Scribd Logo
Încărcați

Bine ați venit la Scribd!

  • Jensen Locust Years

    Încărcat de

    tomspy7145
    2K vizualizări41 pagini

    Drepturi de autor

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Formate disponibile

    PDF, TXT sau citiți online pe Scribd

    Vi se pare util acest document?

    Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

    Raportați acest document

    Drepturi de autor:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Descărcați ca PDF, TXT sau citiți online pe Scribd
    Indicator pentru conținut neadecvat
    2K vizualizări41 pagini

    Jensen Locust Years

    Încărcat de

    tomspy7145

    Drepturi de autor:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Descărcați ca PDF, TXT sau citiți online pe Scribd
    Indicator pentru conținut neadecvat
    din 41
    THE LOCUST YEARS — alter 1940 — by LJ. JENSEN AUREAU OF ECONUMIC RESEARCH Le West Ninth Street, Kansas City, Mo. Copyright 1940 By Lt JENSEN "and there came out of the smoke locusts upon the eurth: and unto them ws given power, as the scorpions of the earth have powe: REVELATION 925 ‘TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page foreword. see eee 8 4. Forekmowledge Sourcee se ee eee es 8 2. The Gront Pyramid sss eee eee cere 8 5. The Bible im Modern Thought 4. Biblical Propheoy for Our Time 5, Revelation im Current Trends see ees 28 6. Cyolica) Data cn america ee ee ee 8 7. The Looust Years se eee ete ts 86 Other titles by L. J. Jensen Yajor Trends in Anerican Beonomics Market Charts Astro-Eeononic Interpretation Individual Income and the 1940's Inflation - Ite American Portent FOREWORD Bee. s1o0kly complacent age of individual freodom and pragmetion? Ss5. and better tomorrows is shattered. Within less than « decude the in- Septual erosion in popular viewpoints has jigsed from blind faith to fiiusion, from feqr to hope, and from enthusiasm to doubt. The world Btsige cook-cyed! At leust there is something hsy-wires or the platform of Seeition, established so vohomontly in the 1920's, promising thet e121 the nyths for the gullible who refused to got in step Gy the nen onlightesnents of science, is weakened. And to find our pooh- SOE yenoor, our ineoe illusion of unlimited prosperity, and the premise fe everything is essentislly good, turned upside down, has jarred to the This is no pliant of honey and, goo to enssthetize for another dose no uplift. Self-confidence and self-preservation in the pursuit of hap- js require ore than hope and optimism. The cheering and the gab-fosts, ys flag waving and the publio witei-hunte, are good theatre; but when we Pygi asked by the let-dovn of the finn) curtain which almsyo follows the 1et- opiate the spooelypse of misery and fear strikes another orescendo.jnere “Ins plegue of enelavoment and outrage against tradition leading us? iy oes the tide go oh} and whon will assurances of stability appoar? = ‘There are anny answers to those questions. Virtually every field 2 ‘pf tuwan ingenuity is making an offort to eschew the mess,with chost thump- SiS ings of egocentrio power thrests,or the oily bait of profit dreams bused on Sq gulaxy of compromise porunas. Ono thing is sure: fex are they who appear rasp the significance of the current unraveling of tho skein of events. Zshere is a destiny; and it is marching! Conventionality may jeer; wiseseres Aeride; for the self-anointed,who presune to direct hon messes of people So are to think, aro ic a rago at the slightest suggestion that it is en cavith ‘that "nan ie master of his fate and captain of his coul". For all that “ERs work had to be attempted; act as the addition of another voice to add Gg tlio bedlam, and not as an exouse to ink up more good paper, but as a co- Srdination of ancient signe and wonders with modern events, condensed into ‘Ofu WKASH presents a means of practical application. se In ay twenty-five years of diversified study and research rang- Gi ing from professional theology to radio-dynamies, with the keys to econ- ‘mis phenomena as the goal, the confusion of what is truth has been a con~ timous and ever increasing observation. Relatively, Pontius Pilate was “gorvect in asking the prosecutors at tho trial of Jesus "Whet is truth?" © For, in any attempt ut a philosophy, "whet is truth" is a variable, large dependent on geographical, hereditary and environnental circumstances. Our = individual, and group, thinking is persistently slightly or enormously dif “Ferent. A Taoist cannot accept the idea of trinity the Hindu embraces; the ‘inoore Marxist views askance the viowpoint of the Capitalist; and the ma~ terielist is forever in a battle with those who attempt to define the Spiritual. Perhaps the fundamental issue in the modern babel of viewpoints ts on the apparent disagreement between what is called science and what Fe seligion. Wo think of sefonce us an exact statenent of knowledge Pe terme con Groupe of subjects ~ 2 particular technique or a certain Gears orHiCE Son eform of thoughe~ Actually, soieuse 0 8 eysteaatio exnsias- siandardt ie grprevavion of experience; subject aatter cannot be restriat- SP Oo cioel and obealsel things, of £9 Bonta) und spéricu netters. To Be 222° Pine tee procedure in sho aoquisition of dats, plus a humnistie Ge act, Selene He gporionve; aot a set of bland yardsticks of concepts. Religion is eny system of faith and worship which binds the Sips} anture of man to a supernatural being, This involves dopants, itunl ablishnect of opinionated and positive assortion. Theology, the