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THE KING’S BUSINESS
Lord Jesus Christ when He comes again, that object could not be more effectively promoted than by setting forth a manner of coming radically different to that in which the Lord Himself will actually return to the earth. This is precisely what the pamphlet does. It is therein studi ously made to appear that the “Great Teacher” -will quietly come upon the scene as a man like other men, so that he will be at first indistinguish able from others. It is expressly said that he will be known only by his teaching. Thus, Mrs. Besant is quot ed as saying, “How shall a man know the Teacher? Only by the teaching that He gives.” It is urged in the pamphlet that there is need to pre pare the minds of men to give to this coming Teacher “welcome and hospi tality on earth,” and a “fair hearing.” The way is thus being carefully and skilfully prepared for some man to arise, at the agreed time, and an nounce himself as the expected “Teacher.” All this is directly opposite to the predicted manner of the Coming again of the Lord Jesus. Those who be long to Him, and who are awaiting His Coming, need not be .specially schooled in order to “teaogni^e” Him ; for His Coming again will not be “in the form of a servant,” nor will He come'as a man in the like ness of other men, appealing to them for “a fair hearing” and a hospitable reception. Instead of arising from the earth, He will descend from hea ven. His presence will be instantly known to His waiting people, for He will approach the earth with a gath ering “shout,” with the “voice of the Archangel” and with “the trump of God.” Moreover, the dead in Christ will then arise from their graves, clothed in, immortality; and the living saints will “put on incorruption,” be ing changed into His likeness in a moment; and all together will be
It is a remarkable fact of human nature ( a fact of which the Devil is well aware) that men who profess that they cannot believe statements contained in the Word of God, on the ground that their intellects demand convincing evidence before they can believe, will nevertheless readily ac cept the most incredible doctrines upon the mere assertion of some un known person that they are derived from “the wisdom of the East.” The present writer must make the humili ating confession that, upon no better “evidence” than that, he found it quite easy, in his unconverted days, to accept the preposterous doctrines of Theosophy. Such is the state of the unrenewed mind that it is easier for it to accept an unsupported lie than to believe the T ru th ' evidenced by the Word of the living and true God. It is very likely, therefore, that the Order of the Star in the East will from now on gain a score of adher ents to every sinner that may be con verted “to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.” A SMOOTH SCHEME. 2. Another declared object of the new “Order” is to prepare its mem bers to recognize the Great Teacher “when He comes.” This is the point to which the instigators of the Order give their chief attention. They are most anxious to create beforehand “an approximately correct mental picture” of what the great Teacher is likely to be. The reason is plain. If human beings should be carefully prepared for the advent of a mysterious Person, who is to identi fy himself by acting in a certain pre scribed manner, then when one ap pears who corresponds with the pre conceived picture, he will be readily accepted as the promised Teacher. If then, the object of the new Order be to divert men’s minds from the
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