[425]It is a well-known fact that since 1878 there has been a tendency on the part of all denominations to bind themselves into leagues and combines, associations, Interchurch World Movement, etc., thus fulfilling this prophetic statement of the Lord of binding together the merely nominal Christians preparatory for the great fire, the great time of trouble, which is now upon the earth. To the truly consecrated people of God, who have been identified with these various sectarian or denominational systems the Lord has been calling in this time of the harvest, saying: "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and receive not her plagues". (Revelation 18:4) Concerning his work with the others, the wheat class, Jehovah through his Prophet long ago said: "Gather my saints together unto me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice". (Psalm 50:5) The great work of the harvest, that is to say, the proclaiming of the second presence of the Lord and the gathering together of those who truly love his appearing, has been so remarkably fulfilled since 1874 that it is one of the most striking and conclusive proofs of the Lord's second presence. SCOFFERS [426]It might be reasonably expected that the clergy of various denominations would be anxious to know and anxious to tell the people about the presence of the Lord, and would therefore joyfully receive any news concerning his presence. We find the facts to be just to the contrary, however, and we again notice that this is one of the evidences given by Jesus himself marking his second presence. He said: "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming [presence] of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming [presence] of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:37-39) Instead of these clergymen as a class joining in the proclamation, 'Behold the Bridegroom! the Lord has returned, the kingdom is at hand,' they scoff and jeer, and if they say anything concerning the Lord's second presence, even though they get all their information from what Pastor Russell wrote, they discredit him and mock and scoff at what he wrote or said. Of course the Lord foreknew this and therefore he caused the Apostle under inspiration to write: "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming [presence]? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation". --2 Peter 3:3,4. END OF THE WORLD