SIGNS OF THE COMING KING.
By Augusta W. Heald
More than eighteen hundred years have elapsed since our Saviour's admonition to all men to watch for the signs of His coming. Sixty generations of men have appeared, acted their brief part on life's stage, and vanished from the scene of action. Do we who are living at the opening of the twentieth century see any indications of the Saviour's soon appearing?—Yes,— “In the sun, and moon, and stars
Signs and wonders have appeared;
Earth has groaned with bloody wars,
And the hearts of men have feared. “Soon shall ocean's hoary deep,
Tossed with stronger tempests rise,
Darker storms the mountains sweep,
Fiercer lightnings rend the skies. “Dread alarms shall shake the proud,
Pale amazement, restless fear;
And amid the thunder-cloud
Shall the Judge of men appear. “But tho from His awful face
Heaven shall fade, and earth shall fly,
Fear not ye, His chosen race;
Your redemption draweth nigh.” It is not strange that in the natural world should be exhibited disturbances in premonition of the grand catastrophe by which the whole face of the earth will undergo a complete transformation. Indeed, it seems most appropriate that God should display in the firmament on high portents of His glorious coming in the clouds of heaven, to be seen and known of all men. The prophecy of our Lord designated these phenomena and the time of their appearance. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” Matt. 24:29. The “tribulation of those days” is evidently the same mentioned in verse 21, referring to the persecution of the saints under Papal Rome. Mark's Gospel presents the time still more exactly,—“In those days, after that tribulation.” Mark 13:24. The 1260 years of Papal supremacy extended to the year 1798; but “for the elect's sake” the days of persecution were shortened. According to history, persecution seems to have ceased about the years 1776 to 1778. About this time Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, abolished the torture in her domains; and “in Italy the arbitrary power of the Inquisition was circumscribed within narrow limits.”—White's History, p. 458. We may then look for the darkening of the sun after 1776 and before 1798. Did any such event occur during these years?—Yes; in the memorable Dark Day of May 19, 1780, and the moon also was darkened on the following night. The following account of this day is from “Annals of Portsmouth:” — The nineteenth day of May, 1780, was remarkable for its uncommon darkness. The morning was cloudy, attended with a little rain. Between 10 and 11 o'clock the darkness increased, and began to assume the appearance of evening. Fowls went to roost, and cattle collected around the barn-yards, as at the approach of night. Before noon it became so dark as to be difficult to read without a candle; and lights were necessary at dinner, and to transact the ordinary work of a family thru the afternoon. The evening was enveloped in total darkness; the sky could not be distinguished from the ground. The clouds began to separate, and the vapors to disperse, a little before midnight, and some glimmerings of light appeared. . . . The darkness extended thruout New England, and was observed several leagues at sea. Milo Bostwick, writing from Camden, N. J., March 3, 1848, says:— The nineteenth day of May, in the year 1780, I well remember. I was then in my sixteenth year. The morning was clear and pleasant; but somewhere about 8 o'clock my father came into the house, and said there was an uncommon appearance in the sun. There were not any clouds; but the air was thick, having a smoky appearance. The sun shone with a pale and yellowish hue, but kept growing darker and darker, until it was hidden from sight. At noon we lit a candle, but it did not give light as in the night, and my father could not see to read with two candles. My father and mother, who were pious, thought the day of judgment was near. They sat up that night, during the latter part of which they said the darkness disappeared, and then the sky seemed as usual; but the moon, which was at its full, had the appearance of blood. The alarm that it caused, and the frequent talk about it, impressed it deeply on my mind. The nineteenth day of May, 1780, was a remarkably dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds were silent, and disappeared. The fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the day of judgment was at hand. The Legislature of Connecticut was in session at Hartford, but being unable to transact business, adjourned.—Connecticut Historical Collections.3 Other writers, in describing the dark day, have said: “The sun was supernaturally darkened.” “The moon, tho in the full, gave no light.” “The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.” AUGUSTA W. HEALD.