p. 6 | EVIDENCES OF THE END by James White

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jan 6, 1881

EVIDENCES OF THE END.

By James White

By most people, the evidences of the soon coming of Christ are considered insufficient to base faith upon. But 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 warning of danger, and blinded by cares, pleasures and riches. An unbelieving and infidel generation 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 nor 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 are devoted to its service. 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 melt." Isa. 13:6, 7. 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 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 grog-shop. "Where is the promise of his coming?" is murmured from the impious lips of a thousand last-day scoffers. But the scene will speedily change. "For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them," 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.

The doctrine of the second appearing of Christ has been held by the church ever since her Lord ascended to the Father to prepare mansions for her reception. It is the event that consummates her hopes, terminates the period of her toils and sorrows, and introduces her eternal repose. What sublime scenes will then open before the waiting children of God! The blazing heavens will reveal the Son of God in his glory, surrounded by all the holy angels. The trumpet will sound, and the just will come forth from the grave, immortal. And all—Redeemer and redeemed, attended by the heavenly host—will move upward to the mansions prepared for them in the Father's house.

To those who really love their absent Lord, the theme of his soon return to bestow immortality upon the dead and living righteous is fraught with unspeakable blessedness. This event, with all its grand results, has always been the hope of the church. Paul could look over eighteen long centuries, and speak of it as "that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:13. And Peter exhorts: "Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God." 2 Pet. 3:12. And Paul again, after speaking of the descent of the Lord from Heaven, the resurrection of the dead in Christ and their ascent with the living righteous to meet the Lord in the air, says, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

BAPTISM IN THE EARLY CHURCH.

Wise men do not always reason wisely when their own opinions are in question. That the Independent is ably conducted none will dispute. It is also very liberal; sometimes too much so for the benefit of religious truth and practice. We love liberality, but do not like it when it approaches to "liberalism," or when it makes concessions to error. The Independent does not like to have the Baptists claim that immersion only is baptism. From an article in a recent number we clip the following:—

"Prof. Fox objects to our assertion that the Baptists are the first and, we believe, the only sect or party in Christendom who ever assumed the position that immersion is essential to baptism.' We shall not question the statement of Dean Stanley about the meaning of the word baptize and the practice of the Apostolic church. But, admitting its correctness, we do question whether the Apostolic church went to the extreme of asserting that immersion is essential to baptism. Baptist writers have never shown that such an issue was raised in the early church. It is an issue of modern times. The question here is not one of philology; but it is a question of Church history. We do not raise the question whether the word baptize means to immerse or whether that was the practice of the first Christians; but we ask for proof that the first Christians had advanced to the point of asserting that immersion is essential to baptism. Evidently a long period of development was required to reach that extreme position."

We think the Independent is quite safe in its position that "such an issue was not raised in the early church." But we think the true reason is the very opposite of that which it gives.

Let Dean Stanley's assertion as to the meaning of baptize stand admitted, and we must also admit that the early church was aware of that meaning, for their practice corresponded therewith. Then the following facts stand admitted in regard to the early church:—

The early Christians accepted immersion as the meaning of the word baptizo.
They practiced immersion in the ordinance of baptism.
The issue as to whether immersion is essential to baptism was not raised among them.

The reasonable conclusion is found in the following:— 4. The early church admitted that baptizo meant to immerse, and practiced immersion as baptism. Therefore the issue whether immersion only is baptism was not then raised because "the Baptist position" was not then called in question.

This conclusion must stand unless Dean Stanley's assertions are disproved. But the argument of the Independent would stand somewhat after this manner:—

The early church believed that baptizo meant to immerse.
It practiced immersion as baptism.
The issue as to whether immersion is essential to baptism was not raised in that age.
Therefore they did not consider that immersion is essential to baptism.

If anybody can see logical force in this conclusion they have reasoning powers to which we cannot lay claim. To us the inference of the Independent is as just as it would be to assert that George Washington was not an eminent man because nobody denied that he was!

J. H. W.