THE PRESENT TRUTH by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Feb 15, 1877

THE PRESENT TRUTH.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

(Continued from last week.)

Yes, says our opponents, we agree that these events—the Judgment, the second advent of Christ, the resurrection, and the end of the world—will come sometime, but as to when they will come, we know nothing. Christ may come to-night, or next week, or it may be a thousand years before he comes; we cannot tell. If we are only prepared to die, that is all that it need concern us, let it come when it will.

No doubt the objector thinks that this is sound reasoning, and according to Scripture; but look a little further. We often hear these men who declare that the Lord may come to-night, declare that the world must be converted, and that there must be a millennium of a thousand years before Christ comes. Then they go on to argue that the Jews must be converted and return to Palestine, first; that this, that, and the other prophecy has not yet been fulfilled; and still the Lord may come to-night! How they can have the world converted, and a thousand years' millennium, in one night, and the Lord come after that time, we never could see. And yet they stoutly argue both. The Jews must be converted and return to Palestine before the Lord comes, and yet he may come to-night! Many other prophecies have not been fulfilled and yet the Lord may come to-night! They certainly cannot believe both positions. And further: In saying this, they assume that the coming of the Lord will take place without any signs being given to mark his coming—without any warning to the world, and without his people knowing anything concerning it. They virtually assume that everything will go right on just as it always has, without any sign or warning, and the first that any one knows, either saint or sinner, the trumpet will sound like a peal of thunder out of a clear sky at noonday. To show the unsoundness of this, we will make a second proposition:

II. There will be signs given preceding these events, to mark their coming.

I might give scores of texts on this point, naming the different signs which shall transpire shortly before the advent. I will content myself with quoting two or three which directly assert that there shall be signs. “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. The disciples inquire directly, What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? If there were to be no signs, Christ would have simply said, Children, do not trouble yourselves on that point; there will be no signs given of these events. But instead of answering them thus, he does proceed to give them a whole chapter of signs upon the very point they had asked. Luke briefly 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. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21: 25–28. Here Jesus says that there shall be signs in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, in the earth, &c. So in verse 11, he says, “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights

who will blow the trumpet and sound the alarm. All the powers of darkness cannot prevent it. And great signs shall there be from heaven.” And thus Joel 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. We take it that these texts settle the fact that the Lord will give signs to mark his second coming.

God has said that, at the proper time, he will hang out signs in very conspicuous places indeed, viz., in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, and upon the earth. And when God shall do this, what will it be for? Will it not be to call the attention of his people and the world to the very event which these signs indicate? Most certainly. This fact alone shows that God will have men know something with regard to it, else why give the signs? And when God shall do this, will it be immaterial whether men heed these signs, or disregard them? whether they believe them, or scoff at them? whether they note them, or pass them by as not worthy of their attention? whether they accept them as the fulfillment of God's word, or deny them to be such? Think of this point a moment. Did not Christ rebuke the men of his time for not discerning the signs of the times? “O ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matt. 16: 3. And if men should pay no more attention to the signs of the times now than they did then, will they not receive just as severe a rebuke from the Lord as they did then? Certainly, they will. Be careful, my friend, there may be more importance to this subject than you have thought.

To show the importance of this, we will make a third proposition:

III. A warning message will be given to the world, immediately preceding the coming of Christ.

This is an important proposition, and, if it be true, it shows the importance of engaging in such a proclamation. Here, again, we might give a great many texts to the point, but have room for only a few. Let us first reason a moment. God is merciful, long-suffering, not willing that any should perish; hence he always warns the wicked of coming judgments in sufficient time for them to repent and escape them if they will. He loves his people, and does nothing without revealing it to them. Did God warn the world in the days of Noah? So, then, he will here. Christ says, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24: 37. Did God warn the Sodomites? Did he warn the men of Nineveh? Did John the Baptist give a warning message before the first advent? Did Jesus warn them of the fall of Jerusalem? How much more reasonable, then, that there should be a warning here. Did the righteous know when the flood was to come? when Sodom was to fall? when the Jews were to come out of Egypt? when Nineveh was to be overthrown? when Christ was to come the first time? Then will they know in regard to his second advent. Nothing is more reasonable and just than this conclusion. But let us hear the word of the Lord:

“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. What is the day of the Lord? It is when the Lord comes, as will be seen by the following texts: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Pet. 3: 10. This shows that the day of the Lord is when all things shall end. This is the time of which the prophet speaks:

“For the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand.” This fact is further confirmed by the language of verses 10, 11: “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”

Having shown what the subject is, now look at the prophecy: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion.” This was always done to warn the people of some important event. “Sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble.” This shows that it is some awful event that is just pending. What is it? When is this warning to be given, this alarm to be sounded? “For the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Then when the day of the Lord is drawing near, is even nigh at hand, then is the time that this prophecy must be fulfilled. Will not God see that it is fulfilled? He certainly will, if he has to raise up men from the very stones to do it; and when it is thus fulfilled, what will the world hear? They will hear the blowing of the trumpet and sounding of the alarm here predicted.

Compare this with Isaiah 40: 3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Here was a prophecy given 700 years before Christ. Age after age rolled on, and no one came up to fulfill it. By-and-by, in the wilderness of Judea, is heard the voice of a humble man proclaiming this very message. The proper time had come. God, who very jealously guards the fulfillment of his word, raised up a man to accomplish it. So it must be with regard to this prophecy relating to the end. When the day of the Lord is nigh at hand, God will lay the burden of his work upon those

D. M. CARRIGHT. (To be Continued.)