p. 3 | Multiplied Evidences

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 20, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 41.

Multiplied Evidences

This number does not give adequate explanation of the above diagram; but the diagram will help the student to see the cumulative evidence for this time. It certainly shows that we are living in “the time of the end,” and that His coming is near. Spaces or lines showing time are not proportional.

“The lion hath roared; who will not fear? the Lord Jehovah hath spoken; who can but prophesy?” So reads the striking illustration of the prophet of God, who bore warnings for his own people and for generations to come. Amos 3:8.

The man of God was not giving a false message. Better that he should abide with his herds than that. Messages concerning Damascus and Gaza and Tyre and Edom and Ammon and his own Judah and Israel and the great world, the herdsman prophet bore. Better the night-watching with his flocks and herds forever than the giving of the awful messages of reproof and warning.

Yet he could not disobey; he must bear them to the people. When the lion roars, all the beasts of the forest tremble. When God speaks, who can but echo His words and prophesy? So he declares, and he presses home his message with the reasonable and consistent truth, “Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing [will bring no judgments], except He reveal His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:1-8.

Nay, it is not only reasonable that God should forewarn; His very nature of love demands it. In every way by which the heart of man can be reached, there will be found the footprints of God’s messengers. Every means which will startle and stir souls to investigate and know the time, He is using. Shines brighter than ever the “more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, . . . until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19.

The great world is dying. Generation after generation have been laid in the dust of the ages, oblivion closes over them its gray mantle, and the present dying generation build their cities upon the ruins of the past and the graves of the dead.

All this passing show, this sad procession of the ages, the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires, of nations and cities, God has foretold, yet men heed it not. Great world conferences and congresses are held on various things important and unimportant temporally, but not one of note to consider God’s outline of the future. Even the great religious congresses and meetings for federation do not touch upon God’s plans for the coming ages.

Idolatrous and cruel Nineveh repented at the preaching of an obscure Jewish prophet, but in our day evidences are multiplied a thousandfold, yet men ignore them and smile or sneer or stifle conviction, and pass on to give heart and soul and life to the things which perish. Was ever sadder sight?

Think of the evidences! In the Book of Daniel the prophet there are given at least four great prophetic dramas of the rise and fall of empire. In the second chapter, in the seventh chapter, in the eighth and ninth chapters, in the tenth and eleventh chapters, the same great drama of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, Rome, is enacted in various phases, all showing us the transitory nature of earthly dominion, the evanescence of earthly glory, and all bringing God’s children through all earthly troubles to the glorious consummation—His eternal, unchangeable, ever glorious and supremely happy kingdom of righteousness.

Even more evidences are given in the Book of the Revelation, of which it is by Inspiration declared:

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.”

In the Revelation the great controversy between the church and her foes is set forth in all its various phases from the first advent of Christ to the glorious consummation of earth’s travail. In the second chapter, under the seven churches; in the fifth to the eighth chapters, under the seven seals; in the eighth and ninth and eleventh chapters, under the seven trumpets; in the eleventh chapter, under the two witnesses; in the twelfth chapter, under the figure of a seven-headed dragon; in the thirteenth chapter, under the symbols of a seven-headed and ten-horned beast and a two-horned beast; in the seventeenth chapter, under the representation of a seven-headed, ten-horned, scarlet beast, bearing a woman, are set forth the internal condition of the church through the ages, God’s means of arousing mankind, the breaking up of the nations, His mighty witnesses, and the great foes of the Christ and His church to the end. Seven great time dramas are depicted to the end; and the last scene closes with the downfall of the false and the everlasting triumph of the true.

In Matthew, chapter twenty-four; in Mark, chapter thirteen; in Luke, chapter twenty-one, is given a great time-table of events to mark progress in the Christian era toward the coming of our Lord.

Here are twelve great lines of prophecy focusing in this our day, mighty in evidence and clear in demonstration to the devout believer and investigator. In different and often wide-spread periods in the great past they begin, but their terminals gather here, at the great metropolis of the ages, “the time of the end” and the second coming of Jesus the Messiah.

“There Shall Be Signs”

But not great lines of prophecy alone mark the progress of the ages, not those great prophetic time-tables alone that tell us that the old ship Zion is nearing port. More than this has God done for humanity. As the old ship nears port, passes treacherous bar and boisterous breaker, as she rounds promontory and rock, and feels her way through fog and night, on the last league or two for anchorage and safe harbor, many voices call, “Nearing home,” “Harbor just ahead,” “Voyage almost over,” “Welcome forever,” and harbor-lights gleam intelligent, glad good-fellowship.

In five of these great time-tables “the time of the end” is noted, but not “the end of time.” The former is a period of time unlimited as to definiteness, yet short,—the closing hours of human probation. The latter refers to a point of time when Christ our Lord shall have finished His priestly work, and characters are forever fixed. “The time of the end” begins when the prophetic periods

begin their ending, and closes with the Christian age. The first of those prophetic periods to end is the 1,260 years—prophetic days—which terminated in 1798. This period is noted in five or perhaps seven of these lines of prophecy. In 1798 began “the time of the end” to be emphasized by still other expiring prophetic periods.

Within that time of the end has God by His predictions set a score or more of voices and pharos declaring that the end is near, that the ship is swinging into the harbor, and that her very dock signal-light can almost be discerned. Will there be such home-nearing signals? What and where are these signs, these lights, these voices predicted? These are important questions, but we must answer them briefly. The conditions we all recognize. What we wish our readers also to recognize is that all these conditions have been pointed out by Inspiration hundreds and even thousands of years ago.

