Signs! Signs!! Signs!!! by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Sep 26, 1878

Signs! Signs!! Signs!!!

By Dudley Marvin Canright

Yes, let there be signs! There shall be signs, for God has said so. Our good paper is called the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. May it ever be true to its name. May it never fail to point to every sign of our times; to raise its voice on high and cry aloud till men shall stop and give attention.

God has said that there shall be signs in the sun, moon and stars; signs in the heavens above, signs in the earth beneath, and signs everywhere. Jesus said, “Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Thank God that there is a people who are awake to the signs of the times, who have their eyes open, and who can say that there is a paper which is not afraid to publish the signs of the times. This is our mission. God has inspired us for the work, and we will cry aloud whether men will hear or forbear.

But what about these signs? what are they for? We have proved in previous article that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming the second time literally. Now I will make a plain proposition to which we ask the particular attention of the readers; namely, God will give signs just before the second advent to indicate when that day is near. This proposition is more important than many would think at first. One of the most common sayings of the opponents of Second Adventists, a saying which we hear on every hand—in every mouth is, that the coming of the Lord may take place any day. It may come to-night, or it may be ten thousand

years before it comes. This is what they assert, and they seem to think they are talking in harmony with common sense and the Bible. These, as it will be seen, are supposing that that time will come without any signs being given concerning it.

When we ask these men if they have seen any signs of the second advent they will say, “No.” Well, the Lord may come to-night. May he? Yes, so they say. No signs have appeared yet, indicating it? No. Now the reader will see that these men affirm that there will be no signs of the second advent. It will come suddenly, unexpectedly, like a peal of thunder in a clear sky at noon day. God will give no signs. The saints will see no signs. Now we ask the reader to go with us to the word of God, and see how squarely the Lord has contradicted this false position. We affirm that there will be signs. Let the Bible settle it:—

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matt. 24:3. Here the question is asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Did Jesus reprove them for this question, and tell them that there was to be no signs? No indeed; but he immediately proceeded to give a whole chapter of signs. Luke sums up his answer thus:—

“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. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:25–27.

This declaration of the Son of God is emphatic. There shall be signs. Notice how prominent they are to be. They shall be hung out in the sun, upon the moon, and among the stars. Also upon the earth there shall be signs. Once more the prophet of God says, “And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Acts 2:19, 20.

This text is just as plain as the other. God has solemnly promised that there are to be signs in the heavens above, and signs in the earth beneath, before the great and notable day of the Lord come. And so we might give text after text from the oracles of God, clearly stating the same thing; but these are sufficient. God has said that there shall be signs, and signs there will be. The signs that are spoken of are the signs of the end, and of the second advent. Jesus says that immediately after these signs, they shall see the Son of man come again. He farther says, “When ye shall see these things come to pass know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” Then, some one will see these signs. When they do, it is their duty to believe what Jesus says, and to know that the kingdom of God is at hand. But what is the nature of the signs? What are they for?

Passing down the streets of a village, you see numerous signs out. Here is a sign of a dry-goods store, next of a hardware store; then here is a sign of a hotel, and sign of a saloon. What do men place those signs right out in front of the shop or store for? They are placed there in the most conspicuous position that everybody can see them. Why are they put there? It is to call the attention of the people to the things which they signify. The design of the owner of that building is that this sign shall call the attention of the people to what he has within. He wishes everybody to notice that sign, to talk about it, and call the attention of the public to it, and that they may be ten thousand years hence? What nonsense to talk so.

This is not what God says. He says that you may know when that day is near, even at the doors. Will these signs ever come to pass? The Lord emphatically says they will. Do you believe God? When the time shall come, and the Lord shall hang out these signs, is it not the duty of every man to pay attention to these signs, to look at them, to talk about them, to call the attention of others to them, and to understand what they mean? Every honest man must admit that this is the case.

Suppose now that the time has come as it will come some time when these signs actually appear. Remember the Lord has placed them there as a sign of the second advent, that it is near at hand. Now a certain class of believers fix their attention upon these signs. They look into the Bible. They see now the very tokens of the end there mentioned. They believe from these signs that the Lord is to come soon. They begin to talk about it and to warn others of it and to point to these signs.

Another class are indifferent to it. They do not care to look at these signs; and if they do have their attention called to them, they don’t take much interest in them. They don’t believe they are the signs spoken of. They argue against them. They say they don’t care any way. If that event is coming, let it come. They don’t care if they are only prepared to die. This is enough for them. Thus they entirely ignore the signs that God has given. Now reader, which class pleases God do you think? It seems to me that the answer is manifest. When God does a thing he does it for a purpose. When God gives signs he does not give them to be neglected or despised.

We will remember how this same God gave signs of the first advent, and how the professed people of God refused to discern these signs, to pay any attention to them or believe them. And we all remember what a terrible rebuke the Son of God gave to them for indifference. Thus he says:

“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather; for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather to-day; for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matt. 16:2, 3.

Now reader, if it was so wicked in that generation to refuse to discern the signs of the times, why is it not just as wicked in this generation to refuse to discern the signs of the second advent? We warn you to be cautious how you neglect and dispose of these things.

But you may say, I do not see any signs of the second advent. That may be true, and yet there may be plenty of them all around you. It is your duty to open your eyes to an investigation of these things. Have you studied the Bible to know what the signs of the second advent are? Have you prayed to God to enlighten your mind? Have you then examined carefully to see whether these signs are now being fulfilled? or are you so buried up with the love of the world and the cares of life that you have no time nor inclination to look at these things? This is the condition of the great mass of men. If you are not careful it may be your condition. Men are not apt to see what they are not looking for, and that in which they have no interest, and it may appear and pass away without their ever noticing it.

There may be innumerable signs of the second advent, and yet if you have not studied the Bible concerning them, you may not know that they are signs of the end. The Lord did give many signs at the first advent to mark the coming of Messiah; and yet the people said, Show us a sign from heaven. Matt. 16:1. He rebuked them sharply, saying, “O ye hypocrites, can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

Reader, we beseech you to awake and open your eyes, and you will see that there are plenty of signs unmistakably indicating the end of all things at hand. D. M. CANRIGHT.