ee ont of religious dostrine, is not religion but soience; just es phi2- ey ie the search for wisdon, comothing different then either soisnoe or religion. our weshanistic age of avid rationalization,we have Perhaps, Gorgotten basic prenisos of life itcelf, its motivating instincts, and ite tengeuental reasons for being. Truly whet wo hold up ss scientific fact io, SoG many oosec, no moro than @ conventions] prejudice. What we accept as rel Fo ibion often azo s0 gore than philosozhioal coneepis of duty, patriotism and = ized standard of morality. This mix-up reflects much of the disorder Eck p current thought in the efforts to unscramble not only an individual cre- «cp existence but = basis for unity in national attitudes. For example,we Soreist in terming the United States a desccracy when it is a republics we Pei) ourselves © Christian nation whon the mjority of citisons either ques- {Son or deny the Bible ac God's Revelation, the Virgin Birth, and the Res- urrection. Behind the welter and cross-curronts of prejudices, misconcep- ‘pions in terminology, and the diffusion of the basic premises which brought She vestern worlé (0 its present state, rests an enormous fund of data that Difers many apparent keys to current enignas. It is true thet much of this material ig tho source of wide-spread controversy extending back for many years in some instances. Yet it is true as woll thet many of the world's Best scholars have devoted their entire lives to but susil phases of the ef- forte, Nevertheless, so much of the duta is veiled in such deluges of words, Go mich muno-jumbo of metaphysical hosus-poous, and prejudicial anachronisme, that 2 satisfactory co-ordination for prastioal use seems to have been view= ed as an interpretative impossibility. At any rete, such an attitude is sug- © gested even though I cannot agree. If there are obvicus criteria, establish- ed through tests of time and events, which may offer no more than mincr clues to the trend of the future, an effort at examination is mndatory. and if the date encompasses definitions of the future which are more than minor it becomes of transcendental inportanes. Little onthusiasm rocompanied the production of this work. Tt ie a chore done out of a sense of duty and obligation. During the first halt of the pact decade my published work stressed the signs of world wide cheos, unprecedented in conturies of history, which were expected to converge in the peried starting in 1932-1939 and not end until 1950-1953. Up to now the Linetable of mjor prospects has boon realized with distressing sonfirmtion. With the greater period of difficulty apparently yet to come, it is deemed neoessary to present the fundamental factors used os a basis for much of the interpretation After all,the individual desires self-preservaticn these days ae Chapter One FOREKNGHLEDGE SOURCES ‘This is an experinent in the interpretation of prophetical ations of the next several yours. In countless centuries of the past, sneiee as far bask as $522 3. C. whon the Ghinose holy book of divination, eee, firot appeared, mankind persists in efforts to probe the future. In i Oipeords of sll civilisations, from the Hindu and Chinese, the Beyptian, ie Creidean aid the Hobrev, through the Moslem and Christian, religious and the fer sebolars trace humanity's interest in prophesy.But the pust is dead. ato dnd today the past engenders more derision than respect. We hoot the horse and bugay days of a few dooades agot Bravott! Nothiag is te nockacred with the exception of cortain ideas or ‘mowledge no elder than Be ber Hill or the deer old tux busting Boston Too Party? Hasn't every pub- Punktluthority” on antters solentific realized the greatest popularity by do- ting the pest with all its worke and all its ways? A few yoars ago it was Siiy conceded thot wo must work for what wo are to get} we must ears to seer and gave to mltiply and succead. Bub the popular belief in this view shined, A iot of people ound that it wasn’t how hard you werked, but hon fed’you yelled,that governed what you got. And we sre still toying with the Rita Ghat the wore you borrow and spend the better off everything will be. genere Yes, the past is a dead horas. That is, it ise dead horse for most people who prefer the blinding light of sone sort of a new promised jand. To othere,who are in the minority, events of recent years continue to dive Jolte of questioning scrutiny, trepidation and apprehension. The trond Gvpvonts marks # world felling apart. Nothing to equel it has occurred in SGnturies of tine. The unthinkable and the impossible -- the destruction of Shuvind's countless efforts of centuries crash into ruins within hours. ALL these strange things have been propheeied. and more are aus to follow. But in this enlightened age of aochanistic attainments the jast majority of people will have no truck with prophetic Inbele. At least publiely.all the "right-thialeing" grooves of educational goose-stepping see ae it thet thinking i confined to variations of reading writing and arith- netio.We have descme ohained in the meshes of materialism, with little gen- grel ingerest in anything but gain; and means to forget the cnewings of un- rest and the air of psyohologioal defent. Tt is possible thet centuries of human experience offers us a way out of current dilemes. Porbeps the past offers more than heredity. Tt [le possible oven that the past has forgotten moh more than we can ever re— goin. In particular, the fields of ancient esoteric Imowledge hold