those words, and not a single one of them has been without wars, plagues,
famines, and earthquakes. Mighty empires have crashed in ruin to the
ground, diseases have unpeopled half the globe, there have been vast
natural cataclysms in which thousands have been overwhelmed by flood
and fire and whirlwind. Time and again, in the course of these nineteen
centuries, such things have happened, but they have not brought Christ
back to earth. They were 'signs of the times' inasmuch as they were signs
of God's wrath against the chronic wickedness of mankind, but they were
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not signs of the times in connection with the Second Coming.
"If earnest Christians have regarded the present war as a true sign of
the Lord's approaching return, it is not merely because it happens to be a
great war involving the lives of millions of people, not merely because
famine is tightening its grip on every country in Europe, not merely
because disease of every kind, from syphilis to spotted fever, is rife among
the warring nations; no, it is not for these reasons that we regard this war
as a true Sign of the Times, but because in its origin and its progress it is
marked by certain characteristics which seem to connect it almost beyond
a doubt with the predictions in Christian Prophecy relating to the Second
Coming of the Lord.
"Let me enumerate the features of the present war which most clearly
suggest that it is a Sign foretelling the near approach of the Second Advent.
Our Lord said that 'this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the
world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.'
Although it would be presumptuous for us to say what degree of
evangelisation will be regarded by God as sufficient, we may at least
confidently hope that a century of unflagging missionary work has brought
the fulfilment of this condition at any rate near. True, the larger number
of the world's inhabitants have remained deaf to the preaching of the true
religion; but that does not vitiate the fact that the Gospel HAS been
preached 'for a witness' to all unbelievers from the Papist to the Zulu.
The responsibility for the continued prevalence of unbelief lies, not with
the preachers, but with those preached to.
"Again, it has been generally recognised that 'the drying up of the
waters of the great river Euphrates,' mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of
Revelation, refers to the decay and extinction of Turkish power, and is a
sign of the near approaching end of the world as we know it. The capture
of Jerusalem and the successes in Mesopotamia are great strides forward
in the destruction of the Ottoman Empire; though it must be admitted that
the Gallipoli episode proved that the Turk still possesses a 'notable horn' of
strength. Historically speaking, this drying up of Ottoman power has
been going on for the past century; the last two years have witnessed a
great acceleration of the process, and there can be no doubt that complete
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desiccation is within sight.
"Closely following on the words concerning the drying up of
Euphrates comes the prophecy of Armageddon, that world war with which
the Second Coming is to be so closely associated. Once begun, the world
war can end only with the return of Christ, and His coming will be sudden
and unexpected, like that of a thief in the night.
"Let us examine the facts. In history, exactly as in St. John's Gospel,
the world war is immediately preceded by the drying up of Euphrates, or
the decay of Turkish power. This fact alone would be enough to connect
the present conflict with the Armageddon of Revelation and therefore to
point to the near approach of the Second Advent. But further evidence of
an even more solid and convincing nature can be adduced.
"Armageddon is brought about by the activities of three unclean spirits,
as it were toads, which come out of the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast,
and the False Prophet. If we can identify these three powers of evil much
light will clearly be thrown on the whole question.
"The Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet can all be identified in
history. Satan, who can only work through human agency, has used these
three powers in the long war against Christ which has filled the last
nineteen centuries with religious strife. The Dragon, it has been
sufficiently established, is pagan Rome, and the spirit issuing from its
mouth is the spirit of Infidelity. The Beast, alternatively symbolised as a
Woman, is undoubtedly the Papal power, and Popery is the spirit which it
spews forth. There is only one power which answers to the description
of the False Prophet, the wolf in sheep's clothing, the agent of the devil
working in the guise of the Lamb, and that power is the so-called 'Society
of Jesus.' The spirit that issues from the mouth of the False Prophet is the
spirit of False Morality.
"We may assume, then, that the three evil spirits are Infidelity, Popery,
and False Morality. Have these three influences been the real cause of
the present conflict? The answer is clear.
"The spirit of Infidelity is the very spirit of German criticism. The
Higher Criticism, as it is mockingly called, denies the possibility of
miracles, prediction, and real inspiration, and attempts to account for the
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Bible as a natural development. Slowly but surely, during the last eighty
years, the spirit of Infidelity has been robbing the Germans of their Bible
and their faith, so that Germany is to-day a nation of unbelievers. Higher
Criticism has thus made the war possible; for it would be absolutely
impossible for any Christian nation to wage war as Germany is waging it.
"We come next to the spirit of Popery, whose influence in causing the
war was quite as great as that of Infidelity, though not, perhaps, so
immediately obvious. Since the Franco-Prussian War the Papal power
has steadily declined in France, while in Germany it has steadily increased.
To-day France is an anti-papal state, while Germany possesses a powerful
Roman Catholic minority. Two papally controlled states, Germany and
Austria, are at war with six anti-papal states--England, France, Italy,
Russia, Serbia, and Portugal. Belgium is, of course, a thoroughly papal
state, and there can be little doubt that the presence on the Allies' side of
an element so essentially hostile has done much to hamper the righteous
cause and is responsible for our comparative ill- success. That the spirit
of Popery is behind the war is thus seen clearly enough in the grouping of
the opposed powers, while the rebellion in the Roman Catholic parts of
Ireland has merely confirmed a conclusion already obvious to any
unbiased mind.
"The spirit of False Morality has played as great a part in this war as
the two other evil spirits. The Scrap of Paper incident is the nearest and
most obvious example of Germany's adherence to this essentially
unchristian or Jesuitical morality. The end is German world-power, and
in the attainment of this end, any means are justifiable. It is the true
principle of Jesuitry applied to international politics.
