Ripley County democrat., 1910-12-30

ana, ss the prophets declare. be shall
be Ike unto Solomon who had no
wars. but TO whom every knee bowed
and every tongue confessed. His King
dom OF righteousness viii be q King
dom Of peace. Notwithstanding the
fact that Il will be ushered in by such
q time Of trouble.
u Came Not to Send Peace"
But do the Scriptures contradict
themselves7 What did the Great
Teacher mean when be declared, II
came not to send peace on the earth.
but swordf" Matthew 4, 34) Ali
be referred prophetically to the ef-
feet which his gracious message Of
love and favor would produce in the
world during the reign Of sin. He
well knew that the Prince of Darkness
would oppose all Of his followers, as
well as himself. He foretold that who
soever would live godly would suffer
persecutioD-and so 1t has been. Eight
cen centuries have proven i'll He sent
forth his followers, like himself, un-
armed, to be peacemakers, to be help
ers, to follow peace with all men and
holiness, without which no man shall
see the Lord" He counselled his fol-
lowers. He that taketh the sword
shall perish by the sword" But their
message of peace and love and the
coming Kingdom which shall bless the
whole world and fulfill the angelic
prophecy of our text-these things
seem to anger the world-not merely
the vicious. the ungodly, but the world
ly professors Of godliness who have
schemes and plans and theories of
their own to work out which are con-
trary to the Gospel Message. The
darkness, more or less mixed with
selfshness. hateth the light, the Truth,
the love Of God. neither cometh to the
light, lest its deeds of darkness, selfish
ness, selfish ambition and hypocrisy
should be made manifest.
! The Master knew what the effects of
bis Gospel Message would be in the
world and that only those who would
compromise his Message could possibly
live at peace-that all who would be
loyal and faithful to him would be ira
duced, slandered, "behead-
ed" either literally or flguratively. His
words, therefore, were prophecy re-
specting the tribulations which all his
footstep followers would surely have.
But more than this, his words were
prophecy respecting the nations.
What is 1t that has brought us to our
present degree Of civilized savagery?
What is 1t that makes of every bust.
ness corporation q buccaneer seeking
the destruction Of every competing
financial craft? What is It that has
thus sharpened the wits Of humanity
to such an extent that the majority
hnd 1t difficult to be honest, because
they see so many opportunities for dis
honesty, while It is impossible for law.
makers to make new laws with suffi-
Client rapidity to keep pace with the in
telligent methods OF circumvention.
The laws, doctrines, of Christ are, in
q certain sense, responsible for all this.
The liberty wherewith Christ makes
free his followers and the light which
be and they let shine upon darkened
world, received In part into unsancti-
fed hearts and minds. have given wis
dom that, misapplied, we call cunning
and craft. The proof of what we say
is found in the fact that other nations
than those which have received this re-
fected light Of Christianity are still
quite in the background. Only now,
as Christian civilization in a perverted
form is reaching these peoples are they
awakening and becoming competitors
with SO called Christendom.
In our advanced conceptions of
finance, warfare, etc., pertinent ques-
ton worthy Of deep thought, Is. VIII
1t be possible to live In the world at all
after the greatest financial minds shall
have "trust-ified' all of the worlds busi-
ness, and after the labor organizations
shall have had their say as to who
shall and who shall not earn a living
and after the teeming millions of China
and Japan shall have become thorough.
" civilized and Christianized after the
nominal sort2 Would not the hordes
Of the Far East overwhelm the COM
M ro ttxalxv lfft1n han ndf,,I 80 Ur,,ra1o aa1
! America? What is the prospect of the
ful6llment of the prophecy of our text
peace on earth, good will toward
men" There is no prospect from the
earthly sources toward which we have
been looking. II that prophecy is ever
to be fulfilled 1t must be by some
Divine Intervention In human affairs.
The Desire Of All Nations Coming.
Notwithstanding the eighteen centu-
ries Of delay our text as a prophecy
will surely be fulfilled, and be fulfilled,
too, by and through the One whom the
angels announced and whose birth Is
very generally celebrated today. The
Great Teacher, questioned by PLATE, an
swered that he was born to be King
the King of the Jews; but he also add
ed, "My Kingdom is not of this Age"
How truel Many Of us have gotten the
wrong impression-that our Redeemer
has been waging, as the Great King Of
Glory, an unsuccessful warfare for
eighteen centuries against Satan. sin
and death. But here we learn from
the Great Teachers own lips that his