What Time Is It?

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 26, 1871

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”—Rom. 13:12.

These words ought to come home to our consciences like the blast of a trumpet. They ought to rouse our sleeping minds to a sense of the eternal realities which are before us. They call upon us to lay aside all trifling, lingering, and carelessness, about our Christianity. They summon us to a close walk with God.

1. You have here the present condition of the world—it is night. 2. You have the condition of the world which is yet to come—it will be day. 3. You have the particular time in which our lot is cast—the night is far spent, and the day is at hand. 4. You have the duty of all believers who know the time—they ought to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light.

Upon each of these four points I have something to say.

I. First of all let us consider the present condition of the world.

The apostle Paul calls it “night.” “The night,” he says, “is far spent.”

I have no doubt that word seems strange to some persons. They think it wonderful that the year 1871 should be called “night.” They are living in days of learning, science, civilization, commerce, freedom, and knowledge. They see around them things which their fore-fathers never dreamed of—railways, manufactories, gas, electricity, steam-engines, education for all, and cheap books. I know it all, and am thankful for it. Nevertheless I say that in the things of God the world is still in a state of “night.” I believe that God looks down on this globe of ours as it rolls round the sun, and as he looks upon it, he pronounces it “very dark.” I believe that the angels go to and fro, and make report of all they see on our earth, and their constant report is, “Very dark.” And I am sure that believers in the Lord Jesus in every land are of one mind on this subject. They cry and sigh for the abominations they see around them. To them the world appears “very dark.”

Is it not dark in heathen lands? There are two-thirds of the whole world in open rebellion against God and his Christ. Two out of every three inhabitants of the globe have no Bible, no gospel, no knowledge, no faith, no hope. They are cruel, deceitful, immoral, unclean, earthly, sensual, devilish, idolatrous, superstitious. Surely that is night.

Is it not dark in many professedly Christian countries? There are two-thirds of all the professing Christians on earth who are unsound in the faith. Their religion is not simply scriptural. They have added to it many things which are not to be found in the Bible. They have left out of it many things which the Bible has plainly commanded. There are millions who give honor to the Virgin Mary and dead saints instead of Christ. There are millions of baptized people who know nothing of the Bible, and have not the slightest idea of the salvation contained in the gospel. Surely that is night.

Is it not dark in our own country at this present day? How much of sin there is in Protestant Britain and America, and how little of God! How much of open infidelity, heathenish ignorance, drunkenness, irreligion, swearing, cheating, lying, covetousness, is weekly crying against us before the Lord of hosts! How many people go to no place of worship at all! How many go to church merely as a matter of form! How few are really in earnest about the salvation of their souls! How few have any evidence to show of a saving faith in Christ, and a real work of the Spirit in their hearts! Surely even among ourselves it is night.

Reader, it is useless to deny these things. Humbling as it may be to the pride of human nature, the word of the apostle is strictly true—the time present is night. An unconverted man may not perceive it. A graceless man may not comprehend it. The blind eye sees no difference between noon and midnight. The deaf ear makes no distinction between discord and sweet music. The mortified limb has no feeling either of heat or cold. But I do believe that God’s children can enter into the meaning of the expression. The people of the Lord Jesus Christ find by experience that it is night.

II. Let us consider in the second place, the condition of the world which is yet to come. The apostle Paul calls it “day.” The world we live in is not to go on always as it does now. The darkness of sin, ignorance, and superstition is not always to cover the earth. The Sun of Righteousness shall one day rise with healing in his wings. The Lord Jesus shall come again with power and great glory. He shall return as a morning without clouds, and then it shall be “day.”

There is a time coming when believers shall have joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee far away. Every tear shall be wiped, every cross laid down, every anxiety removed, every bitter cup taken away. Persecution, temptation, sickness, mourning, parting, separation, and death, shall be at an end. Surely that will be sunshine. It will be “day.”

