Those Who Watch- Will Know.

THE FINAL SEPARATION

Verses 40,41: "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; one shall be taken, and the other left. This language was designed to illustrate the final separation of the righteous and the wicked. Many husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, will then part, never to meet again. 

THOSE WHO WATCH, WILL KNOW THE TIME

Verses 42-44: "Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he  would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore, be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." 

The day and hour of Christ's second coming are not revealed in the Scriptures. Neither is the year in which this glorious event is to take place pointed out. No one of the prophetic periods reaches to the second coming of Christ. The sanctuary is to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days, and Daniel is to stand in his lot at at the end of the 1335 days. But that these events occur before the second appearing of Christ, is susceptible of the clearest proof. Both these prophetic periods terminated in 1844. But we cannot give a defense of our position in regard to these periods in this work. 

The time from the end of the prophetic periods to the coming of Christ is emphatically the waiting, watching time. Those who watch, as our Lord commands, will know the time. No man will make it known; for it is not revealed to man in the Scriptures. Angels will not make it known, though they may minister to and communicate with, the children of men. Neither will the Son. But the Father will make it known when he speaks again from Heaven. He once spake the ten commandments in the hearing of the people. His voice then shook the earth. When he speaks again, the heavens and earth will both shake. Says Paul: "Whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." Heb.12:26. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake." Joel 3:16. 

Probably there is no prophecy that better describes the present state of unbelief in the world in regard to the second advent, caused partly by fanatical time-movements, than the following: "Son of Man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them, therefore, Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord: I will speak,and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged; for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God." Eze. 12:22-25. The burden of this prophecy is time; therefore, the word here mentioned that the Lord will speak, will be the time. 

Rev.3:3, is also to the point: "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Those who do not watch, will not know the hour. Those who watch, will know the hour. 

The present watching condition is clearly defined in 1Thess. 5:1-4: "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." 

The present watching, waiting position requires much faith and patience.

Says Paul, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God [in proclaiming the coming of Christ], ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." Heb.10:35-39. 

Says James, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Chap.5:7,8. 

The present position and present duty of God's people are defined in Rev.14:12: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." 

THE FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT

Verses 45-47: "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods." 

In this figure, Christ is represented as the lord of the household of faith (see Mark 13:35; Heb.3:6), leaving his house, and committing the work of caring for his church to his servants. A blessing is promised those servants who are faithfully discharging their duty when their Lord comes. They are to feed the flock of God, over whom the Holy Ghost hath made them overseers. Acts 20:28. They must preach the word. 2Tim.4:2. They should watch for souls as they that must give account. Heb.13:17. They will not only give meat to the household, but they will give it in due season. They will preach the present truth. Their last work, before the return of their Master, will be to proclaim his coming, and to teach the necessary preparation. They will sacrifice the society and blessings of home, and go everywhere, preaching the word, suffering fatigue of body and burden of spirit. But such will have great reward in the kingdom of God. "Who is that faithful and wise servant?" Where shall we find him? Ans. He is faithfully and wisely attending to the interest of the household of faith. 

He is faithful. As a faithful watchman, he will give timely warning when he sees the sword coming. His work just before the end is seen in the following scriptures: Joel 2:1: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Isa.58:1: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." 2Tim.4:1-5: "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." 

He must be wise. "He that winneth souls is wise." He must be wise. He will expose error, then hold forth the truth in its harmony and beauty, and thus win men to the truth. When it becomes his duty to "reprove and rebuke," it will be at a proper time and place, and then with all "long-suffering and doctrine." He will study to show himself "approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2Tim.2:15. 

THE EVIL SERVANT

Verses 48-51: "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of; and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

What the evil servant says and does, shows most clearly the position and work of the faithful and wise servant. Why the evil servant says, "My Lord delayeth his coming," is because the faithful servant is proclaiming the coming of his Lord. Why the evil servant smites the faithful servant, is because he teaches the speedy coming of his Lord. The faithful servant, true to his commission to preach the "gospel of the kingdom" to a fallen church and a scoffing world, toils on, and the evil servant smites on. One is laying up treasure in Heaven, and is preparing to go home to his eternal reward; while the other is calling down upon his head the displeasure of the high and holy One, and is getting ready to receive the unmingled cup of the fury of the Lord. The faithful servant is turning some, at least, to righteousness, to shine forever as stars in his crown of glory, while the evil servant pursues his downward course and work of death, making the bitter cup of woe which awaits him, still more bitter. But the separating day is coming. The Lord will come, and cut asunder the evil servant, and appoint him his portion with the lost. In the general wailing and gnashing of teeth, with hypocrites he will receive the portion due him for his works. 

