PRESENT WORLD MOVEMENTS IN PROPHECY
WHAT there is need of a message for this time is demonstrated in so many ways that it would seem the ordinary observer of events would recognize it, and that the earnest, thinking soul who had at heart the good of humanity would long for it, and welcome it. Entirely apart from the great heathen world which must be evangelized before the Lord comes, the Christian world itself demands a great uplifting, converting, unifying message. Consider the world theologically. The nominal Christian church is divided into three great parts, generally speaking, the Roman Catholic, the Greek, or Orthodox Church, and the Protestant churches. Leaving aside the great traditional churches — the Roman Catholic and the Greek — the Protestant churches themselves demand such a message. Think of the vast number of denominations there are which have grown out of the Reformation, some of them divided on church government, some of them on State divisions, some of them separated for other reasons. It was not God's object that the Reformation should divide the remnants that were called out, but that it should bring them together. Men are endeavoring to force this union by a confederation, but the federation is making very slow progress, and at the very best it is not considered a vital union — that is, a life union. It was the prayer of our Lord that His people should be one, "as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us;" and this unity would of itself be a demonstration to the world of the power and divinity of the religion of Christ, because this unity would prove to the world that God had sent Christ, "that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me." The apostle Paul prayed, in his letter to the Corinthian church, that they all might "speak the same thing, and . . . be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." 1 Cor. 1:10. And yet we know, every one knows, that this is not the case at the present time. So manifestly has this been true for centuries that we are finding apologists for the divisions, who are endeavoring to induce people to believe that the very divisions of themselves are of God, when everything in Christianity speaks against it. Take the differences between the denominations theologically. Note great, vital Bible doctrines upon which there is division. For instance we have the atonement, the virgin birth of our Lord, the resurrection. These three great, vital doctrines of Christianity are repudiated by many of the Higher Critics, and if nominally accepted, are shorn of their very strength by the quibbles which are raised over them. Note the great differences regarding God's Word. Is the Bible the Word of God? Is the Bible inspired? And over this men are wrestling, with the tendencies toward the negative. There is no agreement over the matter of regeneration. Theistic evolution possesses the minds of many at the present time. A prominent lady worker, not long ago, of the W. C. T. U., belonging to the church, who knew the tremendous influences which God exerted through such men as Wesley and Whitefield, told us that she could not believe that people could be changed in a moment from sin to righteousness, or regenerated at once by the power of God. It took years for such work to take place, — an emphatic denial of the doctrine of regeneration, and the substitution of the hypothesis of evolution. The churches are divided over the nature of man. Is man immortal? or does his immortality depend upon the power of God at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? There is division over God's law. Is the law of God summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments of binding force and obligation? Is it immutable, as has been taught for centuries, or is it subject to change? And has it been changed? What is the strength of the fourth commandment, which enjoins the Sabbath day? Is that an ordinary ceremonial — an ordinance subject to change, so that the Sabbath, originated and sanctified by God, may be set aside and another day substituted in its place? Has man a right to do this? and is it right, and ought it to be right, to compel acquiescence to the substitute? Is our Lord Jesus Christ coming to this earth again — materially, visibly? There is great diversity of opinion upon this. Where shall the saints be rewarded? Will it be in some sphere "beyond the bounds of time and space"? or will it be, as has been averred again and again, upon this earth? There is great division over the matter of church government — a minor thing as compared with these great doctrines. There are other great doctrines taught in the Scripture which we have not mentioned in this list. Not only are churches as denominations themselves divided, but members of the different denominations are divided; ministers of the same denomination are divided over some of these great fundamentals. Is there not need of a message that will rend these walls which divide at the present time the various branches of the church of Christ? Surely if our Lord's prayer is to be fulfilled, His own people will stand united when He shall come. There will be the one Head and the one church, believing in all the fundamentals of God's truth alike. Take the spiritual condition of the churches. Is this condition satisfactory? Every devout soul in Zion knows that it is not. We have it told us again and again by press and pulpit of various denominations that spirituality is at a low ebb. It is so easy for members of the church of Christ to attend parties of pleasure, to frequent the theater, to attend dances, to hold frequent card parties, to indulge in games of chance, to use every loose and questionable means for the raising of money for religious purposes. It is sad, indeed, that this is so, but these are facts recognized by all. There seems to be a moral obtuseness taking possession of professed Christians — a lack of moral sensitiveness. The Word of God is neglected, but there is time found for reading romances, novels, exciting and very questionable stories. Great ignorance of the Bible prevails. It is rare, indeed, that any of the members of Christian families read it regularly. A few belong to prayer bands, and the obligations of the prayer bands hold some of the members, but as a general thing there is very little reading of the Word of God. Prayer is neglected in secret and by the family, and as prayer is neglected in the family it is neglected in the church. Many prayer-meetings have been discontinued, and others are sparsely attended. The fashionable circle claims the time, and so little things furnish excuses for absence from the devotional and prayer-meetings of the church of God. The spirit of self-sacrifice has almost wholly departed. As a general thing men and women give what they can — what it is easy to give, what comes convenient; but how little is known of real sacrifice for the cause of Christ! With this departure from God and His Word there has come a spirit of distrust, lack of confidence in each other, expressed in words and deeds; and this lack of confidence is not only extending out through all the various branches of trade and commerce, but it takes hold upon the national councils of the world. Treaties are made, confederations are formed, and yet it is again and again remarked that these are, in times of test and crisis, worth no more than the paper they are written upon. Surely is there not need of a message from the throne of God which will take hold upon the hearts of men, which will change hearts, which will mold lives, which will bring them, humble and prostrate, before God, which will lead them to reach out strong, yearning hands and hearts for the divine blessing, which will break down the walls that tradition has erected, the barriers which humanity has formed between the soul and God, and bring them together in the bonds of the Gospel of Christ, bound by the life of His Spirit! We believe that there are longing souls who see this, feel this, yearn for it. But, friends, God has the message which contains all the need — a remedy which meets all the ills. It is found in the everlasting Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and we appeal to you to read again the message which was printed last week.