ARE YOU LOOKING FOR GREAT MEN?
By Charles F. Wilcox
Noted men have always been regarded as leaders of the people. It matters not in what direction we look, the people are sure to follow in the wake of great men. These men are men of thought. They may be generals who organize armies and subdue opposing nations, or they may be those who introduce new ideas in the field of thought. When it is once established that a person is a great man, his word and example become the criterion for others to pattern after. Many of these men have sprung into prominence in a day, as it were, suddenly arresting the attention of the people, and in mad blindness the people have rushed after their self-appointed leader. Sometimes circumstances have quickly given an obscure man an opportunity to do something that has brought him into notice, and, allowing the tide to carry him, he has risen to the heights of earthly glory. To-day many people are having their attention called to an obscure people, to a people so small that it is thought by some to be a disgrace to think of recognizing them as worthy of any high honor. But the persistent activity of this little handful compels the unwilling notice of many who dislike to give them a candid hearing. These people are called Seventh-day Adventists. Measured by worldly standards they can not number very many great men among their followers, and nearly all feel as if they were going to turn their backs upon everything that is honorable in the eyes of the world, if they join these people. But is it a fact that no great men have ever been Seventh-day Adventists, that is, have held to the essential features of the name? Reader, are you a Seventh-day Adventist? Perhaps not. But if you are, and have felt humbled to think that you could not point to the names of men of fame as being of your own faith and belief, you may be cheered to learn that some of the greatest men that ever lived were true Seventh-day Adventists. If you are becoming convinced that the views presented in the SIGNS OF THE TIMES and kindred164publications are true according to the Word, it may be reassuring to you to learn that men of great fame have belonged to the same faith. Before we consider their name and history, it will be well to have the points of faith that make one a Seventh-day Adventist clearly before our minds. The first part of the name comes from the Sabbath of the Lord, which this people observe according to the commandment. The Lord’s day is the seventh day of the week. This day, made and sanctified by the Lord Himself in Eden, was given to man before sin entered the first dominion. Had the human family remained loyal to the Creator, they would all have been seventh-day keepers. Up to the time of Christ all the professed followers of the Lord observed the seventh-day Sabbath. There was no disagreement about the day, hence no need of any reference to that feature of faith to distinguish them from other people. But in this day, when professed Christians are divided into factions so numerous as to be almost innumerable, it becomes necessary to distinguish themselves from others nearly like them, by some name that sets forth the particular points of their faith and practise that makes them a separate people. This is why Sabbath-keepers are called “seventh-day” observers. To call themselves simply “Sabbath-keepers” would mean nothing, for the term Sabbath is quite frequently misapplied to Sunday. This is an entirely improper use of the term “Sabbath,” for it never belongs to any day but the seventh day of the week. This explains why Seventh-day Adventists take the term “seventh day” for the first part of their denominational name. It is not chosen because there is any real virtue in the name, but to honestly and squarely set themselves before the world in such a manner as to have all understand who and what class of people is intended. The last part of their name comes from another prominent point of faith. The hope of the church in all ages has centered in the coming of Christ. His advent in glory has ever inspired hope and courage in the church militant. All the blessings of the present, all the promises of the future, center in the advent of the Son of man when He comes in the glory of the Father with all the holy angels. Then the dead will be resurrected, and the living changed in the twinkling of an eye, and together they are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Faith in the coming of the Lord distinguishes these professors of religion from all other creeds. This is especially true when the advent doctrine is seen and preached as one of the great facts of truth for the time being. All who believe in the coming of Christ, all who believe that He is coming sometime, are adventists. When their faith is presented with power, when it influences and moulds public opinion, when it commands the attention of the world, the term is more deservedly applied, and conveys more meaning when used as a name. Hence, it is evident that Seventh-day Adventists, in taking this name, must both practise and preach that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, and that Christ is soon coming. Now, who that have been great men before the world, have been in deed and truth Seventh-day Adventists? Can this denomination claim to have had any of the great men of past ages along with them in faith and doctrine? A little study of this point may surprise many an honest soul, and give added joy to many others. Adam, the first man to accept the Gospel, was a Seventh-day Adventist. God had given him the Sabbath before he sinned, and certainly he did not transgress the Sabbath commandment when he accepted salvation through faith. But when he accepted the gift of God, he ever afterward looked forward to the coming of the Saviour. His offering of sacrifices testified to this faith. And he saw beyond, the sacrifice of Christ, the glory of the coming kingdom, the advent of the King of kings in power and great glory. Believing in this made an “adventist” of him. And keeping the holy seventh-day Sabbath, united with this, made a good Seventh-day Adventist of him. Abraham, the friend of God, was a Seventh-day Adventist. “He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He looked for the second coming of Christ, and hence was a devoted adventist. Being a Sabbath-keeper, gave him a clear title to the whole name. Moses was another Seventh-day Adventist. God called him to lead his millions out of Egypt. Never did mortal man behold so fully the glory of God as did Moses, and never has earth seen so successful a general of earthly armies. The Hebrews had been in bondage and bound in ignorance. God called Moses to educate and lead them into the promised land. He was a Sabbath-keeper and believed in the coming of Christ, thus making him a Seventh-day Adventist. Isaac and Jacob belong to the same list. They were both observers of the seventh day, and believers in the second advent. David was another. Isaiah and Ezekiel belong to the same household of faith. Jeremiah and all the other prophets were Sabbath-keepers and believers in the coming of the Lord in final glory. Every child of God up to the first advent of Christ was a Seventh-day Adventist. They may not have gone by that name, but that is what they were. Had the reasons existed for their taking the name, they would have doubtless had it. Coming down now to the first advent of Christ, what do we find? First of all, Christ Himself, who had first made the seventh-day Sabbath, strictly observed its blessed hours when here in the flesh. Not only did He do this, but He taught all mankind how it should be kept holy. Instead of being a burdensome day of restraint, He showed it to be the chiefest day of gladness and joy in the service of Him who made all things and redeemed fallen men by His own precious blood. He taught His second coming as the time of reward, and exhorted all to watch. Close to the Master of earth and heaven, stand the twelve apostles. These were all seventh-day observers and zealous advocates of the second coming of their ascended Lord. Paul, also, the greatest apostle, followed in the footsteps of his Master. And not only were all of these men, men whom the world now delight to honor, Seventh-day Adventists, but so also were all members of the early church. All of the 120 in that upper chamber upon whom the blessing of the Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost, were likewise Seventh-day Adventists. Never until the great apostasy came in did seventh-day observers, looking for Christ’s coming, cease to be the true church. Seventh-day-keepers have continued without interruption from that day to this, and hence from Eden to the present time. The true church of God throughout all ages has been distinctively marked by these characteristics. One day the lost world will be wonderfully surprised to find out how many great men have been Seventh-day Adventists. Reader, if you are one already, be firm and true. If you are not, examine the claims of salvation, yield all to God, and join the ranks of the truly great men of earth, by following the life and example of Jesus Christ. CHAS. F. WILCOX.