The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-06-14

as OF yore ecclesiasticism will be able
to control the masses. But ah, it will
/, be different now; for, as the Master
! said. "The powers of the heavens will
be shaken"-the ecclesiastical powers
will be shaken. From every side the
cry goes up that the churches are be-
coming more and more empty. that col
lections are falling off and retrench
ment must be the order Of the day OF
ruin will result.
st. Peter refers to the coming trou
BILE. under the symbolism of fire. and
declares that not only will ii consume
the EARTH" the social fabric, but the
heavens" also will be on fire and
shall pass away with great noise"-
a great commotion. Not the physical
earth will burn. but the social earth
not the physical heavens will burn. but
the ecclesiastical heavens.
The great and the rich have been SO
busily engaged in amassing wealth
that they have not noticed until re.
Gently that the churches of all denomi,
nations have lost their power over the
masses, and now their hearts fail
them for fear" as they come to per-
ceive the weakness. the nothingness of
ecclesiastical power as compared with
the strength of socialism and anarchy
amongst the masses. No wonder their
hearts fail them for fear. Poor peo-
Pile! How we wish we could make
clear to all the glorious prospects
which the Bible holds out-that out of
this the most awful trouble Of the
worlds history, God graciously intends
to bring the greatest blessing magma
BILE. the one for which we have been
praying so long ~ 49,.
We are sure that the present Pope.
Plus X. who has taken such active
measures to repulse the higher critical
and evolutionary theories in the Cath
Ollie church. would fully agree with our
sentiment when we say that many of
the great and rich of our day have
been unwittingly helping forward in
the overthrow Of religious faith and in
the awakening of socialistic infidelity.
They have given freely Of their mil
lions to the great colleges of the land,
which in turn have fostered unbelief in
Gods Word, and indirectly unbeIief in
a personal God. Their influence has
extended to all the principal pulpits Of
Professionalism and is rapidly percoat-
ing through the various strata of Pro-
testant church membership. Thus the
churches and their treasures are being
emptied and the number of unbelievers
is being augmented daily. hourly.
. The Worlds Pursatory Begins.
If time permitted we could marshal
many texts of Scripture showing that
the time Of awful trouble now impend-
ing is in the nature of a Divine judg-
ment upon the people Of our day-be-
cause we have not more wisely and
more generously used the present in
ventions and blessings that have come
to us as foregleams of the Messianic
Kingdom-because of our selfshness.
In this trouble. according to the Bible.
there will be general reckoning and
settlement of accounts between Justice
and Humanity aside from the weak
nesses and imperfections of heredity.
which will be excusable and forgiven
through the merit of the Redeemer's
sacrifice).
The settlement Of accounts now will
leave the slate clear for the New Dis
pensation. Furthermore. the plow-
share Of trouble will prepare mems
hearts all over the world for the en-
and blessings which the
glorified Redeemer will shed abroad.
Since all human hearts are hard. self
ish through the fall. it seems quite
necessary that all should be broken.
but the glorifed Redeemer-
both King and Priest of that New
Age-will then say to the world. as He
now says to the Church. Come unto
Me. all We that labor and are heavy
laden. and 1 will give you rest" And
whoever will not obey that Prophet"
that Great King of Glory. the antitype
of Moses, "shall be destroyed from
the people" (Acts fiji. 81
Again. Peter declares that all such
shall perish like brute beasts.-II Peter
Ii, IL.
The glorious result Of Christ's Reign
Of righteousness. and the purgatorial
which it will administer
to those requiring them. will be to
help all to rise eventually to perfec-
ton. so that every knee will bow and
every tongue confess to the glory Of
God Put tho puruo toru Of tho RihIo
Is so very different from the Purga-
tory conjured up by good men in the
Dark Ages, and pictured by Dante and
Dore, that the latter are now seen to
be gross travesties on the Divine ar
not only misinterpreting
the time Of the purgatorial expert
ences. but also their character.
lnnlT nr IIFnRH naRla