FOUR SERMONETTES on Prophecy Fullfilled in the Great European Conflict and Evan Roberts New Message to the World Illustrated Christ Weeping Over a City Four Sermonettes or Prophecy Fulfilled in the GREAT EUROPEAN CONFLICT and EVAN ROBERTS' NEW MESSAGE TO THE WORLD An Unusual Arrangements of Facts on the Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy, and Comments of Events that are Lead- ing to the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Also Intensely Interesting Accounts of the Great WELSH REVIVAL, as seen by the Author (who represented a London paper at these meetings) ; and Interesting Facts of Evan Roberts' New Message on the Present World Situation. By ALFRED SHELDRICK I LLUSTRATED Address all communications to: ALFRED SHELDRICK, East Northfield, Mass. Rrice 15 G&nta Copyrighted 1915 by Alfred Sheldrick i>- /$o, //-^ m IV 1915 - x^^^ INTRODUCTION. Has the gift of prophecy ceased? I hope to show in the four sermonettes here produced that God is, and has been, shaping this old world. The whole Chris- tian church is aroused at the state of the world today. People are asking what is going to happen and what is going to be the end of it all. Preachers at confer- ences and pulpits all over the land are praying for some kind of vision to help in this crisis, here is a book full of them and if heeded will bring great blessings to the reader. In 1893 I first published my experiences in Europe. In these I plainly predicted what is taking place today. In my original book entitled ''Visions of the Future," published by the Christian Herald in London in 1893, I wrote the following ominous words: '7 saw in a vision in i88p the present German Emperor running up and down in front of a modern war vessel zvring- ing his hands and crying out in intense agony 'Oh, for another Bismarck and Moltke. From this and other visions in this hook it was deeply impressed upon my mind that there would soon he mighty zvars in Europe which will he the heginning of the great strife amongst the nations spoken of hy the Prophet Daniel, and John on the Island of Patmos," Could anything have come 3 more true? In 1889 Germany had not thought of a navy and it is the modern warships which has caused him to lose the sympathy of the whole world by his insuicidal submarine policy, and no doubt had he had such a diplomist as Bismarck he would never have ven- tured on such a foolhardy policy. This is only one of the many things I shall insert which has and zvill come true. The people generally seem to have fallen into a great stupor in looking at the Scriptural prophecies, as symbolical instead of literal. The reader will understand when reading my messages that they were given to me at a partkular t)me in my religious experience. I have written at full length on the Welsh revival in the third sermonette because Mr. Roberts has had two great messages to the world, the later one being oi great importance during the present world crisis, and I give a full account of a rapturous experience he had which resulted in that revival. My experiences were just the same, lasting 234 years, just as long as my physical strength would last, and instead of mine resultmg m a great revival, God gave me a great panorama viezv of events which must take place at the approachmg end of this age. As these experiences are of a startling nature I thmk the reader ought to know who I am. Durin- the past 10 years I have attended upwards of 70 revivals throughout the British Isles, Canada and United states, followmg respectively Dr. Torrey, Evan Rob- 4 erts, Gypsy Smith, and during the past five years *'Billy" Sunday's meetings, spreading the word of God everywhere and earnestly praying for the success of each revival. God has graciously opened the way for me to do this work without any effort on my part. One incident of how I have been directed might be in- teresting. Several years ago, when Dr. Scofield first brought out his famous Bible, I ''boomed" it greatly at the Bast Morthiicld Conferences, and the following year contemplated going into business at Boston. One night, however, I heard a voice speak in thunder- ous tones : ''Follow a certain evangelist with these (Scofield) Bibles." On the strength of this inspira- tion, I went six hundred miles, and when I saw the .evangelist whom I had been instructed to follow, he said: "Have you got this wonderful Bible?" (Produc- ing a Scofield). I said: "Yes, that is just what I have brought." He said : "Bring it along and I will speak of it for you." And he has done so ever since. Why did God instruct me to follow on with this particular Bible ; because no Bible containing notes ever gave such clear account of events which must im- mediately precede Christ's second coming. I might also add that previous to my following these great evangelists, for 26 years I held a respon- sible position in the general manager's office of one of the chief English railroad companies and retired on a pension at 45 years of age, through ill health, and later 5 spent several years as one of the staff of the Chris- tian Herald, both in England and America. May God giv.e His blessing to all who read this little book. AUTHOR. CHRIST WEEPING OVER A CITY FIRST SERMONETTE Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thy children to- gether, as a hen doth gather her brood, and ye zvonld not. Luke 13 .