The Wicked Resurrected at Its Close—This Earth to Have a New Creation—The Beautiful New Jerusalem to Come Down from Heaven to Remain on the Newly Created Earth
By ALLEN MOON
In a study last week, we learned from the word of God that during the thousand years, the saints will be in heaven. Revelation, chapter 20, is the only scripture in which we find mention of that period. The wicked, destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming, will not be raised until the end of the one thousand years. The earth will be without form, and void, and darkness will be upon the face of the deep, as it was in the chaotic beginning of its creation—a fit place for the abode of Satan for the thousand years.
Satan, the author of sin, has marred the beauty of God’s creation, and has brought the curse upon everything that pertains to this earth. Even the Garden of Eden was removed. When the Redeemer ascended to heaven after His resurrection, Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven into the earth (see Revelation 12), which is the only world whose inhabitants had yielded to his deceptions. Here he might finish his work of iniquity as a spectacle and object-lesson to the universe. Here his punishment will begin during the thousand years, to be completed at its close. Here, in the midst of the darkness which sin has wrought, Satan will be left to meditate upon his course, which has brought ruin to mankind, and has marred the perfection of God’s universe.
Of the events to follow immediately the thousand-year period, the prophet Isaiah has given a very definite and cheering statement from the mouth of God, as follows:
“For, behold, I create new heavens [atmospheric] and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” Isa. 65:17, 18.
Out of chaos and out of darkness God will bring the new creation without the curse, “a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” The Saviour of mankind said:
“In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2.
The prophet above quoted said, “Behold, I create Jerusalem” (a place of peace); and the beloved John is permitted to say:
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev. 21:1, 2.
The city is prepared in heaven, according to the Saviour’s promise; and when the new earth without the curse appears, the city with its mansions fair comes down to earth to be the capital of the abode of the saints.
The saints likewise come to earth with the city, for John says again:
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Rev. 21:3.
“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.” Verse 24.
John the revelator was indeed permitted a view of the future abode of the saints; and the Lord has still further revealed to His people the condition of the new earth, for we read:
“For the Lord shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord: joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” Isa. 51:3.
Of Jerusalem and the earth, the Lord instructed His servant to say:
“Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee.” “And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isa. 62:4, 5; 65:21, 22.
This, then, is not in the time of the millennium, but in eternity; not in the state of mortality, but immortality. The Lord, by His promise—“Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands”—says they shall eternally enjoy the work of their hands.
We have traced the events connected with the saints until we find them in the new-earth state, and have left Satan in the bottomless pit, and the wicked in death. Let us see what, according to Scripture, becomes of those found in rebellion.
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.” Rev. 20:7–10.
Many hundreds of years before John’s day, the Lord had instructed His prophet to write regarding Satan, as follows:
“Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” Eze. 28:18, 19.
How ignominious is the end of the deceiver and leader of the wicked hosts of earth, and how tragic the end of all who continue to follow his deception!
Some inquiry may be made as to the nations which Satan at once proceeds to deceive when he is released at the end of the thousand-year period. They are evidently the resurrected nations; for after John had spoken of the resurrection of the righteous at the beginning of that period, he said:
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Rev. 20:5.
Paul also bears this testimony:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Cor. 15:22, 23.
In God’s great plan it is provided that all the seed of Adam shall have a resurrection, unconditionally, from the death which was the result of Adam’s sin; but not so in the case of the second death. There is no promise of life to the finally impenitent.
In conclusion, the millennium of the Bible is not a period of the reign of righteousness on earth, but that which marks the end of the reign of sin by the death of all sinners living on the earth at the second advent, and the beginning of the reign of righteousness with the saints in heaven. At the close of this period, the reign of righteousness is transferred, with the saints, to the earth, which is to be made new, without the presence of the deceiver or the deceived. Thus this word shall be literally fulfilled:
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa. 25:8.
