” * re * FHebi-10 :31: 56 x THE GREAT WARNING The Lord was more than a mere spectator in the great world-war. He was in command of all the forces on both sides, impelling, directing, limiting and halting the movements on_ every field; controlling the operations on land, on the sea and in the air, as it seemed proper to Himself. All the armies and navies were in His service, though they knew it not. He was in command, executing just judgment upon the nations, whose cup of iniquity was full and running over. ‘The frightfulness merely revealed the world’s wicked- ness. “And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great; for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide ito And yet in judgment the Lord remembered mercy. In the midst of the anguish, a bitter cry arose from the heart of mankind,—‘Lord, speak *Joel 2:11. 57 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS not with us in this manner any more, lest the world perish.” * And the armistice was signed; hostilities ceased; judgment was _ suspended. The lull in the storm is “The truce of God.” + The nations are given time to consider. Will the present peace result in repentance and re- form, or will the Lord be morally compelled to renew the fighting? The Lord spake then in the storm, executing judgment; He now speaks in the calm, warning against the sin that will incur greater punish- ment. They who have ears will hear His voice, saying, “If ye will not be reformed by Me by these things, but will walk contrary to Me; then will I also walk contrary to you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.” £ Many hesitate to impute war to the Lord; others stoutly resent the imputation; and not a few blaspheme the Christian’s God for His martial deeds. However the Bible says, “The Lord is a man of war.’§ Jesus declared that not a sparrow can fall on the ground without the heavenly Father; {| how then could ten mil- *Exo. 20:10. +Lloyd George. tLev. 26 :23-24. §SExo. 15:3. { Matt. 10:20. 58 THE GREAT WARNING lion men fall in battle in one war without Al- mighty God? The Judge of all the earth does right and only right. Serenely He accepts the conse- quence of all His acts; meets every interpreta- tion of His providences without wincing; pur- sues His way without hesitancy or interruption. The chirping of crickets cannot disturb the sun, nor the carping of critics annoy the Lord. When the Lord saw society seething in vice in the days of Noah; when in His eyes the whole world was cruel, corrupt, desperately wicked, He hesitated not to indentify Himself with an over- whelming deluge, saying, “Behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven.” * Away with the sickly thought, that the Lord may not execute judg- ment upon the wicked! We have reached the time when the nations are sinning against light and knowledge. The gospel of Jesus Christ shines in all lands; the Bible is translated into almost every tongue; diplomatic relations afffliate all the nations. *Gen. 6:17. 59 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS The world’s great nationhood has seen the light and is without excuse. Light increases responsibility. To know the tight and do the wrong brings fearful conse- quences. Jesus tells of the man, who, knowing what he ought to do and declining to do it, was therefore rushed into the outer darkness. * The guilt of the world, through wilful dis- vbedience, has become intensely aggravated under the light that shines from the cross and the throne of Jesus Christ. The gospel, which is the good news to the penitent, is the stern announcement of destruction to the obstinate, “To the one it is the savor of life unto life; to the other the savor of death unto death.” 7 Sin, without the gospel, is merely wandering in darkness and perishing in error. Sin, under the gospel, is rebellion against the highest au- thority. Sin, where the gospel has continued long and the light has become bright, is con- temptible indifference to the majesty and good- ness of God, or defiance of His Almighty power. The world has reached the third degree. Is not the cup of iniquity full? Is not the guilt exceed- ing great? * Matt. 25:24-30. fII Cor. 2:16, 60 THE GREAT WARNING The apostle John, on the Isle of Patmos, had a vision of an angel “flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, even 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.” * The world-wide gospel, in view of the world-wide rebellion, has changed its tone of mercy to that of judgment; Give glory to God, for the hour of His judgment is come.” In the providence of God we have fallen upon the times when the specific message of the gospel is judgment. The gospel of the present day is the cry of alarm, that the world may be aroused and saved. During long centuries the Lord deferred judgment and granted mercy. But in the last days, we are told, that “judgment will begin at the house of God.” Here a serious question is raised, “What shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?” + Jesus speaks of “the times of the nations being fulfilled.” + He clearly shows, in the use of these words, that the nations have an allotted *Rev. 14:6. leh etd 17 tLuke 21 :24. 61 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS time beyond which they cannot pass unless they reform. At the expiration of that specific period they will be weighed in a balance and just judgment will be executed. Have we any data for computing the length of the time, dis- covering when the judgment began and when it will end? In prophecy the term ‘times’ is used to denote years, each year having 360 days. Also in refer- ence to pericds of time, a prophetic day signifies a year. Accordingly, ‘‘a time” is one year; “times”, the plural, two years; “half a time”, half a year; “the times”, a definite expression, seven years, seven being the Hebrew number of perfection. Jesus mentioned “the times” of the nations. “The times’, seven years, each containing 360 days, represents a total of 2520 days; and a day signifying a year, 2520 years, at the end of which, if this method of calculation be right, “the times of the nations” will be fulfilled. Can we discover when the 2520 years began? Jesus connects “the times of the nations” with the treading down of Jerusalem under the feet of the Gentiles.* Undoubtedly He refers *Luke 21:24. 62 THE GREAT WARNING | to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldean army in the year 606 B. C. At that time the kingdom of Judah was overthrown and the Church of the Lord humiliated. From that date the world-powers have dishonored the Church of God, distressed her, persecuted her, poured out her blood like water; and to this day, in their spectacular power and prominence, they overshadow her. If the times of the nations, the 2520 years, began in the year 606 B. C., they would end, according to this calculation, in the year 1914 A. D.* Was this the date God had set for the execution of judgment upon the nations? It so appears. In that year the clock of time struck the fatal hour; a shot in Europe released the forces; the mighty men of war sprang to their feet; the massive armies were rushed into action; “blood flowed to the horse bridles;” the world staggered and weltered; the nations grew pale with the shock of battle and the loss of blood. Then from the heart of mankind a wail of anguish arose to heaven and the Lord relented. Evidently John, the seer of Patmos, viewed *This calculation was made by the author in 1897 and published that year in the Christian Nation. 63 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS the great war in vision; saw how it was inspired by infernal spirits and involved the whole world. He has left on record these words, “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. And he gathered them together into a place called Armageddon.’ * The battle of Armageddon had its frightful realization in the recent years and has passed into history. But have the nations learned that the Most High rules over men? Do they show a dispo- sition to honor His authority and do His will? Are they holding conferences and taking counsel to relate themselves to one another and to Almighty God, under Jesus Christ the “King of nations?” If negligent in this all-important matter, what can be expected but a re-opening of hostilities? *Rey. 16:13-16. 