Signs of the Times

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 17, 1870

Signs of the Times.

We mentioned last week four principal classes of phenomena that were to appear as signs of the last days, namely, in the religious, literary, political, and natural worlds. The fact was noticed that occurrences, so prominent as to arrest general attention, and excite general remark, are taking place in all these divisions. It remains to inquire more particularly into the predictions, and trace the correspondence between them and the fulfillments. Respecting especial phases and movements in the religious world, we read:

Matt. 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Verse 24: “For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”

1 Thess. 5:2–4: “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, . . . and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”

2 Thess. 2:9: “Whose [Christ’s] coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders.”

2 Tim. 3:1–5: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. From such turn away.”

2 Peter 3:3, 4: “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning.”

Rev. 14:6–12. We have here, not to quote the language for want of space, three special messages of proclamation and warning to be heralded in the earth just before the appearing of the Son of Man on the great white cloud.

Rev. 16:14, 15: “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief.”

These are a few of the many scriptures that might be quoted. We have selected those respecting the application of which to the closing scenes of time, there could be no controversy; as the expressions, the end, the last days, or the second coming of Christ, are spoken of in immediate connection with them. Putting them together, we see that two great movements are prominently brought to view: (1) a special work of the Lord to spread abroad light and truth, just before his coming; and (2) a special work of the enemy to blind men’s eyes to that light, and hold the world fast in the power of a terrible deception. It is the climax of the conflict between truth and error, light and darkness; the great closing religious movements of probation; one true, the other false.

The gospel of the kingdom which was to be preached, is not merely the gospel in its ordinary sense; for it was the gospel of the kingdom, or reign of Christ, given as a sign of the end, and hence must have reference to the approach and establishment of that kingdom. And further, it was to be preached as a witness to all nations. Witness of what? A witness is that which bears testimony, or gives evidence. What does this preaching give evidence of? Inasmuch as the event expressly given to transpire at its close is the end, that must be the event of which this proclamation gives evidence, or concerning which it is a witness. It is sent forth to herald to all the nations of the earth that the end is at hand. In other words, it is the proclamation of the second advent of the Lord. It can be nothing else. And this shall scarcely have reached all nations, not to convert them all, but to warn them of the coming day, ere the great event, in all its grandeur, shall open upon the world.

For the past thirty years such a proclamation has been going forth. No one needs to be informed of this. It is well known also that no such proclamation has ever gone forth previous to this time. But here in the present generation thousands have risen up to proclaim by land and sea the second advent near; and the world has been awakened by the cry, Behold the end of all things is at hand. What is the significance of such a movement as this? Is it the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, at the close of which the end shall come? It bears the right character. The burden of the proclamation answers to the prophecy. Has it been extensive enough to constitute a fulfillment? The gospel of the kingdom was to be preached in all the world. The Advent proclamation has gone to every nation. No missionary station is known to which the doctrine has not been sent. Thus has it held its ground, and spread itself abroad among men, overcoming obstacles and beating down opposition, till through books, tracts, papers, and the living preacher, it has made itself felt, and caused its message to be heard the world around. But little more certainly can remain to be accomplished in this respect, before it will answer to the prophecy in the fullest sense.

The messages referred to in Rev. 14:6–12 apply to the same proclamation, giving many more particulars and specifications. The scriptures have made this an important matter. A prominent place is given to this great movement on the prophetic page. The world may look upon it as a failure, a humbug and a delusion; but so far from this, it is one of the most prominent, clearly-defined, and everywhere-proclaimed, signs of this time.

