Internationalism and World Peace
FOR the last twenty-five or thirty years, the people of this world have been talking peace very strongly, and have been assuring us that we would never have any more wars of any consequence. But the war now in progress has come as a stunning blow; and strong men are turning in every direction for some plan by which they will be able to overcome the war spirit that is in the world, and establish perpetual peace. In casting about for plans to insure the overthrow of the spirit of war, the idea of an international organization is suggested; and it is interesting to see how the demand for such a thing is spreading. Almost every day, we are in receipt of circulars, letters, and pamphlets, from some of the various peace organizations, calling attention to the urgent necessity of organizing the world to throttle the gods of war. Internationalism is spreading like a craze everywhere. This spirit of internationalism is twofold in its character. An international organization of nations and an international organization of the churches is proposed; and it is believed that under this double-headed organized plan, kings, emperors, and presidents, with their cabinets, can be made to feel the force of popular opinion, and to abolish war. But this very thing that is proposed is just what the prophets have presented as the last great despotism that is to be formed before the second coming of Christ; for it must be observed that in the discussions of this question of internationalism, the church is really taking the lead, and the international church organizations will become the strongest. The papal power, being the leading church organization of the world, will stand at the head of it; and all the Protestantism that is such in name only, will give its power and influence to the papacy to work out the great plan. Men will become intoxicated with this. They will think that they have devised an arrangement by which the world will become completely converted and eternal peace will be insured; but the prophetic word is that when they are saying “Peace and safety,” “then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape.” It would be wrong for us not to work for peace. It would be wrong for Christians not to pray for peace. But those who believe the Bible, know that no peace can come to this wicked world. The so-called Christian nations of Europe are now weltering in blood. This shows that their Christianity was a mere sham; for had they been Christians in fact instead of merely in name, they would not have gone to war. It goes without saying that there are many individual Christians in every one of these nations, but the nations as such cannot truly be called Christian. With the facilities for international communication in this time, as soon as a question begins to engage the attention of the public and acquire a degree of popularity, it spreads most rapidly to every part of the world. With this question of internationalism headed by the ecclesiastical power becoming the watchword of this time, the careful student of prophecy can see how quickly the words of the prophet may be fulfilled and the great climax be reached. This is a question that should be watched most closely. It has often been stated, in these columns, that the thirteenth, fourteenth, and seventeenth chapters of Revelation in particular set forth in a striking way a world federation with a religious head. We should note its developments, for it will come with unwonted rapidity.