64 THE GREAT WARNING One storm is past. If it has not accomplished the divine purpose, another will soon be on the way. As the Lord spake in the storm so now He speaks in the calm. This is His merciful day of visitation. How His gentle voice once more pleads with the nations, entreating them to come unto Him and escape a repetition of the recent horrors! How He exhorts! Listen to His pathetic words, “Repent and turn your- selves from all your transgressions: so iniquity Shall not be your ruin.’ * And perceiving their suicidal obstinacy that is deaf to His appeals, He adds, “But if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then will I punish you seven times more for your sins; and I will break the pride of your power.” Will not the sixty million, America’s Christian patriots, hearken to the pleading Lord, and in the name of Jesus save our country from the pending judgments that will certainly crush im- penitent nations? *Ezek. 18 :30. yLev. 26:18-10. 65 XI THE APPROACHING CRISIS Jesus sat one evening with: His disciples on the Mount of Olives, gazing into the distant future and talking of the things that would befall the world.* As He gave expression to the strange vision that passed before Him, the twelve must have listened with rapt attention; fear and trembling surely fell upon every heart. It was the last evening of their Lord’s public ministry on earth and the very air seemed to breathe a solemnity seldom felt, if we may judge from the words that were spoken. As the sun sank behind the towers of Jerusalem and would no more light up the Lord’s way to the temple, He disclosed the heavy burdens of His heart; as His voice would never again be heard pleading with the multitude to escape impending calamities, He softly and tenderly gave flow to His innermost thoughts. In that twilight conversation, oppressed with *Matt. 24:1-3. 66 THE APPROACHING CRISIS seriousness, yet brightened with promises, Jesus used the following language: ‘And 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.” * Can it be that these somber thoughts of Jesus, uttered as the night shades were gathering around that little company, have their fulfil- ment in our own day? Did the far-seeing eyes of our Lord that evening take in present-day conditions and events that are now pending? This seems more than probable. The distracted state of the world is as true to that vision as a man’s face to his own photograph. The words spoken then are becoming “things” now,— things seriously significant. The prediction ma- terializes in our very presence; passes into *Luke 21 :25-27. 67 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS history before our eyes. If not, then is pro- vidence illusive. The world is full of trouble and tragedy. The victory of nineteen-eighteen did not bring peace; the armistice did not terminate war. The nations came out of the orgies of blood stunned, delirious, maddened. ‘The world is still agitated and distracted as if possessed with legions of demons. Rulers and statesmen are anxious for the future of the nations; men are apprehensive and distressed in spirit. The leaders are dil- igently trying to prevent another world-war, their very eagerness betraying a fear of its pos- sibility. The Armament Conference has re- vealed the attitude of earth’s highest officials to be against war, or at least against war like the last; yet they have given the world no ground for assurance of lasting peace. Many see danger ahead and tremble for fear of the “things that are coming on the earth.” * And yet, in the face of all this, a survey of the world’s condition and present tendencies awakens a degree of hope. The war-spirit has been *Luke 21:26. THE APPROACHING CRISIS curbed by the Washington Conference; inter- national relations have been improved by the removal of misunderstandings; secret alliances have been discredited as signs of intrigue; auto- cratic power has received the death blow and is almost put out of commission; the recupera- tion of the war-wasted world is cheering; the revival of industry gives encouragement. Signs of a brightening future are not altogether want- ing, But will the forward movement, so happily begun, speed on till the world be fully recovered? On one condition; on one condition alone. Jesus has said, “Apart from Me ye can do noth- ing.’ * The meaning of these forceful words is broad enough to include nations. Perma- nent success springs from Jesus Christ; relation to Him determines the outcome. The re-cuperation of the world is a vast enter- prise. To insure success, it must be carried forward in the name of Jesus and for the glory of God; otherwise the new building, like the old, will not be able to weather the coming storm. Not founded upon the rock, it will *John 15:5. 69 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS surely collapse; and great will be the fall of it. May the builders have wisdom to build upon the foundation of Bible truth, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone.* The limitation of armament, even the _ elimination of the war-spirit, is not enough to insure per- manent success and abiding peace. Jesus tells of a man, who, when once rid of an evil spirit, spruced up, took on refinement, be- came a reputable gentleman; but he did not allow the Holy Spirit to occupy his heart. The moral vacancy, so clean and beautiful, tempted even the devil. The demon returned in com- pany with seven others worse than himself, and re-occupied that soul which he called his own house. The last state of that man was worse than the first. Of course it was. The meaning of the parable is clear. + The nations may clean house, make _alter- tions and improvements, become _ respectable, even magnificent; may grow very’ powerful and abound in wealth; may live luxuriantly amid the products of man’s skill and God’s goodness; yet if Jesus be not admitted into the *Eph. 2:20. tLuke 11 :24-26. 70 THE APPROACHING CRISIS State-house in His kingly authority, the most extensive improvements will prove to be a griev- ous disappointment. The devil will find an open door and will enter in. There he will resume his work of destruction and devastation with fiendish energy. Such is the warning Jesus has left the nations. The nations as yet have expressed no desire for Jesus as their Ruler. To this day the cry that arises from Civil Government is, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” * In some cases this may spring from lack of thought; in others, from antipathy. The obstinate spirit of the world’s author- ities as they reject the Prince of Peace, the King of nations, forebodes no good. ‘He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.’+ Surely He is having His laugh now at such contemptible defiance of His power and disregard for His authority. There may be some connection be- tween the Lord’s derision and the world’s present condition. And what will happen if the nations continue *Luke 19:14. Tradaro bes 71 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS their rebellion against the Lord? Resistance to the authority of King Jesus must be over- come, or the throne of the Almighty is a failure. However the victory is not uncertain; Jesus will win. The Word of God informs us that the world from the beginning has been a theatre of war for the possession of power and dominion. ‘The conflict began in Eden when the devil as- sumed control of the human family, laying waste all their estate and turning their fair morning into darkness. His monstrous claim was immedately challenged; the great Creator disputed his right to rule the world. In Eden’s fair garden, the world’s detroyer and its Saviour had their first encounter. The con- flict has continued until this day without inter- mission. The progress and final results were foreshadowed in the words then uttered by the Lord to the devil, “He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” * Right and wrong have met on every battle- field since that day. Freedom and _ justice, though oft perverted beyond recognition, have *Gen. 3:15. 72 THE APPROACHING CRISIS pleaded on the one side or the other. . As the centuries went by, the warfare waxed fiercer and the issue became clearer. The outstanding question today is, Who shall rule the world, Jesus or the devil? Shall Satan continue in sway, or shall Jesus Christ be the recognized Ruler? Shall the world remain under the dominion of the arch-demon, or shall its allegiance be transferred to the Lord Jesus Christ? The conflict has reached the acutest stage. The devil is intrenched in all the false religions, Christless governments and _ unscriptural _ insti- tutions on earth; he will never capitulate. His present activity in every land all over the world is amazing. He is mobilizing his forces and preparing his engines of destruction for his most desperate drive. He obviously knows that the coming battle will be final. His objective is the utter annihilation of Christianity. His immense forces are being arranged for an on- slaught upon Christ and His Church, that will sweep them from the face of the earth, if his plans carry. The apostle John, in vision, witnessed the 73 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS military tactics and operations of the devil and published the following report of what he saw: “These ten kings have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord oi lords and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” * Will not the sixty million, who favor King Jesus, America’s splendid majority, rally their forces and consolidate their ranks to place our nation under His triumphant banner? A wrong alignment of our country in that battle will surely meet with disastrous defeat. *Rev. 17:13-14. 74 XII A MIGHTY MORAL CONFLICT The recent world-war, doubtless the Armaged- don of the Scriptures, has passed into history, but the problem of peace among the nations has not been solved. Nor will it be till the right relation of nations to Jesus be established. On this point the Bible is emphatic; rulers are solemnly warned. They have a choice between peace based on righteousness, and destruction through perversity. “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth.” * And yet they will not hearken; they show no readiness to take wise action. The regime of civil government nowhere rises above human- itarian principles. The kingship of Jesus is discredited by the men in authority; the Prince of Peace is not consulted in the Councils of peace. Like a ship speeding toward the rocks, they are rushing upon the threats of the Al- *Psa) 2°10. 75 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS mighty. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” * This attitude toward Jesus must prove disas- trous, yea utterly ruinous, if it be not changed. Who can contend with Almighty God and prevail? The Lord speaks to self-willed nations in this manner,—“If ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.” In the interim between the world-war and another war, the prophet sees a new force enter- ing the field of action. The Church is aroused to meet the task of the times. She sees the service she must render to the nations lest they perish, and is alive to the dangers that threaten her own life. Eager with a new vision of service and a new spirit to serve, she girds herself for best and hardest work. In the _ nineteenth chapter of The Revelation the prophet describes the occasion and its animated demonstrations. The followers of Jesus, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, will have a sublime conception of the kingly glory of their Lord. This will be spirit- 6a," 257: tLev. 26 :23-24. 76 A MIGHTY MORAL CONFLICT ual, yet strikingly realistic. | He will be realized in their consicousness with all the vividness of an appearance; His attributes, the most dreaded by man and the most needed at the time, will be in clearest evidence. The prophet describes Him coming as a conqueror, crowned, decorated, mounted on a horse, leading His army, dashing upon the enemy, smiting with the sword, be- sprinkled with blood, most terrible in military power and action.* How dazzling His faith- fulness, righteousness, almightiness and authority, as He comes forth to judge the nations and take vengeance on their deeds! | Thus the Church in that eventful period will have a clear, large, life-size view of Jesus the King. The people will have a mental, spirit- ual, definite vision of His Divine Presence; a revelation that will impress His Personality and kingly glory upon their -deepest consciousness. They will be enlightened not merely to see the mountains filled with horses and chariots of fire; + they will be illuminated by the Holy Spirit to see heaven opened, the armies mobilizing and the Chief Captain leading forth His hosts. * Rev. 19:11-16. +II Kings, 6:17. 77 \ <7 SRARY OF PRI} OCT 24 Jo9n * a VOT 24 1939 Pn % CUP IN ay aren? i f? 1G e> o, AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS The Church will be aroused. An_ unpre- cedented task will confront her. The time of God’s truce may expire any day. ‘Then what? The renewal of hostilities; war-clouds again dark- ening the sky; the nations rushing into another horror surpassing that which recently made our world a bedlam. The stubborn powers of earth must be reduced; all armies, governments and institutions antagonistic to Jesus must disappear from the earth. If the armistice between God and the nations fail, the war must be resumed. May the appalling tragedy be prevented? Yes, but only in one way. Submission to Jesus will save the world. Nothing else can. The nations must obey the Lord or pass through another debacle. The Church, in the prophet’s vision, * grasps the situation and hastens to the rescue. With courage and enthusiasm she accepts her new work; rather her neglected work. Had she been active and faithful during the last nineteen centuries our world might have been a paradise. Now she rushes upon the scene with determina- tion. Jesus must be heralded as the King of *Rev. 19 :6-9. 78 A MIGHTY MORAL CONFLICT nations. His right to rule the world must be proclaimed; the men in power must hear the truth; authorities must be impressed. With courage and unquailing spirit she utters the facts concerning the Lord’s kingdom. King Jesus will then have advocates that will not keep silence. The prophet hears the voice of the Church, which to him was “as the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunder- ings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omni- potent reigneth.’’* The Church at this point is seen entering into a covenant with her Lord. The mighty voice that resounds as thunder arises from countless people that are jubilant over the pros- pect of a covenant. They are heard saying, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.” As the faithful bride is united to her husband in a covenant bond, even so will the Church in these latter days be joined to the Lord. The Church will consolidate her forces in *Rev. 19:6. Rev. 19:7. 79 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS order to prevent another cataclysm of blood. The stupendous task will require her utmost strength. The covenant will form a _ federal union of Christ’s followers on one basic _princi- ple,—the principle of Christ’s kingship; an all- inclusive principle; a truth universally accepted by evangelical churches. These new Covenanters will constitute neither a sect nor a section of the Church of God. They will be “a great multitude.’ These are the “called and chosen and faithful.”’* Here are the vigilant, courageous and _ self-sacrificing of all the churches. They are described as the “armies” of the Lord, mounted on white horses following their Mighty Leader; + strong, swift, ready for action and sure of victory. ¢ These are the soldiers of the cross, sworn in, and bound by the most sacred oath to Jesus, inspired with the noblest purpose and fired with the spirit of loyalty to their Leader and love to country and mankind. Persuaded that the nations must submit to Jesus or perish, they press His claims with untiring zeal, plead with directness and pathos like the old prophets. *Rev.. 17:14. TRev. 19:14. tRev. 19:19-20. 