That there will be signs, the Master Himself explicitly declares. In response to a question of His disciples, “What shall be the sign of Thy coming,” He said:

“And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens 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.

From this scripture it will be seen that these signals are to be hung out where they will be visible to all, their fulfilment unrevised by Higher Critics. They are seen and heard in the sidereal heavens, in the earth, in its physical turmoil, and in the troubles of the nations. Other scriptures predict voices from the religious, the social, the political worlds. Everywhere, in every land, will the observing student of prophecy hear and see the evidences of the Master’s coming. Let us note, of the many signs, fourteen.

1. What does our Lord say of the signs in the sun, moon, and stars?

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds, with great power and glory.” Mark 13:24-26.

NOTE.—See also Matt. 24:29, 30; Rev. 6:12-14. This series of signs was ushered in by the darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780. The darkening of the moon immediately followed. The falling of the stars, or meteors, occurred in 1833. Other signs will follow. Joel 2:30.

2. How has the remarkable increase of knowledge manifest in our days been foretold by the prophet?

“But thou, O Daniel, 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 has Inspiration told us of the vast heaping up of earthly treasure in these last days?

“Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure [heaped treasure together, A.V.] in the last days.” James 5:1-3.

4. What is said of the increase of oppression and crime which is everywhere manifest?

“Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” James 5:4-7.

“But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:13. “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter.” And this at a time when Christ shall “put on the garments of vengeance . . . and the Redeemer shall come to Zion.” Isa. 59:14-20.

5. What is clearly indicated in the Word concerning the increase of calamities—earthquake, storm, famine, pestilence, notwithstanding all that intelligent men and methods can do to prevent?

“All of them [that is, the earth and the atmospheric heavens] shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed.” Ps. 102:26; Heb. 1:11.

“And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows [of the birth-pangs of the age].” Matt. 24:7, 8. See also Joel 1:4, 10-12; 2:11, 25, 31.

6. How is Mormonism foretold by our Lord as a false movement which would precede His second coming?

“Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth.” Matt. 24:25, 26.

NOTE.—Mormonism proclaimed Christ in the desert where they built their temple, to which place they still proclaim that He is coming. Their leading paper is called The Deseret News, or the News of the Desert. Thousands have been deceived by listening to the voice, “Behold, He is in the desert.” Jesus warns, “Go not forth.” Christ will not so come, but will come in a supernal glory which will set ablaze the very heavens. Verse 27.

7. In what words is Spiritualism, or Modern Spiritism as it is sometimes called, predicted?

“If they shall say unto you, . . . Behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” Matt. 24:26.

“The working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.” 2 Thess. 2:9, 10. See also Isa. 8:20; Rev. 16:13, 14.

8. Many among the devout children of God recognize a great spiritual declension in the professed church of Christ. How is this spiritual declension foretold?

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5. Read Matt. 24:12, and also the article in another column by Professor Rine.

9. Infidelity, lack of faith, is another latter-day characteristic. What is said by Inspiration concerning this?

“Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8.

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” 2 Peter 2:1, 2.

10. Confederacies of all sorts are a characteristic of our age. These do not indicate life-union, but political agreement to stave off or protect from looked-for calamities. Are these predicted?

In reply note the double prophecy in Isa. 8:9-17, and the last-day ten-kingdom confederacy of Revelation 17 which supports great Babylon of Revelation 18. All these are forming before our very eyes.

11. Everywhere we hear the cry of peace. What has the Lord said regarding this cry?

First in Isa. 2:3-6, and in Micah 4:2-6 He declares that in the last days many people and many nations shall raise such a cry and declare that war shall be no more. Referring to this false cry of peace the apostle Paul declares, “When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape.” 1 Thess. 5:3. Read the context.

12. Never before in all the ages was there such a preparation for war as there is among the nations now. Has God predicted this?

“Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat [Jehovah judgeth]: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest [Matt. 13:39] is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:9-14.

“For they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” Rev. 16:14. See also Jer. 4:19-26.

13. A message for the time. Will not God send a message concerning the decaying of earthly kingdoms and the coming of His kingdom, to prepare His children for the mighty changes and the coming judgment?

“And this 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. Read also the great Threefold Message of Rev. 14:6-14 beginning with the Gospel proclamation of an impending judgment, closing with the second coming of Christ.

14. There are those who scoff at Christ’s coming, from pulpit to gin-shop. Is this also foretold?

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4.

To meet this awful infidelity, the false Christs and false prophets which shall arise, the false isms and wicked delusions of the last days, God has promised His Holy Spirit. This is set forth in Joel 2:28-31. It received its part fulfilment in the beginning of the Christian dispensation. It will receive its plenary fulfilment in the outpouring of the latter rain. Zech. 10:1. This also is declared in Isaiah 59. The prophet predicts the awful corruptions which will exist in the last days, and then assures us that “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Verse 19. Then the church of God will “come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 1:7, 8.

So will His church be fitted for His coming. Weigh all these evidences, reader, in the light of His Word. Jesus, looking down the long vistas of the ages, referring to these signs of His coming, declared: “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matt. 24:33.

We see all these things, and while we know neither the day nor the hour, we know that His coming is near. Get ready to receive Him.