“ But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” Such is the warning of the apostle Paul in I Thess. 5-1 -2, It is perhaps worth noting that although there has never been a time in history when war and preparation for war has been so prevalent as in the last 50 years, yet at the same time there has been a great hue and cry for a permanent and lasting peace. The Hague Tribunal, The League of Nations, The Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact, and lastly the United Nations are vivid examples of the strenuous efforts that are being made to establish peace on the earth. These are definite indications that the “Peace and Safety Cry” is actually taking place in our own day. But we believe that very soon this cry will be greatly increased. Dr. Thomas tells us in Elpis Israel that just before Armageddon, Russia will completely deceive the allied nations as to her peaceful intentions. It seems very likely to us, at least, that the present purge of officials in Russia is a step in this direction. Only those who are close to the present rulers can know their intentions, but throughout the world the “peace and safety” cry is being heard with increasing intensity. Surely, the present preparation for war will eventually bankrupt the world.
Jesus warned us, “In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” In the last two world wars, the brethren and sisters have been stirred to eager watching for the return of Christ, thinking that events were surely such that indicated his imminent appearance. In times like those we were not likely to let down our guard. In times of peace it would be very easy to do so. The apostle Paul continues in I Thess. 5, 4: “ But ye, brethren are not in darkness, that that day would overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day; we are not of the night nor of darkness. Let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breast plate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. ” Let us be on our guard, let us not forget whose we are and whom we serve, for “in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One