Signs of the Times, Vol. 41, No. 45.

Telegraph and Postal Communication in India
Earlier text: Telegraph and Postal Communication in India

Has Armageddon Truly Come?

The Present War in the Wrong Locality — The Scenes Ahead of Us to Be Turmoil and Strife, and Not Peace — Armageddon Not Far Hence — The Close of Probation and the Second Coming of Christ By M. N. CAMPBELL
THE ALGERIAN "FIRE-EATERS" OF THE FRENCH ARMY, LEAVING PARIS FOR THE BATTLE-FIELD
THE ALGERIAN "FIRE-EATERS" OF THE FRENCH ARMY, LEAVING PARIS FOR THE BATTLE-FIELD
FOR some years in the past, the talk of "peace and safety" has been exceedingly popular, and the most optimistic ideas have been heralded over the earth and very generally accepted. We have been assured that war was a thing of the past; that arbitration had taken its place; that "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
The following, taken from an editorial in Shields' Magazine of October, 1909, is a very fair specimen of the views entertained and promulgated of late:

"NO MORE WAR?"

"There is no further doubt of it, no way of disguising the fact. The air-ship has put the battle-ship out of business. The great coast defense guns, the bristling field guns, the thousands of infantry and cavalry small arms, and the hundreds of tons of ammunition stored at the various army posts and arsenals, are simply so much junk. The air-ship, with its possible cargo of dynamite, has made playthings of the world's great navies and fortifications. A one hundred pound can of dynamite, dropped from the clouds, would destroy any Dreadnought ever built or dreamed of, or would wipe a whole regiment of infantry or cavalry off the roster. Armies and navies will be kept hereafter merely for centennials, world's fairs, and for social or official intercourse between nations. War is a thing of the past. Verily, the sword shall be turned into the plowshare, and the rifle into the picket fence."
The fact that every nation has been feverishly preparing for bloody strife did not in the least deter prophets of peace from voicing loud assurances that war would come no more, forgetting the Scripture warning that "when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them."

THE CRASH WAS PREDICTED

Some thoughtful minds, however, were able to discern the true situation, and frankly acknowledged their sentiments. As long ago as 1897, Julian Hawthorne, writing in Collier's Weekly concerning an eruption in the Austrian parliament, said:
"You can not calm the Austrian parliament by remedying the particular trumpery abuses which have exploded there, but only by relieving Europe at large of the political and social evils that have been steadily accumulating for a thousand years past. The pressure announces itself in a hundred different ways, but all of them mean the same thing. It is the irrepressible revolt of man against its oppressors, human and statutory. . . . Sometimes it wears the guise of a strike, sometimes an epidemic of suicides, sometimes of a financial panic. The wise men get together and stop up the holes, and the thing breaks forth in another spot. More and more distinctly every day and year we perceive that good and evil are definitely arraying themselves against each other, and that the battle of Armageddon must come. It is no idle myth of ecclesiastical dogma. This is the hour of compromises and makeshifts, but it is the eleventh hour; the crash can not be much longer delayed."
Just now we are confronted with a state of affairs in Europe that is leading men in all walks of life to inquire, "Is this Armageddon?"

IS ARMAGEDDON IN PROGRESS?

To answer this question intelligently, we must consider what the Bible says on the subject. The term "Armageddon" is used but once in the Scriptures, and is there applied to the place where the armies of the world will assemble just before the struggle described as the "battle of the great day of God Almighty."
Armageddon is located about fifty-five miles north of Jerusalem, and includes within its limits the extended plain of Esdraelon between Mount Carmel and Mount Tabor. The soil of this plain has been stained for ages with the blood of contending armies; and here, where Israelite and Philistine, Egyptian and Assyrian, Roman and Greek, Saracen and Crusader, have fought their sanguinary battles, the armies of the east and the west will meet to fight the last great battle of earth's history. The battle is evidently transferred from Armageddon to Jerusalem. Notice the following on this point:
"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow: for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3:9-14.
The valley of Jehoshaphat is just outside of Jerusalem, and here the armed hosts of the nations march from Armageddon to fight the last of all battles.

