The Reformed Presbyterian Standard and also 0\ir ... - Rparchives.org

August 19, 1914.
A FAMILY PAPER,
and maintain and bring to ultimate triumph
the testimony of the Covenanter Church to
the glory of her Lord. And this revival in
our evangelism is coming, yea, is already
here, and will be the revival of our testimony
and of the covenants.
"ARMAGEDDON."
. By the Rev. J. C. McFeeters, D. D.
Europe has suddenly become a battlefield, and
the world trembles in the shock of war. It is con.
ceded, among high officials of many nations, that
the greatest of all wars since the beginning of
our race, is now raging. The slaughter on land
and sea is already terrilBc; and this is only the
beginning. Germany, with the motto, "Blood and
Iron," moves fcvwai i, grimly determined to win
or die; England calls out more than a million
lighting men; France turns whole provinces into
fortresses and garrisons them with prodigious
armies; Russia vibrates with the tread of millions
hastening to the fleldof battle; other nations
are aflame with the war passion; these
and other indications reveal the fact that all are
deeply conscious that they are facing a struggle
that will be protracted and decisive.
One ot our military chiefs has been reported
as saying, that this will be the greatest and last
war. The Premier of Japan fears that the continuance
of this struggle will be the destruction
of western civilization. A i-artoon in a recent
daily represents Satan, in an easy chair, reading
the news with fiendish joy, and exclaiming:
"Christianity at last is a failure.''
These are dark days. The horrors of this war
have descended upon the world like a thick cloud
that darkens every land. The nations in our day
are closely related, vitally connected, and in some
ways unified by the arteries of civilization, and
the progress of the Gospel, so that when one suffers,
al! suffer. They who can read the morning
papers while these battles are raging, and have
dry eyes, are surely unable to see the blood and
hear the groans; the heart must indeed be hard.
Our sympathies ought to be aroused for tho^^e
whose fleshand blood will litter and wash many
a field,and whose souls will be rushed into eternity
through the crash of battle. And what about
the sad, broken families at home, wives, mothers
and daughters, who have said the final farewell
In the name of the Lord Jesus, let them
have our prayers. Being far away we can oniy
pray for the multitudes of victims, that are going
down in the vortex of the sea of blood..
However, Christian civilization is not a failure;
hut the effete governments of the nations, constructed
on the ground of man's will and might,
mst fail, and are destined to dissolution. National
power, no matter how colossal it may become,if
erected and operated independent of
God and out of harmony with His law, with no
regard to the authority of Jesus or respect for
His will, must come to naught. "For the nation
and Kingdom that will not serve thee shall per-
'sh; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted,"
There is not a nation on earth that professes and
practices loyalty to the Lord Jesus, who hath on
his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
^ "King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Neither
have any of them, under the long-suffering of God
and the appeals of the Gospel, signified their
willingness to turn unto the Lord and serve him.
Therefore is the destruction of the world-powers
determined from on high, that on the ruins may
"^ established a new system of civil government,
'h which the Lord Jesus will be glorified and all
the people blessed.
The Prophet Joel had a vision, that seems to
he on the verge of fulfillment: "Proclaim ye this
among the nations; Prepare war, wake up me
mighty men, let all the men of war draw near.
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your prun.
inghooks into spears; let the weak say, I am
strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye
nations. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the
valley of decision."
The Apostle John seems to have had in view
the same event, when he saw "the spirits of demons
go forth unto the Kings of the whole world,
to gather them to the battle of the great day of
God, the Almighty. And he gathered them together
into a place called in the Hebrew tongue,
Armageddon. And I saw the beast and the
kings of the earth, and their armies gather together
to make war against him that sat on the
white horse." These quotations are from Joel,
4th chapter, and Revelation, 16th and 19th chapters.
Possibly the words of Ezekiel receive in this
day their largest fulfillment: "Au end is come;
the end is come; it watcheth for thee; behold, it
is come." The end must come; the end of treason
on earth against high heaven. And if it he
at hand, it is high time to awake out of sleep, and
prepare for the coming of our Lord, and the momentous
obligations of the hour.
Accompanying the crash of the nations, the
Prophet Joel says, that the Holy Spirit will be
poured out on all fiesh;sons and daughters shall
prophesy; old men shall dream dreams, and
young men see visions. These are days of astounding
progress in the work of the Gospel; the
forward movement among the churches is r^.^aincant;
many men and women, young and old, are
working, planning, contributing, in a way that
ten years ago would have been regarded visionary,
even bordering on insanity.
Jesus spake of the "distress of nations, with
perplexity, because of the sea and the waves
roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and
for looking forward to those things which "re
coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven
shall be shaken. And then shall they see the
Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory." A larger fulfillment of the first
part of this prediction, than is at this hour taking
place, can hardly be conceived by the human
mind. Then may we not confidently expect the
latter part to be immediately fulfllled, by a marvelous
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, while the
world is in the throes of agony In the light of
the events of the last two weeks, we are not
afraid of being accounted an alarmist, or visionary.
The thunder of the voice of the Almighty,
reverberating around the world, makes man's
loudest appeal dull and tame.
all, "Watch."
Jesus said unto
THE WAR IN EUROPE AND THE BIBLE
SOCIETY.
-An appeal has reached the American Bible Society
from Germany for Bibles in German, Russian,
French, and Polish for use among the soldiers,
and for money to aid in distributing them.
Such requests it may be quite beyond the power
of the Society to meet in view of the difficulty
of either securing them from Europe or sending
them from the comparatively small stock of
Scriptures now on hand. It is earnestly hoped
that the Christian people of America will be
ready to aid the Society in whatever measures
may be found necessary. Any gifts made for
the purpose will be received and used as the
way may open.
The Board of Managers has taken the following
action, which will be forwarded as soon as
possible to the various Bible Societies in Great
Britain and on the Continent:
The Board of Managers is deeply moved and
distressed by the horrors of the war in Europe.
and deems it fittingto give expression to its
sympathy for all those of every nation who must
suffer anguish and bereavement. It is the earnest
desire of the Society to do whatever it can
to help them either directly or through our sister
Societies in Europe.
It directs that copies of this action be transmitted
to such Societies as can be reached.
The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago reports
within the last few months, an unusual
interest among pastors in different parts of
the country in a revival of real Bible study,
and requests are multiplying for information
and for conferences to arouse interest
among the people in this important work,
as a basis of conservative evangelism. The
Extension Department of the Institute is
temporarily short handed in its women workers
by the departure of Miss Angy Manning
Taylor for a six months' teaching tour in
China and Korea, and the enforced departure
of Miss E. Stafford Millar to her home
in Australia to recuperate from a serious illness,
but its staff of men has been increased,
and other women are to be added. It
will arrange as far as possible, to hold brief
conferences in any important center in the
United States or Canada for the promoti-^.,
of Bible study and the deepening of the
spiritual life, as well as conduct Evangelistic
meetings. The teachers furnished for
such conferences will include the special
Bible teachers of the Extension Department,
members of the Educational Faculty or sie
Institute, and wherever desirable and possible
Bible teachers of prominence and ability,
such as Dr. C. I. Scofield, Dr. L. W. Munhall,
Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas, and others.
Pastors interested in such conferences are
invited to correspond with the Extension
Department of The Moody Bible Institute.
153-163 Institute place, Chicago, 111.
The Scofleld Correspondence Course has been
purchased by the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago
by which it will be conducted hereafter.
This course was founded more than twenty years
ago by Rev. C. I. Scofield.. famous as a Bible
teacher, and the author of the Scofleld Bible.
Thousands of students have been enrolled in the
Course all over the MASQUERADE.
world.
The following law was passed by the Pennsyl
vania Legislature 106 years ago, and is unrepealed.
It is quoted in the North American, only in
jest. This is no sign of progress, as it is hard
to see, why the old law is not a healthy law for
these much lauded reforming days:
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House ot
Representatives of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
That masquerades and masked balls
be and are hereby declared to be a common nuisance;
and every housekeeper within this commonwealth
who shall knowingly permit or suffer
a masquerade or masked ball to be held in his
or her house, and every person who shall set
forth, promote or encourage any masquerade or
masked ball, and every person who shall knowingly
attend or be present at any masquerade or
masked hall, in mask or otherwise, being legally
convicted thereof, shall for each and every
such offense be sentenced to an imprisonment
not exceeding three months and to pay a fine
not exceeding $1000 or less than $50 and to give
security in such sum as the court may direct to
keep the peace and be of good behavior for one
year."