The Lord Jesus said to the Jews at the close of His earthly ministry, "How is it that ye do not discern this time?" Luke 12:56. And today there are many Christians who do not discern the character of these days-the last days-the days just before He will take all true believers to be with Himself in the Father's house. The grand moment is almost here. Wherever we look: the state of the nations, East and West, North and South; military preparedness; economic alliances; conflicts within men's minds over opposing ideologies; breakdown of morals; lawlessness; everything tells the same story-the end is at hand.
And nowhere is it more in evidence than in that which professes to he the Church of God. Laodiceanism-indifferentism to the claims of Christ and His glory, while boasting of riches and grandeur-is well advanced. Ecumenicalism continues to swell, while neo-orthodoxy (formerly called "modernism"), and new evangelicalism (a watered-down, popular perversion of the gospel of God) help to promote the World Council of Churches. The latest ecumenical achievement is the fruit of fifteen years of negotiations to bring the Russian Orthodox Church into the great fold. When the invitation to the Russians to unite with the W.C.C. was first made, it was rejected; but clandestine and cautious negotiations have been continued. Now at length an application for membership in the W.C.C. has been received, signed by none other than Moscow's Patriarch Alexis.
Dr. Franklin Clark Fry, president of the United Lutheran Church, and president of the World Council's central committee, who is one of the most ardent and active promoters of the world church, has announced the receipt of the request, which, according to all reports, will almost certainly be approved by the world body. This will add stature to the W.C.C., although there will be some objections, because it is well known that anything of religion which is tolerated in Russia is subservient to the dictatorial aims of Russian (international) Communism. It will open the door for further penetration of world religion by the leaven of the communist ideology.
Estimates of the number of communicants which would be added to the World Council by accepting the Russian Church vary from 25 to 50 million. Their request for membership will be voted on by the World Council assembly meeting in New Delhi, India, next November. Dr. Fry says that their reception will be "a major event in the life of the council."-Time, May 5, 1961.
No one should suppose that the end aim of many of the great non-Roman church leaders is only the uniting under a single roof of all the Protestant and orthodox bodies. It is evident that in much of the present thinking, reunion with Rome is included. The National and World Councils are not opposed to allowing part of their membership's going over to Rome in a body. Progress in this direction is perhaps further along than most suppose. Here is a recent report:
"A vice president of the National Council of Churches said... that union between Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians was very close."
He further said that "there was no real difference between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics and expressed the hope that a joint invitation to unity will come from Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople and the Bishop of Rome, Pope John, 'who has been sent by God to accomplish a holy mission of unity'."
These remarks came from Archbishop Antony Bashir, who is the archbishop of New York and of all North America for the Syrian Antiochian Orthodox Church. He further remarked that Roman Catholic dogma of the infallibility of the Pope poses no real problem to Eastern. Orthodox and Roman Catholic communions.
Archbishop Bashir, when in Detroit to officiate at a celebration in the St. George Syrian Orthodox Church, remarked that on the previous Sunday in his own church in New York, Roman Catholic Cardinal Cushing had been a banquet guest in his church, and "after the Divine Liturgy came into the sanctuary, knelt before the altar, prayed and blessed the committee that invited him."-Detroit Free Press, May 1, 1961.
Cardinal Cushing's action is not to be wondered at, since Pope John XXIII recently ordered and attended a Byzantine-Slavic rite mass in St. Peter's Basilica, and spoke some words in ancient Slavic, to show Rome's solicitude toward Eastern Orthodox churches.
Not many years ago some Christians thought that the Roman Church was at the end of her tether; but today her outreach has lengthened, and the gloved hand is being extended to those whom she formerly opposed. And it would seem still stranger (if we were not acquainted with the Holy Scriptures) to find that hand is being accepted, and in places even sought.
It is not six months since the highest ecclesiastic of the Church 'Of England went to visit the Pope, and exclaimed,
"Your Holiness, we are making history:'-America (R. C. Weekly), Jan. 14, 1961.