DAYS OF WAR AND NOT OF PEACE

In this connection it might be well to call attention to the fact that according to the proclamation of the Lord, the last days are to be days of war, bloodshed, and destruction, instead of days of peace and prosperity, as some who misunderstand the prophecies assert. In Isa. 2:4 are presented the things that "many people shall go and say" in the last days:
"And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
This, the statement of "many people" (see verse 3), is the very reverse of what God proclaims. See Joel 3:9 and onward. In late years this prophecy has been fulfilled in the general teaching of "peace and safety."
The battle of Armageddon will take place during the outpouring of the sixth plague, and the circumstances involved are outlined in Rev. 16: 12-16:
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."
GERMAN BIG GUN IN TRANSIT
GERMAN BIG GUN IN TRANSIT

THE DOOR OF MERCY WILL BE CLOSED

The seven last plagues are poured out just before Christ returns. The door of mercy is closed to sinners before the plagues begin to fall, for the plagues are declared to be the wrath of God poured out "without mixture into the cup of His indignation." In all previous manifestations of God's wrath, it has been mixed with mercy; but the pouring out of the plagues is "without mixture." The decree has evidently been issued: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: . . . and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. 22: 11.
The seven last plagues consist of severe judgments falling on the finally impenitent. The first is a plague of boils; the second falls on the sea, turning it into a poisonous fluid; the third turns the fresh water into blood; the fourth causes the sun to scorch men with fire; the fifth is a special plague against the Roman apostasy; and the sixth marks the drying up of the Euphrates — a symbolic expression referring to the final destruction of the Turkish dominions — and the gathering of the nations at Armageddon. Under the seventh and last plague, a terrible earthquake shakes the earth, tremendous hailstones fall, and the Lord Jesus returns to the earth, putting an end to the battle and to all else of an earthly nature.

A STRANGE SPIRIT OF WAR LUST

This in brief gives the chronology of the battle of Armageddon. Before this battle is fought, the spirits of devils go out and stir the nations to war. Those spirits have evidently already begun their work. Recent years have witnessed an amazing change on the earth. The most peacefully disposed nations have been seized with a strange spirit of war lust. Untold treasures are sacrificed on the altar of the war Moloch in the way of war preparations.
Sir Edward Grey, speaking of the war spirit in England, said: "I do not say that we are peculiar in this respect at this moment. It is really as if in the atmosphere of the world there were some mischievous influence at work which troubles and excites every part of it."
This "mischievous influence" of which Sir Edward Grey speaks is none else than the "spirits of devils" referred to in Rev. 16: 14. A writer in the Independent says: "Whatever causes of strife may have been lurking in the minds of the people of Europe, they could not have massed and exploded in this demoniac war without the agency of the head devils."
The "Euphrates" is also "drying up." This evidently refers to the gradual dismemberment of the Turkish empire, ending in its total extinction under the sixth plague. That empire has had one section after another taken from it, until it now stands shorn of Egypt, Rumania, Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Crete, and other important provinces. In Europe but little has been left to the Turk as a result of this "drying up" process. The development of the Turkish question is the main issue that leads up to Armageddon.

THE KING OF THE NORTH

In the eleventh chapter of Daniel this same power is brought to view as the "king of the north." Adam Clarke, the eminent Methodist commentator, in his comments on Dan. 11: 44, written in 1825, stated that "it may mean that the Persians on the east and the Russians on the north will at some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government."
This prediction was fulfilled in the Crimean War of 1853-1856, those two powers instigating that conflict. The next verses, Dan. 11: 45 and 12: 1, 2, continue the prophecy concerning Turkey:
"And he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
This remarkable prophecy is now in process of fulfilment, and probably the present convulsion in Europe will greatly hasten its completion.