80 A MIGHTY MORAL CONFLICT They know the rights of their Saviour-King and dare even to die for His sake. They see dangers gathering, a catastrophe that will deluge the earth with blood and tears, and they are willing to sacrifice themselves to prevent the horror. These are the King’s ambassadors offering terms of peace and pardon; His heralds pro- claiming His mandates and announcing His ultimatum, In the presence of rulers and people they cry, “Bow the knee and kiss the Son; sub- mit to Jesus and give glory to God.” With tender- ness and terribleness they push the conflict for the world’s redemption; with power and passion they utter the testimony of Jesus. Everything is at stake; the nations must be converted to the Lord or perish in His wrath. The time is short; action must be quick; delay may spell destruction. This will be the last effort at national reform; the finishing of the testimony of Jesus. Nor may it be altogether a failure. Some of the nations may be aroused to rally under the banner of Jesus and meet the approaching crisis side by side with the Mighty Conqueror. The testimony of these latter-day Covenanters will be direct and effective. Their utterance 81 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS of the truth will be irrefutable and _ irresistible. The world-powers will be impressed but not persuaded; the rulers will believe and tremble but will not submit. Rather will their antago- nism be aroused. The men in power will plainly see that they will be unseated if the principles of Christ’s kingdom prevail. These heralds must be silenced or their doctrine will turn the world upside down. How history repeats itself! The dauntless heroes of the covenant con- tinue the agitation; the opposition grows des- perate; the moral warfare waxes fierce; the in- tensity of feeling aligns the whole world into two contending armies; the acutest stage is reached where logic ceases and artillery begins; the crisis has arrived. The covenanted wit- nesses of Jesus are hated, reproached, outlawed, persecuted. Their enemies combine to elimi- nate the Church from the earth and consign Jesus and His Kingdom to oblivion. * The stubborness of the nations makes the greatest and last of all wars a moral necessity. The cruel attempt ‘to extirpate the Church from the earth seals their doom; they must *Rev. 19:10. 82 A MIGHTY MORAL CONFLICT be crushed. Yet these noble servants of God are successful. Their testimony, being empha- sized with hardships and sealed with their blood, will bring Jesus into conspicuous prom- inence as the Moral Administrator of law and government on earth. This is their victory. The Lord Jesus will be revealed and realized throughout the world. His power will be felt, His judgments will be seen, His activities will be observed; all this as distinctly as if He were riding ‘a horse” in the streets of London or on the avenues of New York. ‘And _ behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” * When the principles of the Lord’s kingdom are advocated till they inflame the public mind either for or against Jesus, the testimony is not a failure. Here the witnesses prevail; the public is aroused and Jesus comes upon the scene in power and glory. He is recognized around the world; no community has a monopoly of His pre- sence; His omnipotence and majesty arrest the attention of all nations. *Rey. 19 :11-16. 83 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS This moral warfare thus reaches its climax. The time limit of God’s truce expires and the fighting begins; the last and worst of all wars then is on. * The organized forces of the world launch their well-planned drive against the Church and are promptly met by the Lord Jesus. He strikes hard. He moves over the field of carnage as a military hero. The enemies of God and man are prostrated beneath His righteous ret- ributions, and perverted government is elim- inated from the earth. t Are the ministers of Jesus Christ alive to present conditions? Are they baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire to meet the situa- tion? Are they gifted with speech of flame and stirring earnestness in the pulpit and on the platform? Do they consider that the world’s greatest crisis is overshadowing the nations? Is it not evident that the wrath of the Lord even now is kindled? t The judgment of the nations has doubtless already begun. Stroke after stroke may be expected till the powers that oppose the authority of Jesus be shattered. *Rey. 19:10. +Rev. 19 :20-21. tPsa.- 212. 84 A MIGHTY MORAL CONFLICT In view of clearest prophecies and alarming providences, will not the ministers of Jesus rally the churches on the vital principle of Christ’s kingship? Will they not line up the people of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to sub- scribe a covenant of loyalty to Jesus and be swom in as His soldiers? Will there not be a mighty host, “clothed in white’, prepared to follow Jesus in this moral conflict which must soon convulse the world? Heroic effort is the order of the day. The impenitent powers are doomed. Only under the banner of Jesus will America be safe. God grant that she may take her stand beside the Mighty Conqueror and vin other nations to the same standard. 85 XIII THE LAST OF ALL WARS The last of all wars prior to the Millennium, according to the Word of the Lord, will be the decisive engagement between Jesus and Satan for the dominion of the world. The issue will - be direct. The great leaders will appear in awful prominence, each determined on_ the annihilation of the other. This war will term- inate all war on earth, except the post-millennial insurrection. * On this point Scripture is very clear and decisive. Jesus will proceed to overthrow every wrong organization and godless institution on earth. “He will put on vengence as clothing, and be clad with zeal as a cloak: according to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompence to His enemies.” 7 “He will arise to shake terribly the earth, that the things that are shaken may be removed, and the things that cannot be shaken may remain.” f *Rev. 20:7-10. tIsa. 59:17. tHeb. 12:27, 86 THE LAST OF ALL WARS The devil will come with all the power he can muster, and stake all his interests in the attempt to vanquish Jesus and obliterate the Christian religion from the earth. He will have control of ten kings, practically all national govern- ments, “And these shall make war with the Lamb; and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” * , Jesus will take the initiative, the time being ripe for the execution of judgment upon the obstinate and irreconcilable powers that ob- struct His reign. “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in right- eousness He doth judge and make war.” + | The devil will place his legions in position to assume the offensive. “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together, to make war against Him that sat on the horse and against His army.” + This gigantic struggle for supremacy in power will immediately precede the Millennium and *Rev. 17:12-14. fRev. 19:11. tRev. 19:19. 87 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS prepare the way for it. Jesus will win and the fruit of His victory will be the prophetic thousand years of peace and good-will on earth. The battle is reported in the nineteenth chapter of The Revelation and the blessedness that follows, in the twentieth. The prophet Joel saw in vision the world- wide movements of the immense forces. With startling vividness he reports the mobilization of the armies and their extensive operations. Every unit of strength is focussed on the final issue. The Lord Himself issues the proclamation of war. He gives it to the prophet Joel for publication. The declaration is short, sharp sententious; the very soul of the Almighty flashes through it like lightning points. Thus it reads: “Proclaim ye this among the nations:—Pre- pare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning- hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. “Assemble yourselves and come, all ye nations, and gather yourselves together round about. 