After the Archbishop's visit with the Pope, he had another visit with Augustin Cardinal Bea, head of the Vatican Committee for Promoting Christian Unity. At this meeting there was discussion of participation by the Church of England in the Roman Catholic ecumenical conference to be held later, probably next year.
Now in such a short time, the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has been received by the Pope. One may well ask, Where is England going? It is traveling the same roads as most of the Western world, down divergent paths toward infidelity, humanism, and atheism on the one hand, and to Rome on the other. Two diverse and opposing attitudes are at work, and in the end Romanism will at first prevail, only to be destroyed later by these divergent forces, most of which are growing up in a moribund religiosity which clings more and more tenaciously to liturgy and outward form and name.
When the noted English cleric, John Henry Newman, sought to turn the English Church over to Rome during the Oxford Movement (1833-41), there was enough resistance to save the day. Newman then left the Church of England and became a Roman priest; later he was given the cardinal's red hat. This remembrance suggests that perhaps some of the prominent ecumenicalists of today may yet wear the red hat. There is so little vitality left to Protestantism in England that there can be no powerful force to stay the trend.
The same is true of the Anglican Communion in most other parts of the world. It has gone into the ecumenical conglomerate in South India. The Primate of Canada, as we have before seen, is ready for it, even to expressing the wish that "Nothing less than the reunion of all Christendom should be our goal."-Weekend, Vol. 10, no. 47, 1960.
The head of the Anglican branch in the United States is the presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Arthur Carl Lichtenberger, who said that he "would include the Roman Catholic Church in any moves toward unity," and "The search for a way toward reunion should embrace all churches, including the Roman Catholic."
And the Bishop of Chelmsford, England, wants the Anglican Communion to act as a bridge between the Catholic churches of the East and the non-Catholics of the West, and then to disappear when its function is completed, and merge its identity in the unity of one church.
Fellow-Christians, consider how easily and how quickly the last stage of Christendom can come about in the formation of "Babylon the Great"! And remember that liberalism-Laodicean lethargy-has been and is paving the way for the great apostasy of Christendom. Without profession's having first lost its respect for God and subjection of spirit to His revelation, ecumenical union could not come about. As we have before shown, all religions are treated as of some real value, if not of equal value in most ecumenical circles. Then when the authority of God's Holy Word is supplanted, the dogmas of men, the traditions of the elders, the foibles of so-called church fathers, the decrees of the church which make the Word of God void by the words of mere men-all that is spurious comes in to fill the empty space. At that point, the sacred Scriptures are quoted out of context to prove that "white is black, and black is white."
O Christians who still desire to please God! Come out of the unclean mixture while there is yet time! Ask not directions from those who like Lot sit in the gate of Sodom. "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins." Rev. 18:4. Waste not your time in trying to turn back the clock or reverse the trend. "Come out"! "Come out"!
Where is the Church of Rome in all the ecumenical urge? She is holding out an olive leaf; she is offering a little encouragement here and a little there; but after all she is playing it coyly, and biding her time. She has but to wait, and the ripe apples will fall into her hands. Her aim at present seems to be to first get the Orthodox Greek Church with its 130,000,000 members into the fold. Pope John XXIII wants to show the world the Roman Church in its full splendor and then to say to the others,
"You can see, brothers, this is the church of Christ. Come, come!"
One mark of Rome's interest in seeing all Christendom gathered under one roof-her own-is the increased activity of the Graymoor Friars who each year indicate to the Roman parishes how to pray for church unity. They set aside eight days for the observance of the Chair of Unity Octave (Jan. 18-25). With Pope John's approval, the language of the prayers is altered to eliminate any phrases that might seem offensive; for instance, instead of praying for the submission of the Anglicans to the Vicar of Christ, they now merely pray for the reconciliation of the Anglicans with the Holy See. But there is plenty of evidence that their aims and principles have not changed. We need not name other changes of prayer phraseology of a similar nature, even concerning Moslems and Jews.