Parallel with this, and constituting another sign, equally prominent, is the false movement carried on by Satan and his emissaries. It is brought to view in the 24th verse of Matt. 24; 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 17:14, 15, quoted above. These prophecies of false christs, false prophets, signs, power, wonders, and deceptions such as would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect, certainly meet their accomplishment in the deceptions, wonders and blasphemous claims of modern spiritualism. Look at the wide extent of its ravages, look at the hearts it has blighted, look at its deceptive influence, look at the wonders that attend it, and the reeking corruption that follows in its wake, and doubt, who can. Arising a few years subsequently to the great Advent movement, like every work of evil which finds ready soil in this fallen world, with marvelous rapidity it has leavened the whole world with the virus of its doctrine. Its millions of votaries doubtless have little conception of its real purpose. It is the last effort of the enemy to put on foot a false movement to counteract and nullify the true. And this was to take place at a time when the Son of Man was about to appear like the lightning shining from the east to the west. It was to be in the midst of this work of the enemy that the Lord should come. This is the work which is to culminate under the sixth plague in gathering the nations to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

And while these two great movements are in progress among mankind, the masses are consoling themselves with dreams of peace and safety. In ages past men have not been prone to indulge in inflated hopes of peaceful and palmy days immediately to come. But now while the world is deluged with dire evils, and unmistakable portents indicate a darker future, and the voices of prophecy and nature in harmonious utterance proclaim the perils of the last days upon us, men are suddenly seized with the infatuation of believing that evil is impossible, and the cry of coming danger a delusion and a hoax. And so they raise the cry of peace and safety, so ostentatiously, so persistently, and so contrary to all evidence, as to constitute a sign of the times, and identify the present as that period when sudden destruction is about to overtake a deluded world.

But to a certain class this destruction will not be sudden, that is, unexpected; and they will escape. These are they who, as the apostle declares, will not be in darkness, that that day should overtake them as a thief. The sudden destruction, then, is the destruction of the great day of God; for as a destruction from the Almighty, says the prophet shall it come. They are not in darkness because the warning is given of its approach, the truth is proclaimed; and they receive it. This prophecy in outline sharp and distinct, save only the destruction, is now all fulfilled before our eyes.

Scoffers also shall say, Where is the promise of His coming? They say this, because that coming is proclaimed. In the last days, then, the coming of the Lord is to be proclaimed, and in the last days, whenever they shall come, the doctrine is to be scoffed at. We have both emphatically at the present day. Are we then in the last days? If not, will some one tell us how this prophecy comes to be so exactly fulfilled before the time, and why this sign is thus distinctly seen out of its season?

But the religious world was to present a phase more wondrous still. Eighteen as dark sins as ever disgraced heathendom were predicted to exist in the last days, under the form of godliness, in the garb of religion. The outward appearance is that of religion. Throw off the cloak and the body beneath is altogether of another character. See 2 Tim. 3:1–5 above quoted. We shall not particularize on the sins here brought to view. We only ask the careful reader to pause a moment and consider whether within even the range of his own observation and acquaintance he finds any of them existing under a profession of religion.

A little tract written and published not very long since in England, will show the light in which one who is not a theologian and who speaks without reference to prophecy, views the present age. Paul said that in the last days men should be covetous. Hear the writer of the tract:

“Another characteristic of the age is what, to use a now common term, is to be called its materialistic tendency. There is prominent, more than ever, a keen pursuit and exaggerated estimate of worldly possessions and enjoyments. It may be that human nature is not more earthly than formerly; but existing influences have drawn out the inherent earthliness into more than usual exhibition. The extent of material accumulations has occupied the thoughts, and filled the heart, to a degree unknown to the pristine poverty and compulsory content. The fuller appropriation of the world has produced, as it always does, a greater worldliness of spirit. Accumulation of wealth is the universal object. The money power is the strongest. Traffic is the essence of every transaction. Utility is the standard of right; and utility generally means usefulness for one’s self.”

Again, Paul says that they shall be lovers of pleasure; and our author, without reference to Paul, responds:

“Nor is it only material wealth; material comforts have also now a bulk and significance unexhibited previously. People, for the most part, do not make money to lay it up, as was so common of old. The wealth acquired is freely expended on the indulgences which wealth can purchase. Fair houses, lordly equipages, and sumptuous feasts are common, every-day exhibitions, in classes which were formerly content with the secret consciousness of a comfortable balance at the banker’s or the repute of leaving a large realized succession. Dum vivimus, vivamus, is the motto on every crest. To a large extent, the appetite for pleasure is not merely a feeling to gratify, but an overruling motive to action. Men live for pleasure, as the great end of life.”