88 THE LAST OF ALL WARS (Thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.) “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about, Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down ; for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of de- cision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” * Thus the Lord Himself proclaims the final war,—the war that will be the destruction of war, removing its causes and forces from the earth. The dreadful crisis will not be without ample compensation. The reference to “The Valley of Jehoshaphat”’ is quite significant.t The historical battle fought by King Jehoshaphat in the Valley of Berachah, afterward known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat, sheds light on the battle of the future. The former was evidently regarded by the prophet as a miniature of the latter.” t oo ees ana aes SSRIS CS ae eg *Joel 3:9-15. tJoel 3:12. fII Chron. 20:1-30, 89 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS Jehoshaphat was at that time King of Judah. Judah was then the only nation that worshipped the living and true God. The surrounding nations, with infernal hatred and jealousy, had formed a league to exterminate that little king- dom. Ten powers, practically ail the world, had entered into the alliance. They are listed in the Eighty-Third Psalm. The basis of union was the general invitation,—“‘Come, and _ let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may no more be in remembrance.” * When King Jehoshaphat was informed of these hostile movements, with intention to ex- terminate Judah, he was greatly distressed. The forces were represented as a great multi- tude. How could an army be mustered to turn back the invading hosts? The king ap- pealed to the God of battle as the Judge of nations. Prayer gave courage. The king arose from his knees equal to the occasion and led his small army to meet the foe. Ere he formed his battle-line in presence of the enemy, he called his singers to the front and there held a praise service. They sang a Psalm. The Psalm began ead se on. go THE LAST OF ALL WARS with an outburst of triumph: ‘Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever.” By faith in the Lord they had already fought the battle; the victory was won before a sword was drawn. As the sacred music arose above the cliffs, a violent mania seized the opposing forces; with savage impluse they fell upon one another; the slaughter was general; “every one helped to destroy another.” * The prophet doubtless mentions the battle in the Valley of Berachah as an illustration of that which is yet to come, the former having its counterpart in the latter, though enormously enlarged. The illustration will assuredly have its corresponding tragedy. If the mind of the prophet leaped from the one battle to the other by way of analogy, he has thereby given us interesting information concerning the actual engagement yet to come. The vast armies, forming a league against Jesus and His Church, will meet with swift and terrible retribution. | When ready to make the drive to sweep Christianity from the earth and consign the name of Jesus to oblivion, they will be thrown *II Chron. 20:23. ey AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS into inextricable confusion and meet with dire destruction at the hand of one another. “I will shake the heavens and the earth; and I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms; and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; 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.” * The prophet, after taking a glance at local disturbances in the days of King Jehoshaphat, turned his eyes from thence far down the vista of time and witnessed the general catastrophe destined to befall the nations that forget God; that set aside the authority of Jesus and dare to wage battle against the Christian Church. The prophet Joel has given us no account of the action itself; its horrors have been veiled. But the field of carnage has been sketched by © a skillful artist, John, the author of The Reve- lation. He surveys the scene when the clash of arms, the shouting of captains and the groan- ing of the wounded have ceased. The stillness is painful. Silence broods over the broad area *Hag. 2:21-22. 92 el bat LAS ORrALE WARS covered with the slain. Kings in their royal robes stained with their own blood, generals yet adorned with their golden epaulets, captains still clenching the sword with pulseless hand, horses and riders stretched on the ground to- gether, regiments of men mangled and mingled,— the vast field covered with them. ~ Here death has enjoyed his wildest orgies, dancing to the music of dying groans and drinking the flowing blood of the fallen. The slaughter is so great that burial is impossible. The air is darkened with the birds of prey, hasting to feast on the flesh of the slain. “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.”* Will not America’s sixty million Christians have sufficient foresight and patriotic zeal to *Rey. 19 :17-18. 93 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS align our nation with Jesus Christ in time to meet the crisis and escape the crushing defeat? Come, Lord Jesus; O come, find a place for thyself in our hearts, and in the government of our country, lest we perish in the great overthrow. 04 XIV IS THE WAR PREVENTABLE What! Another war looming up! Dark clouds again gathering! The decisive conflict still future! The struggle between right and wrong, foretold by Jesus and his prophets, yet to be met! The skeptic will smile; the Chris- tian will consider; the anxious will inquire. In many hearts the question will arise,” Cannot the predicted war be prevented?” With the Lord all things are possible, though all calamities be not warded off. Divine pro- phecy does not in every case commit the Lord to corresponding action. At God’s command Jonah walked the streets of Nineveh and with a loud voice proclaimed, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” * The forty days elapsed and the city still stood in her glory. Did the fact prove the prophet false, or the Lord’s word a failure? Nay, the proclamation took immediate effect. The prophecy was a *Jonah 3:1-I10. 95 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS warning and as such it saved the city. The warning was heeded. Nineveh repented and the Lord forgave. “If that nation, against which I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil I thought to do unto them.” * Thus the Lord explains His method of dealing with nations. The Lord never reverses Himself; but when morally possible He reverses the sentence and suspends judgment. “With Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turing.” + “But He is in one mind} and who can turn Him, and what His soul desireth, even that He doeth.” = The Lord is of one mind, and that irreversible Mind is Mercy: MERCY always to the pen- itent. Forgiveness upon repentance is in God’s nature a fundamental law; mercy to all who forsake sin is sure and unfailing as God’s own life. Jeremiah delivered the Lord’s message against Jerusalem, saying, “I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.” § *Jer. 18:8, tJames 1:17. tJob 23:13. §Jer. 9:11. 96 IS THE WAR PREVENTABLE Later He added these gracious words for en- couragement; they come from His deep yearn- ing heart; “If ye diligently hearken unto Me, saith the Lord, and hallow the Sabbath Day, to do no work therein, then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses; they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain for ever.” * Had Jerusalem reformed, the Lord would have pardoned. Jerusalem was incorrigible and went to her doom; the city became heaps and a den of dragons. All nations still reject Jesus Christ as_ their Ruler and Counselor. He has no voice, with their permission, in their government. They pursue policies of human wisdom, recognizing no power in the state higher than themselves. Persistence in this course will surely end in ruin. Willful disobedience without repentance ends in perdition. Repentance, or perdition? Which will it be with our beloved country? Our nation faces her future with open eyes. *Jer. 17 :24-25. 97 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS The prophecy of the final war is her warning from the Lord. He speaks with a loud voice from the Book, as it is read in the home, taught in the Sabbath School and preached from the pulpit. Will our country be aroused to the pending danger, or will she heedlessly pass on till the storm break and the earth once more be drenched with blood and tears? God grant that she may place herself in line with the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved from the wild catas- trophe. The wicked who know of hell and turn not from their evil course, will surely get there; also all the nations that forget God.