Earthquakes and Bible Prophecy
By Editor
REFERRING to the recent earthquakes in New York, the United States Geological Survey thinks that there is "little danger of destructive quakes in the Appalachian region." It is pointed out that the conditions in the neighborhood of New York are very different from those about San Francisco. All the theories of earthquakes may be very good, and it may be very profitable to study them. There is much of truth in what is said by some of the leading scientists upon this topic; but all that they say, and all of our study, should be in the light of such prophecies as the one in the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, wherein it is stated: "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth." Isa. 24: 19-21. The concluding verses of this chapter speak of the time when the Lord shall reign "before His ancients gloriously." As transgression is multiplied upon the earth, we will see more and more of the commotions in nature that are manifested through earthquake, flood, and tornado. God has a controversy with this world because of its wickedness, and through His judgments He is seeking so to impress them that they will turn from sin into the ways of righteousness. EDGAR MONTGOMERY CULLEN, who until recently was chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, asserts that personal liberty in this country is in danger. He affirms that liberty is assailed by misguided sections of the people having faith in the omnipotence of law, and by timid legislatures and courts that yield to clamor. In other words, men are willing to be controlled by almost any kind of influence in order to gain political advantage; and when the so-called statesmen and the judges of our courts are governed by the demands of the populace rather than by reason and justice, well may we say that liberty is in danger. The popular notion that the voice of the people should rule is always all right when the people calmly weigh what they are acting upon. But it should never be forgotten that it was through popular clamor that Pontius Pilate for political reasons surrendered Christ Himself to be crucified. THE Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture calls attention to the extensive occurrence of measles in sheep, due to a species of tapeworm derived from sheep-dogs. More than 17,000 cases of the sheep slaughtered under federal inspection were found to be affected with measles; and the bureau assures us that as the methods of meat inspection become more efficient, a greater number of cases will be detected. It is declared that no great harm can be done if a few of these parasites hidden in the muscles of the flesh escape observation, but at the same time it is better to follow the more rational method of a purely vegetarian diet, and thus avoid all difficulty either from measles in meat or from any other source of contamination. A DESPATCH has been going the rounds of some of the papers, stating that G. B. Thompson, of Washington, D. C., secretary of the North American Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, has declared that the present year will see the end of the world. G. B. Thompson is one of our editorial contributors; and we know him well enough, and the doctrines that he holds, to know that he never stated any such thing. A report of this kind is either a misunderstanding or else a misrepresentation. No Seventh-day Adventist believes or teaches that we may definitely set a time for the Lord to come. We believe that the end is very near, but the definite time is something that God has not revealed. This is our teaching, and such it has ever been. THE Army and Navy Journal reports that among the young men examined in Chicago for enlistment in the army, seventy-eight per cent were rejected. In New York eighty per cent were rejected. In Savannah, New Orleans, and Little Rock the percentage was seventy-eight, and in San Francisco the percentage was eighty. Either the best of our young men are not presenting themselves for enlistment in the army, or else this showing indicates quite a deterioration in the race. It will be remembered that England recently had to lower her standard of physical perfection in order to keep her army supplied with a proper number of recruits. EVEN in Russia they are learning the evil effects from the liquor traffic, and the council of the empire has adopted a measure regulating the sale of alcohol which is very drastic for that people. Among the prohibitions, liquor is not allowed to be sold in towns between eleven o'clock at night and nine o'clock in the morning, and it will not be sold after six o'clock in the evening in country districts. The sale of liquor is entirely prohibited in a number of public establishments, including government offices, refreshment rooms, in theaters, concert halls, moving-picture shows, and public gardens. FOUR years ago the legislature of Massachusetts appointed a commission to investigate drunkenness. After these years of diligent inquiry, the commission finds that something like sixty-five per cent of the total cost of crime in Massachusetts may be traced directly to the open saloon. Facts like these, together with the constant wails from broken hearts, are the impelling reasons that are causing people to see that the liquor traffic is evil and only evil. It has absolutely no redeeming feature. THE Standard Oil Company is pushing its work very aggressively in China, and seeking to gain control of the oil properties in that part of the world. THE much talked about Wisconsin "eugenic law" has run against a judicial decision of "unconstitutionality."