A Sweet Temper
No trait of character is more valuable in a woman than the possession of a sweet temper. It is like the flowers that spring up in our pathway, reviving and cheering us. Let a man go home at night, wearied with the toils of the day, and how soothing is a word dictated by a good disposition! It is sunshine falling on the heart. He is happy, and the cares are forgotten. A sweet temper has a soothing influence over the mind of a whole family. Where it is found in the wife and mother, you observe kindness and love predominating over the natural feelings of a hard heart. Smiles, kind words and looks, characterize the children, and peace and love have their dwelling there. A sweet temper is more valuable than gold, it captivates more than beauty, and to the close of life, it retains all its freshness and power.”
Religion Seen in Actions
“I WOULD not give much for your religion unless it can be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine. A lighthouse sounds no drum, it beats no gong, and yet, far over the waters its friendly spark is seen by the mariner. So let your actions shine out your religion. Let the main sermon of your life be illustrated by your conduct, and it shall not fail to be illustrious.”
Witnesses, Not Champions
By J. A. L. Derby
Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses.” Only that? But who shall meet the blatant infidel, the scoffing atheist, the fallacies of the agnostic?
Why, dear soul, did you not know that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church of the living God? and that not because of sharp-witted defenders, but because of witnesses armed with a positive testimony?
Human life is often decided by a lawyer's argument; but truth lives by the testimony of its witnesses. Don't fear for Christian polemics, but fear lest you fail of the power of the Holy Ghost. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses.”
J. A. L. DERBY.
The Signs and the Seasons of His Coming
By W. A. S.
THE index finger of prophecy points to the time in which we live as the last days, when the next great event in the development of the plan of salvation is the climax of all—the second coming of Christ.
The great historic lines of prophecy in Daniel show it. The history of the world was outlined in the second chapter,—the fall of Babylon, and the succession of Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, the division of the Roman Empire into the kingdoms of western Europe; and in the days of these kings, the God of heaven was to set up a kingdom. We are living “in the days of these kings.”
In the seventh chapter, the same outline of history was shown under different symbols; and in addition, the rise and work of the papacy was predicted. For a long period of 1,260 years, it was to rule with a strong hand; and with the close of this period, the prophet saw events shaping for the end of time.
Just so Jesus, in answering the questions of His disciples, represented the events of the last days as following immediately upon the ending of the long period of papal supremacy. The disciples had heard His prophecy of the fall of Jerusalem, and they came to Him with two questions. “Tell us, when shall these things be?” they said, “and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matt. 24: 3.
In answering the latter question, Jesus pictured the scattering of the Jewish people among the nations (Luke 21: 24), and then foretold the persecutions to come upon Christian believers during a long period of tribulation, manifestly the time of papal supremacy and persecution of which Daniel the prophet had written. And following this, the signs of the near coming of the Lord were to begin to appear. He said:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” Matt. 24: 29.
In the days when students of prophecy were beginning to see that the predicted period of papal supremacy was drawing to its close, with hope for the spread of increasing light and the drawing near of Christ’s glorious reign, there came the famous “dark day” of 1780, when the sun was turned to darkness over the whole of the New England States and regions adjoining. And on the night following, the moon refused to give its natural light. Unbelief easily scoffs at such signs, but at the time of their occurrence these unexplainable phenomena filled hearts with awe and solemn wondering. Again, as time passed, there came the famous shooting-star or meteoric shower of 1833, which reminded observers of the words of Holy Writ, “And the stars shall fall from heaven.” This appeared over the New World, while another similar display came to Europe and western Asia in 1860. These two displays led astronomers to predict the periodical reappearance of such star showers; but these predictions failed.
Following the description of signs in the heavens, Christ foretold conditions in the earth—“upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity.” Luke 21: 25. Other prophecies tell of reasons for the distress and perplexity. The last days were to witness the arming of the nations, and the turning of plowshares into swords (Joel 3: 10) before the coming of “the day of the Lord.” We see it before our eyes. And the prophet James describes the social unrest, and the strife between labor and capital, that were to mark “the last days.” James 5: 1-7.
We see developing rapidly about us exactly the conditions described.
Thus signs in the heavens and in the earth too numerous even to list here, proclaim that “the last days” have indeed come.
No one can tell the day or the hour of Christ’s coming. No prophecy whatsoever fixes the year. Christ’s declaration forever forbids setting the time: “Of that day and hour knoweth no man.” Matt. 24: 36. But He tells us what we may know. Referring to the signs of the last days, He says:
“Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matt. 24: 32-34.