* Has the Church of Christ any responsibility relative to the impending war? Can she pre- vent it? If not, then can she postpone its arrival and lessen its horrors? Her ministers, as repre- sentatives of Jesus, have entered all countries. The Lord has placed them as sentinels to note the danger and sound the alarm. Have they caught the vision? Do they realize the situa- tion? Are they aroused to action? Are they pleading with rulers, in the name of Jesus, “as though God did beseech them, to be reconciled *P6a.0-17, IS THE WAR PREVENTABLE to God?” * Yet with all this, the heathen world, as it lies prostrate beneath satanic domination, will scarcely yield to their entreaties. In gospel lands the Church has greater power and corresponding responsibility. Conscious of numerical strength and moral influence, she can approach her task in Christian countries with hope. Perhaps the men in authority will listen; they may tremble at the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the world’s rebellion. They may see the suicidal folly of continuing to decline the authority of King Jesus. Will not the people of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit and stirred with passionate earnestness, put forth their best endeavor to detach the gospelized nations from the irrecon- cilable enemies of the Lord Jesus, and place them in allegiance to this King of kings and Lord of lords, lest they perish in the great destruction? Will not the sixty million, America’s Christian patriots, spring into action and align our country with Jesus and His army. He is the Lord of *IT Cor. 5:19-20. AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS hosts; the Tord, mighty in battle.* In view of His coming to win the world from the devil and make it the abode of peace and righteous- ness, will they not rally under His banner and cause the very welkin to echo with His praise? Great America, lift up thy voice and shout the doxology of angels, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and _ glory, and blessing.” + *Psa.24°8-10. TReEV.5 bo) 100 XV RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY The world will suffer immense loss in the final war, but the compensation will far exceed the loss. After it is over, there will soon be abundant evidence that it was well worth while. It will be the only profitable war that was ever waged; the results will quickly make the world rich. As the earth in springtime, amid melting snows, swollen rivers and destructive storms, breaks her icy chains and is set free from winter; so the world, amid tumults and commotions, will be released from the long winter of oppression, unhappiness and abnormal conditions. And as the earth, when once released from the grasp of winter, quickly responds to the genial sun and_ refreshing showers, clothing herself with green and white and gold and blue, a wonderful wealth of foliage and _ blossom, promising an abundant harvest; so the world will quickly feel the warmth of the love of Jesus, and respond to the showers of blessings by the 101 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS Holy Spirit. “For the Lord God will cause right- eousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” With this vision of the Lord’s purpose in ex- ecuting judgment upon impenitent nations, let us take a bird’s eye view of the appalling wreck- age of the powers and kingdoms that will fight Jesus Christ to the finish. Thus will we see the magnitude of the work of re-construc- tion, a work that will fall to those who will have followed the great Conqueror to victory. The prophecy of the final war is a warning from the Lord in the most emphatic language. But the world takes no heed and never did. The masses rush on in the pleasures of sin and pur- suit of gain, taking no time to consider, having no inclination to do better. In the days of old the Lord foretold the coming of a general deluge on account of intolerable wickedness and gave the world time to repent.* While the weather was fair they had no fear; nor did they lay it to heart till the downpour struck their roofs and the torrents dashed through their windows. Then they believed, *Gen. 6:3-17. RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY but it was too late. The calamity came as a cloud-burst and the people perished. Likewise our Lord Jesus has spoken of the approaching crisis: “For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” * The final war will end in the utter collapse of Christless civilization wherever it exists; not one stone shall be left upon another. The colossal structure, magnificent though it be, and strongly built, rests upon a foundation of sand. Only that which is founded upon the rock will survive the coming storm.f All organ- izations of men, separated from Jesus Christ and conducted independent of Him, will dis- appear in the overflowing flood. The men who live apart from Jesus, serving in any sphere of human activity where Christ is not honored, will be ashamed of themselves and of their busi- ness. “And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear *Luke 21 :35-36. {Matt. 7 :24-27. 103 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS of the Lord, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” * The final war will be a _ world-tragedy by which the earth will be strewn with the wreck- age of all impenitent nations. The powers that will not reform must be broken: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.’+ Govern- ments that will not respect Jesus Christ as the Supreme Governor must be shattered: “Thou shalt dash them in pieces as a potter’s vessel.” Rulers who will not be loyal to the enthroned Son of God will wander and perish: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings; be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way.’ All idolatrous and apostate religions will be totally — and forever obliterated from the earth: “And the idols He _ shall utterly abolish.’§ All social, educational, commercial and __ political systems not of God will come to naught: ‘That no flesh may glory in His presence.” { All organizations, however ancient, powerful, mag- nificent or beneficial, if the glory of the Lord be *Isa. 2:10. 7h sa. 200. £Psa. 2:10-12. §Isa. 2:18. giCor. 1:29. 104 RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY not their chief aim, and the name of Jesus be not their glory, will crumble into ruins. “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.” * The appalling wreckage, however, will be followed speedily by the re-organization of society. The old world will quickly become juvenescent, almost spontaneously, well nigh instantaneously. The New Earth will appear, growing bright and fresh as in the morning of creation. The Lord will have means at hand and forces ready to give the woe-stricken world new form, order, beauty, goodness and _ righteous- ness, making it the abode of peace and happiness for the masses, so suddenly released from mis- rule and happily surviving the world-wide ruin. The three chief destroyers of the earth, the devil, the beast and the false prophet, the ma- lignant trinity, being eliminated, + The re-organ- ization of society, though a stupendous task, will be neither hopeless nor difficult. In the social re-construction of the world, the restoration of civil government appears in the *Isa. 2:17. TRev. 19:20, 20:1-3. 105 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS prophet’s vision as the first thing in order. “And I saw thrones,” he says; seats of au- thority prepared for a new class of incumbents. “And they sat upon them,’ he continues; the new officials, functioning in their responsible places, enacting laws and administering govern- ment. * Who sat upon the thrones? John, the seer of Patmos, gives a ready answer; “Even the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God.” t But who are these souls? “The resurrected martyrs of Jesus,” is the reply that comes from many who answer without due _ deliberation. Our Lord, however, has given us the key to this difficult problem by referring to John the Baptist, saying, “This is Elijah.’ But when the people put the question up to John, he said, “T am not Elijah.’$ | How reconcile these statements which seem so contradictory? By common sense. John was not Elijah in person, but by personification. As it is written, “And he shall go before the Christ in the spirit and power of Elijah.’** The Baptist personified *Rev. 20:4. Rev. 20:4. fMatt. 11:14. §John 1:21. ** Luke 1:17. 106 RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY Elijah in courage, energy, self-denial, loyalty to God, faith in the Messiah and consciousness of his commission from heaven. He was not Elijah, but possessed many of Elijah’s_ char- acteristics. The souls, that shall sit in authority and rule the nations, will not be the martyrs of Jesus resurrected, but the martyrs duplicated; men of like caliber and character; men _ consecrated, endued with power, filled with the Holy Spirit and thoroughly fitted for the work of their times. The great men of the past, the celebrated ser- vants of Jesus, will be personified in the notable generation by which the Lord will re-create the earth; the lives of the worthies of former ages will be repeated in the coming age. Stephen, Andrew, Peter, James, John, Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, Polycarp, Ignatius, Augustine, Huss, Jerome, Latimer, Ridley, Cran- mer, Luther, Zwingle, Melancthon, Calvin, Wish- art, Knox, Welch, Melville, Guthrie, Hender- son, Gillespie, Peden, Argyle, Warriston, Car- gill, Rutherford, Cameron, Renwick, Livingston, Paton, Judson, Carey; these and many others 107 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS of like fame, will be matched by the men, whom the Lord will have in readiness for the world’s restoration after the wreck of the mis-guided nations. They will have a commission from heaven to proceed with their work, * ability to meet the situation everywhere and wisdom to attain to universal success. “And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” + For the first time in his- tory, with a few local and limited exceptions, civil government will then be elevated to the moral height of the Mediatorial Reign of Jesus Christ; will be established on the basis of the Divine will and administered in the name of Jesus by His own loyal and efficient servants, to the glory of God the Father. The world will be occupied then as now by successive generations. Happy homes will be established by healthy parents; their numerous offspring will be as olive plants around the table. Children will yet be born in sin and saved through the blood of Jesus, just as in former times. No change is reported in the plan of salvation. The truth recorded by the ancient prophet stands *Dan. 7:22. +Rev. 20:4. 108 RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY good for all ages,—‘The just shall live by faith.” * Nor will all be just, in those days, for all will not have faith; there will still be sinners, but they will no more be in prominence. The prophet Isaiah has given us a wonderful picture of the New Earth.+ Filled with rap- ture he wrote his vision; “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” No more little caskets or short graves; the children, possibly without exception, will grow up. None decrepit among the godly; the centenarian will be fresh and buoyant as a child. No more deaths by feeble- ness or disease among God’s people; though death occur even at the age of one hundred years, the soul will leave a healthy body to go forth and be with Christ, which is far better. No more prominent and honorable men among those who reject Jesus and live in sin; they will reach the acme of life, then decline, wither and perish as under a curse. No doubt there may be exceptional cases, but _ the rule will prevail, as the prophet has declared *Hab. 2:4. yIsa. 65:17-25. 109 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS in specific terms. What a wonderful world this will be, when re-constructed by men chosen of the Lord and qualified by the Holy Spirit! “Then shall the people praise Thee, O God; then shall all the people praise Thee; then shali the nations be glad and sing for joy.” * “Then shall the earth yield her increase; God, even our God, shall bless us; God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” “Then shall the mountain of the Lord’s house be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” 7 “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” £ “Then great voices shall be heard in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” § “His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun; and men *Psa. 67.:1-7. + Isa; 2:25) /f1Sa) 11-0. * GReveeaee ie IIo RE-CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed: “And blessed be His glorious name for ever and ever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory; Amen, and Amen.” * Will not America’s sixty million, the splendid working majority, establish our country in right relation with Jesus Christ, that she may escape the righteous retributions coming on the earth? Will not America fit herself for leadership to bring the world out of the horrible darkness into the marvelous light of the favor of God? We appeal to the invincible army of Christian patriots. *Psa, 72 317-10. III XVI THE TIME OF THE END When will the millennium arrive? Are we justified in trying to compute the intervening years? Have we any Scriptural data upon which to base an investigation? What are the main events that will fill the time between now and then? What ought to be our attitude toward that golden era? What responsibility do we bear in preparing the world for it? Such are the questions that will arise in every thought- ful heart. We may be deterred from ascending this mount of vision by the thought that it is too holy to be trodden by the foot of man or seen by human eye. To ascend may seem _ presumptuous. “Secret things belong to the Lord our God.”* “Tt is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.” + “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, but My *Deut. 29 :20. +Acts 1:7. 112 THE TIME OF THE END Father only.”~ All this is cautionary to the highest degree against curious gazing into the things the Lord has concealed. Yet Jesus encouraged the people to study and understand the times in which they lived. He severely upbraided those who were obtuse and ignorant of the events, that were turning pro- phecy into history before their eyes. ‘O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times?’”* What has been written has been written to be read, studied and understood. Thus far we ought to go, but no farther. The Revelation is the neglected book of the Bible; its difficulties are the common excuse. What if the excuse be but a subterfuge for mental indolence! This book gives its blessing to the reader in the first chapter and its benediction in the last chapter. The blessing and the bene- diction are both worth having. When will the Millennium arrive? Perhaps no one can give a definite answer. Beware of indulging in self-assurance, where opinion so widely varies and where scholars cannot agree. ~ Matt. 24:36. * Matt. 16:3. 113 AMERIGA IN THE COMING CRISIS Positiveness may be presumption. Yet all should listen to the Hebrew prophets and study the meaning of their messages. On the times and events of prophecy we ought to have a mind of our own. An error of judgment may not be as serious as indifference to what is written. By careful study of prophecy and a logical ar- rangement of predicted events, the time of the “great tribulation” may at least be approximated and the dawn of the Millennium contingently ascertained. Daniel mentions “the time of the end;” * not the end of the time. The time of which he speaks evidently covers a period of years. These will be years fraught with astounding events and un- precedented calamities, terminating in the final overthrow of the world powers. On this point the Bible is clear and emphatic. Let us here observe some of the operations of providence and conditions in society, set forth in The Revelation as leading up to the world’ssupreme crisis and the Millennial morning which quickly follows the crisis. 1 The change of the tone of the gospel. *Dan. 12:4. 