The Portent of the Times

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Apr 3, 1913

The Portent of the Times

We have reached portentous times in the history of this world. In manifold ways do the conditions surrounding us indicate the near approach of the end of all things. They furnish a fulfilment of the words of the Lord in Luke 21: 25, 26:—

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

By famine and pestilence and disease, by earthquake and flood and fire, the Lord is speaking to the inhabitants of the earth to-day. What terrible disasters have taken place during the last few years! and how rapidly disasters are increasing! We recall the terrible earthquake which destroyed Saint Pierre, on the island of Martinique; the devastation of Messina, Italy, in the same way; the visitation by earthquake and fire upon San Francisco, Valparaiso, and cities in the Orient. Notwithstanding the great advance in the science of navigation, and the precautions taken for the preservation of life, the sea continues to take its full toll of dead. The wreck of the “Titanic,” while more spectacular than similar catastrophes, is only one of a very large number which might be mentioned.

Flood, fire, and wind have done their destructive work. It was only a few years ago that the country was appalled by the great destruction visited upon Johnstown, Pa., and later came the sweeping away of Galveston, Tex., by tidal wave, entailing a loss of over five thousand lives. Last year the floods along the Mississippi River and its tributaries inundated millions of acres of land, desolated thousands of homes, and destroyed hundreds of lives.

The disasters of the present season bid fair to rival if not exceed those of preceding years. In Nebraska and the States of the Middle West destructive tornadoes and wind-storms have caused great loss. Hundreds have been killed, and millions of dollars' worth of property has been destroyed. The latest reports bring news of the terrible destruction by flood and fire which has been visited upon the States of Ohio and Indiana. The direct death toll along the Ohio River and its tributaries will reach thousands, with added thousands as the result of fright, accident, and exposure. Five hundred thousand persons are reported to be homeless, and the property damage will doubtless amount to more than one hundred million dollars. At the present writing, more than fifty thousand persons are marooned, and suffering from hunger and exposure.

In some of these sections chaos reigns supreme. Families have been broken up and destroyed. The survivors are hopelessly seeking the lost. Woe and misery, grief and wailing, are found on every side. The hearts of the nations have justly been wrung with sympathy and sorrow in the knowledge of these conditions. Every part of the country has been quick to respond to the appeal for aid. Surely the cause is one deserving of benevolence from every generous heart.

What do these things mean? Have these great disasters any significance?—Indeed they have. They speak to us in no uncertain tones of the times which have been reached in earth's history. They stand as a marked fulfilment of the prophetic word.

It is not for us to conclude by any means that these regions of country which have suffered were the special objects of Heaven's wrath. The sufferers were our own neighbors, some of them known friends. Indeed, we may be thankful if it shall prove that some of our brethren and sisters were not among them. The Lord drew valuable lessons from disasters of this character:—

“There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

The poor unfortunates who have gone down in these catastrophes are beyond reach of the lessons which God designs to give. The lesson is for those who live. It is for us to read in these signs the sure approach of the day of God; and knowing the time in which we live, to sound the warning to a world that lies in wickedness. Shall we do it? Will these conditions which exist on every side make to us sensible appeal, or have they become so common that we expect them rather as a matter of course, and fail to see in them the lessons God designs to teach?

Our great danger as a people to-day is indifference, permitting the great multiplicity of signs on every side to grow common in our estimation. May God awake his people! May he lead us to realize the solemnity of the times in which we live! Many to-day have no thought of their eternal destiny. They are living in carnal security. The things of time and sense occupy their minds to the exclusion of heaven. It is for us to present to them the long-suffering of God and his tender mercy, and while the day of probation still lingers lead them to turn to him as the refuge of their souls. It is time to sound the warning. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Let us stand as minutemen, as watchmen on the walls of Zion, giving to the trumpet no uncertain sound.