p. 3 | Country and City

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Mar 16, 1905

Country and City

THOSE who have read the history of Rome know that in the last days of the republic the people deserted the country and flocked to the city, and that consequently “Rome was crowded with a rabble of poor citizens largely fed at public expense.” This was one of the conditions which made for the downfall of the republic, and opened the way for an imperial tyranny supported by a military despotism.

The same inclination to shun the country and to abandon the cultivation of the soil for the excitements of the city is exhibited in this republic to-day. Some are able to perceive the meaning of this movement. The conservative Church Standard says: “One of the most dangerous social tendencies of the age is the drift of population from the country to the towns.” It is more than simply a dangerous social tendency. It is part of a well-planned campaign arranged by the enemy of God and man, who is making ready for the final struggle.

The corrupting influences of the cities are growing terribly strong. The revelations being made week by week prove that it is now as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Weakened by such influences, the people more easily become a prey to Satan’s temptations, and thus iniquity breeds iniquity. With the already strong tendency to the centralization of power and to paternalism in the general government in order to control those combinations of capital and influence which are robbing the people in defiance of law, this drift of population to the cities will be a strong factor in hastening the time when there may be an imperial despotism in this country, even under the forms of republicanism.

Such a thing is more than probable.

There is much significance in the fact that in the face of this situation, and just at this time, we are removing our institutions from the cities to the country. This whole country and city problem is one of the signs of the times, and it can not be argued on the basis of mere convenience and a comparison of business facilities. We are now being delivered from experiences of peril and calamity which will soon become a part of the history of these large cities. This is one of the reasons why earnest efforts should now be put forth to give the warning message in these cities. Bad as the situation is now, it will soon be worse, and a reign of terror will not make it more favorable to reach the people with the message of truth.

Every consideration of our time and its meaning emphasizes the call to this people to recognize their mission, and to throw themselves into the work to which they have been appointed. The end of all things is at hand. Do we appreciate it? In God’s message to this generation is the only hope of deliverance for souls in perplexity and peril. Shall we go on in the old way, absorbed in making and spending money, planning and working for a little more perishable treasure, neglecting the warnings and entreaties sent to us, and then awake too late to the reality of the things which have been declared to us? Brother, sister, what do you say? Will you be true to God and this advent movement in this time of crisis? Your works will answer the question.