The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-08-15

pccially at its close, there IS to DE
great trouble in the earth, such as
Hnever was since there was 4 nation, y
both in civil and in ecclesiastical al
fairs, such as religious, social and po-
litical disturbances, controversies, up
hcayals, reactions, revolutions, etc,
eliminating in the greatest trouble our
world has ever known; the indications
Of which can now be felt and seen;
and owing to the prevailing ignorance
Of the present unfolding "signs Of the
times" the true cause Of the trouble is
not gen'r'ly known; SO it was at the first
advent, men could discern the signs Of
the weather in those days, but were
upbraidcd by the Saviour for their
non observance of the signs of the
times then transporting around them;
and now at the second advent, owing
TO mental blindness, the signs and in
dications Of the present trOublous
times are attributed not 70 prophecy
as they ought to be but to politics
fOrsOoth, the weight Of responsibility
falling on the party in power while
outside factions, anxious for office pro-
fcss to be in possession Of panacea for
all the ills complained of; whereas a
little careful study Of the prophetic
records and q close observance Of the
signs Of the times would show that the
trouble IS not of human origin, but
| Ominous indications of something
worse to come but to those who are
"watching," it IS the stately steppings
Of Jehovah and the distant rumbling
of His chariot wheels; slight volcanic
shock before the general eruption; a
gentle shaking Of the nations prior to
their being ground to powder and
driven by the whirlwind of Divine
wrath across that stormy sea Of I'M
precedented trouble; and when the in
djcator Of the chronological time
piece reaches the last hour of 1913,
the death knell of all present human in
situations Will be heard, eliminating in
the most disastrous outburst our race
! has ever known. And who to-day is
SO blind as not to see the portent signs
/ of the times in the lurid and murky
sky Of capital and labor; and who SO
| deaf as not to hear the OminOuS sound
Of the symbolic shouting as it arises
from behind the ramparts of the re-
speCtive hostile camps, and waited on
the dark wing of the gathering cloud,
now lowering over the affairs of man
| kind, at which civilization stands aghast
and with which the most eminent
craftsmanship feel its inability to cope
| And in fulltllment of the Saviour S
! prediction when he said Upon the
earth distress of nations with perplex-
/ Ity, the sea and the waves roaring"
literally the agitatated condition of
the disconnected restless masses of the
people. "AIen's hearts failing them
for fear, and to looking forward to the
things coming on the earth, for the
! powers ofthe Heavens shall be shaken"
/ symbollzing the great ecclesiastical
| system, and those who cannot discern
4 present shaking in the ecclesiastical
heavens, are not watching the present
unfolding signs of the times. The
| Saviour continues: "When you see
these things come to pass, then know
that the Kingdom of God is at hand.'
That being the case the Kingdom must
be very near to Us, for the very indi-
cations of that prediction can now be
felt and seen, and which is the Say
tours reply not only to the question of
the Apostles as to the date ofhis second
coming, but also to those who SO fire.
quently and hippantly tell us that the
angels in Heaven don't know the time,
which was very true when these words
were spoken. The Saviour himself
did not know then, but was authorized
to place on sacred record signs and
signals to indicate his presence; signs
which in this our day can be both felt
and seen, besides, the chronological
dates are SO exact that they point not
only to the year of the second advent
but to the very month-that month was
October, 1874. Those who question
the validity of these dates, are advised
(ln order to repute them) to so to the
same source with more able pen or
pencil and publish their report to the
world
The very condition of the signs
contained in the Saviour's prophecy
can now be seen approaching. That
predicted symbolic storm has been
gathering for years. The mighty
hostS-capital and labor have been
preparing for the battle, and each sue
Cesslye year witnesses more rapid
strides OF progress towards that unpar-
allelled disaster which must soon dash
all law and order into the abyss of
anarchy and confusion, everywhere it
is described as a dark day of intense
trouble with distress and perplexity
upon mankind; it is scripturally
called the day of vengeance ofo God,
a day of wrath, and the great day OF
the battle of God Almighty. The
finger of prophecy points to the event
tul year Of 1871 when that impending
storm is due to burst in all its fury
upon our devoted world, precipitated
by labor's final grapple with capital
on the battlefield of a universal and
simultaneous strike; neither will over.
come the other, both will so down to-
gether dragging with them all existing
systems, including church and State
into the general ruin, and labor
Divinely instituted labor, through
lack OF employment, will then
become world of tramps and law and
order will pass away. Jehovah will
then be discerned riding on the dark
! J.,