Paul, continuing his description of professed Christians, in the last days, adds, the following dark particulars: Proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents. On this point also the author of the tract traces out an exact fulfillment:

“The cognate defect of the age (to want of earnestness) is want of reverence. This is the same carelessness, exhibited more particularly in the region of authority.

In this respect there has been a marked change, visible within memory on the face of society. Formerly respect for authority almost went the length of servility.” Now “laws are observed, and sneered at. The old traditions are taken down, and kicked out of the way like senseless idols. A father is no other than a governor, with the implication of holding office only for a limited time. Things sacred are, if not treated irreverently, yet held to be as much the subject of philosophical experiment as a mouse under an exhausted receiver. The Bible is no better than an old book, and not so reliable as most. Every one pronounces for himself, with the composure of entire self-complacency. There is much of evil in this, mingled with some good; for independence of thought is very valuable; but, alas for human nature! liberty is seldom enjoyed without degenerating into licentiousness. A want of reverence is not only an individual fault, it is a social defect: for he who personally has thrown off all restraint will soon become ripe for rebellion.”

A paragraph from the N. Y. Tribune is also explicit on this point:—

“For many years the parental character has been growing weak and inefficient. Not only is there too much reliance upon our system of public education, but there has been a pretty general abdication of parental authority. Children do not love or at least do not treat their parents with the ancient piety. They are disobedient without repentance and disrespectful without remorse. Kindness awakens no gratitude, and self-sacrifice no sense of obligation. A father whose whole life has been devoted to his children, who are dearer to him than life itself, may watch in vain for some sign of thankfulness; and yet will he still pursue the same unwise methods, and endeavor by increased indulgences to win the love for which his soul is craving. And so the domestic comedy—alas! is it not nearer a tragedy?—goes on. Master insults papa, and miss bullies mamma; well-meaning observers who tender their advice are requested to mind their own business; from attic to cellar the children are a pervading nuisance; ill-treated servants give warning and are dismissed; visitors shun, if they can, the house which harbors such terrible infants, who grow less and less tolerable as they grow older and stronger. The years advance; the little faults of infancy ripen and rot into mature and incorrigible vices; and these unfortunate children pass from the bud of peccadillo to the full bloom of comparative depravity, themselves destined to perpetuate insubordination and to experience the discomfort which they formerly inflicted.”

Paul closes his description with this almost incredible declaration, “Having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” The words of the tract above referred to are here again in point:

“To be religious, at least not prominently the reverse, was (recently) necessary to respectability. To be a skeptic was to be a marked man. Doubtless, in many instances, the professed religion did not go beyond the surface. Yet, to say that religion was the fashion would not do justice to the unquestionable sincerity and depth of the prevalent feeling. Symptoms of reaction are now becoming perceptible. There are prominent divergences from the common track. Of these two are specially noted. The one is that of the so-called Ritualists, who place religion mainly in outward observances. The other is that of the so-called Rationalists, who reduce all religion to the level of reason. It is generally conceived that of these two classes, they stand in direct contrast to each other. In reality they are both doing one and the self-same thing, to wit: seeking to take from religion its vital power. ”

“The two natural results are that, whilst a show of religion is kept up by the maintenance of some stock phrases, religion in its substance is fast being dropped out from the category of social influences.”

The foregoing testimonies seem to us all the more valuable because not written in the interest of prophetic interpretation, nor by men who can be supposed to have given any particular attention to prophetic subjects. That their descriptions, given under such circumstances, should exactly tally with the prophecy, is the strongest and most striking kind of evidence. Is the testimony true? In what days, then, are we living? “What think ye of Christ?” was a pertinent question at the time of the first advent. Reader, what think you of these things?