And surest or closest sign of all is the rise and progress of the great advent movement of the prophecy of Revelation 14, which is to carry the last message of preparation for the Judgment-hour to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” just before Christ comes to reap the harvest of the earth. That movement of the prophecy has arisen, and it is declaring the message, in the very terms of Rev. 14: 6-12, on every continent. The day is at hand, and the final work of witnessing is being done. To watchful believers to-day apply the words of the apostle:
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thess. 5: 1-6.
W. A. S.
Immortality—Do We Have It Now? How Do We Get It?
By G. B. T.
IT is the generally accepted view of the greater part of the so-called “orthodox” churches that the soul is immortal, and that what we term “death” is not really death, but a mere transition. This is also the fundamental belief of the Roman Catholic Church, on which they build their belief in purgatory and other of their false teaching. It can be added, also, that the belief in inherent immortality and consequent consciousness in death is the foundation of all heathenism; it is the very tap-root of this awful darkness and gloom which hangs like a funeral pall over millions of the inhabitants of the earth who know not God.
In very many modern sermons, prayers, and hymns, either directly or indirectly, reference is made to “immortal souls,” or consciousness in death. As an example, one favorite hymn reads:
“A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify;
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.”
Then the poet, seeming to forget what he said in the first verse, says in the second:
“If I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.”
The incongruity of saying a “never-dying soul” is to “forever die,” did not seem to be considered by the poet, and has not been by many thousands who have sung these stanzas in worship of God.
Listening to these declarations from their earliest recollections, hearing them reiterated over and over by those who pose as religious teachers and whose sincerity they have no reason to call in question, many have naturally concluded that the Holy Scriptures abound in such terms as “immortal soul,” “deathless” or “never-dying spirit,” etc. Being told at funerals, as a source of comfort and consolation, that there is no such thing as death, but that the one we love has only gone on before to his reward, millions, without searching the Scriptures, have come to regard this as an established fact; and those who challenge the truthfulness of this tenet of “orthodoxy,” and endeavor to show how it sets aside many of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible, and is made the basis as well of some of the most horrible and God-dishonoring dogmas, are classed among the infidels and unbelieving. But at the risk of being so classified, we venture to reconnoiter around this citadel of error, and uncover the unscriptural foundation upon which it is built, and point out the real originator of this dogma. Gibbon says:
“The theologian may indulge the pleasing task of describing religion as she descended from74heaven arrayed in her native purity. A more melancholy duty is imposed on the historian. He must discover the inevitable mixture of error and corruption which she contracted in a long residence upon earth, among a weak and degenerate race of beings.”—Volume 1, chapter 15, paragraph 2.
That there is a “mixture of error” in much of the modern theology, all must admit. That none is more fatal, or inclined to lead farther from the truth, than a belief in the natural immortality of the soul, the Scriptures of truth must clearly show.
Turning from the uncertain teachings of men to the eternal rock of Scripture, what do we find in reference to this subject?
“The terms ‘immortal’ and ‘immortality’ are not found in the Old Testament, either in our English version or in the original Hebrew. There is, however, one expression, in Gen. 3:4, which is, perhaps, equivalent in meaning, and was spoken in reference to the human race; namely, ‘Thou shalt not surely die.’ But unfortunately for believers in natural immortality, this declaration came from one whom no person would like to acknowledge as the author of his creed. It is what the devil said to Eve, the terrible deception by means of which he accomplished her fall, and so ‘brought death into the world, and all our wo.’ But does not the New Testament supply this seemingly unpardonable omission of the Old, by many times affirming that all men have immortality?”
“Remembering the many times you have heard and read from Biblical expositors that you were in possession of an immortal soul, how many times do you think the New Testament declares that you have such an immortal soul? One hundred times?—No. Fifty?—No. Ten?—No. Five?—No. Twice?—No! Once?—NO!”—“Man’s Nature and Destiny,” page 17.
The word “immortal” is found but once in the New Testament, and is in this instance applied directly to the omnipotent God. “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Tim. 1:17.