Heed the doom of the false shepherds, the ministers of the last generation, who come up to the day of the Lord with their garments all stained over with the blood of souls. They now cry, Peace and safety, and their flocks confide in them. They stand between us and the people, and turn away the arrow of truth. But their day is coming, dreadful beyond description. Thus saith the Lord: "Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard; for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down, because of the fierce anger of the Lord." Jer.25:34-37. 

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!

*******

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.

*******

Days of Noah.

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!

*******

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.

*******

In comparing Noah's days and ours, the Lord continues:

NOAH'S TIME AND OURS

Verses 38,39: "For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall lso the coming of the Son of Man be."

 A picture of the present condition of the mass of mankind is here drawn. How dark the features! The people of the last generation will be like those before the flood, while the ark was preparing. Noah preached, and warned them of the coming flood, and they mocked. He built the ark, and they scoffed and jeered. He was a preacher of righteousness. His works were calculated to give edge to, and set home to the heart, what he preached. Every righteous sermon, and every blow struck in building the ark, condemned a careless, scoffing world. As the time drew nearer, the people were more careless, more hardened, more bold and impudent, and their condemnation surer. Noah and his family were alone. And could one family know more than all the world? The ark is a matter of ridicule, and Noah is regarded as a willful bigot.

But the Lord calls Noah into the ark. And by the hand of Providence the beasts are led into the ark; and the Lord shuts Noah in. This is regarded at first by the scoffing multitude as something wonderful; but it is soon explained away by the wiser ones, so as to calm their fears, and they breathe easier. 

The day of expectation finally arrives. The sun rises as usual, and the heavens are clear. "Now where is old Noah's flood?" is heard from a thousand impious lips. The farmer is caring for his herds and lands, and the mechanic is pursuing his work of building. On this very day, some are being joined in marriage. With many, it is a day of unusual feasting and sports. And while all are looking to long years of future prosperity and happiness, suddenly the heavens gather blackness. Fear fills every heart. The windows of heaven open, and the rain in torrents descends. "The fountains of the great deep are broken up," and here and there come gushing up rivers of waters. The valleys are fast filling up, and thousands are swept away in death. Some flee to the highest points of land; but the water fast follows them up. Men bear their wives and children to the mountains, but are obliged to part with them there to drown, while they climb the highest trees. But soon they, too, are covered with water, so that there is not a resting-place for Noah's dove. All are still in death. Horrid death! made still more horrible by being in consequence of slighted mercy! But where is Noah? Ah! safe in the ark, borne upon the billows. Safe from the flood; for God "shut him in."

By most people, the evidences of the soon coming of Christ are considered insufficient to base faith upon. But mark: the testimony and acts of one man condemned the people destroyed by the flood. The evidences then were sufficient, otherwise the world would not have been condemned. But a hundred times more convincing evidences come pouring in upon us, that the day of the Lord is near, and hasteth greatly. We follow down the numerous prophetic chains of Daniel, and of the Revelation, and we find ourselves in every instance standing just before the day of wrath. We see the signs spoken of by prophets, by Christ, and in the epistles, fulfilling, or fulfilled. And at the right time, and in the right manner, to fulfill certain prophecies, a solemn message arises in different parts of the world: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Joel 2:1.

Wherever we look, we see prophecy fulfilling. While the knowledge of God and the spirit of holiness are departing, spiritual wickedness, like a flood, covers the land. 

But these evidences are considered insufficient to rest faith upon. Well, what kind of evidence would the unbelieving have? "When the signs of the end," says the skeptic, "are fulfilled, they will be so plain that no one can doubt." But if the signs are of such a nature, and are fulfilled in such a manner, as to compel all to believe in the coming of Christ, how can it be as it was in the days of Noah?