fruitful Prospects of approach. These sources have always byen with-held from the ma- jority of course, but relatively resent new findings and scholarship have feth wlarified hazy points end added to the veracity of the tenots involved. Sir John Herschel commented that anyone who enters into the study of @ subject new to them will find not only thet he has much to learn, but also much to unlearn. The first step is the noed for a desire to loosen eli hold on crude and hastily formed notions in order to allow unprejudiced fanieeion cf eny conclusion which appaars to be supported by observation. oe Individuality, for all ite highly touted atteinmests, remains ceetions rather then reason. Any effort to learn is a elicetual discipline which forms one of the most im- webu it seems very 2iffioult to move further t. The emotions, end those persist lnginess. Tb is moh ms encomont stege in tho offor coame, are forever popping in to enovurege, our Fee ee sein ney idea or premio without examiaovion, Sse 5° 6¢ ee eeoras of omasination. For ali that there 1s e aincrity sm phos Innate prajudices a7 y deep respect for th diseiplined and many sovrees ous ie ogval only to a ge hidden within the pact. ritage of prophesy which is enormous. jus and seouler history is oluost a history of prophesy. Te “he mad sory, with thelr mitivde of creeds and sects; in fra; or im the oyeles of nictursl phon- 2 persistent accompaniment « ‘The past holds a human he: 5 figions of workd he Glue ond political trends of affs rophooy and uethods of prophesy are out of the stream of history stand three civilisations which ourselves. Vid wre pars of one of them id, through the Hebrew hold a strong influence #298 the Egyptial seep orale. mechanios, and art foras. From the third, +h Oriental, we je reseived auch in economies, mechanical ingenui t's esophy. And Terie, we have roseived much from them e]] rete ting ‘ The achievements and attainments of is p Pheconing significant to us in our day. Research, sew ions, end the mon- eratel efforts of numerous soholers have opened stursiing naterisl before Spe. Porhaps the great: rc us moesags ae firet of the wet most closely with nosext Bey we have ass .4 some of the vast store giem’ simes of Figh spiritual at- rongly of the brotherhood of man philosophy iments. Our Chrietian doctrine cavers st erent winduism, while the Hindu Brahna, Yisnu and Shiva correaponde, to He firistion Trinity doctrine. However, from the Orient, of Bhudde, Tibet < [at China, wwe have como only recently to grasp the philcscpyiea? principles of dunlity, principally becuse they seomsd so contrary $0 ‘Srinkterian ten- ete ond postulates in an older doguatiem. qhe besic premise of duality is an effort to approach Ultiae ate Reality as the Creative Basis ‘and First Cause of 1] things. in nature ‘this duality is reflected in opposite poles:-north ‘and south, positive and hozative, masouline and feminine, good end evil, night and day ete. The fen ifestations, or laws, of Nature are viewed as the expressions of the Infin- ite. Ab the heart of the Sayptian and Chaldean philosophies rests virtually / Adentioal approcohes. The keys, or the ‘Goais” of moesuring Nature's Laws,are youn up"in celestial pheiouene, popularly misunderstood in the Western Par ee cer eines us Astrology. Honever, the general misoonooption of 4his field of observation is due to m found in hs ‘one of the most asuse and superficial prejudice. Actu- x i i Gur own Christian civilizetion has an extraordinarily full aa of prophetic literature. Its principal source, of course, centers in MM oly Bible, end the broad background of Hebraic writings from which Chris ION gre. Honovor, it ip uot soparete or distinct from either the Beyptian he Oriental influences. Hebrew literature reflects distinct effects of tian, particularly in the Old Testament; while the New Toctament par~ Mele Ancient Oriental precepts. In fact, there are numerous verses in the S sronot’ that are word for word pareilels to verses in holy bocks of To the observer, the galexy of material ~ Christian, Exyp- and Oriontal - intertwined and paralleled as it is, presents more than vo coineidence. Things of such mgnitude cannot morely happen. It follows Ge tnore is conteined in these combined works the manifestation of a Sup- ge Intelligence who is not only the God of the Hebrews, or the Methodists, fhe Roman Catholios, or the Tacists, or the Hindus; but the Divine Ruler The Universe. 4leo, that in Infinite Wisdom the strange phenomena on the Sof che Earth, known as man, with the body of an animsl bwt an intelli- 0° Nniike any othor form of anita] life, is evolving a clear plan of Des- fg._or purpose. He is working out the skein of Divine Will, e Wi11 which Ghiy has a purpose long conceived, but is reverled to those of His poople Swill hear and seo. ‘ But, as every action must have @ rescticn in Nature's Lew, so sp destiny ip a combination of the positive ana negative, the good and the y the pure and the debased. As fine steel is impossible without the Ffarging of ren iroa, so man connot attsin his Ultimve Reality witil life is Garged of ovil, of debasenont, the selfish, the negative, ote. And it seems aroxt that uanlind's evoluéion hes been a surge between the forces of the putive end the power of the positive - Good versus vil; Infinite \isdoa fous Satanic brute force. To trace man's destiny we com only attempt to arch for the keys ia any possible Divine Revelation and Nature} Laws. Our exaninstion is now confined, not, to personal hopes, or the rom [ préjudioes, but to these apparent keys wi and Celestis? pheriomena. They are = (a) The Great Pyramia in the light of its mthomatical co- x Fiination with astronomical date and historical events. (b) Those prophotical sections of the Holy Bible which appear 0 co-ordinate completely with the current epoch in which we live. = (e) Celestial phenomena and its peculierly consistent co- sGieinesion with eajor evente and shanges in political-sovial-ccononic aftaire® the World. For our present purpose much theory must be avoided in all £4f these departuonts. However, there is a vast fund of published miteriel at hand for the reader who desires to go further for himself into really ex- hhnistive study. Our object here will bo to merely exeuine the deta which hes S-Pesulted from a long period of selection, in en effort to-form-a basis for a /practioal interpretation of the prospects which ere converging upon us. ae chapter To ‘THE GREAT PYRAMID the enormous amount of details invumerable scholars offer ES concerning the Grent Pyramid comands the rospect of everyone; for ooreadives prove tho veracity of most of the opinions. Today, or- mp fiinieh mike a virtua) religion out of Pyramid study, flourish; Serie, Rosterusian and zany mete-physioal Groups heve recognized the repioant doteils of the Pyramid sinoo tho Middle Ares. vamid_heid significance in the winds of the a2 the United Statse of America is reflected by an adaptetion of it de of the Gront Seal of the Republic ceeeabe is stressed in several plnces in the Bible. One statonent is Eownted: "In that day shell there be an altar to the Lord ip the midst Tier of the border thereof to the Lord: And “and of Egypt, and « pil: The for e sign and for @ witness unto tho Lord of Hosts in the Land fpjot". Isaiah 19:19-20. And there ere other striking references. Ge cbeen placed on the reverse 63 e The exact date of building is not uniformly scvepted by = x ESciable authoritios. Te ws hardly started prior to SS44 3. 0- besnuse setronomice! amen it reveeis. The generally assorted dete when the was started is 2644 B. C., al’ hough Others insist thet 2200 B. C. 170 B. C. or B14e B.C ooation is very P-ene pero depres of tHe sign Taurus in @ Zedine (not Constellations of the present day). In terms ce Tatitude 29° 58° si" Korth; Longitude 21° .09' Bast, on Gbyan Desert adjoining the Sahara. It is one Of 36 GS yost of the Nale River which were eveoted bebresn 2700 B. C. and cr tae Great Fyranid was tho fret and grestest to be built. Tt le entirely of stone. Tt was built ie in relation to It is a veritable ! 1 library rather than merely & T puilt as a toad modern opinion bolieves that it was never intended for hurdal looele but that its design was used as a method of cemoufleg- Pits nessace to posterity. At any rate its entire structure in laid out iva quthemmtical precision which gives new moaning to history und pro- S Of the more importent and seholarly works on the subject “The Great XK yD. Davidson, M. C. is outstanding. Others of stone" by Joseph A. Sioss, D. D-, “The Mystery by Charles S. Knight, and the triclogy Ex viorton sigar “The Great Pyramid, Its Sclentific Features! "the Gross Fyre BAj Its Tine Feetures" and "The Grest Fyranid. Its Spiritus) Symbolicn EG the yein of the latter is the extraordinary work by Paul Brunton fitted féareh in Sooret Deyp+", which hus been reprinted recently by Dutton's, le cannot take the spsce to reiterate ell of the fectuel Ge surrounding the design or plan of the Grest Pyranid: However; a fen of roan pented by Potrie, Devidson, Suyth and Senior beer repoti- Ein part, Phe cbaervacions to follow depend much on their deta, It Le Be “Gpterosting sidelight on populer thinking, #8 promilgated by school texts B those who nave che public ear sp science Like lir, H. G. Wells, thet this Ose wes ong with the other pyramids, are "...,.0f an 6lpesy incredible nt sone ee age when engineering science had scarcely begun” Andy Soe eee put eoineidence could have the Great Fyrania take oo Oty in bet ne moaning in our modern times". This ts typiont of ‘the wiseaores. se are OK Nevertheless, « for of the Grest Pyrat folios. The ratio of ite height to the é foliMemuctly the polar diameter of ume earth in otient pr yeight of tho Pyramid to the weight of the gpecifio. The Pyra- ene eisai the. exect moon ceuiscy oF the eafth © fecver warts Me to eee Tee Rell cniy recent yours of sodern ecignoe, The lengtlsof Nite finally been settled in modern times as ‘the solar year is enown in the Gjremié in no less than six, ways and in four different units of length. The tanee-from’the earth to the sin, another godern problem on which thero is eee Trey of opinion, 1s apecifioelly stated- in addition whoever Fin jed the Pyramid incorporated, in-at Yeast four places, the Seen of the oquinoxes ,"untalso Feriwets knowheake SEoe Te prastios and in theory. But many "eubborities cee oT Etnoidence"s (Seo the chart on the next page). : Despite the opposition, something which is dissipsting “ery rapidly in recent years since the Fyrenid propheoioy ove proving them- se eae eat overy aviack, the enlightened view toduy is veers te the even sethat yhoover dosigned the Fyrenid knew thet in miny centarios after Aitude ite pielism would orush inciiedge, He also mew that site would Hs tine Mimeanity would be faced with extinction through degradations evil cae ieering, If, when that time arrived, his message could be Elven, bo te sr taten’then not only ope but a key to freedom could be placed in ‘the hands of the people. Agooréing te Pyramid computations the age of darkness was Yo begin about 1966 &. D. and ond in 2045 A.D» Daring that period a race 280 DOBLE Shr appesT mith the facultiés to enable them to receive, the great ceenepe, in order that in the gras tribulation from 1614 Fo 1853 the keys Gught bo used. This five hundred year period sires with approximately the ES “Lincs of francis Bacon, or about the ‘Gime whén Observation and study was AREA te anturel pronenene encompassing nechanios, chemistry, e4o- instead ‘of the pure scholesticism of the Derk Ages. che grestest undecided point of Eyramid sommutetions ts Ps constantly repeating ispligenomt Taotor Of FES- 7% te otsne called the Tyuilder's error” bat pyramid students insist there 3 soshens eidental “4g She PyFEEIG, At any rete this factor te ‘the source of Wich contention and Recarechont in tho formleting of specific dates for the Sining of major seer ceemen who over-a0ck the mjor olonents of Pyramid prophecy ofvee coemants: UeVigerable disillusion when certain dates promilgated, by varsous groups, feil to mtoriclize startling events. Bub thee Ste not Pyramid Frere: thay are morely definite conclusions bared on pure conjoo ture. vs tuo ganora) historioa strean of ovente, shen sovonaanet~ SC Swath major teat NelSMtononte, counting ep loeb sa 8 your Tmolaaing CROSS SECTION NORTH ANESQUTH (siess} “ yanoe for the footer of 286, tho Entrazce Passage is taken to represent nes for Fo perid of Pyramid ansirustion to the time of Exodus of ir SY fsreal; or from about 2625 B.C. "to 1486 B. C. The first. solieved 40 mark the period from thé Exodus to the dey ge is bel = fon ef ThRLet, Ae Ute ‘point two pascages coour, one Teading = Ohdibor, symbolizing the rejection of Christ ex Messish by She Atonement. Tho other passage is termed the Ascending auge ov Grand Galiery. This padeage representa history frou the Cine of seinien Eo iuguec 1814, or the beginning of World Wer I.” After passage the principal mig room known in the Pyramid, onlléd the Chamber, is reached. the narrow connecting passage betweon the Grand Gallery fa tho King's Chanber reprosonte the period fron August 18) SE couing fron the Grand Gallery into this pussage is @ stone block, ‘he ei Step, symbolizing the boginning.of-a-period of world travell preced= Se inakoning snd preparation for Revelation. ‘ALG Great Susp nessuses a August 4th, 1914 to November 1ith, 1018 or the. begincing and ond~ “the World War I. Folicwing the Great Step the g-the-fing's Uhambor, called the Ante-Chest Here qripie Veil, wonsures frox Novenker 11th, 1816 to Mey 29%h, 1928. This resents a “Truce in Chaos" where fér about ten years the world has rest the actual entrance into the King's Fanber ancther lov passage, cours. This computed tn “om May 1928 to Sueubés 16662 tho resumption of chaos and new World sbettering events flor September 1956, wien the King's Chikber te entered, marke s Srepst- Ciicn out of economic depressiva into & lox od of grave and cericts ef- Pi readjustwont in world affairs. The Pirst epooh of this period ex ads from September 1986 to August 1953 as history, measured in time, moves Eoross the floor of thie hugo room which is called the "Halt of Judgment", 3 Cleansing of the Nations", "The Presence of the Master", eto. The recognized significance of this Ixtter pericd is ao- ted by interpreters ae marking the end of the age started with the por- Serer Guueifixion amid the travail of death, destruoticn ang the efforts se or Liieh the foundations for a new end ontirely different type of epoch fellen: The destruction period figures from 1986 to 1955. The foundation ter a nom ege,developing the basis for the "kingdom of beavon on earth", ic See ole ine1g58 anc prooeed rapidly until ‘he end of the computations in Sf Minny astonishing parallels between Fyrexid measurements Foca yoria nistory re not confined to dates and events alone The sane gen Borat cining unt forecasts nro concurred in by Biblical prophecies and major Betrologion! indications. Purthor on in this discussion somo of those para ESlele will bo developed. At any rate, ‘the Grest Pyramid is truly © phenomena Eheweperaed in all history, and elthough 1% is unreasonable to read inte [Liss noscege too mioh 2etali its co-ordination with the past is sulfieiont to Be command respect in its further aspects of the future. chapter Three ‘Tl BIBLE IN MODREN THOUGHT st book lists the leader of the best-sellers ir many years. Ko other vol- ws been a among, publisher: ye List ‘tne Woly Bible. This has been the situation £ Bee the meiytod ine fraction of the trensiations, and no other vext et Poover paper with ink in such vast quentitios. The rossone Te Exition ere mny, of course, Tt is one of the oldest ni toot consistently Br ena works extant, and it ia the foundation for Christian gootrite. sie etees, in terms of the total nunber of books: printed the properties Sane eetge to ail beck sules has declined precipitously in the past wo notably since World War I, new religious In resent years, tage of humanity a creeds have sprouted furiously as a large po ne or efacreneiug discontent with revealed religion. The principe io Gis govelied Iiberal movenst stress verious degrees of coloring w cttive philosopty" and "Brotherhood of lan" ides, depending on the ce tetelligence their moet avid disciples onjoy most fervently: the carefully Sneisted opon, usually with unimpeachable honesy, that ig ceretitreanlined Christianity is offered; sonsthing so improves over Mont tine religion that iz will point out the answer to the congenstes old thee ores Dut evon the enlightened bosses of these outfits themselves Sefering the samo philosozhy of all religions. | In nity they are unimowingly rejecting it, but they People have been losing their moral bearings in re- i ceeptioiem which have developed out of the mal~ Sistnonte of a nachine age. A now wave of hedonism, oF the dee ¢r Grote eset, gelfcindulgonae and the pien thet after el] porhaps the only nee en the orld. All the old standards of the past sis, there is nothing to turn to for mora} stamina. history, inoluding Krishna, Lao-Tae, ‘noid philosophies whieh were CC atkacl, They have lived in the memory of tankind beseuse thoy funn, by means of parables, or symbolict én is thot they all developed follow- e Prolacly separated in yours and geographical locations. Apparently, their ee ete se Bnilosophy reflects truth that is divine, adapted for the par- selar ego and poriog where they taught. Tt is divine revelation bus Sind. Bens sth yarietions to allow spiritual outlet for the fundamental fear Sn ie Gisth. Where divine revelation ends and desire for Plug te cilay feare begin is, aa 4% has been throughout religtous hiptory, Piipore endlone problen today than ever before, in all mjor religions. Bvery great teacher of puddha, Confueius aud Jesus, jentielly Pacted the hopes in the heart proverbs. Bub the phenomenal situ the extraordinary success of the scientific outlook mikes & coaring gown. Everything today mst be capable of explanation de cannot be weighed, measured or counted, with post Dawanoe, ib is presumed to be foolishness, and cnlightened. Avid promigators of this convenbional seection have had s luscious plum to attack in -chodoxy. The point is rather generally fettoh out of dn one syllable wor ive results compute nperstition of the & 7 laboretory church is decadent and ali the Bible o trail ‘truly enlightened world is concerned. The Is there any further a: sprouted so avidly? Sinead that the organized Filegory end myth co far as & tesis of the old fuith is in a teilspin. yrious reason why cultiem and sects ha organised Christianity 4s facing increasing difficulty to por soveres decade? nonbership soquisitions have followed e deerens- or entre pith rates ere a part of the ouise, and lover per capita 2 ‘people away from any continuation of participation in Se slirities. But thee are nov mjor fsotors, Exuminstion of church ee evscts a higher monbership turnover por year with a decreasing nuxber gembora to au inoreesing wunbor of withdrawals. cause of this decadence docs not seen to rest on only nany elements involved. Posaibly the decdence atively lover standards of seminary in- eco have discouraged competent ministerial material. Tt is only too tet theological seminaries, with some widely seatuered exceptions, are Pe mary behind run of the mill modern university feoilities and methods. Geentary benbiabjecte, toxt-books and material are identically tho sano co ty five years age. This condition i not conducive to intellectual si- ey ig roster than industria] centers, water-fronts and isolated rural Tienes, The graduates of these schools laok every requirenont denanded of see brospestive parishioners who are products of the "sotentifio” atti- Vdevn elorgyuen reflect thie condition by the manner in which they e sgcoonded from intellectual leadership to the position of ministering igious chores. 7 two factors. There Fetneological teaching and the re: oped out of the post-war poricd hen “trend nas toward bigger church buildings and more expensive properties. IES low of wealth sade largo cifte and donations a tremendous incent- te feoirationel expansion. Debts were ageumed totelling enormous fis- Sn ee Marsh Life of the 1920's, and with the attending increases in Posrating overhead the first depression yoars of the 1950's brought ruinous nego ciergy and laity allie. Boonomic anxiety wus injeoted into reli- sane tivity; veoause of the streze the trend oane to @ soneentrstion on Eppinirstionsl needs and self-preservation and o forgetfulness of spiritual Bifcrts and purposes. Churches ained to please rather than lead then, and ae only bne'step further 20 ake their buildings low cost sootal centers petoud of places of conmunion and worship. Another problem devel y todey these factors, ooupled with the mending philosophies? Ind soientific attecks on doctrinal points, generete an inner senso of frus- i ‘tion anong clergymen thonselves. Prospective Lay workers no longer show cmngeliting omhusinsm and faith of a decude ago. Chureh going i now oor ee convertionel routine then ever before. Sermonizing is no longer © GE forieal of intividnal foith but a rebionelized cajelery cf stumbling oom Eorontece to eit ourrezt conventions. This condition fails to effort the max ves cf poopie with the strength to combat the innate fear t eegnd the supernatural which they seck from & religion Efe ission grows that Christianity, except as a eral code, onty hs spiric Gal significance by being am established liturgicel form which is maintained wht of honor to the remants of the past. -13- tions appears to hinge on the This complex train of cond: hair-splitting exercises of sty rotionslizing of the Bible itself. ve ger critioisa, the cubterfuges to maintain Biblical interest in the Hof apparent “soiontific" refutation, end the persistent business poli- Bie cr eeanized Christianity, so designed that the 91e%ey will never at~ fo ublisly rub the latest agedemie authority the wile 1 ‘by