APHTHARTOS
The original word, however, from which “immortal” is here translated, aphthartos, occurs in six other texts as follows:
“And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” Rom. 1:23.
“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an uncorruptible.” 1 Cor. 9:25.
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised uncorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Cor. 15:52.
“To an inheritance uncorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:4.
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of uncorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” 1 Peter 1:23.
“But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” 1 Peter 3:4.
It will be noticed that in each text the word is translated “uncorruptible,” but in no instance is it applied to mortal man.
The word “immortality” is translated from two words in the Greek, as follows:
ATHANASIA
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Cor. 15:53.
“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:54.
“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.” 1 Tim. 6:16.
APHTHARSIA
“To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.” Rom. 2:7.
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption.” 1 Cor. 15:42.
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” 1 Cor. 15:50.
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Cor. 15:53.
“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:54.
“Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” Eph. 6:24.
“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10.
“In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity.” Titus 2:7.
In these scriptures quoted we have the testimony of the Bible relative to the use of the words “immortal” and “immortality.” In not a single instance are the terms applied to man in his present state. It is explicitly stated that God “only hath immortality.” Immortality is an attribute of the Deity alone. Then man does not possess it. These texts show that immortality is set before us as something to seek for, and will be bestowed only upon the believer at the resurrection. It is at this glorious hour, not at birth, that “this mortal” puts on immortality.
To claim, as many do, that the Scriptures teach that man possesses an immortal, deathless spirit by nature, is to torture and garble, by human reason and philosophy, the plain words of the Bible into meaning the very reverse of what they clearly say.
G. B. T.
“Search the Scriptures”
By L. A. R.
WE should fear to skim the word of God.” So says a well-known religious writer. It expresses a truth not often realized. Superficiality is the price paid for slothfulness. It is only he who is willing to study deep and long that uncovers the precious truths of God. It is only he who digs deep that opens the precious mines of hidden lore. It is only he who sends down a great sounding-line far below the surface that touches the foundations of God’s profound revelation.
There are men who will take their lives in their hands, who will leave home and family and comforts, that they may discover some unseen country far to the north, or far to the south, or somewhere around this belted earth. There are those who will labor night and day, snatching a little food now and then, sleeping as they may, laboring in scientific research, that they may discover some unknown germ of disease, or reveal some new principle in the world of force or matter. There are men who are willing to put forth effort in business, and in the many varied activities of life.
But who is ready to study God’s word with the zeal and energy and time and effort that the great revelation of unsearchable wisdom demands?
God has provided that energy put forth, great effort exerted, in any legitimate line of life’s activities, shall be repaid thirty, sixty, a hundredfold; but nowhere else has He provided such rich rewards as are to be found in the study of the book of God. In studying the Word, the results are not merely temporal, they are not confined to these immediate days, but they bring one face to face with the realities that will never end throughout the stretching cycles of God’s eternity. In the study of God’s word, one becomes energized by a power that is divine, and that changes body, mind, and soul into the similitude of God’s own character.
Let us heed, then, the injunction of Christ, “Search the Scriptures.” Let us hunt for the precious jewels of God’s promises, shining in their luster, without rival, gems of the rarest beauty. Knowing where is the field that contains the hidden treasure, let us sell all and buy it, that we may have the knowledge that is above the wealth of the world.
L. A. R.
A Miracle of Perseverance and Success
THERE are very few people, comparatively, who know of the great work accomplished by the late Samuel I. J. Schereschewsky, missionary bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was born a Jew; but while he was in the University of Breslau, a Hebrew New Testament fell into his hands, and through reading it he became convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. This led him to a break with his family, and he came to America, where his education was completed in a theological seminary of New York. He went as a missionary to China, and on a hot August day in 1881 he had a stroke, and was partially paralyzed in consequence. Most people, under such circumstances, would have thought their work at an end; but he began to translate the Scriptures into Wen-li, the classical dialect. He did his work at first by dictation, but afterward he used a typewriter, employing the Roman alphabet to spell out the Chinese sounds. Part of the time his middle finger, the only one of which he had the use, was too weak to press down the keys, and he used a stick for the purpose. He continued his task under these difficulties for nine years. His Wen-li version was found so good that the Bible Society undertook the expense of printing it. He also superintended the printing of a version of the Old Testament in Mandarin.