The major portion of the Catholic weekly, America, for January 14, 1961, was devoted to discussion of ecumenicalism which will bring all "Christians" into "one fold," and under "one shepherd. ' America's editorial also comments on the opposition that was raised in 1948 when President Truman sent Myron Taylor to the Vatican as his representative:
"But new winds blow.... Thus, over the same weekend in which the Archbishop of Canterbury visited the Vatican, American Catholic and Protestant religious leaders engaged in the first formal theological colloquy of an official character, at St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minn. Their interfaith discussions, organized with the approval of the Holy Office, lasted for three days." p. 454.
Eleven pages of this issue of America are devoted to discussion of the approaches to Catholic and Protestant unity. And there are twelve short articles on the subject of the ecumenical "dialog" by prominent theologians from both sides of the ever lowering fence.
Robert McAfee Brown, Professor, Union Theological Seminary, commented in part:
"Protestant theology can learn a great deal from Catholicism in such areas as the meaning of tradition, the life of the early Church and the relationship of the Church to the world." p. 459.
One Catholic writer does mention a point which in the past has been a very real barrier to unity; namely, "Holy Writ or Holy Church." p. 460.
Avery Dulles, Professor, Woodstock College (he is the son of the former Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, who was himself an active Protestant layman and interested in the W.C.C.), says:
"The goal of our corning dialog should he neither to refute adversaries nor to reach agreements on a basis of compromise. We should aim rather at mutual enrichment through theological give and-take. If all participants are chiefly intent on getting closer to Christ, they will find that they can accept many of each other's best insights without surrendering any convictions of their own." p. 461.
There is also a rather long article on Interchurch, Relations, by Bernard Leeming, S.J., professor of theology at Heythrop College in England, from which we will quote a few excerpts:
"In March, 1959, the Herder-Korrespondenz quote the Holy Father as having said, `We do not intend to conduct a trial of the past; we do not want to prove who was right or who was wrong. All we want to say is: "Let us come together. let us make an end of our divisions" '." p. 465.
"In August, 1960 Cardinal Bea [head of the Secretariat for Unity of Christians], evidently referring to the fear expressed by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches that unofficial `dialog' might be restricted, declared that it was most important to continue the unofficial conversations, for such meetings between theologians had already led to a certain amount of agreement. He mentioned the work of the German Una Sancta group under the direction of Archbishop Lorenz Jager of Paderborn. He also noted that a two-way conversation could be established between his secretariat and the World Council of Churches on some questions connected with the Catholic faith." p. 466.
"The cordiality with which separated brethren are received at Rome, especially by the secretariat, shows the desire to have at first hand the fullest knowledge and understanding of different outlooks." p. 466.
"The initiative of the present Holy Father is merely a normal development of a movement which was proceeding in the Church. Catholic groups and individuals in different countries have for long been studying questions about 'reunion' and have been publishing books and periodicals commending the sympathetic approach." p. 466.
Now lest any readers think that Rome is about to change her stand on all that she holds dear, let us hear from another Catholic paper, The Lamp. Under the title of What is Catholic Ecumenism,
we find this:
"The term 'Ecumenism' is often heard these days: both Catholics and non-Catholics use it but with very different ideas in mind. Yet they converge, in a general way, on the reunion of Christendom as a certain combination of projects, plans and theories looking to unity. From that point on, they differ widely. The term itself, as used in this connection, is a product of this century deriving from the 'Ecumenical Movement,' i.e., the Protestant enterprise which is now embodied in the World Council of Churches. They desire to find a way towards unity and they meet periodically to discuss ways and means of achieving it. The Catholic Church has the answer to their quest and the way it explains this answer is what is called Catholic Ecumenism." p. 8.
"The mystery of redemption... involves... incorporation into one visible society variously called the Family of God, the Kingdom of God, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Catholic Church (different titles for one and the same reality)." p. 8.
"There is no other way to true religious unity than by way of return to the Catholic Church.... It means also the acceptance of those duties which go with being a Catholic, including visible union with the Holy See of Peter. This, then, is Catholic Ecumenism.... She will not corn promise, because she cannot. She is the dispenser, the guardian of the divine deposit, not its owner." p. 30.
In another article it is said that the cause of unity is "close to the heart of Christ and the Immaculate Heart of our Lady."
