Increasing Evidences of the Truth.
By R. F. Cottrell
TWENTY-FIVE years ago the message of the third angel of Rev. 14:9–12 was in its infancy. It then required some faith to believe it. But time in its onward march has made much apparent—a matter of sight—which then could be hardly believed. People could hardly be persuaded then that movements in the fulfillment of prophecy which we see now, would ever take place. The application of the prophecy of the two-horned beast, Rev. 13:11–18, to the United States—the faith that in this country legislation on disputed points of religious observances, as for example, which day of the week shall be observed as the Christian Sabbath, would be foisted upon the people, and open the way to that religious persecution indicated in the prophecy—was deemed exceedingly chimerical. But now it can scarcely be deemed a matter of doubt. Every man well informed in respect of the present movement of the National Reform Association, their demand for a “religious amendment” of our National Constitution, must know that the issue is inevitable; and it is not difficult to believe that the predicted oppressive acts will follow, as foretold in the prophecy. In fact it does not at present require so great a stretch of faith to reach the consummation of the prophecy, as it would have required a quarter of a century ago to reach the present position of progress in that direction. Then the movement in the fulfillment of this prophetic message was very small, merely a beginning. The number of believers was a very few. A mere handful in New England, New York, and Michigan, with a few names in the Canadian provinces, constituted the body of those who confidently believed that the time had come, and that God had called them to proclaim this final, fearful warning, foretold in prophecy so many hundreds of years ago. People laughed at the work as the wildest fanaticism. But what is now the state of the work. It has spread through all the States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Conferences, or associations of churches of believers, have been organized on the Pacific coast, one in California, and another in Oregon and Washington Territory. Some fifteen State Conferences have been formed in the United States, and believers are to be found in nearly or quite every State in the Union. But this is not all. There is scarcely a country in Europe where there are not more or less of the faith to be found. They are embracing it singly and in groups. Recently the news came from Holland that a Baptist minister and about twenty of his congregation had embraced the ancient Sabbath, the Sabbath of the Bible. And it is remarkable that wherever these new believers in the ancient Sabbath come to light, that they also believe that the last days are here and the second coming of Christ is at hand; so that, whether they are informed of the movement in this country or not, these two leading characteristics clearly entitle them to the appellation of Seventh-day Adventists; whether found in England, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Prussia, Switzerland, France, or Italy, and some there are in all these places. To believe that this work is of God in fulfillment of his promise of 1800 years standing, is simply to believe his promise and providence. To disbelieve it therefore is to disbelieve his providence in fulfillment of his promise. True, living faith believes both his promise and providence. It is unbelief which rejects either; and unbelief is another name for infidelity. Alas! how many will be found infidels at last, who make loud profession of their faith in Christ, and in the Bible as the word of God. Reader, believe and do. “Blessed are they that do.”