Alarming Military Preparations in Germany.
A NEW law for organizing the Landsturm has just been prepared in Germany. In other words, the whole able-bodied population, from the youth of seventeen to the man of sixty, are now to be trained to military service. The Times says upon this: “When Napoleon III. rashly plunged France into war in 1870, he had an army of three hundred thousand men; but the German forces were three times as numerous. The result was that the French army was driven in and crushed. But the German statesmen perceive that this advantage will not be obtained so easily a second time. One thing is beyond a doubt. The new French army is immensely larger than the old one. In fact, if the plans of the French government be carried out, and the finances of the country will bear the strain, no long time will elapse before France will have a national force equal to that of Germany in 1870. If Germany is to retain its present superiority, this new law may be a necessary measure, but it is an ominous sign that this is the first time in the present century that preparations have been made for organizing the Landsturm in time of peace.” The Daily Telegraph also regards it as a portentous event. The organizing of these vast military hosts is in exact accordance with the prediction in Revelation 16:12–16, that at the present time “evil spirits should gather the nations to the war of Armageddon.” The result will soon be seen in the most tremendous battles, and “the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” Daniel 12:1.—Signs of Our Times (London).