"The identification is now complete. As was predicted in Revelation,
the three evil spirits have gone forth just as the decay of the Ottoman
power was nearing completion, and have joined together to make the
world war. The warning, 'Behold, I come as a thief,' is therefore meant
for the present period--for you and me and all the world. This war will
lead on inevitably to the war of Armageddon, and will only be brought to
an end by the Lord's personal return.
"And when He returns, what will happen? Those who are in Christ,
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St. John tells us, will be called to the Supper of the Lamb. Those who are
found fighting against Him will be called to the Supper of the Great God-that
grim banquet where they shall not feast, but be feasted on. 'For,' as
St. John says, 'I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried in a loud
voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and
gather yourselves together unto the supper of the Great God; that ye may
eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty
men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small and great.' All the enemies of
Christ will be slain with the sword of him that sits upon the horse, 'and all
the fowls will be filled with their flesh.' That is the Supper of the Great
God.
"It may be soon or it may, as men reckon time, be long; but sooner or
later, inevitably, the Lord will come and deliver the world from its present
troubles. And woe unto them who are called, not to the Supper of the
Lamb, but to the Supper of the Great God. They will realise then, but too
late, that God is a God of Wrath as well as a God of Forgiveness. The
God who sent bears to devour the mockers of Elisha, the God who smote
the Egyptians for their stubborn wickedness, will assuredly smite them too,
unless they make haste to repent. But perhaps it is already too late.
Who knows but that to-morrow, in a moment even, Christ may be upon us
unawares, like a thief? In a little while, who knows? The angel
standing in the sun may be summoning the ravens and vultures from their
crannies in the rocks to feed upon the putrefying flesh of the millions of
unrighteous whom God's wrath has destroyed. Be ready, then; the
coming of the Lord is at hand. May it be for all of you an object of hope,
not a moment to look forward to with terror and trembling."
Mr. Bodiham closed the little pamphlet and leaned back in his chair.
The argument was sound, absolutely compelling; and yet-- it was four
years since he had preached that sermon; four years, and England was at
peace, the sun shone, the people of Crome were as wicked and indifferent
as ever--more so, indeed, if that were possible. If only he could
understand, if the heavens would but make a sign! But his questionings
remained unanswered. Seated there in his brown varnished chair under
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the Ruskinian window, he could have screamed aloud. He gripped the
arms of his chair-- gripping, gripping for control. The knuckles of his
hands whitened; he bit his lip. In a few seconds he was able to relax the
tension; he began to rebuke himself for his rebellious impatience.
Four years, he reflected; what were four years, after all? It must
inevitably take a long time for Armageddon to ripen to yeast itself up.
The episode of 1914 had been a preliminary skirmish. And as for the war
having come to an end--why, that, of course, was illusory. It was still
going on, smouldering away in Silesia, in Ireland, in Anatolia; the
discontent in Egypt and India was preparing the way, perhaps, for a great
extension of the slaughter among the heathen peoples. The Chinese
boycott of Japan, and the rivalries of that country and America in the
Pacific, might be breeding a great new war in the East. The prospect, Mr.
Bodiham tried to assure himself, was hopeful; the real, the genuine
Armageddon might soon begin, and then, like a thief in the night...But, in
spite of all his comfortable reasoning, he remained unhappy, dissatisfied.
Four years ago he had been so confident; God's intention seemed then so
plain. And now? Now, he did well to be angry. And now he suffered
too.
Sudden and silent as a phantom Mrs. Bodiham appeared, gliding
noiselessly across the room. Above her black dress her face was pale
with an opaque whiteness, her eyes were pale as water in a glass, and her
strawy hair was almost colourless. She held a large envelope in her
hand.
"This came for you by the post," she said softly.
The envelope was unsealed. Mechanically Mr. Bodiham tore it open.
It contained a pamphlet, larger than his own and more elegant in
appearance. "The House of Sheeny, Clerical Outfitters, Birmingham."
He turned over the pages. The catalogue was tastefully and
ecclesiastically printed in antique characters with illuminated Gothic
initials. Red marginal lines, crossed at the corners after the manner of an
Oxford picture frame, enclosed each page of type, little red crosses took
the place of full stops. Mr. Bodiham turned the pages.
"Soutane in best black merino. Ready to wear; in all sizes.
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Clerical frock coats. From nine guineas. A dressy garment, tailored
by our own experienced ecclesiastical cutters."
Half-tone illustrations represented young curates, some dapper, some
Rugbeian and muscular, some with ascetic faces and large ecstatic eyes,
dressed in jackets, in frock-coats, in surplices, in clerical evening dress, in
black Norfolk suitings.
"A large assortment of chasubles.
Rope girdles.
Sheeny's Special Skirt Cassocks. Tied by a string about the
waist...When worn under a surplice presents an appearance
indistinguishable from that of a complete cassock...Recommended for
summer wear and hot climates."
With a gesture of horror and disgust Mr. Bodiham threw the catalogue
into the waste-paper basket. Mrs. Bodiham looked at him; her pale,
glaucous eyes reflected his action without comment.
"The village," she said in her quiet voice, "the village grows worse and
worse every day."
"What has happened now?" asked Mr. Bodiham, feeling suddenly very
weary.
"I'll tell you." She pulled up a brown varnished chair and sat down.
In the village of Crome, it seemed, Sodom and Gomorrah had come to a
second birth.
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CHAPTER X.
Denis did not dance, but when ragtime came squirting out of the
pianola in gushes of treacle and hot perfume, in jets of Bengal light, then
things began to dance inside him. Little black nigger corpuscles jigged
and drummed in his arteries. He became a cage of movement, a walking
