September, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
302
to fly their flags under the banner of this colossus. It will be from stern necessity— “ copperate or perish.” It will be produced by the same stern necessity which has caused the hitherto freemen o f “ the land o f the free and the home of the brave” to surrender (temporarily or otherwise, and consciously or otherwise) their inheritance o f unalloyed liberty in all righteous individual action, to appoint over themselves the world’s “ superdictator,” and as he has also been called, a “ benevolent despot.” God grant that he and his successors may continue to be “ benevolent” ! Cooperation is being widely preached among the na tions, especially in their schoolrooms. It is also being weakly attempted by the nations in their “ Conferences,” “ Courts,’’ and “ Leagues.” Cooperation may be the source of great blessing. It may also be the source o f a great curse. It all depends upon the purpose of the cooperation, and the persons who cooperate. As yet, due to the in herent greed and pride of unregenerate men, cooperation has not gone far over the boundary lines o f any nation. Our gasping World Economic Conference still in session at London furnishes sufficient evidence. Extreme nation alism still pervades the political atmosphere. Nevertheless, even European and Asiatic supermadmen may spell out the fateful handwriting on the wall; and to save their own heads, they will consent to lower their bedraggled flags until they shall fly beneath an international banner— the banner o f “ The Federation o f the World.” Then shall mankind believe that “ the Christ” astride His “ white horse” has come, and “ all the world shall worship” its “ saviour.” The dream o f the seers of men will appear to have been fulfilled. But, alas for the dream! It will be the federation o f the unregenerate, as ever, knowing God only as its enemy! And who is able to make war with the beast? (Rev. 13:4). There is but One — and He, shall come! THE RISEN CHRIST AND MISSIONS [Continued from page 297] gospel o f the risen Lord was known, believed, and loved in every province of the Empire, and from the hovel of the slave to the palace o f the Caesars. , In this day of upheaval and uncertainty, we are con fronted with questions which were scarcely raised a gen eration ago. Shall we continue to proclaim as unique the message that “ Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” ? Shall we insist that men without Christ are eternally lost, or shall we concede that there may be other ways to God apart from Him ? Have we any right to impose our beliefs and creeds upon men of other color, training, temperament, and faith? What policies shall we adopt in the maintenance o f our work, if indeed it is to be maintained ? Where can we find an answer to the perplexing questions of our mod ern day, as we face this changing and needy world ? The answer lies in the risen Christ. He is the Message that satisfies the universal needs o f men, irrespective o f age, color, climate, or temperament. H e is the abiding Authority that outweighs and outlasts the wisdom o f men. He is the unfailing Leader, who can guide His church through the problems and pitfalls of this twentieth cen tury to eternal triumph.
d o ! In a time of financial stress such as we are now passing through, nations are not spending money for that which they do not intend to use. Vast quantities o f Lewis ite gas are being manufactured, and demon-ruled Russia leads the way in its production, with sixty-five factories. Edison understood the meaning of it, and said: “ There is nothing to prevent twenty to thirty airplanes flying tomor row over London’s millions, that can suffocate those mil lions in three hours.” Lord Grey, o f Fallodon, was right: “ The resources o f science end by destroying the humanity they were meant to serve.” Little wonder if “ men’s hearts” are “ failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” ! All but the totally deaf can hear in the near distance the rumbling thunder of a Niagaran cataract over which no estate o f man may drift and live to tell the tale. And all but the totally blind can see the finger o f God once more Writing upon the palatial walls of man’s most boasted civilization: “ MENE, MENE, TEKEL .” “ M E N E : God hath numbered thy kingdom, and fin ished it.” “ TEK E L : Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” The old sneer o f the unbeliever is no longer in order, when he reads the prophecy o f a day when there “ shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but [thanks be to the mercy of G od !] for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:21, 22). Unregenerate Man’s One Way Out— “ Cooperate!” Again we refer to a recent editorial in a paper from the Orient, which contained this striking sentence: “Man kind must cooperate or perish!” All statesmen of the world know that very thing. They know that if the war they are planning actually comes— and come it will if they do not cooperate-^ victor and vanquished will go over the cataract to certain doom. “ W e must cooperate!” It is this that is calling for the coordination of effort, and centralization of power— that is sending democracy into death throes and spelling the doom o f individual effort and liberty. In its final analysis, it all spells D ICTATORSH IP . O f such a time “ the sure word of prophecy” is far from silent: “ This people shall say, A confederacy” (Isa. 8:12). ‘¡Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye far countries: . . . take counsel together, and it shall come to nought” (Isa. 8:9, 10). . • : ■ . - “Why do the nations rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers shall take counsel together . . . He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh” (Psa. 2:1-4). “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings. . . . These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast” (Rev. 17:12, 13). “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. . . . Arid he had power to . . . cause that as many as would not worship the beast should be killed. And he causeth all . . . to receive a mark, . . . that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name o f the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:8, 15-17). These prophetic utterances can only mean that the close o f our age is to see the formation o f gigantic fed erations in the military, political, commercial, financial, intellectual, and spiritual realms; and that mankind is due to witness one superb, surpassing, stupendous combination o f the power of all these glittering worlds under one single crowned head — a Nebuchadnezzar-Xerxes-Alexander- Caesarian combination— “ TH E BEAST ” ! It will not be from choice that the nations will consent
HAVE YOU READ HOW D. L. MOODY DID IT? (See Page 308)
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs