1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

earthly features of God's Plan— the evil in theearth, the clashing interests of rich and poor, andvarious other elements of the present order ofthings, the great war, and the approach of a betterorder of things afterFM380the present troubles are over. Present Truth, "theroll of the book," also contains hidden, deeptruths, discernible only to those who have theHoly Spirit. It possesses features impossible for,natural men, not anointed with the Spirit, toperceive. "The natural man perceiveth not thethings of the Spirit, neither can he know them;for they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. 2:14.)Many thousands of consecrated Christians areupheld, comforted and rejoiced by the deepthings of God, made clear for the first time incenturies by the "roll of the book."Ezekiel 2:10.And He spread it before me; and it waswritten within and without; and there waswritten therein lamentations, and mourning,and woe.— What an honor to be the personbefore whom the Almighty would clearly spreadout His purposes,— the honor which came toPastor Russell, and with it a witness work of vastextent and responsibility! The purpose of PresentTruth is to inform the Lord's people and thepeople of the world, as far as they may listen,concerning the significance of the times. Allclasses profit more or less from the warning ofPastor Russell, as the message goes broadcastthroughout the world. It comes with a differentsignificance to Church and to world. To theChurch it is a trumpet call of truth (Rev. 10:2-7),to get ready quickly for deliverance, resurrectionglory, honor and immortality. To the world, theworldly-minded, the Present Truth is somethingto be dreaded. (Isa. 28:19.) This world, age, stateof affairs, is in process of destruction. Thedestroying agencies, as portrayed in theScriptures (1 Kings 19:11, 12; Z.'04-249; Z.'98-207, 208) are world-wide war, then revolutionson an unprecedented scale, and finally universalanarchy— savagery.