Men were not then compelled to believe. But eight believing souls were saved, while all the world besides sank in their unbelief beneath the waters of the flood. God has never revealed his truth to man in a manner to compel him to believe. Those who have wished to doubt his word, have found a wide field in which to doubt, and a broad road to perdition; while those who have wished to believe, have ever found everlasting rock upon which to rest their faith. 

Just before the end, the world will be hardened in sin, and indifferent to the claims of God.

Men will be careless about hearing warnings of danger, and blinded by cares, pleasures, and riches. An unbelieving and infidel race will be eating, drinking, marrying, building, planting, and sowing. It is right to eat and drink to sustain nature; but the sin is in excess and gluttony. The marriage covenant is holy; but God's glory is seldom thought of. Building, planting, and sowing, necessary for convenient shelter, food, and clothing, are right; but the world has gone wholly after these things, so that men have no time for disposition to think of God, Heaven, Christ's coming, and the Judgment. This world is their god, and all their energies of body and mind bow down to serve it. And the evil day is put far away. 

The faithful watchman who sounds the alarm as he sees destruction coming, is held up before the people from the pulpits of our land, and by the religious press, as a "fanatic," a "teacher of dangerous heresies;" while in contrast is set forth a long period of peace and prosperity to the church. So the churches are quieted to sleep. The scoffer continues to scoff, and the mocker mocks on. But their day is coming. Thus saith the prophet of God: "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt. And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. . . . Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isa.13:6-9. 

Most dreadful day! And is it near? Yes; it hasteth! It hasteth greatly! What a description given by the prophet! Read it; and as you read, try to feel how dreadful will be that day: "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." Zeph.1:14-18. 

Now we hear the "peace-and-safety" cry from the pulpit, and all the way along down to the grogshop. "Where is the promise of His coming?" is murmured from the impious lips of a thousand lastday scoffers. But the scene will speedily change. "For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them . . . and they shall not escape." The scoffing of the haughty scoffer will soon be turned to wailing and howling. "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." Isa.2:11,12. "And 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; they shall be dung upon the ground." Jer.25:33. 

The last plagues, in which is filled up the wrath of God, now bottled up in Heaven, waiting for mercy to finish her last pleadings, will be poured out. Unmingled wrath of Jehovah! And not one drop of mercy? Not one! Jesus will lay off his priestly attire, leave the mercy-seat, and put on the garments of vengeance, never more to offer his blood to wash the sinner from his sins. The angels will wipe the last tear shed over sinners, while the mandate resounds through all Heaven, Let them alone. The groaning, weeping, praying church on earth, who in the last message employs every power to sound everywhere the last note of warning, lest the blood of souls be found in her garments, is now hushed in solemn silence. The Holy Spirit has written within them these prophetic words of their soon-expected Lord: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev.22:11. 

The Unbelieving Will Not Understand.

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!


