ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE
Proposed Celebration Among English-Speaking Peoples
It was on Christmas eve, 1814, that representatives of this nation and representatives from Great Britain together signed the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war of 1812. Mr. John Quincy Adams was one of those who, on behalf of the United States, signed this treaty, and shortly afterward he expressed the hope that the peace thus restored should be enduring. Soon thereafter, peace societies came into being in both America and England, and "within three years, by formal agreement, the boundary-line between the United States and Canada became a mere political limitation, like the peaceful boundaries that separate the states of the American Union, instead of a series of fortifications between two nations mutually distrustful of one another." England and the United States now for a full century have been able to settle all their disputes and difficulties by diplomacy and arbitration. And the suggestion was made four years ago, by the American Peace Committee, that there be a general celebration, not only in this country, but in Great Britain, and in all her self-governing colonies, of this century of peace between English-speaking nations. To be sure, these nations have had rebellions among themselves, as, for instance, the great war of 1861-64 in this country; and both this country and England have had wars with other nations since that time. But as between the English-speaking peoples themselves, they have not been at war with each other; and so it is proposed that a great celebration shall proclaim to the world the benefits of this era of peace. The whole world has been invited to enter into it, and it is hoped that such a celebration of such a world-wide character may tend toward permanent international peace. We appreciate the aims and purposes that we are sure many of these large-souled men and women have in putting forth such efforts to create a sentiment in favor of peace. There is nothing so demoralizing, so brutal, and so barbarous as war. It is entirely foreign to every sentiment and principle of the great Prince of peace; and while recognizing these principles, and while seeking to labor in every way that we possibly can to promote and perpetuate peace, yet we can not be blind to the fact that the spirit of war is as strong in this generation as it ever was in the history of this world. Commerce and trade on the one hand, and religion on the other, have been the two great incentives to practically all the wars of history. This age is commercially mad. Men are struggling for commercial supremacy, and great princes of commerce are combining the world through interlocking confederacies for securing and holding trade. Religious combinations which may seem fair, and promise much on the surface, are making their appearance; and he who has carefully noted how history repeats itself, must regard them as ominous. Thus we have these two great elements, commerce and religion, occupying positions in the world that indicate, to the careful observer, that the materials for war are still with us, and in as great proportions as ever. But regardless of all appearances that would mark the tendencies of war, the prophets of the Bible have declared, not merely in some isolated or obscure text, but in numerous passages, that the closing days of this world's history would be marked by the intensities of war preparations that would finally lead to the great and final battle-fields of Armageddon. And more striking still, if such could be the case, these same prophets point out the fact that while these war-clouds are gathering and the nations are making their great war preparations, yet there will be such outward enthusiasm in favor of peace that finally the position will be reached where the whole world will be107saying, "Peace and safety," just before the great, sudden destruction of Armageddon's war. The prophets make these things plain, and we can see in the world the conditions that fit the prophetic declarations accurately. There never was a time in the world's history when there were such awful preparations for war, and never was there a time when more was said in favor of peace, and when there were greater or more influential peace societies and peace organizations. It is a strange medley of contradictory conditions, and the marvelous thing of it all is that the prophets thousands of years ago should have foretold these things that appear to be so opposite in character as to render them wholly unlikely ever to occur. Isaiah and Micah tell of the many people who will be saying that they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-hooks; and John the seer of Patmos, and Jeremiah, and Joel, tell us that at the time of the Judgment the nations will be angry, and that the spirits of demons will be stirring the kings of the earth to war preparatory to the rush into the furies of Armageddon. All Christian peoples must do everything within their power to work for peace, because they are marshaled under the banner of the great Prince of peace. But while working for peace, we must not close our eyes to the prophetic utterances which reveal to us the true meaning of the conditions of this time; because through that prophetic Word we look beyond the turmoil of Armageddon to the glorious scene of the coming of Christ, bringing with Him an immortal crown of glory for every individual who accepts Him and who through His power has been prepared to receive Him.