dis- toly raps Bible Livtle more than @ tomb for family records, se tandy ite to have on tho table for refsrenees ‘purposes to prove some facher some Biblical knowledge. Yet te ontire Foundation of organized Christianity, oP Be ai0a religion a2 we imow it in the Western Worst, 18 completely depend- Sel ee ercity of the Bible, as the inopired Word of God. OF Seiy the- ne eetanut ie of equal importance with ‘he New Testasent: 500 ge ithe OM aulon ae desie as the four Gospels. ‘To rejeoe se, Vises, Birth, ety oO sourropiion, bus onoose to eccept the Divinsty of Christ is an un- be Rerrerfuge which negates the omtire work. This ie whee tas Soc metantty for centuries, however; and today, exegetical reeds has reached that point where ‘ontire book. To supply # deman: fue been directed to new streamlined Bibles where new Sestions are rearranged, and large parts in organized 0 agreement omong © ipeved posbt. in the Gigolient scholars Finelations give now meanings, ire deleted entirely. For all this disintegration, with its actus rejection of Srything but Lip-serviae to the moral code oF Christian tenets, the situ- eri npiounds with increasing proof of the power and ‘veracity of the Bible A oe ee hovolation. hotuaily our super-sedenoe of modern life, with ite ic divine, and its exaltation of everything per- parent refutation of law We not a proof of the futility of Christianity’s ining to the physical, Ejrecepts at all. There is @ vast asount of evidence reflecting considersbie Seer eey cant reoont end ourrest trends in the phi losonhy of materialism, chicets on social-economic~politicnl trends in world opsos iro neroly confirmations of anaiont Biblio#? ‘prophooies. Possibly this ie ge merely cont itying reasons Biblical ststenonte heve been under such per- ont und unrelenting attack these past centuries. dumanity holds and inveterate diclike for anything tending Ee curact trom tig amt conse of power. Tho history of tempore! paver ae ea tiistory of the curtailoent of the spiritusl. Where ik was oxpediont Sigious fresdon has bear guaranteed by eivil author *y, although populer Scious freee ede that ary minority does not etrey for from She popularly Poopeed view of what is acceptable dogm, Tt took praverys and considerable Storing for independent excursions contrary 0 ‘the majority, to carry te Rtteriag for aftorte of Galileo, Lather, Hesuer, or Kepler 18 2 older Hee sar Oliver Lodge, Sir Henry Drummond end Dube University ESP w Saf aay, Por to hupnity the unlmown is @ source of ety, which mst de Bctionelizod. 1f retonalization is impossitie, Shor complete rejection is ele eee cea couroe of feeeiae patio cei aoe te te ride distinction between spir- iigunizod religion. In philosophy there f5 = wid- Epa religion. Spirituality ia the unimonn, the cocult and the es0~ gon aventional terminology. Religion, in the popularly accepted Ned ty Durkheia in his "Histoire du epiritualisme experimental”, Geuore thas "a solidury systom of beliefs and practices which unite inte in one and the same moral community, o&lled a church". In i, spirituality is one thing, but religion is nothing more than a Meee g sooiel and collective unit whose alpha and omega centers and Bieonly the organization. Under this generally accepted definition religion can be » Gye card players club, or a league against over-privileged you Yabele, such ac Justification by Faith, the Bible as the Inspired domption, ete. ere the appendages we have unde them in our church af- and practices. This reflects how the reformed chureh in partiou- ‘the Christian church in general, hes patterned the organigntion as amit in our time, Spirituality is secondary to the organization, Snoiples are secondary to organizations in Machine pol: When Eiisation deterioretes, whether through weak leaderehip and befuddled “Jor the assailmonts of economic problems such as mortgages, over~ debt, the entire structure perishes for the foundation is merely & Gilectivism ond not spirituality. a Obviousiy, the Bible ie merely en appendage of ucders rel- fhe churches. It ie a eymbol of the pest, the world's most highly Ge of Literary cohtevenent, a historical rosord, a compendium of in- Ge febles und & mine of poctical moral atatements. It follows thet evelation to mn, by « Suprens Seing,of destiny,and a di- r sources of events yet te come in tho schoue of things, is open : This denial of the existence of any Divinity reveling it- Picugh the Bible is the pivot point of modern orgenized religion. Mo at might ve tho variation between rejection or acceptance of Bibli- enente some of the world's best, scholarship has given us @ heritage inl on the book, Innunerable statements throughout the Bible icto so woll that the student of oxegotios} effort cannot fail to be- Eifiucea over the indications. It is particularly apropo our times thet iSllngly interesting co-ordination of part of the nore salient data is PciShto « form which appears of immediate and practical value. The co- Hon with other prophetioal sources is sufficient to warrant more than BA re-cxnmination of the entire Bible from the stendpoint of its one Evaniog ite place us inspired Nord, rather than merely a greet piece Bevure of the pest. Chapter Four BISLIGAL PROPHUOY FOR OUR TIME grown up over ‘the yea: The popular idea that God is # E oon who stalks the universe as & combination of judge, Jury, venginctor or gree oner in ceaseless forays out of m place culled heaven. The Bible te Becoc;, wich this conception of Deity, ax boing no wore than a histories) re- ata few