TO MOVE TO JERUSALEM

The texts just quoted indicate that the Turk will move his capital from its present location in Constantinople to Jerusalem, which is "between the seas in the glorious holy mountain." It is an interesting fact that the Turks, in anticipation of their early expulsion from Europe, are already looking toward Jerusalem as their future capital.
But the prophet Daniel points to tremendous events that hinge on the establishment of the Turkish capital at Jerusalem.
He makes that event the commencement of the terrible "time of trouble" in which the seven last plagues are poured out and the sinfulness of all the ages develops its horrid harvest of misery and wo. Immediately following this time of trouble, according to this prophecy, comes the resurrection of the dead, the close of this dispensation, and the coming of the King who gathers both living and resurrected saints, and takes them back to heaven to spend the millennium.

INVOLVED IN THIS WAR

The Turkish question, or the Eastern question, as it is commonly called, is involved in the present war. The matter of the ultimate possession of Constantinople was the cause of this outbreak. Russia saw in Austria's declaration of war on Servia a move to subjugate all the Balkan peninsula, and with it Constantinople. Russia has plans of her own in that direction, and as a means of blocking the progress of the Teutons toward Constantinople, declared war.
Professor Albert Bushnell Hart, of Harvard University, says: "In case of victory, the Russians will certainly demand Constantinople, which means that the Turk will be finally shoved out of Europe. England and France will probably favor that solution of the near Eastern question."
Napoleon Bonaparte, before his death on St. Helena, ventured the prediction that Russia would yet become a great naval power and come into possession of Constantinople, and added, "Then God only knows what will happen." Kossuth said, "In Turkey will be decided the fate of the world."

THE GREAT CLIMAX

These quotations coincide exactly with the prophecies of God's word. It is evident that these are times of great seriousness. The work of God is nearly finished, and ere-long the gathering of the nations at Armageddon will take place. But a greater gathering than that will occur at the same time. It is described in Matt. 24: 30, 31:
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
While the present convulsions among the nations may subside for a time, it will be but a lull in the storm that is to bring on the final world conflagration.

FLOODS, FAMINE, AND UNREST IN CENTRAL CHINA

Heathen Astonishment at Warring "Christian Europe"—Finances Hindering Railway Extensions

Extensive Floods and Famine Following Them

By R. F. COTTRELL

*Elder Cottrell, in this short article, gives some interesting glimpses of conditions in the Chinese field, where he is faithfully laboring. It is literally true, as suggested some time ago by one of England's great leaders, that "it is as though the world were indulging in a fit of political alcoholism." In view of these world-wide conditions, how cheering is the "blessed hope" to which reference is made at the close of the article!*
THE noted White Wolf, who has destroyed so many towns and cities during the past year in China, is now reported to have been killed; while others affirm that he died of dysentery, was buried, and was afterward exhumed and beheaded. At any rate, the soldiers who secured his head, claimed the large reward that had been offered by the government. Whether the real White Wolf is dead or only in hiding, is still a mooted question with many. In the meantime, numerous other bands of outlaws have arisen, and are committing outrages in various parts of the country. As soon as one party has been put down, others seem to spring up to terrify the people and annoy the government. Among these bandits are large numbers of soldiers who were disbanded following the revolution of three years ago.
RAILWAY BRIDGE IN LILING, HUNAN, CHINA, AFTER THE FLOOD IN JULY, 1914
RAILWAY BRIDGE IN LILING, HUNAN, CHINA, AFTER THE FLOOD IN JULY, 1914

HEATHEN ASTONISHED

Added to this comes the unrest caused by the great European war. With astonishment the heathen behold the so-called Christian nations rushing at one another with the fury of madmen. Commerce in China is largely at a standstill; and on the east coast there has been the landing of Japanese troops for the conquest of the fortified German colony of Tsingtao. This place was forcibly leased from China in 1898 for a term of ninety-nine years, the pretext being the murder of two German Catholic priests. Therefore the people in central China, as well as those in other parts of the country, have their eyes turned toward Tsingtao; for no one is quite sure as to the designs of Japan, and the consequences of this move on her part.

