THE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 



103 



A.n. 1900 being 4,000,000, a number in the century four times 

 greater than the whole number of Christians in A.D. 100. 



Let us now turn to the question of ruling power. The 

 habitable area of the earth is nearly 50,000,000 square miles. 

 At the birth of our Lord, and for 300 years after, the whole 

 world was under non-Christian government. When Constan- 

 tine professed himself to have become a Christian, 2,000,000 

 "square miles passed under Christian government. Speaking 

 roughly, this remained so for twelve centuries. Then Christian 

 rule suddenly expanded. The comparative relation of Christian 

 and non-Christian political power will be seen at a glance, the 

 figures representing square miles : — 



Rulers. a.d. 1600 a.d. 1900 



Christian 3,000,000 42,000,000 



Non-Christian 47,000,000 8,000,000 



50,000,000 50,000,000 



The number of subject people under the non-Christian and 

 Christian rule respectively is as follows for the years 1800 and 

 1900 : — 



1800 1900 



Non-Christian 850,000,000 550,000,000 



Christian 350,000,000 1,100,000,000 



1,200,000,000 1,650,000,000 



Whether, therefore, we consider population or ruling power, 

 we see the marvellous growth of the " Kingdom of God." 



These statistics are very surprising from two points of 

 view : — 



1. We are apt to imagine that Christianity has always 

 prevailed throughout Europe, whereas, as a matter of fact, the 

 early Church was confined in Europe to the countries bordering 

 the Mediterranean. North of the Danube and east of the- 

 Rhine was the home of barbarians and savages, and the greatest 

 part of Europe was in heathen darkness for many centuries. 

 Illustrious missionaries, animated by a zeal as devoted and as 

 heroic as is exhibited by any of the messengers of the Gospel 

 in recent years, plunged into vast forests and preached to 

 hidden tribes. Many of these missionaries went forth from 

 the British Isles, and not a few met a martyr's death. It is 

 not generally known that at the opening of the thirteenth 



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