There is a time coming when the whole family of Christ shall be gathered together. They shall rise from their narrow beds, and each put on a glorious body. They shall awake from their long sleep refreshed, strengthened, and far more beautiful than when they lay down. They shall leave behind them in their graves every imperfection, and meet without spot or wrinkle, to part no more. Surely that will be a joyful morning. It will be “day.”

There is a time coming when believers shall no longer see through a glass darkly, but face to face. They shall see as they have been seen, and know as they have been known. They shall cease to wrangle and dispute about outward matters, and shall think of nothing but eternal realities. They shall behold their crucified Lord and Saviour with the eye of sense, and no longer follow him by faith. They shall see one another free from corruption, and misunderstand one another’s motives and conduct no more. Surely that will be “day.”

I see here great reason why many professing Christians should tremble and be afraid. There are many, to whom the time to come will be anything but day. There are many whose happiness is evidently all below, whose treasure is all on earth, whose brightest time is now, and whose gloomiest prospects are hereafter. The further they look on, the darker everything appears. Old age looks dark; sickness looks darker still; death and judgment look darkest of all!

Beloved reader, if this be your case, I warn you plainly there must be a change. Your views, your tastes, your inclinations, must be renewed and transformed. You must learn to view the world that now is, and that which is to come, in a very different light. Go and sit at the feet of Jesus, and ask him to teach you this lesson. Ask for the enlightening Spirit to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Ask for the veil to be taken away, that you may behold everything in its true colors.

Tell me can that man really hate sin, who does not desire to see it swept away from the earth? Can that man love holiness who does not long for the time when all shall know the Lord? Can that man be truly united to Christ by faith who does not wish to see Christ, and to be with him? Can that man be a saint who does not thirst after the unmixed company of just men made perfect? Can that man be in earnest who daily prays, “Thy kingdom come,” and yet is content that the world should go on as it is without any change? Oh! no! no! These things are impossible. God’s true children will want to be at home. They will wish for the day.

Reader, if you mean to be saved, you must learn to view time present as “night,” and time to come as “day.” You must learn to regard the other side of Jordan as home, and this side as a desert land. Time present must be your wilderness, your battle-field, your place of trial—time to come must be your Canaan, your rest, your Father’s house.

III. In the third place, let us consider the particular times in which our lot is cast.

The apostle Paul tells us, when he says, “The night is far spent, and the day is at hand.” I believe these words mean that the last order of things has arrived—the last stage in the history of the church has come. . . .

I am no prophet and may easily be mistaken. I may die, and you may die, before Christ comes, and the day dawns. But I appeal to every thinking man whether there are not “signs of the times” which deserve serious attention. I ask him to notice the things going on in the world, and to consider well what they are intended to teach.

Does any reader ask what I mean by “signs of the times”? Let us weigh well the six following points, and he will see what I mean:

1. What shall we say to the missions to the heathen which have been set on foot in these latter days? Seventy years ago the Protestant churches seemed thoroughly asleep on the subject of missions. There was hardly a single missionary sent forth to the heathen from the whole of Great Britain. The idea of preaching the gospel to savages and idolaters was ridiculed. The first promoters of missions were treated coldly by many who ought to have known better. But now the feeling is completely changed. We are employing hundreds of missionaries in every quarter of the globe. And what saith the Scripture? “The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt. 24:14.)

2. What shall we say to the wonderful spread of knowledge and communication between nations in these days? Seventy years ago to find a poor man who could read was rather an uncommon thing. In a few years a man who cannot read will be a rare sight. Seventy years ago there were few who ever traveled beyond the bounds of their own country. Now every one can move in every direction, and our population is like a swarm of bees disturbed. Steam navigation and railways have altered the character of society. Time and space are made nothing of. Seas, mountains, and rivers, are no longer obstacles. God separated the nations in the day of Babel. Man is working hard to make them all one again. And what saith the Scripture? “Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” (Dan. 12:4.)