^4, This was a wonderful period in the history of our Saviour's life. He had by gradual degrees demon- strated God's love and power in a wonderful way. He had used strong language in denunciation of man's sins,: but as He reached the final part of His mission He began to unfold unto them some wonderful prophecies depicting the terrible way Satan would have hold upon the world, and the consequences thereof. He depicted that wonderful scene in the world's history of the appearance of the Bridegroom ; and of the five wise and five foolish Virgins, the sud- den rapture of the church, where two shall be work- ing in a field, one shall be taken and the other left, the terrible tribulation spoken of by Daniel; and then in deep compassion he uttered the ever memorable words of the text: "Oh, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee how often would I have gathered thy children to- gether, even as a hen, but ye would not." If it was 7 needful for Christ to weep tears in those days what must it be for Him to do so over the nations today? Surely the words of the Apostle Paul are coming true when speaking of the personal Antichrist that the world should wax worse and worse. He knew judgment would overtake wickedness, for **as a nation sows so shall she also reap." Thes,e terrible wars taking place are nothing but the Divine Judgment of God. Take England with her drink, opium and horseracing; France with her blatent in- fidelity ; Germany forgetting the days of the Reforma- tion, with her higher criticism professors attempting to kill the evangelical religion ; Russia and her great per- secution of the Jews; and Austria, who has for years practically shut her gates to the Protestant religion ; and this is simply the reward of the ''sowing" of the nations. My object in writing these sermonettes is to bring in my own experiences, and if my reader doubts for one moment whether it is true that Christ w,ept of old and that He is weeping today I insert the following, which was also confirmed in a remarkable way by a minister changing his text on the spur of the moment, which was nothing short of a miracle. The vision which I had of Christ weeping over a city was given to me when I was 21 years of age, and although I had been converted several years I had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit But this vision made a very deep impression upon me and 8 caused me to seek and seek a full blessing from God, which was given me lO years after. In the vision, according to the picture, I saw Christ weeping over a city, His face buried in His hands. All at once He lifted one hand up and point- ing to the city bade me go and do all the good I could. The eflfect of this vision upon me, for days afterwards, was truly marvelous. I hardly knew whether I was in or out of the Spirit, and during the rapturous experi- ence I had for 2>^ years, referred to in the introduc- tion of this book, one day (about Wednesday in the week) the Devil began to tempt me by saying that the vision I had of Christ weeping over a city, lo years before, was all a myth ! a myth ! This temptation con- tinued until Saturday night, and whilst quietly resting in my sitting room, I prayed to God that He would help me to fight this temptation. I reached for my Bible and it opened at Job, first chapter, where Satan worshipped with the Sons of God. I thought : "It may be that God has allowed Satan to tempt me." All at once I felt a sudden inspiration from God and the following words were spoken to me quite plainly, but inaudibly: "Go to AUestree Primitive Methodist Church, tomorrow afternoon (Sunday)." Being three miles away, I began saying to myself: "I cannot get my dinner over and be there in time." But I got no peace, so I decided to go. When I got there I was startled when I heard the minister announce his text as follows: "He came near a city and wept over it." After the sermon I waited for the preacher outside and asked him why he preached that sermon. He was surprised and said: "I am glad you asked me that question, for when I got up to preach I had the notes spread out on the Bible before me for a totally dif- ferent sermon, but could not open my mouth. So I had to take the text you heard." Some would call this a coincidence, but I call it a miracle from God, which it surely was. How we should endeavor to live to lessen this compassion of Christ. 