The Coral Island the civilising effect of Christianity, 19th-century British imperialism in the South Pacific, and the importance of hierarchy and leadership. It was the inspiration for William Golding's dystopian novel "Lord of the Flies" (1954), which inverted the morality of "The Coral Island"; in Ballantyne's story the children encounter evil, but in "Lord of the Flies" evil is within them. In the early 20th century, the novel was considered a classic for primary school children in the UK, and in the United States it was a staple of high-school suggested reading lists. Modern critics consider the book's worldview to be dated and
The Word of the Lord him hold his hand. In addition to the testimonies of the two "scribes" (Fetting and Draves), the book contains an additional testimony of four witnesses who saw the angel during his final visit to Fetting in 1933. This latter testimony is signed and notarized. In the preface to his first message, and in his 1940 personal testimony about the heavenly "messenger", William Draves wrote the following: Because the messenger could be seen and touched, some in Draves' church have expressed a belief that the messages in the "Word of the Lord" are not revelations, since for a revelation (according to