This is the story of much of today's movement for ecumenicalism; it is not merely that all Christendom is heading for a melting pot, but for Rome's crucible.
But for true Christians who believe God's Word and look for the Lord from heaven, they will have neither part nor lot in the downward course of Protestant profession on the one hand, nor be disturbed by it on the other. They will neither aid nor abet its progress, nor will they try to stem the onrushing tide. Our Lord will soon call us home to be with Himself. May our one concern be to walk in separation from all that defiles, especially religiously, always remembering that He "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:14.
If the Lord leaves us here a little longer, we may yet suffer persecution for being faithful to Christ. Protestant ecumenicalism could be very intolerant of all nonconformists. This is a day when non-conformity is scarcely allowed in any quarter.
We might say something of the way the ecumenical leaders in Protestantism threw themselves into the political arena to help elect the first Roman Catholic president in this country. Two of the National Council of Churches headquarters men left the Council to work for the Democratic Party in the religious affairs department in order that the climate might be right for the ecumenical dream of uniting all with Rome. One of the two men who aided this, Mr. James W. Wine, said after the election:
"The climate is right for cooperation and the friendly exchange of ideas; now it is up to individuals-and I think they are ready for it."-Newsweek, Nov. 28, 1960.
He has now been rewarded by the president by being nominated as Ambassador to Luxembourg. Many Protestant leaders came out boldly for the election of a Catholic president as a means of showing broadmindedness. But we are sure that the Lord overruled all and that His will was done. Our only comment concerns the great change in the Protestant attitude toward Rome, and each thing concerning it only points to the nearness of the Lord's coming.
We have notes and clippings from many quarters which show the alarming departure from the truth. Some underline the giving up of the Protestant heritage, and a going back to Rome in regalia, ostentation, veneration of Mary, confessionals, masses, monasticism, acceptance by certain German Lutherans of "miracles" at Fatima and Lourdes, and of a group working within the denomination there resembling the Oxford Movement of 1833-41.
Skepticism, unbelief, and apostasy are not the sole possession of the great Protestant bodies; they are characteristic of these days-the last days. The Roman Church is being honey-combed with men who call the Bible in question. Here is an unbiased, secular report:
"The idea that some Christian Scripture is mythological rather than historical, though held by many Protestant theologians, has kicked up a flurry of controversy around San Francisco's outspoken Episcopal Bishop James A. Pike" (Time, Feb. 24). The issue has its counterpart in Roman Catholicism. Cautious by comparison with Bishop Pike... Catholic proponents of the idea avoid the word myth. But the new idea of the Gospels is highly unsettling to Catholic conservatives, and so widespread among college students, laymen's discussion groups and seminarians that it has provoked a well-modulated blast by a leading theologian.
"Subject of the blast is the theory that the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are not to be considered as historical, but as what the Jews call a midrash. A midrash is a passage
of explanatory commentary on the Scripture-either in analytical, legal terms (Halachal or dramatic, legendary terms (Haggada). Into the latter category the so-called Midrash Theory puts the Gospel narrative of the birth of Jesus."-Time, Mar. 17, 1961.
We will not quote more of this Roman infidelity, but here is sufficient to demonstrate the character of these days. This Midrash Theory is a little less brutal and frank than some statements by some apostate Protestant clergymen. The denial of the very basic facts of Christianity—without which Christianity is a farce-has made inroads into Protestant and Catholic bodies. Catholics will naturally hold to these key doctrines more tenaciously than Protestants, from the standpoint of their traditions and dogmas; for instance, if the Lord's virgin birth can be disallowed in their system, then the Rosary and all that goes with the veneration of Mary becomes meaningless. But infidelity is infidelity wherever it is, and the more prevalent it is on both sides, the easier it will be to bring about the ecumenical world church.
Very soon the small minority of true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be taken out of this world-wherever they are -and then lifeless, boastful, arrogant, commercialized Babylon the Great will be as empty and as desolate as the temple was when the Lord Jesus left it-"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Matt. 23:38.
"Keep us, Lord, O keep us cleaving
To Thyself and still believing,
Till the hour of our receiving
Promised joys with Thee."