p. 130 | Sound the Tocsin by M. Wood

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 22, 1875

Sound the Tocsin.

By M. Wood

“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. The day of the Lord here spoken of is evidently the same as that referred to by Peter when he said, “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.

But when is this alarm to be given? and how are we to know when the day of the Lord cometh? The disciples were as anxious to know the signs that should precede the coming of the Son of man and the end of the world as any living at the present time; and Jesus gave them a whole chapter of signs. Luke sums them up in the following language: “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.” Luke 21:25–27.

These signs given by our divine Lord, with but one exception, are in the past, as every candid Bible student must admit. One sign more, and then Jesus will be seen coming on the great white cloud, with power and great glory, “to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 15.

Is this true? Are we upon the very threshold of that great and terrible day of God's fierce anger? Then what manner of persons ought we to be? Let us discern the signs of the times, and take the advance steps which God calls upon us to take. Let us raise our voices in defense of God's downtrodden law. Let us heed the words of the prophet: “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isa. 58:1.

Our Saviour cautions us (Luke 21:34) not to allow ourselves to be overcharged with eating and drinking, and the cares of this life, so that that day shall come upon us unawares; and shall we disregard the words of our divine Lord? “Let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” “The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” Rom. 13:12.

The nearer God's awful judgments, the less are the world moved by them. The nearer they draw to the closing scenes of probation, and the coming of the Son of man, the less inclined are they to credit plain, Bible statements. They are blinded by Satan, the god of this world, and the light that is in them becomes darkness, and how great is that darkness! They will neither see, hear, nor heed, the faithful watchman, who sounds the alarm as he sees destruction coming.

The servant of God, who faithfully warns of danger, is branded as a fanatic, a proselyte, a heretic, and a fit subject for an insane asylum. He is frequently the recipient of foul abuse and slander. The world mock and scoff at such, in fulfillment of 2 Pet. 3:3. But their day is coming. Says the prophet, “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt, and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. . . . Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isa. 13:6–9.

Troublous times are just before us. This dreadful day is near; yet we hear the peace-and-safety cry from nearly every pulpit in the land. When we speak or write about the approaching judgments of God, and the speedy advent of our Lord, we hear from every quarter, “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 Pet. 3:4.

But what says the inspired writer? Read the description he gives of that day, and as you read it, realize the necessity of seeking God, while he may be found. Zeph. 1:14–18: “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.”

Jesus will not always plead with his Father for sinful, erring man. He will soon lay off his priestly robes, leave the mercy-seat in the heavenly sanctuary, and put on the garments of vengeance, never again to offer his blood in behalf of sinners. The last plagues, in which are filled up the wrath of God, which are now bottled up in Heaven waiting for mercy to finish her last pleading, will be poured out upon all who worship the beast and his image, or who receive the mark of his name. Rev. 14:11.

God loves the human family. He is “long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet. 3:9. He does not send his judgments upon the earth without first giving sufficient time for repentance, that those who will may escape the terrible doom of the wicked. God warned the world in the days of Noah. See Gen. 6. And is it unreasonable to suppose that he will give us a warning message in these last days? Christ says, “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 he who was “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” give a warning message before the first advent? Did our Saviour warn his disciples of the fall of Jerusalem? How much greater the need of a warning message just before the close of probation.

Righteous Noah knew when the flood was to come; the righteous knew when Sodom was to fall; when Nineveh was to be overthrown; when Christ was to make his first advent; and they will know in regard to his second advent. We can come to no other conclusion. Then what is our duty? Let the prophet answer: “Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.” Isa. 62:10. M. Wood.