Our Faith and Hope; Or, Reasons Why We Believe as We Do.
By James White
Number Two.—Signs of the Times.
“What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”—Disciples. “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”—Jesus. Matt. 24:3, 33. Verses 6–8. “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For 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.” Wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, have occurred at different periods since these words were spoken. These, as they have ever existed, cannot be regarded as the especial signs of the end. It may be urged, however, with a good degree of consistency, that the Scriptures teach that these calamities would exist in the last days to that extent as to constitute a sign of the approaching Judgment. We wish to keep the important fact distinctly before the mind, that the sacred Scriptures do teach when men may not, and when they may, look for the second appearing of Jesus Christ. The sacred writers had so uniformly associated such judgments as war, famine, pestilence, and earthquake, with the last Judgment, that the disciples would be in danger of concluding that the end would immediately follow the first appearance of these calamities; hence the caution given: “These things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Here the disciples were clearly taught that they should not expect the end in their day. This fact is worthy of the candid attention of those who object to the proclamation of the second advent of Christ in the form of an especial message. These sometimes assert that it was right for the disciples to look for Christ in their day. They also state that it has been scriptural and right for all Christians to look for the second appearing of Christ in their time, from the days of the chosen twelve to the present time. And they decide that no more can be learned and believed upon this subject in our time, than by the Christians of past generations. They conclude, therefore, that the public mind should not now be moved upon this great question, any more than in all past time since the first advent of Christ. We have seen that this position is incorrect so far as the early disciples were concerned. They are cited to the distant future as the time when their Lord should come. They are assured that they need not be troubled at hearing of wars and rumors of wars; “for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Our Lord then guides the minds of his disciples, as we shall see in the examination of this chapter, down over the period of the great apostasy, and the long period of the rule of papal Rome, before mentioning a sign of his second advent. He does not intimate that his people during these long periods may expect the end. No, not once. But when he comes near our time, the Lord gives signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars, and adds: “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Mark this: Our Lord does not mention wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, as signs of his second advent; but, rather, as events of common occurrence all the way through the Christian age, which must exist before the end. And history attests the fact that these calamities have covered at least seventeen centuries. The following is from a work of Noah Webster, LL. D., published in 1799:—
“By famine and sword, 580,000 Jews were destroyed between A. D. 96 and A. D. 180.
“In Antioch, from A. D. 96 to A. D. 180, earthquakes destroyed 13 cities, and over 100,000 lives.
“In Rome, A. D. 169, pestilence destroyed 10,000 daily.
“In Rome, A. D. 187, pestilence appeared, and continued three years.
“In London, A. D. 310, by famine, 40,000 lives.
“In A. D. 446, Sept. 17th, an earthquake shook down the walls of Constantinople, and 57 towers fell.
“In Rome, A. D. 539, in one district 50,000 died.
“In Antioch, A. D. 588, an earthquake killed 60,000.
“In A. D. 590, the plague killed 10,000 daily in Turkey.
“In A. D. 679, a severe famine in England three years.
“In A. D. 717, in Constantinople, 300,000 died of plague.
“In A. D. 1005, earthquakes three months, followed by pestilence, by which it is said one-third of the human race died.
“In A. D. 1077, in Constantinople, so many died by plague and famine, the living could not bury them.
“In A. D. 1124, in Italy, there was such famine that the dead lay in the streets, not buried; and in England, one-third of the people died of plague.
“In A. D. 1294, in England, thousands died of famine.
“In A. D. 1345, in London, 50,000 died of plague and famine, and were buried in one graveyard; in Norwich, 50,000; in Venice, 100,000; in Florence, 100,000; in Eastern nations, 20,000,000. It was called the black death.
“In A. D. 1352, in China, 900,000 died of famine.
“In A. D. 1450, in Milan, 60,000 died of plague.
“In A. D. 1611, in Constantinople, 200,000 died of plague.
“In A. D. 1625, in London, 35,000 died of plague.
“In A. D. 1626, in Lyons, 600,000 died of plague.
“In A. D. 1665, in London, 68,000 died of plague.
