(243-244) ices, before their relatives or acquaintances discover their mental impairment; so they say ‘‘They have gone insane over religion.’’ The source may be that in themselves they feel a loss, a sense of insufficiency, and in searching for help turn to any or all forms of faith. I am sure we do not wish to give the demons more glory, credit and notoriety than we can help! Only a week ago a bright, attractive woman was brought to the hospital, and to my usual question: ‘‘What do you think ig the cause?’’ put to two of the family separately, the prompt reply from each was, ‘‘Russellism.’’ They were shown that THE WATCH TOWER Brooktiyn, N. Y. she had been insane seven years before she attended a meeting. This is the third case in which this cause was given without any hesitation, and in each case the fallacy of the reasoning was made apparent to the relatives. Credulity is such a common weed! and it flourishes because it requires so little to feed upon. But ‘‘O, the blest morning already is here!’ Your sister in the glorious hope, Mary CuHrRISTIANCY (M.D.). Of State Hospital for Insane. Vou. XXXV VIEW FROM The long expected shaking of the social earth is, we believe, already in progress. The great war for which Europe has heen drilling its troops, preparing its treasuries and armaments, is shaking every nation of the world, financially, socially, politically. Strong as the nations feel themselves to he, all tremble in dread at the results of the conflict now in progress. Only the Bible can or does speak authoritatively respecting results. In the same breath it tells of disaster and of blessings—disaster to the nations, but ultimate blessings to the people through the new government of Messiah’s kingdom. St. Paul, referring to our day and to present conditions, declares the Lord’s message, ‘‘ Yet once more will I shake, rot the earth only, but also the heavens.’’ By inspiration the Apostle informs us that this will be the last great shaking which the world will ever have, because in this troubled time in the early dawn of the Millennium, everything shakable wil be shaken and destroyed so thoroughly that nothing will remain except that which is unshakable—that which will fully have the divine approval. The Apostle says that the only thing remaining unshakable will be the kingdom of God in the hands of The Christ—-Head and body.—Hebrews 12:18-27. We should not get the thought that the shaking of the nations is just beginning, but rather that the shaking that has been in progress for some time is now reaching its violent stage. For years Europe has heen trembling with occasional violent revolutionary shocks; but now it is preparing for the great shock, the great ‘‘earthquake,’’ as the Bible symbolically styles it.—Revelation 16:18. Knowledge is power. For the past fifty years in particular knowledge has been preparing the masses of humanity, and their power has been growing apace. Proportionately the errors, superstitions and serfdoms of the past have been obliged to yield. A social revolution hag proportionately progressed, different in its kind from anything of the past. Socialism is a revolution based upon inerease of knowledge, even though, as we shall seek to demonstrate, much of its reasoning is fallacious, and much of its work likely, in the future, to be terribly injurious; in fact, if not eventually overruled by Christ’s kingdom, nothing would escape its misguided destructiveness. NATIONS HURRYING TO ARMAGEDDON Europe is honeycombed with Socialism, which, like yeast, is fermenting the entire social fabric. Kings and emperors dare not oppose it too openly, and all of their secret intrigues have failed to hinder its development. The general war now begun has inspiration from different quarters. Politics have to do with it—a desire to enlarge national boundaries. Religion has something to do with it—the Greek and the Roman Catholie churches being opponents, the sympathies and prejudices of the people are directed accordingly. But Soeialism is, we believe, the main factor in the war now raging and which will be earth’s greatest and most terrible war—and probably the last. Socialism is related to the war by the fact that kings and emperors hope that patriotism and self-defense will cement the interests and sympathies of their peoples, now tending to disintegrate under the influence of Socialism. They would rather risk a general war than face a social revolution. Already press reports tell us that in Russia patriotic enthusiasm is healing dissension. They tell us further that the differences between the Nationalists and the Ulsterites of Ireland are heing forgotten in the presence of the war crisis, which has involved Great Britain. Doubtless the same is true in Germany to a considerable extent. The various political factions are ignoring their differences in the presence of a national danger. Austria-Hungary, four distinct peoples with varying interests and centrifugal tendencies, will doubtless be welded together in self-defense. Similarly, the discontented of France and Italy are having their attention diverted temporarily. For a time, at least, the peace propaganda and the BROOKLYN, N. Y., AUGUST 15, 1914 THE TOWER determination of the internationals to oppose the war is drowned by publi¢ sentiment. THE WAR CLOUD’S SILVER LINING But after the shock of batthe—What? Such a war as is now progressing will surely bring no great victory to any single nation or to any combination of nations. The winners in the war will surely pay a high price for every victory. Civilization, falsely styled Christendom (Christ’s kingdom), drenched with blood and terribly impoverished at the end of the war, will have been only partially shaken. The great Armageddon battle of the Scriptures will have been only partially fought. The remnants of armics, returning to their homes sour and discouraged with defeat or costly victory, will be war-sick and mad against their rulers who led to the carnage. Then the great Armageddon of the Bible may be expected. Every man’s hand will be against his neighbor. Various faetions and parties will proclaim panaceas, and will endeavor to force them upon the public. As a result, forctold in prophecy, ‘‘there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.’’—Daniel 12:1. The shaking process will continue, the Apostle tells us, until Messiah’s unshakable kingdom shall assert itself and take control of the world’s affairs. The Lord through the Prophet Haggai tells us this, saying, ‘‘I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.’’? (Chapter 2:7) All people really desire peace, joy, happiness, blessing, such as God purposes to provide through Messiah’s kingdom. The world really wants what God purposes to give them; but they do not comprehend their needs, and are seriously misled as to the methods by which they might be obtained. We as Bible students are coming more and more to appreciate the fact that the divine plan presented in the Bible is wonderful in its simplicity and its comprehensiveness. More and more we are coming to see that our error in the past has been that we studied not the Bible, but the creeds—and correspondingly had darkness instead of light. SYMBOLIC SHAKING AND BURNING Note again St. Paul’s quotation of the Lord’s words, ‘‘ Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.’’ (Hebrews 12:26) We have seen what the shaking of earth signifies as respects society, governments, social order. In the same symbolic language of prophecy the heavens represent the ecclesiastical systems, as the earth represents the social. The meaning of the Lord’s words is, therefore, clear; the coming trouble is not to be merely one upon the world of mankind, but in a very special sense it is to signify a shaking of the church—the ecclesiastical, or spiritual, or heavenly powers. There are doubtiess saints in every church, in every sect, in every party. And these alone constitute the true church, the saints of God—‘‘the church of the first-borns, whose names are written in heaven.’’ (Hebrews 12:23) The masses of Christians of all denominations, according to this prophecy, will be shaken—shaken in faith, shaken from their self-conceit, superstitions and bigotries. Only the true church, only those who are in vital union with Christ, only the saints, will remain unshaken in the strennous storm described by the Apostle. While Socialism has heen shaking the political earth for the past thirty years, other forces have been shaking with great severity the ecclesiastical heavens. Inquire where we may, we find that not only ignorance and superstition have been letting go their hold upon al) Christians, but additionally many of God’s professed people have been shaken loose from faith in a divine revelation—many even shaken loose from faith in a personal God. Indeed, it is the habit of Christian ministers to hoast amongst themselves that they have lost faith in the Bible ——under the influence of what is known as higher criticism, formerly styled infidelity. Probably not more than one in ten of all the Protestant ministers of the world would today acknowledge that he still holds fast his faith and confidence in the Bible as God’s inspired message. The other nine-tenths, if cross-questioned. [5516]
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