God-fearing people who lived centuries ago ine rather segre- ized soction of the earth. ‘Their record, the Bible, 1s assumed Fe consist see cngregntion of books and manuscripts taken from Hiebrow and Greek 1it— re thanded down to us as good writing, important historical dats, and cetpook of more principles suggestive of contentment and success in Liv fost is that controversy hes raged, scholarship kas disagreed, and we ftuslity in éiffused; with religion « matter of ‘changes as convoniont ss selecting a new suit. DB “at that place whore sp: jbional viewpoints subject to of the Bible record rests on more than historioal foundations. Its authors viewod God, net as a bewhis~ which are Spirit, Love, Truth, But ‘the importance Sicorary and ‘rod Yahwoht, but as Omniscience and Divinity se Ghe apparent folklore of the text was inoulcated @ reflection of onledge of spiritual discernmest, ip order that mankind would bave the Extusi dete concerning the universe, mn and God. However, tho majority of EGople fail to raep the significance of tho message, both in the Gener} Seeeetion of dostrinal points and the broad canvas of progressive prophecies Fiisetle to us today. Govstoousness, fear and jealousy of « world gone nad See tittle tino and do energy for what ore being viewed sa uniuortant or [eusl discormonts. Tt has appeared aore effictont and modern e, The ii) Wise and The Dternal or Omnipotence witeh sv 0 cf humnity. Tt 4 gens, is woe dostined that way. Palfests its power through anturel G easier thot way, and strange though © ge appeel of the Bible story from earliest times j beon the idea of fieaven as a rowurd of getting what is denied us in life. men hopes are attracted to a distant time and piace lities Beit be balenoed. Any effort, such as discipline, self-denial or restriction, Bison custer if « rovard folions, To "bons @ cross" end lives at least out- Beery, » circumspect and unselfish lifo is almost attractive hep heavens Geet sna to the oareworn and tho weary the thought of eternal rest and the soo they never reach makes a desire for heaven the epitome of unfulfilied Fiishes. Tt is this dream which has th tho doctrine of mortality and mde religion the ost of civilization. Md with imortelisy is the idea of Wllennium, to precede the second Com- fig of the Lord, when God would illuninate His followers gradually from Plorpicte ignorance to portent Imoviedgo. However, sohiems and dognatsse have Befogged the original tenets of this prorpeot until orthodoay io am endlece ons of the Hereafter, and tho Advent. The gr 401 the early Christian scholars, until politi ‘table for the organized church headguertere: E Gonstantine, held that the promise found in fection +o coeur immediately befere-a per giedes uade $ pro: fools ap a terrivorial deal ction x wee a literal resourre ~16- wa) reign of Christ on earth. Since the tine of Constantine, when organiz~ Eo Gnristionity entered tho realm of seowlsr oF temporal authority, opinions FOnEyashod into three Dasic schools of thought, hovevors the firot group is the rationalistic attitude which provaite and origioered frou Jerute onegocts io the eixtoenth coptury. Tiere 211 8 fron ee eiesly homn production wrivten in «llegor= Bite Propnee oe rfonl reporting of ovonts after they have transpired. Mee Bc test vin sontarton of sho Ohriotinn ore aro, inelasel £9 Coe sohene, Tire tee tell of tho govish netion and she old Rosse Bapire completing Go Wore and then anking Nero the Antichrist. Epoiey Beiple prophecies ar of the corruptions of the Romn ‘yuded the follovers of Wicllift ‘tho ensbusisstio faith which formtion of the sixteenth The second group arose out fjurch during the eleventh oentury. Tt ino: Iejues, and from their interpretation cams Eeriaght the intensities of conviction during the Re ought THe porved timid Catholice to deny ‘he Papeoy and foa}oy Sve Refers aeuY Teeny, England, France, Switzerland, Dennerk, Sweden, Tely she Gomme as boon the besio diftioulty in ali attonpts to bring the fe PPT Ghrohes. into a reunion with Rone, ‘This group pode the generel 1 Somer of the Roman Chureh was the Bebylon of BEbli- prophecy while ts methods of operation represented, She anti-christ. Fey acy promise sprowt tho beginnings of the Reformtion whsee Eaystallized with Luther's Theses, the sale of indulgoiees, end then inv yetaliised wifeaporel power involving civil authorities, snd te ohts dey et Mere oa) doguatisn of the Refornod Churohes rotsins 282 origsna® 10; Ne rotation tomré the Papacy and rofusge to leave is, posttioy and refute poreretetion “ovrgmiaging 20 the third group interpretation of the propher the third group is ore in line with the original Biblical or pplnitive cnuroh Fathers. This group views the Bible ss gr prinksive Goring all time, fron the beginning to the ond. evolution of (he proghetio seotion of Revelation from ohaptore 77 fo 7% Se eegun in our day, with soat of the promises yet So be, Tegan ne, only boGht the Apecalypee is civen to a Literal Tsreal, elshough Shere 3 Pines tito ahether the Jere, the Buglish and Aperionac, oF sone Giver teotel croup, represents Taree.’ aan who Ss op oxtsons infidel is peer eee abpeor ep he Antiobriet, who shall rule for seven Yoore Ort Peer verily’ opprece the world for three and ono helt years nets She tote Si tne sooond Advent, Ana the stave of organized Christies ity today, with ene so oeeitom, ats anomia resulting from the blood-stained heresion, of Pe eee caetpoous svt would probable fail to rescgnice Yoeve,

    S-ar putea să vă placă și