Signs of the Approaching End
By W. A. S.
Part 3. The Great Earthquake of 1755
The first of the series of signs of the approaching end is thus described by the revelator:—
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake.” Rev. 6:12. The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly describe the days of persecution of the saints of God and the era of protest and reform that cut short the time of tribulation. Then this first sign appears. This is in harmony with Christ’s statement that the signs of his second coming would begin to appear following the tribulation of those days. Just about the close of the days of tribulation, there occurred the Lisbon earthquake, as it is called, though its effects reached far beyond Portugal. Prof. W. H. Hobbs, geologist, says of it:— Among the earth movements which in historic times have affected the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes first rank, as it does also, in some respects, among all recorded earthquakes. . . . In six minutes sixty thousand persons perished.—Earthquakes, pages 142, 143. “Lo, there was a great earthquake,” the revelator said, looking in prophetic vision toward those very times. It was indeed “a great earthquake.” In all the world, men’s hearts were mightily stirred. James Parton, the English author, says of it:— The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put both the theologians and philosophers on the defensive. . . . At twenty minutes to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and magnificent, on one of the most picturesque and commanding sites in the world,—a city of superb approach, placed precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say to the founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins. . . . Half the world felt the convulsion. . . . For many weeks, as we see in the letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant parts of Europe went to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning to find that they had escaped the fate of Lisbon one night more.—Life of Voltaire, Vol. II, page 208. It set men thinking of the great day of God. Voltaire, the French philosopher, was “profoundly moved” by it, we are told. “It was the last judgment for that region,” he wrote; “nothing was wanting to it except the trumpet.” While still the perturbations of the earth were continuing over a month afterwards, this skeptic wrote a poem upon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment,— “And you cry, ‘All is well!’
The universe gives you the lie. . . .
One day all will be well;
This is our hope.
‘All is well today,’—
This is illusion.” So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men’s thoughts were turned toward God, and human helplessness and earth’s instability were recognized. As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period shows that it was felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the West Indies, adding:— The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of square English miles of the earth’s surface, and greatly surpassed anything of this kind ever recorded in history.—History and Philosophy of Earthquakes, London, 1757, page 333. The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at the time, described the scene in a letter to the ship’s owners. He wrote:— Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or part fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left habitable. Everybody that was not crushed to death ran out into the large places, and those near the river ran down to save themselves by boats, or any other floating convenience, running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the water rose to such a height that it overflowed the lower part of the city, which so terrified the miserable inhabitants, who ran to and fro with dreadful cries, which we heard plainly on board, that it made them believe the dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his knees and entreating the Almighty for his assistance. . . . By two o’clock the ships’ boats began to ply, and took multitudes on board. . . . The fear, the sorrow, the cries, and lamentations of the poor inhabitants are unexpressible; every one begging pardon, and embracing each other, crying, Forgive me, friend, brother, sister! O, what will become of us! neither water nor land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems now to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened. The conflagration lasted a whole week.—Hunter’s “Historical Account of Earthquakes,” Liverpool, 1756, pages 71-73. Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation saw the coming of the latter days, when signs of the approaching end were to begin to appear. Just there he beheld “a great earthquake.” The sad event was noted by inspiration as a sign. Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakes were to follow after,—“earthquakes in divers places,”—as Christ had foretold, speaking of the signs of his second coming. But as befitting this first of the series of signs of the approaching end, a conviction as from God seemed to come into the hearts of men in that generation, that this was indeed a token to remind the world of a coming day of doom.9 In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf, published a book of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the hour, from which we quote a few descriptive lines:—
“Calm was the hour; the sun, serenely bright,
Shot o’er the sea long dazzling streams of light.
Through orange groves soft breathing breezes played
And gathered sweets like bees where’er they strayed.
In fair rilievo stood the lofty town,
Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.
“‘Ill-fated city! there were revels kept;
Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept.
No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome
Was sent to give them warning of their doom:
No airy warriors to each other clung,
Such as ’tis said o’er destined Zion hung;
But, like a mighty thief, their dreadful fate
Unlooked for came and undermined their state.
“Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin’s brink
The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think;
Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay,
And hypocrites for once sincerely pray.
“But let it not be thought their horrid deeds
Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads,
Or that for crimes too horrible to tell,
Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell;
Or like presumptuous Dathan: other climes
Afford as frequent and as flagrant crimes.
“But when o’er all degeneracy prevails,
And on the minds grown callous precept fails,
Where only the least vicious are the best,
Some must be made examples to the rest.
The chance was theirs—but why to them ’twas given,
Remains among the mysteries of heaven,
Which hides its secrets from our erring sense;
For chance on earth, in heaven is providence.
“Who can with curious eye this globe survey,
And not behold it tottering with decay?
All things created, God’s designs fulfill,
And natural causes work his destined will.
And that eternal Word, which cannot lie,
To mortals hath revealed in prophecy
That in these latter days such signs should come,
Preludes and prologues to the general doom.
But not the Son of man can tell that day;
Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch, and pray.” Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message to men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New. W. A. S.