ARMAGEDDON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23796, 1 May 1939, Page 6

ARMAGEDDON

EVANGELIST’S PREDICTIONS “The European War of 1914-18 was the most titanic struggle ever waged by man,” stated Evangelist Uttley during his lecture in the Strand Theatre last night. Conditions to-day were similar to those in 1914, he added, and in this connection Lloyd George had said: “ Civilisation is doomed within this generation to a catastrophe such as the world has never known.” The late Ramsay McDonald, prior to his death, had uttered these words: “The great Armageddon must come at last and the end will not disappear in defeat but in the silence of exhaustion—mankind will be—l am going to say it—almost wiped out. Mankind is to be exhausted and all his works of civilisation are to be obliterated.” Mr Uttley then stressed the fact that the position to-day was intensified by the awakening of the coloured people; first to their strength, and secondly to the hollow hypocrisy of the white nations. Earth’s population increased at the rate of 50,000 a day or 18,000,000 a year, and of these three-quarters belonged to the coloured nations. He pointed out that during the last century and particularly the last decade, the Christian nations had denied the principles of the Christ and belied their sincerity of purpose, proofs of which were the Ethiopian conquest, the tension in Palestine and the latest coup in Albania, All had awakened the coloured races to the gravity of the hour. Armageddon was a Hebrew word denoting the final conflict of earth. It was never God’s purpose that Armageddon should carry the thought of war and strife, but rather that it should be the " Great Day of God Almighty.” The signs of and preparations for Armageddon were based on three factors—the gigantic war preparations, the national burdens of Germany and Italy, and England spending £2,000,000 a day or £l3 per head per annum: and France having spent £439,000,000 in the last 18 months, second, a seeming paradox, but nevertheless a reality, the peace and safety cry in the midst of sudden destruction: and third the awakening of the East as predicted in Revelations xvi: 12 and Joel ill: 9-14. Mr Uttley warned his listeners that as Armageddon hastened on there was need for preparation, not only for the conflict of nations, but the great day of God’s wrath—wrath revealed against sin No human language was adequate to picture the terrors of that day when mercy would give way to justice. Yet above it all sounded the divine appeal “Seek ye the Lord . . . it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.”