“In A. D. 1755, in the East, an earthquake destroyed the city of Lisbon, killing 50,000. In Mytilene and the Archipelago it shook down 2,000 houses. It shook all the Spanish coast. The plague followed, which destroyed 150,000 lives in Constantinople.” Verses 9, 10. “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Here is a brief description of the afflictions and martyrdom of the church. Thousands of the faithful followers of Jesus were most cruelly put to death by pagan Rome; yet the prophecy doubtless applies more particularly to the long period of papal persecutions, in which not less than fifty millions of Christians were put to death in the most cruel manner wicked men and demons could invent. In these verses we are brought down over the long period of the martyrdom of the church of Jesus Christ, to near the present generation. Verse 11. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” In the common use of the word, a prophet is one that foretells; but the word sometimes means simply a teacher. Prophets of God declare the future, being instructed by good angels and the Spirit of God. False prophets also foretell events, by the agency of wicked spirits and the power of Satan. And while this is true of those who are under the direct inspiration of superior beings, good or evil, consecrated teachers of divine truth may be regarded as God’s prophets; and teachers of error may be properly called false prophets. True and false prophets may be known. The prophets of God are teachers of purity, reprovers of sin, and faithful in warning the people of coming dangers. The duties of those whom God calls to speak in his great name, are clearly expressed by the sacred writers. We here quote from three of them. Isa. 58:1. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Joel 2:1. “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.” 2 Tim. 4:1–2. “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine.” False prophets do not reprove the people for their sins; they do not warn them of coming danger; but they proclaim peace to the sinner. Their teachings lead from God and his word, and are such as to please the unconverted mind. The inspired writers have also spoken definitely of the testimony and work of false prophets. We here give several for example. Eze. 13:9, 10. “And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies. They shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar.” Jer. 6:13, 14. “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. They have healed, also, the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Jer. 14:13, 14. “Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them.” After stating the duty of the faithful servant of God to preach the word, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine, the apostle says: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Tim. 4:3, 4. That time has now fully come. The people choose pleasing fables, which do not disturb them in their sins, rather than the reproving, searching declarations of the word of God. They love to be deceived by the teachings of false prophets, and “say to the seers, See not, and to the prophets, Prophecy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophecy deceits.” Isa. 30:10. “Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord. Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; and what will ye do in the end thereof?” Jer. 5:29–31. The ears of the people are filled with the pleasing fables of the world’s conversion, a good time coming, and that we are just entering the golden age. The threatenings of God’s word on the proud, the haughty, the vain, the rich, the sinners in Zion, and those out of Zion, are kept back by the false teachers of these times. Many of them even dare to teach that the moral code of the ten commandments is abrogated. And as the result of such a course, and of such teaching, we see, in the professed church of Jesus Christ, that Verse 12. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” It is evident that both the abounding of iniquity, and the waxing cold of the love of many, are fulfilled in the professed church of Jesus Christ. Men must first experience the love of God, and of heavenly things, before that love can grow cold. Hence, common, unconverted sinners are not here referred to as apostatizing. And, again, the prevalence of iniquity in the unconverted world alone, would stimulate the church to greater diligence, and more godliness, instead of being a cause of apostasy. Hence the iniquity here mentioned is in the very heart of the professed church, diffusing its chilly influence through the whole body. As the result, the love of many has grown cold. With this, agree the words of the apostle: “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, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, 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. Here is a catalogue of sixteen sins, all resting upon those who have a form of godliness. These are not infidels and common worldly sinners, for they have not a form of godliness; but they are men and women professing to be followers of Jesus Christ. And although they make a profession of piety as high as Heaven, they are covered all over with popular sins. And by reason of their example, and their chilly influence, many are led from the humble, Bible path to Heaven, and their love becomes cold. Verse 13. “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” The word end, wherever used in this chapter, refers to the end of the age, and to nothing else. It is the end associated in the New Testament with the second appearing of Jesus Christ. The disciples did not ask their Lord (see verse 3) when they should die; but “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Neither does the Lord speak of death, when he says (see verse 6), “But the end is not yet.” And it would be strange indeed to suppose that the word end, in verse 14, meant death. If any think such a position admissible, let them read it into the text, as follows: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations, and then shall death come. Absurdity! Verse 14. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a10witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” This is the first sign of the end given by our Lord in answer to the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” This verse, by many, is supposed to prove that all men will be converted, and that then there will be one thousand years in which all will “know the Lord, from the least to the greatest.” Some hold that the one thousand years of Rev. 20, are prophetic, each day in the year representing a year, making three hundred and sixty-five thousand years. And these very men teach that nothing can be known of the period of the second advent. But would they not know when their supposed millennium, whether it be literal time, or prophetic, had commenced? Certainly they would. Then they would know when it would terminate, and bring the coming of the Son of Man, and the Judgment. If those enjoying the millennium could not tell when it commenced, then we conclude that it would hardly be worth having. If they could tell when it commenced, most certainly they could tell when it would close. These men should be the very last to oppose the view that the prophetic word points to the very generation that shall witness the second advent. But the text does not say that every individual will even hear this gospel of the kingdom. It does not state that any one will be converted and made holy by it. And we find it far from intimating that a world would be converted, and remain so one thousand years, and that those who should enjoy that happy period would know nothing of when it would terminate by the coming of the Son of Man, and the unveiled glories of Jehovah, Jesus, and the mighty angels. The text simply states: - “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world,
- “For a witness unto all nations,
- “And then [not one thousand years later, nor three hundred and sixty-five thousand; but THEN] shall the end come.”