10 He was in the air waiting to receive His watching ones unto Himself SECOND SERMONETTE Then we which are alive and shall remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. I Thes. 4:17-18. What a wonderful meeting this will be. There have been many great meetings and events. Those were wonderful events when Moses delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Those were great meetings when Savonarola stirred Florence by his eloquent preaching. That was a wonderful meeting when Martin Luther delivered the Protes- tants over from the bondage of the Pope. And there have been many marvelous meetings when the crowds have been stirred by Wesley, Whitfield, Moody, etc.; but nothing will equal this meeting we are now con- sidering, viz. : "Christ to meet His Saints in the Air." I believe it will be the greatest phenomen in the world's history. "Two shall be working in a field. One shall be taken and the other left." This great meeting is to take place 3J^ years be- fore the end of this age, and the commencement of 11 the Millenium, where Christ will reign with His people for looo years. The Devil will be chained, and after that period he will he loosed for a short period. Then will the end come, when the books at the great White Throne will be opened and every man judged according to his works. Now most modern theoligists and evangelists agree about the rapture and the whole Millenium ; but what puzzles them is whether the mem- bers of the whole Christian church will be caught up, or those who are filled with the Spirit of God, or, in other words, have been baptized with the Spirit since they believed, and are living aggressive Christian lives — such as the Salvation Army, etc. ; or whether those Christians who are worldly will be left behind to en- dure the great tribulation which will be the greatest in the world's history (lasting 3^ years). This will have to be decided by every Christian for themselves through prayer. I have my own opinion from the same source, which is, that only those who are living extremely aggressive and sanctified lives, will be amongst the favored ones, to be caught up, and that therefore there will be many disappointments. The 3^ years of tribulation is to be very terrible, many executed for the Word's sake, but those who die for the Lord during the tribulation period will be just as well off as those who are caught up believing they will immediately join those who have been translated, as John in Revelation says, writing of this period: "I saw a great multitude that no man could number." I said: "Who are these?" "These are they that came out of the great tribulation." This period will be also 12 a period of great salvation, which I shall show in the next sermonette. The picture I here present, most adequately ex- plains this great mystery spoken of by Paul, which is mentioned in my text. When this vision was given to me it seemed Christ was in the air as if waiting to catch his watch- ing ones unto Himself ; and an angel was by my side, which seemed to suggest that He would be always with me, through all trials and trouble, giving me di- rections and helping me to work out the meaning of these wonderful visions. Many things point to a speedy end. 13 ■ R y^^H EVAN ROBERTS THIRD SERMONETTE Oh, Lord, I have heard Thy speech and was afraid : O, Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3 :2. This was a very trying- period for the children of Israel. They had incurred the displeasure of God, who had been very good to them. He brought them out from Egyptian bondage, led them through the wilder- ness performing many miracles, and gave them great military victories. First He gave them Moses as commander, then a number of Judges, among whom was Samuel ; then they craved for a King, which re- quest God also granted and which was their undoing. Beginning with King Saul, there were a great number of Kings who mostly did evil in the sight of the Lord. And during this period, God raised up a number of prophets, for it was to render judgment against one of these wicked Kings that we first hear about the Prophet Elijah. No one seems to have known any- thing about his early career; but he appears to come stalking through the wilderness, uttering those never to be forgotten words to King Ahab: **As the Lord thy God liveth before whom I stand there shall be neither rain nor dew, for three and a half years." 