BOTH DROUGHT AND FLOOD

The present crisis has also crippled the Chinese government financially, and the construction of the Hankow-Szechnen and the Hankow-Canton railway is abandoned for the present. While in some parts of the country there has been excessive drought this season, so that thousands have been reduced to beggary, in other parts there have been disastrous floods. In Hunan province we had two floods within three weeks. Throughout large sections of the country, the rice crop was entirely destroyed, and hundreds of cities and towns were suddenly made to appear surrounded by lakes and ponds. In one place where our mission has a church and an outstation, the water rose rapidly during the night. A man who has come from that place tells us that the evangelist and his family retired in the evening as usual, but were soon aroused by the rising of the water. From the bed, they climbed up on tables and boxes, piling things higher and higher as the floods increased. Finally they were compelled to tear a hole through the roof, and climb to the top of the chapel for safety, and there they were when morning dawned.

HOUSE AFTER HOUSE SWEPT AWAY

It was a time of great anxiety for them. All about were the cries of the helpless and distressed. House after house was swept away. Even their own house at the back of the chapel went down, and with it all their earthly belongings. But they were most grateful to God that their lives were preserved. In that city of some forty thousand inhabitants, two thirds of the houses were destroyed. The photographs shown herewith were taken at or near this place. It will be months before the railway bridges can be fully repaired.

ASSISTANCE URGENTLY ASKED

The government has distributed large quantities of rice to those left destitute. Nearly all the missions in the province have given some aid to the famine sufferers. We have been compelled to borrow money from the operating funds of our mission to assist our own people at this time. We trust that gifts from America to a famine relief fund may enable us to replace this loan.

THE CHEERING AND BLESSED HOPE

The signs of our Saviour's return to earth, the omens of that glad event foretold by seers of old, are fast multiplying in the Orient. "Distress of nations with perplexity," which the Lord gave as a sign of His coming, is as truly fulfilled here as elsewhere. But the sorrow and suffering about us increase the intense longing of our hearts for that land of happiness and perfection which our divine Father has promised. Present conditions give fresh impetus to the message of Christ's second coming, and many from this dark land are thus brought to work and pray with us for the speedy consummation of the blessed hope. NOTE.—Any one desiring to relieve the distress of those suffering people, may send their donations to the treasurer of the Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California.
EDITOR.

The Unsuccessful Salesman

Sought a Paltry Prize — Lost His Position

By B. M. GRANDY
A SALE was on. Rugs and carpets at reduced prices, and remnants at cost! Every salesman in the great store doing his best, that he might be the winner of a cash prize offered to the one making the largest sales!
One salesman was waiting upon a woman who wanted a piece of carpet of a certain size. A remnant, marked at $7.25, was shown her. The quality suiting her, she said she could use the piece if it were the needed size. Unwilling to cut the piece, yet fearful of losing a sale, the salesman offered her the entire piece for $5.35, which was less than the first cost.
Not prepared to take the piece that day, she had it laid aside, promising to call the next day. When she came, another salesman waited upon her. Designating the piece of carpet she wanted, she told of the transaction of the day before. He at once informed her that, according to instructions from the proprietor, no salesman was permitted to make any reductions on the marked price.
The proprietor was called, and after a few inquiries, he indignantly remarked that the too anxious salesman would be summarily discharged.
In his anxiety to win a paltry cash prizeand make a record for himself, the salesman would both rob his employer and cheat his fellow salesmen.
In the great heavenly storehouse, there is a robe of righteousness and a crown of gold for every one who will pay the price. No human being could ever pay the cost, but there was one who could — the Son of God. The only-begotten of the Father could pay the cost with His precious blood. Thus was the cost paid. The beneficiary of this transaction must accept the gift, and besides, add all that he has — his life, his all.
Many eager salesmen are to-day pleading with men to buy of the goods of the heavenly storehouse. Now, as of old, it takes all to buy the robe and the crown. Some, in their eagerness to make a record for themselves, are offering these for less than the marked price. Failing to appreciate the importance of their trust — the infinite value of the goods entrusted to their hands — they cheapen the things of heaven.
Like the dishonest carpet salesman, they thus dishonor their Master, discredit their fellow laborers, and at last fail of the prize, and hear the fateful words, “Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
The faithful salesman does not add dishonesty to diligence in the race for the eternal prize.
There are still many souls, amid the teeming millions of earth, who long to reach the high standard that the Infinite demands. These pass in disdain the cheap substitutes that are everywhere offered in place of the true.
Men bearing the title of ministers of God, standing as watchmen on the walls of Zion, can ill afford to preach anything else than the complete gospel of Christ.
Neither prophet, apostle, nor even the Christ would or could annul or change the commands of God. These commands stand “forever and forever.” And it was the hypocritical scribes that made them of no effect by their traditions.
Is the gate less strait, or the way less narrow, than it was when the Saviour discoursed on the mount, and led His disciples in their work of winning souls to be robed with His righteousness and crowned with the crown of life?