*******
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.
*******
THE DAY AND HOUR
Verses 36,37: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." The day and hour, and even the year, of the second advent, are purposely hidden. Some of the prophetic periods reach to the time of the end, while others extend still farther down, very near the end itself; yet none of them reach to the coming of the Son of Man. The prophecies clearly point to the period of the second advent, but do not give the definite time of that event. But many suppose that the text proves that nothing may be known of the period of the second advent. In this, they greatly err, as may be seen from the following reasons: 
1. Because our Lord, after stating that the sun should be darkened, and that the moon should not give her light, and that the stars should fall from heaven, gives the following forcible parable, and makes the most distinct application of it to this subject. He says: "Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Verses 32, 33. No figure should exceed the fact illustrated in a single particular. This being the case in the parable of the fig-tree, the point becomes an exceedingly strong one. No language can be more direct. No proof can be more complete. With all that certainty with which we know that summer is nigh when we see the buds and the leaves shoot forth from the trees in spring, may we know that Christ is at the doors. The most daring unbelief will hardly venture to deny those words of the Son of God, and assert that nothing can be known of the period of his second coming. 
2. Because our Lord declares that as the days of Noah were, so should also the coming of the Son of Man be. Said God to Noah, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." Gen.6:3. The period of the flood was given to the patriarch. And under the direct providence of God, he prepared the ark and warned the people. So the fulfilling prophecies and the signs distinctly declare that the second coming of Christ is at the doors, and the solemn message has gone forth. 
3. Those who claim that the text proves that nothing may be known of the period of the second advent, make it prove too much for their own unbelief. As recorded by Mark, the declaration reads: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." If the text proves that men will know nothing of the period of the second advent, it also proves that angels will know nothing of it, and also that the Son will know nothing of it, till the event takes place! This position proves too much, therefore proves nothing to the point. Christ will know of the period of his second advent to this world. The holy angels who wait around the throne of Heaven to receive messages relative to the part they act in the salvation of men, will know of the time of this closing event of salvation. And so will the waiting, watching people of God understand. An old English version of the passage reads, "But that day and hour no man maketh known, neither the angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." This is the correct reading, according to several of the ablest critics of the age. The word know is used in the same sense here that it is by Paul, in 1Cor.2:2: "For I determined not to know [make known] anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Men will not make known the day and hour, angels will not make it known, neither will the Son; but the Father will make it known.  Says Campbell: "Macknight argues that the term know is here used as a causative, in the Hebrew sense of the conjugation hiphil, that is, to make known. . . . . His [Christ's] answer is just equivalent to saying, The Father will make it known when it pleases him; but he has not authorized man, angel, or the Son, to make it known. Just in this sense, Paul uses the term know: 1Cor.2:2: 'I came to you making known the testimony of God; for I determine to make known nothing among you but a crucified Christ.' " 


Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Gospels, says: "Others have said that the verb rendered knoweth means sometimes to make known, or to reveal, and that the passage means, 'that day and hour none maketh known, neither the angels, nor the Son, but the Father.' It is true the word has sometimes that meaning, as 1Cor. 2:2." 


The Father will make known the time. He gave the period of the flood to Noah, which well represents the proclamation of the second advent, given in connection with the evidence of the termination of the periods of Daniel, during the great Advent movement of 1840-44.


And when the patriarch's work of warning and building was finished, God said to him, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark." "For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights." So when the waiting, watching, weeping, toiling time shall be finished, and the saints shall all be sealed, and shut in with God, then will the voice of the Father from Heaven make known the definite time. See Rev.16:17; Joel 3:16; Jer.25:30. 


The present is emphatically the waiting, watching time. It is the especial period of the patience of the saints. In definite time we would find relief from the state of suspense to which our present position subjects us. The Lord appeals to us thus: "Watch, ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch." Mark.
13:35-37. 


One of the fatal consequences of not watching is distinctly stated in Rev.3:3: "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." The consequence of not watching will be ignorance of the time. What will be the consequence of watching? The inference is unavoidable, that it will be a knowledge of the time. In answer to the agonizing prayer of the Son of God, "Father, glorify thy name," there came a voice from Heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." The disciples understood these words from Heaven, while the people that stood by said it thundered. John 12:27-29. So will the waiting disciples of Christ understand the voice of God when he shall speak from on high. But the unbelieving world will not understand it.

There Will Be A Last Generation.

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!


*******
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.
*******
PARABLE OF THE FIG-TREE
Verses 32,33. "Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [He, margin,] is near, even at the doors." The parable of the fig tree is probably the most forcible figure that could be used by our Lord to illustrate this subject. When the trees of the field begin to put forth their leaves, and the tender grass springs up, and the ground is being covered with its green, velvet carpet, we know that summer is nigh. It is a certainty with us that summer is coming when we see these signs in nature. We know that summer is nigh. "So likewise," or, with the same certainty, we may know that Christ's coming is at the doors when the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, are fulfilled. 


Here, dear reader, our Lord has stated the object of these signs, which is, that we may know when his coming is at the doors. But we are told that the church is not to know anything of the period of Christ's second advent. Then, we inquire, why did our Lord give signs of the event? Are they given to deceive us? to lead the honest Christian to look for Christ's coming when, in fact, nothing is to be known of the time of the event? Certainly not. The fact that Christ foretells signs of his coming, and then states the object of those signs, that the church may know when the event is near, even at the doors, is sufficient proof that it is the design of Heaven that the church should understand the period of the second advent. 
ALL THESE THINGS
Our Lord says (Luke 21:28), "And when these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." The signs began to come to pass with the dark day of 1780. Then it could be said that redemption draweth nigh, and from that time the humble follower of Jesus might look up in expectation of witnessing his glorious appearing. But (verse 31) "when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." 


