PREDICTIONS OF THE GOSPEL.

No one is a prophet in his own land. — Death and passion of Jesus.

— Persecution of the apostles.

— Impenitent cities.

— Ruin of the Temple and of Jerusalem.

— Curse upon the Pharisees. — My words will not pass away.

— The cornerstone. — Parable of the murderous vinedressers. — One single flock and one single shepherd.

— Advent of Elijah. — Announcement of the Comforter.

— Second advent of the Christ.

— Precursory signs.

— Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.

— Last judgment.

ONE SINGLE FLOCK AND ONE SINGLE SHEPHERD.

— I have still other sheep that are not of this fold; it is necessary that I lead those also: they will hear my voice and there will be one single flock and one single shepherd. (Saint John, chapter X, v. 16.)

— By these words, Jesus clearly announces that men will one day be united by a single belief; but how can this union come about?

This will seem difficult, in view of the differences that exist among the religions, the antagonism they foster among their followers, the obstinacy they display in believing themselves to be in exclusive possession of the truth.

All want unity, but each flatters itself that this unity will be brought about for its own benefit, and none admits the possibility of making any concession with respect to its beliefs.

Nevertheless, unity will be achieved in religion, as it already tends to be achieved socially, politically, and commercially, through the fall of the barriers that separate peoples, through the assimilation of customs, of usages, of language; 5 the peoples of the whole world already fraternize, like those of the provinces of one same empire; this unity is foreseen and all desire it; 6 it will come about by the force of things, because it will have to become a necessity, so that the bonds of fraternity among the nations may be drawn closer; 7 it will come about through the development of human reason, which will become apt to understand the puerility of all dissensions; 8 through the progress of the sciences, which demonstrate each day more clearly the material errors upon which such dissensions rest, and gradually remove the damaged stones from their courses.

In demolishing within the religions that which is the work of men and the fruit of their ignorance of the laws of Nature, Science will not be able, despite the opinion of some, to destroy that which is the work of God and eternal truth; in setting aside the accessories, it prepares the ways for unity.

In order to reach this, the religions will have to meet upon a neutral ground, though common to all; for this, all will have to make concessions and sacrifices more or less important, according to the multiplicity of their particular dogmas.

But, by virtue of the process of immutability that they all profess, the initiative for concessions cannot come from the official quarter; instead of taking the starting point from above, they will take it from below, through individual initiative.

For some time now, a movement of decentralization has been taking place, tending to acquire irresistible force.

The principle of immutability, which the religions have always regarded as a conservative aegis, will become an element of destruction, since, by immobilizing themselves while society moves forward, the cults will be surpassed and then absorbed by the current of the ideas of progress.

Immobility, instead of being a strength, becomes a cause of weakness and of ruin for whoever does not keep pace with the general movement; it breaks unity, because those who wish to advance separate themselves from those who obstinately remain still.

In the present state of opinion and of knowledge, the religion that will one day have to gather all men under the same standard will be the one that best satisfies reason and the legitimate aspirations of the heart and of the spirit; 16 that is in no point contradicted by positive science; 17 that, instead of immobilizing itself, accompanies Humanity in its progressive march, without ever allowing itself to be surpassed; 18 that is neither exclusivist nor intolerant; 19 that is the emancipator of the intelligence, in admitting nothing but rational faith; 20 that whose code of morality is the purest, the most logical, the most in harmony with social needs, the most appropriate, in short, to establish on Earth the reign of Good, through the practice of universal charity and fraternity.

What feeds the antagonism among the religions is the idea, generalized by all of them, that each has its own particular god, and the pretension that this one is the only true and the most powerful, in constant struggle with the gods of the other cults and occupied in combating their influence.

When they have become convinced that there exists only one God in the Universe and that, ultimately, He is the same one they worship under the names of Jehovah, Allah, or God; when they come to agree on the essential attributes of the Divinity, they will understand that, the Being being one alone, the supreme will must also be one alone; they will extend their hands to one another, like the servants of one same Master and the children of one same Father, and thus they will have taken a great step toward unity.