Should Know the Generation

“WATCH therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” Matt. 24: 42, 43. All depends upon knowing at what “watch” the Lord will come. They that know the “watch,” will watch, that they may stand at His coming.
In Matthew 24, the Lord reveals the various signs that definitely point out the last generation, and compares that generation to the “watch.” And though He has not seen fit to reveal the day or the hour, yet He is anxious that His people should know the generation, or “watch.”
The day was divided into four watches, “even,” “midnight,” “cockcrowing,” and “morning.” The time from the first to the second advent of Christ is therefore divided into four watches, as far as the signs given by Jesus in Matthew are concerned: the even watch, that of the first great sign given in this chapter, the destruction of Jerusalem; the midnight watch, the Dark Ages and the shortening of those days, marked by the darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780; the cockcrowing watch, that of the next sign in the heavens, the falling stars, which occurred November 13, 1833; and the last watch, the morning watch, in which we should look for the coming King, when “He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
We are living in the last watch. Let us remember the admonition of the Master, “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” “I say unto you, . . . Watch.” A. S. BOOTH.

Succeeding Under Distressing Conditions

A CAREFUL student of Bible prophecy said, a few years ago: “Fearful tests and trials await the people of God. The spirit of war is stirring the nations from one end of the earth to the other.” Truly we can see that that time is already here. Each government desires to have peace, and yet all their ways are causing the reverse. For nearly six thousand years, men have tried by force to reach that goal, and to-day we see they are no nearer it than they were when Cain slew Abel.
But through it all, God is gathering out from every nation a people that will not destroy nor kill their fellow men. Even here in the island of Haiti, our brethren are troubled on every side. They refuse to take arms, believing that their mission is to turn the minds of their fellow men in the direction of saving rather than destroying lives. Because of this, a number of them have been placed in prisons; but even there God is accomplishing a great work through them. There are many people in these prisons, and our brethren have opportunity to speak to them of the love of God, the soon coming of Jesus, and the end of this world and its reign of sin.
Thus while the Lord’s work has seemingly been hindered to a great extent, it is growing deeper and stronger than ever before. From reports I have received from different parts of the island, there are over fifty awaiting baptism; and we are sure that after the fiery trial of revolution is over, the church of God will come forth brighter and purer than ever.
We still ask the brethren in the home land to pray for the success of the work here, and we hope that soon we shall all meet, bringing our sheaves with us.
ALBERT F. PRIEGER.

The Lord’s Hand Is Not Shortened

BEHOLD, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither His ear heavy, that it can not hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.—Isaiah.

