Signs Past.

Continued from yesterday's study….


This study is on an article written 147 years ago.  So much has happened in our world since then. Some of the things in here will sound strange to us, and some may not seem relevant now. Time and place truly are necessary in all things. May God forever and always guide us ONLY to HIS truth in all we read, in all we study, all through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!


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The Second Coming of Christ  BY ELD. JAMES WHITE.


"What shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?" - DISCIPLES.  
"When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." - JESUS.
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WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE?


OUR Lord having passed over the important events in the Christian age down to the end, in verses 5-14, goes back and introduces the destruction of Jerusalem, at verse 15, in answer to the inquiry, "When shall these things be?" 


Verses 15-20: "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whose readeth, let him understand); then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day.
 
The "abomination of desolation" is called "armies" in Luke 21:20, and refers to the Roman army. "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." This desolating power is spoken of by Daniel as follows: "And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. . . . And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Margin, "desolator." Dan.9:26,27. Here is a clear prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies. Our Lord referred to the book of Daniel, and taught his disciples to read and understand it; and when they should see what was there predicted take place, they must make their escape. 


The flight of the Christians of Judea to the mountains would be attended with difficulties. And their subsequent condition would be that of hardship and suffering. The Lord knew this, and gave them the instructions and warnings necessary. The statement of verse 19 was given to save them from the sorrows of unnecessary woe. That was a time of trouble. But one, "such as never was," is just before the people of God. 
Jesus recognizes the existence of the Sabbath in verse 20, as late as the destruction of Jerusalem, as verily as he does the seasons of the year. The Sabbath, is the uniform term of both Testaments to designate the very day on which Jehovah rested after the creation, the day upon which he put his blessing, and which he set apart for man. Jesus does not speak of the Sabbath as being only a seventh part of time, or one day in seven, and no day in particular. The Sabbath, is the term used, referring to the last day of the first week of time, and to the last day of each subsequent week. But if the term, the Sabbath, means only a seventh part of time, or one day in seven, and no day in particular, then we may read this definition into the text as follows: But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a seventh part of time! or on one day in seven. If such a prayer could be answered, pray tell us when the disciples could take their flight. 


Verse 21: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world in this time, no, nor ever shall be." The "great tribulation" here mentioned is that of the church of Jesus Christ, and not the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem. We offer the following reasons:- 


1. It is a fact that the tribulation of the Christian church, especially under the reign of the papacy, was greater than God's people had suffered before "since the beginning of the world." But it is not true that the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem was the greatest tribulation of the world ever witnessed. The tribulation of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain when God rained on them fire and brimstone, or, the tribulation when God destroyed all men from the face of the earth, save eight souls, by the flood, was certainly greater than that at the destruction of Jerusalem. 


2. The tribulation of the Christian church has been greater than it will ever be again. True, a time of trouble, "such as never was," spoken of in Dan.12:1, is coming upon the world; but we find in the same verse this blessed promise, "And at that time thy people shall be delivered." The tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem was not greater than the world will ever witness. The vials of Jehovah's unmingled wrath are yet to be poured out, not upon the people of one nation only, but upon the guilty thousands of all nations. "The slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried." Jer.25:33. 


3. If this tribulation be applied to the Jews, nor any other class of unbelieving men, it cannot be harmonized with Dan.12:1, which speaks of the time of trouble such as never was, when Michael shall stand up. Certainly there cannot be two times of trouble, at different periods, greater than ever was, or ever would be. Therefore, we apply the "tribulation" spoken of in Matt.24:21, 29, to the church of Christ, extending down through the 1260 years of papal persecution; and the "trouble" mentioned in Dan.12:1, to the unbelieving world, to be experienced by them in the future. 


4. The period of tribulation was shortened for the elect's sake. Who are the elect here mentioned? The Jews? No; their house had been pronounced desolate. They were left of God in their hardness of heart and blindness of mind. Says Paul, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." The elect were the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. And where were they when tribulation was upon the Jews? They had fled to the mountains. How absurd, then, to say that the days of the tribulation of the Jews, in the city of Jerusalem, were shortened for the sake of the elect, who had fled from the place of tribulation. 


5. The connection between verses 20 and 21 shows that the tribulation was to commence with those Christians who were to flee out of the city. 
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day; for then shall be great tribulation." Our Lord here speaks of the tribulation which his people would suffer from the time of their flight onward. We follow them in their flight to the mountains, and then pass along down through the noted persecutions of the church of God under pagan Rome, and we see, indeed, tribulation. And when we come to the period of papal persecution, we see them suffering the most cruel tortures, and dying the most dreadful deaths, that wicked men and demons could inflict. This last period is especially noted in prophecy. The prophet Daniel saw the papacy, its blasphemy, its arrogance, its work of death on the saints, and its duration as a persecuting power, under the symbol of the little horn. "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and  times and the dividing of time. Chap.7:25. It is generally admitted that "a time and times and the dividing of time" is 1260 years.


