The War in Europe, and Changes That Must Soon Follow
FOR some two weeks past at this writing, the allied fleets have been bombarding the forts along the Dardanelles with the determination, so it is reported, of eventually reducing Constantinople and thus taking possession of those strategic grounds. It is said to have been agreed that Russia will be permitted by the allied powers to possess the conquered territory, so that she may have a southern outlet for her fleet. This has been the age-long desire of Russia, and she has been strenuously opposed in it, particularly by England. It has been held that Russian possession of that territory must not be permitted, so that the balance of power could be maintained.
Whether Constantinople will fall during this conflict is not yet determined, for the reports say that the people are riotously clamoring for peace, and their war party is very severely threatened. They desire to break their alliance with Germany, and make terms of peace with the allies, and thus save their sacred belongings in Constantinople, Adrianople, and elsewhere in the little space left them on the continent of Europe.
What the next few weeks will bring about in that section of the world will be watched with the keenest interest; but whatever may come out of it at this time, enough has already been done to show the mighty revolutions that can be produced in a very short time, and that the sentiments of strong nations like England, which have been held for years and years, may be overcome with whirlwind rapidity.
This war is making a profound impression upon the world; and men who have assured us so strongly that we are to have peace, will be more determined than ever to bring this about. The political power of the church, following this war, will stand higher than it has stood since the Middle Ages. Prophecies call for this, and the indications are clear that these prophecies are on the eve of a striking fulfillment. The prophecy is plain in saying that a world church power is to be formed as one of the closing events. The material is all shaping that is to produce this thing; and we may expect to see, when this war is over, among the revolutions and the upheavals that will result, the political supremacy of the church forces, standing up with a strength they have never possessed in the past.
One of the last great events to fulfill these prophecies is a clash between the allied forces of nominal Christianity and the Turkish or Mohammedan power; and no matter what may be the immediate steps taken by the Turkish forces either during this war or immediately following it, it is clear that the groundwork is being laid for animosities that must soon result in the final crash.
Men may have a disposition to deny or doubt this; but in view of what has already been accomplished, and the changes that, humanly speaking, seemed impossible, but which are taking place on the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, it is well that we be careful not to speak too positively concerning what may or may not occur. If there ever comes a time when men should be doubting human theories and human speculations, and giving themselves closely and carefully to a study of the prophetic Word, that time is now; for the spirit of revolution is rife. And be assured that the peace which will follow this war will be only an apparent peace, not a real or lasting one.
