It seems strange that professed Adventists should question whether the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars have actually taken place, or whether they are still in the future, and stranger still that any who attempt to prove that the coming of the Lord is near should think it unnecessary to believe that these signs have any essential bearing upon a belief in the second advent as an imminent event. Some things ought to be regarded as settled beyond controversy among Adventists, and especially among Seventh-day Adventists. One of these is that the “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars” have already been fulfilled, and that they introduce us to the last generation which shall not pass away before the coming of the Master. Those who become unsettled concerning such fundamental positions as these can hardly hope to be certain of anything. The testimony of history is very explicit concerning these signs. It is only necessary to read the authentic records of what actually took place on May 19, 1780, and on Nov. 13, 1833, and then to compare these statements with the prophecies, in order to see that they answer to each other. There could be no benefit whatever in studying the prophecies if it were not possible to recognize those events which constitute a fulfilment of definite predictions; and when such events do occur as meet all the specifications of any prophecy, we may rest assured that the prophecy has been fulfilled. On this basis we are sure that the darkening of the sun and of the moon, and the falling of the stars, foretold by Jesus, are in the past, and that they constitute definite signs of the near coming of our Lord.