The signs in the sun, moon, and stars, are all that were given to base faith upon. All the other events mentioned in connection with these, have their fulfillment after the faith of God's people is perfected, and the doom of all sinners is fixed; therefore they cannot be embraced in the phrase "all these things." The three signs having come to pass, we may now learn the parable of the fig-tree, and know that Christ's coming is near, even at the doors. The phrase, "all these things," does not embrace the mourning of the tribes of the earth, and the sign of the Son of Man. Neither does it embrace the shaking of the powers of the heavens; for that does not take place until the seventh vial is poured out. But the faith of God's people is perfected, and the doom of all sinners is forever fixed, before the pouring out of the first vial. The parable of the fig-tree was given to inspire faith in the minds of those who hear the reasons of Christ's soon coming. But to suppose that this parable is to be learned after it said, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. . . and he that is holy let him be holy still;" after the thunder, lightning, great earthquake, and great hail, "each stone about the weight of a talent," is most absurd. No! The phrase, "all these things," in Verse 33, embraces the three great signs in the sun, moon, and stars, given to strengthen the faith of God's people, while merciful warnings are being given to the world. Here, then, since the falling stars of 1833, the parable of the fig-tree has force, and we may know that Christ's coming is near, even at the doors, with all the certainty that we know that summer is nigh when the trees put forth their tender buds and leaves. 


THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS
Verses 34,35: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." Many suppose that our Lord here speaks of the generation then living, who listened to his teachings. That such are in error on this point, the following facts clearly prove: 
1. It is certainly true that what is embraced in the phrase, "all these things," was not fulfilled in that generation. 
2. It could not be the generation living in the days of his flesh, for he said to them (Luke 11:29), "There shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonas, the prophet." 
It is evident that our Lord refers to the generation who were to see the signs fulfilled, and who were to be instructed by the parable of the fig-tree. In this prophetic discourse, he leads the minds of his disciples down over the events of the Christian age, mentions the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, which were to appear in the last generation, and the declares that this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. 
In like manner, Paul carries his brethren forward to the resurrection, when he says, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." 1Cor. 15:51, 52. Or, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." 1Thess.4:17. The things here mentioned by the apostle did not take place in his day. They have not yet taken place. Notwithstanding, he speaks of them as though they would take place in his day, and he have a part in them. 


Also, in like manner is the mind carried backward in Ps.95:10: "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation." The generation here spoken of provoked the Lord in the wilderness, long before David lived. He goes back and speaks of it as though it were present. In this manner our Lord goes forward, and speaks of the last generation as though it were present. 
We do not believe that the phrase, "this generation," marks any definite number of years. Some suppose that our Lord designed to teach that some who were witnesses of the dark days in 1780 would live to witness the second coming of the Saviour. But it is our opinion that the Lord designed to teach that the people who should live at the time of the fulfillment of the last sign (the falling stars of 1833), and should hear the proclamation of the coming of Christ, based partly upon the fulfilled signs, should witness the scenes connected with his coming.


The proclamation of the coming and kingdom of Christ is given to the last generation. God did not send Noah to preach to the next to the last generation before the flood, but to the last. The very generation which was destroyed by the waters of the flood saw Noah build the ark, and  heard his warning voice. So God has raised up men to give the solemn warning to the world at the right time to give force to the warning. And the very generation of men that live after the three great signs are fulfilled, and who hear and reject the warning message from Heaven, will drink the cup of the unmingled wrath of God. For such, the seven last plagues are reserved. And those of this very generation who receive the message, suffer disappointments, and endure the trials of the waiting position, will witness the coming of Christ, and exclaim, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us." Isa.25:9. 


With what emphasis our Lord gave utterance to this sentiment. It is a rebuke upon our unbelief. As we read it, God help us to believe it: "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.' And as though this were not enough to lead us to unwavering faith, he adds these forcible words: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." 