15 What a wonderful period this term: Three and one-half years ! Every time it is spoken of in the Bible it is associated with terrible judgments. Daniel re- fers to it as the latter half of the final seven years' tribulation, and John, in Revelation, both as if to make no mistake, speaks of it as 42 months. And all three of these prophets, viz., Elijah, Daniel and John, each noted for their startling prophecies, dealt with God's anger ending the human race in physical suffering. Db we not also seem to hear the voice of the prophet Jeremiah, running up and down the streets of Jeru- salem, crying: ^'Return, return, oh, House of Israel!" And in the midst of these we see this grand old prophet Habakkuk upon his knees, praying that remarkable prayer : "Oh, Lord, I have heard Thy speech and was afraid. Revive Thy work, in the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy." But not- withstanding all these warnings the children of Israel went on sinning until one night whilst engaged in a Bacchanalian revelry the enemy came and carried them away captive into Babylon. After a time God heard the prayer of these great prophets and sent a revival amongst them, Ezra and Nehemiah becoming their spiritual and military leaders. This was indeed a most remarkable revival. They had a prayer meet- ing, called by Ezra "a solemn assembly," lasting for a week. God graciously heard their cry and once again delivered them from their enemies. I want to show just as God gave a great spiritual awakening then so he can today. And I want also to show exactly, in answer to prayer, how God sent about 16 10 years ago a revival into the little principality of Wales, in the British Isles, the greatest in my opinion since the days of Christianity. I was present at that revival, and describe it just as I saw and understand it. It came about in a very simple way, as most of the great revivals do, and occurred as follows : An ordi- nary evangelist named Seth Joshua was going to hold a revival meeting; and before commencing thought he would call several friends together for prayer, in a lady's house. Amongst this little company was a man named Evan Roberts. Whilst at prayer, they heard the voice of God as a mighty rushing of the wind. The power came down with such force that it knocked Mr. Roberts to the floor. He was stiff and could not move. He said to the evangelist: "Seth, bend me, bend me!" He did so and Mr. Roberts got up in a prophet's power. He began living in a new world, seemg visions, etc. Wales, at this time, was in an awful backslidden condition. The churches were being sold because people would not attend. Mr. Roberts' mind was di- rected upon his home town (about 150 miles away) named Loughor. The young evangelist had a vision before his eyes continually of his once empty church being filled with his youthful contemporaries, being converted wholesale, and when he could stand it no longer, he went to his tutor, telling him of his visions. The teacher thought it might have arisen through physical weakness. But all at once these words came into the tutor's mind: "In the last days your young 17 men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." He said to Mr. Roberts: "Go! and God be with you." He accordingly went to his home, and when he saw the pastor of the church, and asked if he could have a revival, he was met with a rebuff. The preacher said : "Evan, you know they will not come." But Mr. Roberts said : "Let us have a meeting for the children"; for God had promised him there would be 12 of these converted. The pastor ultimately agreed, and the 12 children were converted. The interest be- came so great that the grown up people asked permis- sion to come. Then came that great mysterious mag- netic power, which always accompanies a real awaken- ing. The church became crowded. They closed at 10 o'clock ; then 11 ; then 12 ; and finally it had to be kept open until two in the morning; and at 10 o'clock the next morning, all the churches within a 10 miles radius would be filled with people under the deepest convic- tion. From this time, Wales became the centre of at- traction. It was in a cauldron of prayer and praise. The secular press began to notice it; and the "Cardiff Daily Mail" sent a reporter to Loughor to "write the movement down." But when the reporter got there he became converted, and instead of writing an article of criticism, he wrote one of praise. The editor, when he received the copy, also was converted ; and he spread the revival everywhere. Representatives began pouring in from England, America, India, Russia, France, Germany, and many other countries who were 18 Two of the disciples preaching from a wagon in a field typical of apostolic earnestness watching this wonderful movement, wondering where it was going to end. The prophet Isaiah predicted that "A nation shall be born in a day," and I never knew this so near ful- fillment. In six months nearly 100,000 colliers were brought into the kingdom and it became necessary for nearly 400 pastors to have their churches enlarged. Theatrical companies coming from London to Wales would wire back: ''Returning by the next train. Everybody at the revival meetings." The saloon keepers' receipts went down one half. Every back- slider in the Salvation Army was reclaimed and min- isters carried their sermons about in their pockets for six months unable to preach them; for when they at- tempted to preach the people would break out in prayer and praise. Many religious exploits were seen. This religious enthusiasm continued at "white heat" about six months; then it