114 THE TIME OF THE END The angel, “having the everlasting gospel,” is heard, saying, “Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” t The gospel will not cease to offer mercy to peni- tent sinners; yet when God arises to vindicate His moral government by requiting the nations according to their guilt, the loudest note sound- ing from the pulpit should be that of judgment. The people should be warned of pending danger; the watchman who fails may be found guilty of blood. £ 2 The world war, predicted as the battle of Armageddon. The prediction and the reality correspond as a face to its photograph. Jesus said that the times of the nations must be fulfilled. He thereby intimated that they had a time-limit; and when they reached that time their ruinous policies and disastrous failures would cease. Evidently the time, when the cup of their in- iquity was full, arrived in the year of our Lord 1914. Then the Lord arose and executed judg- ment upon the guilty powers; “the wine press of the wrath of Almighty God was trodden, and 7 Rev. 14:17. {Ezek. 33:6. 115 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS blood came out of the wine press even unto the horse bridles.’’ * 3 The armistice of 1918, God’s merciful truce. The conflict was protracted; the carnage was frightful; the homes of Europe were draped in mourning; the heart of mankind was crushed; despair was settling down upon the world; a cry of anguish rent the heavens. The gracious Lord relented; He granted a truce and stopped the war. He gave the nations time and opportunity to consider His terms of peace. 4 The continued impenitence and obstinacy of the powers. The truce has been in operation seven years. The nations have had ample time to consider God’s terms of peace. They have held councils and conferences: they have consulted together con- cerning international issues and problems involv- ing generations yet to come. But in no instance has even a solitary voice been reported advocating peace on the Lord’s conditions. | How long will the King of nations endure such treatment? 5 Prophecy definitely announces the renews of hostilities. eae es SIEM Ys * Rev. 14:20: 116 THE TIME OF THE END What can be expected at the hand of God Almighty, when we consider the offensive attitude of the nations toward Him? Will the truce of God be indefinitely continued? “Be not deceived; God is not mocked.” Man and nation shall reap what they sow. ‘The discourtesy, ingrat- itude and puerile insolence of the powers. will have an equivalent recompense. The nations are “treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of Goce + 6 The issue of the final conflict as predicted in the Word of God. The prophets have not failed to sound the alarm in explicit terms. The doom of incorrigible nations has been announced in tones of thunder and with tears of sorrow. The valley of decision; the judgment of the powers; the collapse of the nations; the overthrow of ail the forces arrayed against the Lord Jesus: how vivid and awful the description given by Daniel, + Joel, § Hag- gai {| and John, ** God’s inspired seers! The powers aligned against the Lord are defeated; the vast field of battle is covered with the slain; ++ + Rom. 2:5. £Dan. 2:44. $Joel 3:9. Hag. 2:22. PeeevestO 15. yf Rey. 10-17, 117 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS the devil is taken captive and imprisoned. tt ‘The Millennium quickly follows; the dawn lifts the clouds and takes the chill from the earth. By a candid survey of the situation, does it not appear that the world is rapidly approaching the crisis of the ages? Is it not evident that we are living in the last days of God’s truce, when His warth may break forth as fire? Can aught be more offensive than the bad faith with which the nations are dealing with the Lord? Can anything be more certain than that the war between the Lord and the powers will be renewed? What can be more evident than that the nations are being borne downward on perilous rapids to- ward some dark mysterious cataclysm? Does not the thunder of a dreadful cataract awaken serious apprehensions? Who can doubt that the world is already feeling the first gusts of the “great tribulation?” The storm will come with terrific force, but will not last long.* It will exceed all hitherto on record, but will quickly subside. The Millennial sunrise will immediately brighten the sky, ban- ishing the horrible night. Then will the world tt Rev. 20:2. * Matt. 23:21. 118 THE TIME OF THE END have peace, righteousness and prosperity; God will be glorified and man will be happy; Jesus will be exalted and all lands will sing His praise. The world just now is on a tempestuous sea. Indications point toward a crucial event rapidly approaching. Unless all signs fail, Mother Earth is already suffering pre-natal qualms. “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain.’ * The Old World nears the time when, through convul- sions and agony it will expire, giving birth to the New Earth. + The time when the Millennium will arrive may still be veiled. Positiveness here has often proved presumption. The ground has been surveyed by the inspired prophets of God, but the records are difficult to interpret. Yet regarding the preceding events, in their logical succession and astounding results, we enter- tain no doubt. The world-crisis is coming. The alignment of forces, the decisive battle, the collapse of non-Christian powers, the elimina- tion of Satan from the earth, the spiritual resur- rection of the world, the reconstruction of society on a Scriptural basis, the exaltation of *Rom. 8:22 fibae 05:17: 119 AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS Jesus Christ as triumphant King and mighty Saviour in every land; such are some of the events that are now speeding down upon the sleeping world. They reveal Almighty God in- action. He is marching on; the noise of His chariots resounds in our ears. The thunder of His providences demands attention. There can be no doubt about the events. ‘The vision is for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”* Before the early sun tips the highest mountain- tops, he pours his golden rays upon the bosom of a bright orb which we call the morning star; and that star, flushed with fresh glory, proclaims the coming of a new day. The Millennium will first be seen in Jesus Christ, the Bright and Morning Star, as the world gets a new concep- tion of His beauty and goodness, majesty and supremacy. Quickly then will the mountain- tops be tipped with the splendors of the com- ing day, and the valleys flooded with light, and all the world filled with gladness and songs of praise. *Halo22a, 120 THE TIME OF THE END To live in these days, O what a privilege! A decade now is worth more than one of Methuse- lah’s centuries. He watched the clouds grow dark and waited for the flood to destroy the world. We watch the conflict deepening; the dread crisis is sounding in our ears; we await the final contest between right and wrong. The shock of battle, the destruction of armies, and the overthrow of nations will be appalling. Yet in the resplendent vision of the Lord and His victory, we arise in triumphant spirit, and looking beyond, see the whole world filled with happy people; all the nations emancipated from evil and consecrated to righteousness. What a privilege to witness, as we do, the majesty of the Lord in His dreadful providences, and co-operate with Him in preparing the world for its great renovation! Did any generation see such marvelous works as we? We have watched God in the great war as “He stood and measured the earth:” We have seen Him as “He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpet- ual hills did bow: His ways are everlasting.” We have beheld the progress of the gospel until our I2I AMERICA IN THE COMING CRISIS hearts cry out,, “His glory covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.” Let us keep fit for the trying times that are yet ahead, and be ready for the work of re-con- struction when the fight is over. Young people take notice:—The faithful and efficient by and by will be in great demand. Listen to the solemn words of Jesus, referring to the times that are upon us: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unexpectedly. 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