The study of astronomy always stag gers the imagination, making us feel how inconsequential we really are, and how incomparably great is our God. We venture to predict that the findings from this new giant eye will only serve to further illustrate that the universe is absolutely boundless in its extent, and try as he will, the eye of man can never reach its limits. For the Christian it will be a new lesson in the infinite greatness of his Heavenly Father. For the atheist it will be another annoying unsolvable riddle. . Israel Is A Nation! T HERE is no doubt that the an nouncement of the new state of Israel is the greatest piece of prophetic news that has appeared in the twentieth century. Three events of tremendous sig nificance have taken place: the Jewish people have declared themselves a na tion; they have declared themselves a nation on the very spot of ground which God gave by promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and they have named the new state the land of Israel! These events happened with unbeliev able speed. With the termination of the British mandate, an improvised Jewish Parliament called forth the admiration of a waiting world as they declared themselves a new member of the family of nations. This was, followed, almost im mediately, by official recognition from the United States and the Soviet Union. And even with the temporary hin drances by Arab opposition, it seems that the Declaration of Independence will stick. All of this is a striking commen tary on the theme of fuelled nronhecy. It is true that the news dispatches from Tel Aviv do not mention the name of God nor is there any national pet;- tion for His favor. Everything seems to be conducted on the natural plane and battles seem to be. won either through in telligence of wily diplomats or by the force of Jewish arms. Yet, behind all of this stands Israel’s unseen Jehovah, bringing things to pass according to His own will. To the Jew this means the resurrec tion of hopes that haVe been dead for nineteen long and bitter centuries. To the nations of the world, it is an ap parent solution to the troubling problem of Semitism. But to the Bible-believing Christian, it is the beginning of a series of events which will not close until the Lord Jesus Christ Himself returns to take the reins of government which are rightfully His. It Is Not Too Late: T O attend the Conference of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles at Mt. Her- mon, California, August 15-22; write Dr. William W. Orr, 558 So. Hope Street, Los Angeles 13, California, for details. TH E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Volunteers or Draftees? S INCE Congress has approved the 19- 25 draft bill presented by the Armed Services Committee, this means that American young men have the choice of volunteering for one year of military service or, failing to do this, will be drafted for two years’ compulsory serv ice. It is estimated that about 400,000 men will be drafted in the first twelve months of the impending peace-time draft. Among those affected will be a large number of Christian young men, the direction of whose lives presumably belongs to Christ. At a recent missionary conference, there were present representatives from almost every large faith mission board in operation. Veterans, from these mis sion boards presented the needs of their fields. A plea which found its way into almost every missionary’s address was the desperate need for more young men on the mission fields. While sincere ap preciation for the' part that women have played was expressed, the business of being a missionary was shown to be a service that demanded the strength and determination that only red-blooded men could supply. Concern was frequently expressed over the large percentage of available young men who choose pastor ates in this land rather than; service on pioneer fields. Can we see any relation between the foregoing? Is the peace-time draft an other warning to the heart of America that unless she takes heed of God’s call for volunteers for Christian service, her sons will be drafted for bloody war? Is the time on God’s clock running short for untouched tribes to be reached with the gospel? Is this a warning to Chris tian people that they have been merely playing with the serious business of world-wide evangelization? May God give us eyes to see His will with clarity. May our Christian churches be fired with a deep and earnest deter mination to urge upon our best youth the absolute necessity of offering them selves as volunteers in God’s great army to press the Lord’s battle against the impending tide of evil before it is too late! Pac;e Four
Let Us Be Accurate A STORY, presumably true, appeared in a recent periodical. It seems that a church member went to her Bible to find the location of a phrase frequently used by her pastor. Often when speak ing of Christ and His salvation he would add, “Whom to know aright is life eter nal.” This church member was unable to locate such a passage and inquired again of the minister concerning its where abouts. He replied confidently that it was in the Bible but he was not sure where. The story ends with a realization of the truth that this is not Bible phraseology, and that this quotation is not Scripture. When dealing with the Word of God, Christians need to exert more than usual care. Our quotations should be meticu lously exact. Within God’s Word is the guarantee given that that Word “shall not return . . . void.” But this guarantee is only valid where Scripture is accu rately quoted. Surely such inexactitude must be displeasing to the heart of our Heavenly Father. Biggest Eye OCIENTISTS and laymen alike are k j thrilled with the news of the opening of the new observatory on Mt. Palomar in Southern California. After years of waiting, the giant 200-inch telescope is now being trained nightly on heavenly bodies. Now it will be possible to look 500,000,000 light years in each direction. This is quite a little distance! As an astronomical unit of measure, a light year is six trillion miles. Those who will be working with the telescope say that the interest of the astronomers is not so much in the details of neighboring or nearby stars, but rather with the far away outer edges of the universe. They seek information and data regarding galaxies which, while of immeasurable size, are at unbe lievable distances. The giant eye will be pointed at the faint stellar bodies which our smaller instruments have marked as the limits of the universe. Great atten tion is being given to the questions whether the universe is larger than had been previously pictured or whether it is still expanding, according to the latest theory.
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