Commencing the 1260 years A.D. 538, they reach to A.D. 1798, when Berthier, a French general, entered Rome, and took it. The pope was taken prisoner and shut up in the Vatican. The papacy was stripped of its civil power. Here ended the period of tribulation spoken of by our Lord, which was 


SHORTENED FOR THE ELECT'S SAKE
Verse 22: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." The papacy was clothed with civil power to punish heretics for 1260 years; and had not the period of tribulation of the elect in the providence of God been shortened, the martyrdom of the church would have continued to 1798, in which event, in all human probability, no flesh of the elect would have been saved. But the reformation under Martin Luther, and those associated with this great reformer, modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain the rage and consume the power of the papacy until 1700, since which time, according to all church history, there has been no general persecution against the church. In this was fulfilled the words of the prophets: "The earth helped the woman." Rev.12:16. "They shall be holpen with a little help." Dan.11:34. We are brought in this prophetic discourse of our Lord, down into the eighteenth century, very near the present time. We should naturally expect, then, that the instructions and warnings of the next verse would be applicable to this generation.


Verses 23,24: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Here is a description of the spiritual deception of the present age. False Christs arose soon after the first advent of Christ, to deceive the Jews in regard to that event (see verse 5); likewise false Christs and false prophets have arisen at this day to deceive the people on the subject of the second advent. The Shakers say, "Lo, here is Christ. His second coming is in the person of Ann Lee." "Lo, he is there," say many of the popular ministers of these times. "His second coming is at the conversion of sinners, or at the death of saints." So they have as many second comings of Christ as there are sinners converted, and saints die. Senseless theology this!" Lo, here," exclaim a host of Spiritualists, and they "show great signs and wonders." If possible, they would deceive the very elect. And we regard it as a safe conclusion, that they will yet deceive all others but the elect. 


Verses 25,26: "Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." Our Lord is here dwelling upon what he has just before told them. His subject is still the teachings of those who say, "Lo, here is Christ!" "Lo, he is there!" If the Mormons say, "Behold, he is in the desert," at Salt Lake City, "go not forth;" yet many of their disciples have gone. Or if you hear proclaimed from the lips of the professed ministers of Jesus, "Behold, he is in the secret chamber," Christ's second coming is spiritual, at death, or at conversion, believe it not. And why not believe such mystical teachings? The reason is given in the next verse. 


Verses 27,28: "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."


We are very happy that our Lord has not only pointed out false Christs and false prophets, and has warned us against their mystical teachings, but he has in contrast set before us the manner of his second coming in the plainest terms. The vivid lightning flashing out of the distant east, and shining even to the west, lights up the whole heavens. What, then, when the Lord comes in flaming glory, and all the holy angels with him? The presence of only one holy angel at the new sepulcher where Christ lay in death, caused the Roman guard to shake, and become as dead men. The light and glory of one angel completely overpowered those strong sentinels. The Son of Man is coming in his own kingly glory, and in the glory of his Father, attended by all the holy angels. Then the whole heavens will blaze with glory, and the whole earth will tremble before him. 


Verses 29-31: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
 
We have before seen that our Lord speaks in this chapter of the long period of tribulation upon his followers, and we have also seen how those days of tribulation were shortened for the elect's sake. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened," etc. We refer the reader to the noted dark day of May 19, 1780, as the fulfillment of this declaration. Mark this: It does not read, after those days, but "after the tribulation of those days." The days (1260 years, Dan.7:25) reached to 1798, eighteen years this side of the dark day in 1780. Mark 13:24, makes this point still plainer. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened." That is, before the 1260 years closed, but after the tribulation or martyrdom of the saints ceased, the sun was darkened. Those who would point to the future, or to the past, prior to the eighteenth century, for the darkening of the sun here mentioned, will do well to read again Mark 13:24: "But in those days, after that tribulation,


"THE SUN SHALL BE DARKENED."
"A something strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world will come to an end, and that the last day is even at the door." - Martin Luther. 
In May 19, 1780, there was a remarkable fulfillment of the predicted darkening of the sun; and in reference to the facts and date, there can be no doubt; for, besides the historical accounts, which all agree, there were many aged persons, with whom men of the present generation have mingled and conversed, who witnessed it, and have testified to it. 
"In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New England, when 'all faces seemed to gather blackness,' and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived; 'men's hearts failing them for fear' that the Judgment day was at hand, and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man; for his lamp was trimmed, and shining brighter than ever, amidst the unnatural darkness. Happy and joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude." - Tract No. 379 of Am. Tract Society - Life of Edward Lee. 


"The 19th day of May, 1780, was a remarkably dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds were silent, and disappeared. The fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the day of Judgment was at hand. The legislature of Connecticut was in session, at Hartford, but being unable to transact business, adjourned." - President Dwight, in (Ct.) Historical Collections. 


"ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARK DAY. - The dark day, May 19, 1780, is thus described by Mr. Stone, in his history of Beverly: 'The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. About 10 o'clock, A.M., it became unusually dark. The darkness continued to increase till about one o'clock, when it began to decrease. During this time, candles became necessary. The birds disappeared and were silent, the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew as at day break, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens was great.' " - Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843. 


The supernatural darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780, has been so universally understood that Noah Webster's dictionary, in the edition for 1869, under the head of Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Noted Names, says, "The dark day, May 19, 1780; - so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New England. In some places, persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought the barn-yard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with differences of degree and duration in different places. For several days previous, the wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south-west and the north-east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known." 


"From Robert Sears' Guide to Knowledge, published in New York, 1844, we extract the following: 'On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o'clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print, or tell the time of the day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost. Objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses." 


TO BE CONTINUED…..