Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 295, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 December 1914 — NATIONS ARE DRUNK WITH FALSE DOCTRINES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NATIONS ARE DRUNK WITH FALSE DOCTRINES

The Bible’s Portrayal of the Present Time. Mixed Wines Most Intoxicating—Golden Wino Cup of the Bible—The Maddening Draft —Some Crazed One Way, Some Another —America Not Exempt. She la Feverishly Mad Also.

Chicago, 111., Dec. 13. Pastor Russell delivered an address today at the Chicago City Temple, taking the text, “The inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”— Revelation 17:2. The speaker adverted to his ad-

dress of last Sunday, in which he had pointed out some of the false doctrines which led to the exaltation of the Scarlet Woman, the unfaithful Spouse of Christ She had not followed her Redeemer in self-sacrifice and humility. She had especially separated her-* self from the people under the clergy title, had fought down the true followers of Jesus, causing them to suffer for righteousness’ sake, even as the Jews had crucified Jesus, and as the Apostles had suffered for loyalty to Truth. Intoxicated by successes, she went to great lengths of boasting, establishing herself as Queen of Heaven, ruling over the kings of earth; but nevertheless having fellowship with them and drawing support from them. Both kings and people were made drqsk with the thought that they could have so close dealings with the Divine Kingdom and still live after the flesh. Degradation ensued, while kings and people went Into a sleep from whleh they are not yet fully aroused. The Sixteenth Century brought a partial awakening, but the Adversary was at hand to re-entangle those mentally confused by the adulterated wine —the mixture of Heavenly Truth with earthly selfishness and deviltry. To have allowed the full light of Truth to shine in upon the world at that time would have meant the permission of the great Time of Trouble nearly three centuries too soon; for the Lord’s Kingdom would not be ready for establishment until the full end of the 6,000 years of the reign of Sin a,nd Death. Therefore God permitted the Protestant Churches to be born, and to develop under the Influence of their Mother’s Intoxicating Cup, So we are not surprised at the prophetic declaration that the Daughters had the Mother’s disposition and became Harlots like her—affiliating with the kingdoms of this world, modifying doctrines so as to meet their approval, etc. Each Daughter has done her share to perpetuate the Intoxication of the world.

“Babylon la Fallen, Is Fallen." The name Babylon contains a double thought—first, the Gate of God; second, confusion. Thus it Imports that the Church, Gateway to God and righteousness, became confused, impure, adulterous. As God had prophecied this Babylon system, He evidently purposed to permit it to have the control it has had. Throughout the pqst some of His saintly ones have been in Babylon. Otherwise He would not say, “Come out of her, My pepple.” His voice calling His people out of Babylon at the time she is rejected for destruction Is the voice of the Truth. Acknowledge respecting the Divine character hnd plan, as revealed in the Bible, comes to God’s consecrated people, the voice of the Truth, appealing to the honesty of the individual, calls him to come out at any cost and stand separate from all earthly institutions. The Divine Message declares that the literal fall of these great systems is at hand, and that everybody In them will suffer—in proportion to enlightenment The Morning Hour, the Drunken Awake. According to Bible chronology, the six thousand years of the reign of Sin and Death have ended. We are In the dawning of the New Dispensation, and the New Order is' being gradually introduced. Properly, the awakening came first to God’s consecrated, who long have prayed, “The Kingdom come!’* Meantime the Millennial blessings beginning to come to the world have made the drunken sleepers restless. As they awaken, they are seized with feverish acquisitiveness as individuals and as nations. As the individuals have racked their brains respecting money-getting, so the nations have been plotting and scheming for extension of territory, trade, etc. Education has awakened the whole world. While the awakened ones reject the major part of the creeds of the past, they carefully cling to any rights or privileges which those false doctrines gave them. Thus the Divine right of kings and nobles, princes and governments, and rites and ceremonies, civil and ecclesiastical, are clutched Interest of the rulers. This is the Secret of the willingness of earthly klngA, financial princes and subservient religionists to engage In the present hprrible war. The argument with all is that the end Justifies the means. The Lord no longer restrains these: for His time- has come that Iniquity should have an end; that the Harlot Systems should make manifest that none of them is the Bride of Christ: and that the kings of the earth might bnmbk each other and thus make ready f the true Kingdom of God.

PASTOR RUSSELL