THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
By Francis M. Wilcox
EVERY period of this earth's history has witnessed a conflict between the stronger and weaker elements of society. In the conflict for life and existence, for social distinction and social power, men have fought and struggled from time immemorial; but it has been reserved to the last period of this earth's history to witness the grand culmination of this long, hard-fought battle. Hence to-day, as we look out upon the broad world, with its teeming multitudes, we see the same fierce conflict going forward; but there is this difference to-day from the past,—the lines are now being more sharply drawn, and the two parties to the conflict have become more clearly distinctive. Capital, as never before, is combining its forces to so control and manipulate the masses of the people as to draw from them a still greater contribution to its greed and avarice; and the laboring classes, so long ground down by the power of hoarded wealth, and goaded almost to madness by the spirit of the element in society which would work its way to success from their downfall, are seeking, by combines and party affiliations, to array themselves against their oppressors, and secure by united action the justice refused them in their individual capacities. And so the condition of the commercial world to-day, the struggle now going on between capital and labor, is set forth in the Word of God as a Sign of the Coming of the Day of the Lord.
The following record by the apostle James truly indicates the times that are upon us to-day: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." He who views the picture presented by the apostle can not fail to see the truth and correct interpretation of the conditions existing in our world at the present time. Says the Arena, of Boston, in its issue for August, 1897: "Never in the history of our country were the people confronted with greater social problems than they are to-day. The strikes, boycotts, and general discontent of late years prove conclusively that there is much room for improvement in our social order. Every observant person must admit that the great concentration of wealth, whether it be of incorporations, trusts, or individuals, has reached a point dangerous to the future prosperity of the nation." The Arena then goes on to recite the fact that millionaires are becoming more numerous than ever before, while multitudes of the small property-holders are losing their small possessions and sinking into the multitude of those who possess nothing. According to Mr. Shearman, in the Forum for November, 1889, there are two estates in this country valued at $150,000,000 each, five estates worth $100,000,000 each, and more than sixty-three other estates worth from $20,000,000 to $70,000,000 each. Mr. Shearman says further that 25,000 persons out of the 70,000,000 of this country, own One-half of All the Wealth of the United States.
And not alone do we find the wealth centered in the few, but we find that in many instances these capitalists are not alone content with having amassed such large fortunes for their own pleasure and advantage, but seek by the formation of trusts and corporations to so control the prices of staple commodities that they may further enhance their ill-gotten gains. How many such combinations and trusts have been formed during the last few months! We find a "corner" in wheat, and soon a "corner" in potatoes, or some other staple commodity, and thus the affairs of a great nation are manipulated, and the hungry millions who are striving for bread made to pay tribute to the power of the money kings. The discontent of the laboring classes is manifested in the unions and combines found among them, as already mentioned, in the strikes which are inaugurated from time to time in connection with the different industries and enterprises. These conditions have engendered in the minds of the masses A Contempt for Authority and Government;
for, as many of these wealthy men are office-holders, in the minds of the masses the exercise of authority is looked upon as but an effort6of the office-holders to enrich themselves at the disadvantage of the poor man. These conditions are not alone present in this country, they are even more manifest among the nations of the Old World. We have Nihilism in Russia, Socialism in Germany, Communism in France, and the Anarchists in our own country and other governments, as organized forces. All these guilds of society are opposed to government as at present constituted, and they are but seeking an opportune moment to rise in rebellion against what they consider usurpation of their own rights and prerogatives. Says our Saviour, in Luke 21, in speaking of the times just preceding the coming of the Lord, There will be "upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity." Never was there a time in our history when there was witnessed such distress of nations and state of perplexity as at the present time. Society to-day is sleeping, as it were, in the crater of a smoldering volcano. The low, muttering thunder indicates an eruption soon to take place. The cry of discontent, the moan of anguish, the demand for bread, which is now rising from the multitude of oppressed in every nation, is but The Precursor of the Revolution That Will Sooner or Later Take Place,
destroying the organization of society as now constituted, and opening avenues for the wildest extravagances. To some this may seem a gloomy view to take of the outlook, the idea of a narrow mind, a pessimistic notion. And yet it is the grim foreboding which must force itself on the mind of every thoughtful observer as he considers the elements that are now working among the nations of men. The pent-up fires of human passion, when once let loose, will know no limitations. But in this time, surrounded by these conditions, the child of God is thus exhorted by the apostle: "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." The coming of the Lord indeed draweth nigh. May we possess our hearts in patience, unmoved by the elements of strife on every side, standing true to principle, and firm in the strength that the Lord will impart to His children. The day of deliverance draws on apace. Soon He who shall come, will come, and will not tarry. Soon the discord of this earth will give place to the peace of heaven. May the Lord preserve us unto that glad, eternal day.
FRANCIS M. WILCOX.