jumped to Korea, India and China. It has been asked many times what has become of the chief actor of this movement. It become patent to everyone that he could not keep up the strain of these midnight and early morning meetings. He became sick. I was at Liverpool when he broke down. All manner of nasty things began to be spread about him, *'that he was mad," etc. Can this be wondered at? Would Satan allow a man to go free who had done so much to injure his Kingdom. Here was a young man, a collier by trade and only 26 years of age, having the leading divines of the world at his feet, and who had 19 caused the world to stop and think ! I can fancy Satan saying to God, the same as he did about Job: ''Does this man serve Thee for naught? Let me try him." And he thrust him down with physical weakness. The young evangelist was brought down from the new world he had been living upon, to the ordinary plain. That rapturous experience ! that fascinating personal- ity ! which would enable him to lead the biggest sinner to Christ in five minutes, when brought face to face, left him. He no longer lived on the borders of the eter- nal kingdom, but had come down again to the ordinary religious experience of everyday life. And for lo years he has been leading a quiet Christian life, con- ducting prayer gatherings, etc. But suddenly, on October 15th, 19 14, the world was startled by a re- newal of his rapturous experience ! To go near him as before was to be in the immediate presence of God. Here he received another great message for the world, which is again stirring the British Isles. This time it is not to conduct a great revival, but has reference to another great meeting which will cause the greatest revival since the .early days of Christianity. His message to the world this time is the "Trans- lation of the Saints" without dying. Spoken of in my second sermonette. When Mr. Roberts received this great message he began looking into the Bible to see what it said about this subject, for he had thought little about it. He found many predictions : "Two men shall be working in a field, one shall be taken and the other left." "The 20 wise and foolish Virgins," etc., etc. Since this time events have occurred which point to the culmination of an .event of this kind, namely : the present world wars, etc. (I have referred to this revival at great length as I was present representing a London paper, so can speak first hand. — ) After this translation will occur one of the most wonderful revivals the world has ever seen. And I here insert a vision I had of this .extraordinary preach- ing which will take place during this period, and which was first published by me in 1893 : On May 15th, 1889, I had a great vision in which I saw two apostles preaching from a wagon in a field. I said to a friend who I thought was standing by my side, "Did you ever see such earnestness?" All at once I found myself in a room where I saw eight more of the apostles dressing, and putting their clothes on with tremendous rapidity as if to join the other two preach- ing in a field. I saw the Apostle Peter as I had seen him in pictures as plainly as I have ever seen anything in my life. All at once I found mys.elf at the door of another room, where I saw our Saviour engaged in an animated conversation with the Apostle John. My heart was at breaking point with joy. I wanted to tell Him how they were preaching outside. I thought: "He is too busy. He will not want to be interrupted ;" how- ever, I could stand it no longer ; I rushed up to Christ and told him how they were preaching in the field and 21 I remember how He turned around and rejoiced ex- ceedingly. This, in my opinion, will be the kind of preaching after the Translation of the Saints — what can stop it? Here is an event which is the greatest in the world's history. People, according to Scripture, know that the tribulation cannot last more than 3^ years. Churches will be too small to hold the people and therefore they will hold meetings in fields or any- where. They will court death at the hands of Anti- christ, who will be in supreme command, because they know death means to be immediately in the presence of Christ and those who have just been translated. May God bless the reading of an account of this great revival. I suppose there are very few large cities in the United States where I have not in some church given an account of this awakening and which has pro- duced many blessed results to those who heard it, the unanimous feeling being, as expressed by a minister at Colorado Springs after I had spoken in his church, said. "Thank God for this breath from Wales !" Then nations shall learn war no more. A [en -hall beat their swords into ])lo\vshares and their spears into ])runino- hooks. Isaiah 2:4. The whole world seemed to be at war. All at once the stars began to fall, the heavens opened, and there appeared an innumerable company of angels with tiamin