But if we understand the phrase, “this gospel of the kingdom,” to be the gospel in the common acceptation of the word, is not the work very nearly accomplished? J. Litch, in his Prophetic Expositions, p. 147, under the heading, “Signs of the Times,” says: “Rev. J. G. Choules, author of a voluminous work, a History of Missions, from the apostolic age down to the present day, being asked, last May (1842), if he knew of any nation which never had received the gospel, replied that he did not; but he thought the promise implied something more than its being barely preached in each nation. The same question was proposed to Rev. Mr. Janes, general financial agent of the American Bible Society, and nearly the same answer was elicited. Dr. Nathan Bangs, for many years at the head of the Methodist missionary operations, was asked the question last July, and after reflecting some time, replied that he believed there was a tribe, somewhere upon the north-west coast of North America, to whom it had never been preached.” Wm. Miller, in his Lectures, p. 288, says: “Is not this sign already accomplished? Bible translated into more than two hundred different languages; missionaries sent among all nations known to us on the globe. * The gospel has now spread over the four quarters of the globe. It began in Asia. In the apostles’ days, that quarter was full of light. From thence it went into Africa; and, for a number of centuries, Africa stretched out her hands unto God. Europe, too, has had a long visitation of gospel blessings; and now America, the last quarter of the globe, is reaping a harvest of souls for the last day. The gospel, like the sun, arose in the east, and will set in the west.” But if the term, “this gospel of the kingdom,” be understood as applying to the proclamation of, or to that portion of the gospel which relates to, the coming and kingdom of Christ, the fulfillment is equally evident. And it seems necessary to so understand the passage, as it was spoken in answer to the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Campbell’s translation of this verse decidedly favors this view of the subject: “And this good tidings of the reign shall be published through all the world, for the information of all nations, and then shall come the end.” Whiting’s version also gives the same idea: “And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations, and then will the end come.” J. Litch, in his lecture on Matt. 24, Advent Herald, Nov. 23, 1850, says: “Many supposed the wars of Napoleon were the wars of the last days, to precede the millennium; and that the battle of Waterloo was the battle of Armageddon, as it is called. But the discussion of the subject of prophecy drew forth inquiry, and a few discovered the true light, the doctrine of Christ’s personal reign on earth, and began to teach it. Among these was a Spanish Roman Catholic, who wrote an able and voluminous work under the anonymous signature of Ben Ezra. His work fell into the hands of Edward Irving, the celebrated and eloquent advocate of the doctrine of the pre-millennial advent of Christ. It opened his eyes to the glorious truth, and led him to devote himself most zealously to its advocacy. He first translated Ben Ezra, and subsequently wrote and published several valuable works on the subject. For a time, the excitement on the subject in England, under his labors, was as intense as it subsequently was in this country, under the labors of Mr. Miller. Thousands flocked to hear him wherever he went, and listened with wonder at the strange and glorious truths he brought forth from the word of God. The cause received an impulse under his efforts which it will never lose till time shall end. Many of the clergy of the Established Church, as well as dissenting ministers of all denominations, caught the theme, and joined to spread it abroad.” “Nor has the influence of Rev. Joseph Wolfe been unfelt. He has visited and proclaimed ‘the gospel of the kingdom,’ in the four quarters of the globe, to Protestants, Catholics, Mohammedans, Jews, and pagans. The seed thus sown will not be lost. A work similar to that of Ben Ezra, in Spain, appeared in Germany, the productions of Bengel. This, by the evangelical portion of the German people, is esteemed as a standard work on prophecy. It has been widely circulated and read as far as the German language extends throughout continental Europe. It was from this source the Russian Milkeaters, of whom an account was given in the Advent Herald a few years since, obtained their information on the speedy second advent of Christ.” “The great American movement on this subject, and the diffusion of information with regard to it, within the last ten years, is too well known to need extended remarks in this place. Neither labor nor sacrifice was regarded in the wide and rapid extension of the good news of the kingdom, as far as the English language could make it known. It was sent to the four quarters of the globe, and to the islands of the sea, upon the wings of all the winds.” E. R. Pinney, in his exposition of Matthew 24, says: “As early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains. Joseph Wolfe, the Jewish missionary, we find from the journal of his labors, visited most of the missionary stations in the East, from 1831 to 1834, and preached this doctrine. He had free conversation with the missionaries, and also with the Jewish and Mohammedan priests. We find this doctrine in Tartary, about twenty-five years ago, and the time for the coming of Christ to be in 1844. This fact is obtained from an Irish missionary in Tartary, to whom the question was put by a Tartar priest, when Christ would come the second time. And he made answer that he knew nothing at all about it. The Tartar priest expressed great surprise at such an answer from a missionary who had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible, and remarked ‘that he thought everybody might know that, who had a Bible.’ The Tartar priest then gave his views, stating that Christ, he thought, would come about A. D. 1844. The missionary wrote home a statement of the facts, which were published in the Irish Magazine, in 1821. The commanders of our vessels, and the sailors, tell us they touch at no point where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent inquiries respecting it are made of them.” “I noticed, in a late number of the Voice of Truth, that a brother traveling on the lakes, met with a Russian gentleman, direct from his country, who informed him that the doctrine of ‘Christ’s coming, and the end of the world,’ had been preached there, but was received only by the lower classes. Rev. Mr. Mansfield had an interview with a Moravian missionary, stationed in Antigua, who said that several years since, the doctrine of the immediate coming was extensively preached in Germany, and that the whole of the south of Germany was aroused upon the subject.”},{