344
October, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
T he S ocial S ign The most profound prophetic word spoken in connec tion with the end o f the age and the return of our Lord is that recorded in Luke 2 1 :25 to 28. The Lord emphasizes the distress o f nations “ in perplexity” in the latter days, men not knowing what to do, this perplexity and dis tress caused by the “ roaring o f the sea and the waves.” In other words, this means revolutionary uprising o f the masses; and then He says one more thing, that as a result o f this perplexity, men’s hearts will be fainting from fear and apprehension of what is to come. An illuminating article in the Sunday School, Times for May 20, 1933, refers to the fact that the sea in this pro phetic utterance represents a huge mass of water, the great est ever known to man: It is not a river, not a lake, not even a sudden cloudburst o f rain, but the largest body o f water possible on this earth. Small villages, scattered country communities, even a city here dnd there could hardly be spoken of, accurately, as a sea o f humanity. There must be a vast multitude o f people. The writer states: Now just such a huge mass o f mankind has made its appearance in the western hemisphere during the last cen tury. In 1800 the population of Europe was estimated to be 180,000,000. In 1914 the population of the same area, was 460,000,000. From A.D. 600 to 1800, twelve centuries, Europe had attained a population of only 180,000,000, but in the last century it more than doubled that o f the twelve
marching to the banks demanding $30,000,000 of unpaid salaries. W e have seen habitually law-abiding Iowa farm ers putting a rope around the neck of the presiding judge o f a court o f justice and preparing to hang him-—all of which are indications of the slumbering fires o f turmoil beneath the surface of American li-fe. T he E ducational S ign Education, instead o f being the handmaid of religion and fostering the knowledge o f the true God, has be trayed the mother who gave her birth. The church is the mother of education, but today our colleges and universi ties, together with the savants o f science, are bringing in “ damnable heresies,1even denying the Lord that bought them,” and many are following “ in their pernicious ways.” A fter Daniel’s prophetic utterances, predicting so vivid ly the character o f the times that usher in the end of this age, he is given this admonition of the L o rd : “ But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time o f the end : many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Dan. 12:4). We are only now coming into a full realization o f all that this prophecy signifies. Modern means o f transporta tion are bringing knowledge and understanding to all the peoples o f the earth. Illiteracy is slinking back into the darkness from whence it came, and today by means of radio and television, we are on the threshold o f the com
plete fulfillment o f all that was prophesied in this educational sign. I I More significant still is another prophecy in 2 Peter, where we read: “ But there were false teachers among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you.” In times past, the preacher was the instructor and educator o f the people, and the church fos tered and promoted learning; but times have changed, and today the scientists, the news papers, the professors in the universities have become the teachers, and their teachings are those described in 2 Peter. T he R eligious S ign The Apostle Paul tells us that immediately preceding the coming of the Lord, there will come a great apostasy from the faith. In his letter to the Thes- salonians, he told them that “ that day would not come ex cept there come a falling away first.” Are we not experienc ing that falling away today? In one presbytery alone, there have been placed on the sus pended roll, 1,500 more people than were received into the
preceding centuries . . . The growth o f the population of our own country, from 5,308,- 000 in 1800 to 95,000,000 in 1914 is an even greater phe nomenon. The sea is here. When our Lord calls the peoples o f the earth, not a mul titude, but a sea, He is depict ing them as a united .mass in one phase or another, coherent, moving, and moved upon as a unit. Economists and political philosophers inform us that this very thing has happened to the race o f men. Not only has it multiplied in a most phe nomenal way, but it has, dur ing the past twenty years, be come a unified mass of .indi viduals. It is now perfectly obvious that the conditions predicted by our Lord are actually pre vailing upon the earth. It is worthy o f note that He said these conditions would obtain immediately prior to His re turn. Ignorance o f the future is leading to fear and uncertainty. W e find expressions o f this fact in every quarter. Lloyd George expressed his fears in strong terms:
LIFE IS CHEAP!
—Courtesy Los Angeles Times.
The weapons not only o f banditry, but o f suicide, are easily procurable. But they are a poor antidote for the “fear o f those things which are coming on the earth."
churches. I believe that this presbytery is as evangelistic and earnest in its zeal as any presbytery on the continent, yet the great declension has come. Everywhere we feel the effects of agnosticism, infidelity, and atheism. Paul, writ ing to Timothy, says: “ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines o f devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience" seared with a hot iron” (1 Tim. 4 :1 -3 ).
I cannot say what is going to happen to the world. I am alarmed, I will go so far as to say I am frightened, at what will happen. Stanley Baldwin frankly confesses: What is it that underlies everything in Europe today ? It is the element of fear— fear of what may happen. Here in our own peace-loving America, we have heard the tramp o f five thousand feet, Chicago school teachers
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