l 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, 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 w
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