the decay of individual responsibility. (5) The decay of religion; faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life, losing power to guide the people. The concluding statement of the magazine’s editor is: “The oft-heard warning that history repeats itself has an ominous meaning in the light of the above.” Indeed it has! Elsewhere we read, “The average age of the world’s great civilizations has been two hundred years. These great civilizations progressed through this sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfish- ness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bond age.” This statement concludes, “In seven years, the United States will be two hundred years old. The cycle is not inevitable, but it depends on you.” Sometime ago, a nationally-known commentator, Raymond Moley, one of the original “brain trusters” of the late President Roosevelt’s inner circle who saw the light and pulled away from the Roosevelt policies, retired after 36 years as a journalist. In his concluding column, he quoted another journalist, Arthur Krock, who in his memoirs, talked about “The great change.” He said, “From these consequences I have contracted a visceral fear; it 1 is that the tenure of the United States, as the first power in the world, may be one of the shortest in history.” Raymond Moley himself stated, “I agree with the many specifics which prompted Arthur Krock’s somber conclusion.” He went on to decry a “state of apathetic permissiveness induced by twin delusions: tha t great national might is ours in perpetuity, and that what is called a free society is indestructible.” He distinguishes between freedom and liberty. “The blessings of liberty as written by the makers of our Constitution imply laws and authority which protect those that enjoy them. Freedom provides no blessings; it creates no environment but chaos.” These are indeed solemn warnings which come, not from Biblically-oriented commentators, but from hard- headed newsmen who see things as they are and who appraise them within the light of past experience and present trends. On the one hand, Bible-believing Christians, looking about us and seeing all of these immoral and utterly lawless conditions on every hand, read our Bibles over again and shout “Hallelujah! Our redemption drawth nigh.” For our Lord has said that these things will surely come to pass a t the end of this dispensation. On the other hand, it is up to us to do everything possible to stay the hand of the wicked one, to restrain his influence, and to thwart his onward rush with every ounce of our energy. We need to be alert; we need to be so yielded to the Holy Spirit that He can use us for righteousness’ sake in this present evil world. This is exactly the function of the H o i/ Spirit as He works in and through the lives of Christians. We read in II Thessalonians 2:7-8: “For the mystery of inquity doth already work: only he [the Holy Spirit] who now hindereth will hinder, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked one be revealed.” The Holy Spirit is working in and through the hearts of believers every where and therefore it is the believers who are hindering the working out of the mystery of iniquity until the Christians are raptured at the end of this dispensation, when antichrist will be fully revealed. It is our privilege as Christians not only to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, but to do everything we possibly can to make the society in which we live a righteous society, staying the work of the evil one by every means available, all to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Bj FEBRUARY, 1970 % » ,
The tragic and tortuous account of a mother and father’s attempt to reach their wayward, alcoholic son. Bernard Palmer’s gripping, forceful novel throbs with the anguish and bewilderment of his own personal experience. How can a sincere Christian family experience the heartache of an un reachable son? What can be done? Does God care? Will He help? Answers are found in this intense, provocative drama of life as it is.
M y S o n , M y Son
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