Religion: Prophecy

The 16th annual conference for the study of sacred prophecy, at Stony Brook, N. Y., last week, illuminated the fact, recently obscured by quarrels between fundamentalists and modernists of the various Christian denominations, that a great and growing strata of Christians now believe literally in the imminent fulfillment of Biblical prophecies. Such belief is the “medicine” of religious charlatans, the persuader of profit-taking evangelists, and the consoler of the regular clergy. Where there is social misery, the religious are apt to keep patient, in hopes of the prophetic millenium. (The non-religious are apt to be impatient, in hopes of what they think the economic millenium — socialism, communism, etc.)

To such people the exalted declaration at Stony Brook last week were confirmations of their hopes; the statement of Dr. Arno Clemens Gaebelein of Mt. Vernon, N. Y., editor since 1894 of Our Hope, a religious magazine, was a fact. Said he: “The second coming of Christ is near. Christ’s return will be forecast by a figure sitting on a cloud with something similar to a sickle in his hand. The cloud will flush with a glorious light, then Christ is to come and all the holy angels will come with him.

“One of the first things Christ will do upon his return will be to put Satan literally into the bottomless pit, and then do away with all sickness, all airplanes and all wars. For those Christians who are still alive there will be no death.”*

* “Millions now living will never die” is the hope of International Bible Students (TIME, Aug. 1).