3. What shall we say to the wars and shaking of nations which we have seen in these last seventy years? The mightiest empires on earth have been shaken to their very foundations. Kings, and princes, and great men, have been driven from their high position by scores, and been made wanderers on the face of the earth. There has been no accounting for it by any human reasoning. These movements have taken place in the face of increased knowledge, civilization, and desire of peace. The shock came from beneath. And what saith the Scripture? “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matt. 24:7, 8.)

4. What shall we say to the increased attention to unfulfilled prophecy which has appeared in these latter days? Seventy years ago there were few who paid any attention to the subject. The passages in Scripture which speak of things to come were comparatively neglected, or perverted with curious ingenuity from their simple meaning. Now, on the contrary, the current of public feeling runs strongly in favor of prophetical study. Books on the subject are eagerly bought up. Lectures on the subject are listened to with increased attention. And what saith the Scripture? “The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:9.) The words seem unfolding. The seal seems breaking. Can the end be far off?

IV. And now, in the last place, let me speak of the particular duty of all believers connected with the truths we have just considered. That practical duty is put before us in plain words: “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

Reader, I love to observe how closely the doctrine of Christ’s second coming and kingdom is bound up with personal holiness. I marvel that any can regard the second advent and reign of the Lord Jesus as merely speculative matters, or denounce them as unprofitable subjects. To my own mind they seem eminently practical, or else I have read my Bible to very little purpose.

Listen to Paul: “Let your moderation be known unto all men; the Lord is at hand.” (Phil. 4:5.) “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.” (Col. 3:2–5.) “Exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Heb. 10:25.) Peter says, We “look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” (2 Peter 3:13, 14.) These texts appear to me to speak with no uncertain voice. I know not how their force can be evaded. They make the coming of Christ, and the day of glory, an argument for increased holiness. And it is just in the same way that St. Paul says, “Let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

Reader, how are you to “cast off the works of darkness”? Listen to me and I will tell you. You ought to lay aside everything in your life and habits which will not bear the light of Christ’s appearing. You ought to make it a principle of conscience to do nothing you would not like to be found doing when Jesus comes again to gather his people together. This is a searching test indeed. The application of it must be left to every man’s own heart. Each must judge for himself. Each must prove his own works. Each must set up an assize within him, and honestly bring his ways to a trial. Oh! for a will to deal fairly and justly with ourselves!

Try all your employment of time by the test of Christ’s second coming. Place in this balance your amusements, your books, your companions, your manner of conversation, your daily behavior in all the relations of life. Measure all by this measure—“The night is far spent and the day is at hand.” Am I living as a child of the night, or as one who looks for the day? Do this, and you will cast off the works of darkness.

But how are you to put on the armor of light? Listen to me once more, and I will tell you. You ought to aim at every grace and habit which becomes a believer in Christ, and a child of God, and a citizen of a heavenly kingdom. You ought not to leave eminent holiness and spirituality to a few, as if none but a few favored ones could be eminent saints. You ought to labor to wear the armor of light yourself, the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of hope, and the sword of the Spirit. (Eph. 6:14–17.) Wherever you may live, and whatever may be your trials—however great your difficulties, and however small your helps—nothing should prevent your aiming at the highest standard, to behave like one who believes that Christ is coming again.

Let there be light in your heart continually; Christ dwelling there by faith—felt, known, and experienced. Let there be light in your life continually; Christ reflected there, followed, imitated, and copied. Seek to be a light in the world, and nothing less—a bright light, a clear light, a light that men can see afar off. Do this, and you will put on the armor of light.

Live as if you thought Christ might come at any time. Do everything as if you did it for the last time. Read every chapter in the Bible as if you did not know whether you would be allowed to read it again. Pray every prayer as if you felt it might be your last opportunity. Hear every sermon as if you were hearing once and forever. This is the way to be found ready. This is the way to turn Christ’s second appearing to good account. This is the way to put on the armor of light.—Prophetic Times.