Thus, under these seemingly impossible conditions, Bishop Schereschewsky gave to the world two of the best Chinese versions of the Bible, both of which were adopted by the Bible societies as the best translations then existing.
When the Master was here upon earth, He made the prediction that His gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations. The great Chinese nation was in existence when He uttered that statement. Other nations of the Orient were in existence, though largely unknown to the human family. But the Lord715of glory knew what would be done after weary centuries would pass by, and so He made the announcement.
When the time comes for the fulfilment of that great prophecy, we see men arising to do just such heroic deeds as this work of the great though comparatively unknown bishop. His labors were quiet, and in his retired position only a few, comparatively, came to know him or about him. Yet without doubt, when the Master uttered the prophecy concerning the gospel going to all nations, He had in mind this very bishop, and knew of the great work that he would do; and it has been one of the miracles of His grace to keep the man alive and to show what divine power could do through an instrument of such physical weakness. One of the greatest miracles that the Lord has ever performed is the miraculous work that was accomplished by Bishop Schereschewsky.
Two more of Paul's epistles enter into this week's reading, namely, Philippians and Colossians. The epistle to the Philippians was written while Paul was in prison in Rome, to the Christians in Philippi, an important town of Macedonia, on the great highway from east to west. It had been named after Philip II by himself. In St. Paul's time it was a Roman colony. Here, when Paul first visited it, he had been grievously maltreated, and yet it was that church which sent once and again to his necessities when he was elsewhere. The great apostle pours out his heart to his friends, and entreats them to be of one accord and one mind, and thanks them heartily for their great kindness to him.
Colosse was situated in southwest Phrygia, on the river Lycus. In the fifth century B.C. it was great and prosperous, but was gradually dwarfed by Laodicea. It was known to St. Paul seemingly only by report, and was probably founded by Epaphras. There had appeared in Colosse, however, some philosophical teachers who were endeavoring to graft upon Christianity their subtle schemes. It is an epistle full of great power and richness. There fall within this week psalms 103, 108, 110-115. These are all very helpful in spiritual life.
Teaching Religion in the Schools
A YEAR ago, when Lawrence, Massachusetts, was having her famous strike, 30,000 men, women, and children paraded the streets as a protest against the display of the “No God; no master” banners of the Industrial Workers of the World. This year Lawrence celebrated the anniversary of that parade in a popular meeting in the opera-house. Bird S. Coler, of New York, was the principal speaker. Two important paragraphs of his address are the following:
“We are aiding Socialism vastly by taking religion out of our public schools. We are spending millions of money for an educational system which has no religious content. We are turning out of these public schools for which we pay so much money, graduates who believe that science has demolished religion, whose training has been given with the object of preparing for material success. We must reintroduce religion into our educational system if we are to have a righteous nation and to stand up against the red tide.
“Let every creed control its own schools, and let the state pay per capita for the education of each child so educated. Let even the agnostics maintain their own educational institutions; let there be no injustice to any class or creed. In this way, instead of turning our great educational funds into a war chest for the Socialist party, we shall inform and inspire the future generation of American citizens so as to cut out the evils at present existing in our political life.”
There are a great many people who quite fully recognize that the social difficulties and evils of this time are due to a lack of genuine religion. There are many who think that this defect can be remedied by having religion taught in our various schools. But do these people take into account that the religion of Jesus Christ that saves can not be taught by those who do not have a practical experience themselves in the gospel? It takes more than mere religious knowledge or religious teaching to uplift the soul. There must be actual contact with God by His Spirit and through His word. The sympathetic touch that this contact gives to the life is the only thing that can lay a foundation for teaching religion in such a way that it will uplift.
This age has gone science-mad, and just as Mr. Coler says, a generation of men have been educated to “believe that science has demolished religion.” What we need in this time is something much deeper than any mere superficial teaching of religion. We need the powerful message of the prophets and apostles to show this world that it is lost in sin, and that it is rapidly taking the plunge into irretrievable ruin. The message from on high that will arouse the conscience and convert the soul to true standards of Christian life is the message that is needed.
