Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 272, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 November 1912 — FOREIGN MISSIONS ABOUT THEM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FOREIGN MISSIONS ABOUT THEM

Pithy Discourse on Missions From the Billie Standpoint Pastor Ruzzell Claims Report of the International Bible Students' Asao—eiation Committee of Which He Wae Chairman Wat Too Mild Rather Than Too Severe —Committee Unanimously Stand by tha Report and Challenge Criticism—The Committee’s Full Report le Now Offered Free to AH.

Ottawa. Ont., Nov. 10. Pastor Russell as usual here had large au-' dienees. < We port one of his interestlng discourses on the live subject x of Foreign Missions which is stirring Christendom. His text was, “This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be

preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the End come.” (Matt, xxlv, 14.) He said:— A year ago the International Bible Students Association sent a Committee of Seven to Investigate missionary prospects In foreign lands—especially in South India, where it is making special effort. I was one of that Committee, otherwise composed of four successful business men, one doctor, and General Hall, of the TJ. S. A. The Committee made its report to one of the largest Christian gatherings ever held In New York City—ln the Hippodrome—on March 31st. Its Report, published in pamphlet form, reached a wide circulation amongst Christian people. I am authorized to offer free, until the supply is exhausted, one copy each to all Interested In Foreign Missions. Send postcards addressed to “I. B. S. A.. Brooklyn, N. Y.,” requesting a copy of the Missionary Report. The Committee, in preparing this Report, laid bare the facts as gently and kindly as possible. Their Report, which many Christian people gratefully acknowledged, has Irritated a few persons. These evidently feared that we have discredited their fairy tales respecting the Immediate conversion of .the world by human Instrumentality and more millions of money. We sympathize with these enthusiasts, ,who seem to shut their eyes to facts, while hoping against hope to maintain exploded theories. One of these, Mr. W. T. Ellis, alias the “Religious Rambler,” attacks our Report. Falsely he declares that we journeyed on the same vessel from San Francisco to Shanghai, giving the impression that we had not visited Japan at all; that we merely raced through the country, did not visit all the mission stations, nor talk /frith all the missionaries.

Our Report tells the facts. The Committee of Seven scattered, and spent six days in Japan, or a total of fortytwo days of investigation. Our twen-ty-three spent In India would be the equivalent of nearly' six months’ Investigation by one person. We visited and Interrogated the people, saw their conditions, attended meetings, etc. As for myself, this critic charges in one breath that I did not preach the sermons which appeared in the newspapers of the world; and in the ntflct breath that I spent all of my time in preaching, and therefore had not time for investigation. A discerning public can read between the Jines of such criticism what the Bible symbolically describes as “gnashing of teeth.” Oiir Committee took the only proper course for ascertaining the facts. Every missionary and every other person visiting foreign lands within five years, will concede that our Report is very truthful, kind and sympathetic. Postmillennial Theories Versus Premillennial. Foreign Mission work taught by the Scriptures generally is wholly different from that which has been attempted during the past century, under the Postmillenniar theory—that the Church is to conquer the world for Christ and to bring about a thousand years’ reign of righteousness, after which Christ’s Second Advent will come, and those blessed conditions obliterated by the burning up of the world. This theory, set forth in nearly all of our creeds, la supplemented by the theory that all dying in ignorance of Christ and outside of saintship. are passing to an eternity of torture. This frenzibd view, misnamed Gospel, has been presented to the heathen with little appreciable effect, just as In civilized lands. The whole theory is yfrong. What the whole world needs is the True Bible Message, stripped of all the Ignorance of the Dark Ages. The Bible teaches the Premiliennlal Coming of Christ—that the Second Coming of Jesus must take place before His is established In power and great glory and Satan bound. The dead will come forth. Th« rising Sun of Righteousness will cause the knowledge of God to fill the earth, dissolving the mists of bigotry and superstition and helping humanity back to perfection. The text declares the preaching of the Gospel in this Age to be, not for the conversion world, but for a witness, to call an Elect Class from amongst mankind to be the Spiritual Seed of Abraham.- {Galatians 111, 29.)