JESUS NEXT APPEARS

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!

*******

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.

*******

JESUS NEXT APPEARS

The Son of Man will be seen "coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." But before his coming, a great work will be done for his people. Should he suddenly burst upon them now, they could not endure "the power and great glory" of the scene. This subject is well illustrated by the following words of the prophet: "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord, his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain; as the latter and former rain unto the earth." Hosea 6:3. The morning is a beautiful figure of the opening glory of the day of God. The day-star first appears, then the dawn of day. And as the light of day increases, our eyes are enabled to endure it, and view the sun shining in his strength. But, should the light of the sun burst upon the world suddenly at midnight, no human eye could endure it. 

So will the people of God be prepared to meet their coming King. They must first break away from the love and cares of this world, and consecrate all to the Lord. Then will they, in due time, share the outpouring of the holy Spirit "as the rain, as the latter and the former rain upon the earth." The day-star will arise in their hearts. 2Pet.1:19.

Those who have taken heed to the sure word of prophecy through the dark, watching night, will then raise their heads in triumph. They are filled with faith, and with the Holy Spirit. Glory is poured upon them till they can gaze on Christ and angels. The trumpet sounds. The angels are dispatched to the graves' mouths. The voice of the Son of God awakes the sleeping saints of all ages. They come forth in immortal perfection; and as they leave the earth, the living saints are changed. The "elect from one end of heaven to the other," each with an angel bright and strong to lead the way, are all caught up to meet the Lord, who waits in mid-heaven to receive the purchase of his blood. As language would fail to describe what follows, dear reader, we leave you here to contemplate it, praying that we may be prepared to participate in the meeting scene. 

To be continued…..

Please, Lord, may we be YOURS!!!

More Signs of the End Times.

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!

*******

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.

"THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT."

"The moon shines with a borrowed light, and therefore if the sun from whom she borrows her light is turned into darkness, she must fail, of course, and become bankrupt." - Matthew Henry. 

"The night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780,) was of such pitchy darkness, that in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy," - Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843, - Extract from Stone's History of Beverly. 

Mr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, to the Historical Society, speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says: "The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet. 

Dr. Adams, speaking of the dark night, says: At nine it was a darkness to be felt by more senses than one, as there was a strong smell of soot. Almost every one who happened to be out in the evening, got lost in going home. The darkness was as uncommon in the night as it was in the day, as the moon had fulled the day before." 

THE STARS SHALL FALL FROM HEAVEN

We here give an extract from an article written by Henry Dana Ward, in regard to the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833: published in the Journal of Commerce, Nov. 15, 1833. "At the cry, look out of the window, I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors. The zenith, the north, and the west also, showed the falling stars, in the very image of one thing, and only one, I ever heard of. I called to my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed, 'See how the stars fall!' I replied, 'That is the wonder!' and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days. For, truly, 'the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Rev.6:13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday, it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster, in Greek, and stella, in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. The refinement of modern astronomy has made the distinction between stars and heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore, the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday. 

"And how did they fall? Neither myself, nor one of the family, heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted." 

"The stars fell 'even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Here is the exactness of the prophet. 

"The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one: those which appeared in the east, fell toward the east; those which appeared in the north, fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west, fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the park), fell toward the south. And they fell not as a ripe fruit falls. Far from it; but they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force; but each one falls on its own side of the tree. Such was the appearance of the above phenomenon to the inmates of my house." 

Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College, says: "The extent of the shower of 1883 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth's surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east, to the Pacific on the West; and from the northern coast of South America, to undefined regions among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance. The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the sickle. This is no longer to be regarded as a terrestrial, but as a celestial, phenomenon; and shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as visitants from other worlds, or from the planetary voids." 

The People's Magazine, Boston, January, 1834, on the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, says: "The Rockingham (Va.) Register calls it, A rain of fire, - thousands of stars being seen at once; some said it began with considerable noise. 