The Way

THE cry of many a heart is:
"Show me the way to that calm, perfect peace Which springs from an inward consciousness of right; To where the conflicts with the flesh shall cease, And self shall radiate with the Spirit's light. Though hard the journey and the strife, I pray, Show me the way."
The way is plainly marked out in God's word. Jesus says, "I am the way." That way is perfect. We are to wait on the Lord, and keep His way, for it is the way of life. It is the way of holiness, the way of God's commandments. There is "a way not cast up." Jer. 18: 15. It is the traditions of men. The message for to-day is, "Cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people." Isa. 62: 10. The standard is God's law. Who will rally around it? Who will gather out the stones of offense, and build up the old waste places? Isa. 58: 12, 13. Those who do this, will have great peace. Ps. 119: 165.
ELIZA H. MORTON.

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SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS

Our authority for the doctrines we teach is the Bible. Quotations are usually from the King James Version or the American Standard Revised.

THE WAR GOD

No Civilized Warfare—The Coming of the Prince of Peace Will End It Forever

As we read the appalling details of the awful catastrophe of war that daily confronts us in the press, we are reminded of the reply made by a father to his boy who asked, "Pa, what is the difference between a civilized man and a barbarian?" The father answered, "A barbarian is a man who knocks your brains out with a club at arm's length, while a civilized man blows them out a mile away."

NO CIVILIZED WARFARE

The present situation in Europe demonstrates, if any demonstration is needed, that there is no such thing as civilized warfare. War is butchery. It is wholesale murder. It stands for sorrow, suffering, and death. As well talk of a constructive tornado as civilized warfare.
Like some mighty Samson, the war god seems to be at work to pull down the temple of civilization, and turn the clock of progress back into the Dark Ages. Half of the world is convulsed by the earthquake of war. The devastations of fire and sword go on daily. A continent is torn and ruined by this awful Moloch. Through the inventive genius of man, new and tremendous dangers face the dismayed inhabitants in the cataclysm of war. In terror they must flee from their homes in the dead of the night, leaving all they have behind, lest some bomb, spreading ruin and death, is dropped upon their defenseless heads from the sky.

THE IMAGINATION STAGGERED

The nerve-racking terror and the awful catastrophe of ruin caused by all that attends a war of such vast proportions as the present one can only be realized by those who are compelled to face the situation. Human suffering is the inevitable symbol of war. It is sufficient to stagger the imagination, and cause the heart to grow faint. Tens of thousands of men are but the pawn in the game of the nations, to be slaughtered—fed to the cannon—to maintain what is called national honor and commercial supremacy. Many of the sufferers are the widows and orphans who are left to mourn in poverty and unspeakable loneliness as victims of the great military struggle. Poverty, ruin, hunger, and famine are the real members of the alliance.
Then comes the burden of grinding taxation to foot the bills caused by the enormous expenditure of funds necessary to defray the expenses of the bloody contest. What the tremendous total will be, no one can even guess. If the war is much longer continued, it is sure to bring financial disaster, resulting in the obliteration of credit.
War means paralyzed industries and a staggering debt. After the glory of victory and the despair of defeat, will come business depression.

NOT TILL THE PRINCE OF PEACE COMES

And when will war cease?—Never while sin is in the earth. The present death struggle will doubtless end sooner or later, when some nation has won a conclusive victory, or all have worn themselves out. But peace will not be permanent or long continued. Not till the Prince of peace comes, and all the nations are carried away like chaff from the threshing-floor, and the everlasting kingdom of God is ushered in, will there be real peace.
Men may talk of peace, and peace compacts may be negotiated with the nations; and all this is laudable, to be sure. But in the end, the work will come to naught. War will come again. Armageddon is ahead of us, a struggle before which the present contest pales in comparison.

THE HOPE OF THE WORLD

The hope of the world is in the advent of the Prince of peace. And it should encourage our hearts to know that His coming is near, even at the doors. By His advent He will make war to cease to the end of the earth. Glad day! G. B. T.
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