The Journal of Commerce informs us that 'three hundred miles this side of Liverpool the phenomenon was as splendid there as here; and that in St. Lawrence County there was a snowstorm during the phenomenon, in which the falling stars appeared like lightning; . . . that in Germantown, Pa., they seemed like showers of great hail.'  "The Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner says: 'The air was filled with innumerable meteors or stars; . . . hundreds of thousands of brilliant bodies might be seen falling at every moment, . . . sloping their descent toward the earth, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, resembling flashes of fire. 

This is important testimony as to the vast extent of the falling stars, and also as to their emanating from a single point in the heavens. It was the greatest display of celestial fire-works recorded on the pages of history. It was no atmospheric, or terrestrial phenomenon, common to the upper regions of the earth; but a display of the divine power, baffling the science of man. 

POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHAKEN

This event we must regard as being future. It holds the same place in the events of this chapter, that the departing of the heavens as a scroll does in the events of the sixth seal of Rev.6. Both follow the falling stars. Please compare Matt.24:29, 30, with Rev.6:12, 17. The Scriptures plainly teach that, prior to the resurrection of the just by the voice of the Son of God, the voice of God the Father will shake the heavens and the earth, when will be fulfilled the shaking of the powers of the heavens. This will probably take place at the pouring out of the seventh vial into the air. Rev.16:17. Then it is said, "And there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done." This is not the voice of the Son of God as he descends to raise the dead. It comes from the throne of God in the temple of Heaven. "Whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven." Heb.12:26. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16. 

We would not speak too positively of future events; but venture the opinion that the voice of the Father will shake the heavens and the earth before the sign of the Son of Man appears. The people of God will be safe. Islands may disappear, and mountains be thrown down; but the saints will remain unharmed. Earthquakes may break up the earth's surface, so that kings and nobles, rich and poor, bond and free, may hide "themselves in dens and in the rocks of the mountains," still God will be the hope of his people. 

SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN

This is not one of the signs which show that the Son of Man is near; but "the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." It is that which signifies his position. When Christ ascended from the mount of Olivet, "a cloud received him "from the sight of the disciples. They still gazed at the cloud as it rolled upward, bearing the Saviour toward the Father's throne; but they could not see his person. When he comes "in like manner" as he was taken up to Heaven, the cloud will appear small in the distance; but as it draws near, it will apparently increase in size. It will signify to those who are looking for his return, that he is there, soon to burst forth from the cloud in matchless glory. This cloud will be the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. 

THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH MOURN

During the pouring out of the seven last plagues, and at the time of the shaking of the powers of the heavens, a large portion of the wicked will doubtless be destroyed. A portion still remain, to view scenes still more terrible, and to endure anguish more dreadful. The sign is soon in heaven. The once slighted, insulted, and crucified Saviour, now King of kings, and Lord of lords, is coming near the earth! His glory blazes everywhere! The saints hope and rejoice with trembling; but what an hour for the wicked! The tribes of the earth mourn. Amid the ruins of shivered creation they hold one general prayer-meeting. Kings and great men, rich men, chief captains and mighty men, free and bond, all, yes, all unite in the general wail. As the Son of Man in the glory of his Father, attended by all the holy angels, draws still nearer, consternation fills every breast. They hide in dens, and in the rocks of the mountains. Their only hope is to be concealed from the glory of that scene. They know it is too late to pray for mercy; that probation for the human family has ended forever. Here is a copy of that dreadful prayer: "Mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?" Rev.6:16, 17. 

But rocks cannot shelter them from the burning glory manifested by the King of kings, attended by the whole heavenly host. The presence of but one angel before Joseph's sepulcher, caused the keepers to fall like dead men. Then when "the Son of Man shall come in the glory of the Father," "and all the holy angels with him," no sinner can endure the scene, and live. The exceeding brightness of that vast multitude of angels, brighter than thousand suns at noonday, will pierce the sinner's lowest hidingplace, and will "make a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." Zeph.1:18. Or, as Paul says, "Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness [bright shining, Macknight's translation] of his coming." O Christian brother, we warn you to watch and be ready to receive your Saviour with joy. Backslider, arouse, and return to the Lord while he may be found. And, poor sinner, though you have never tasted of the pardoning love of Christ, you, too, may come and find pardon, and a shelter from approaching wrath. 

To be continued….

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!


*******
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.
*******


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…..