Ye Are not in Darkness.
By C. C. WARD.
"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief." It is very evident from the above scripture that God's people may know when the day of the Lord is near, and that they are not left in darkness concerning the great event. Now if we are not in darkness on the subject of the coming of the Lord, it must be that we have light somewhere, and we have only to go to Peter to find what it is that constitutes the light. He says: "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." 2 Peter 1: 19. Here we find that the prophecy is designed to be a light and we are told that we do well to take heed to it, and this is what we are trying to do. But let us examine for the dark place. Is it in the past? No; that is lit up by the page of history. Is it in the present? It is not. Is it in the future? It surely is. And now as we take the light of prophecy and hold it up we see that we are just about to pass the last waymark on the road of time, and the great day of the Lord is soon to burst upon a slumbering world. Are these things so? Surely they are. Prophecy is the foretelling of future events. Then let us look at some of the events which are the subject of prophecy, and see which side of them we are living. The prophecy of Daniel states that there would be four universal kingdoms on the earth in its present condition. History plainly shows these to be in the past. Babylon, the first, was succeeded by Medo-Persia; Medo-Persia, by Grecia; Grecia, by the Roman kingdom. The fourth kingdom was to be divided into ten kingdoms corresponding to the ten toes of the image of Daniel 2, and also to the ten horns of the fourth beast of Dan 7. Between the years 356 and 483 A. D., Rome was divided into exactly this number, so this we see is also in the past. What more does the prophecy say: "And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom." Dan. 2: 44. Let us come down still closer to our time. Paul says, "This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come." Are we living in perilous times? Cast your eyes over the papers of our day and see the catalogues of crime, murder, and bloodshed, and it will answer the question. You may say that there is only a few, comparatively, who believe in the soon coming of the Lord, and therefore you do not think it truth. Listen to the words of Jesus, "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24: 37. And right here let us notice a few scriptural facts. We see in all ages of the world whenever God was about to send a judgment upon the world, he has always sent a message in advance to warn the inhabitants of the event. It was the case with the antediluvian world which was destroyed by a flood of water. So in the case of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. So in the case of Nineveh. And, as we come to the first advent of our Lord to this earth, we hear John the Baptist announcing that event. So we see there is ever a present truth applicable to the present time. What was the truth for the Noachian world is not the truth for us. What was the special truth for the Jews in their time and generation is not the truth for us. And371we notice also that those who heeded the warning given were saved, while those who heeded it not were left to their own destruction. Although the Jews had evidence upon evidence that this same Jesus was the Saviour that should come into the world, they nevertheless disbelieved, and why? Because they did not look into the sure word of prophecy and discern the signs of the times. They could discern the face of the sky, but they could not discern the signs of the times. Read Matt. 16: 2, 3. And while we wonder at the blindness of the Jews and their hardness of heart and unbelief in not seeing and appreciating the truth of his first advent, let us be careful that we are not equally blind in regard to his second advent. Dear reader, look into this matter as for eternity. Do you excuse yourself by saying that when the signs that mark his coming shall take place they will be so plain that all the world will believe? This cannot be the case; else how can it be as it was in the days of Noah. The signs are plain, but the great masses of the world will never believe them. "Nevertheless," says Jesus, "when the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?" Yes, there will be a few who will be waiting and watching for their Lord to return. Paul speaks of his coming as "after the working of Satan with all power, and signs, and lying wonders." 2 Thess. 2: 9. Satan is truly working with signs and wonders and deceiving thousands through modern Spiritualism. The prophecy will be fulfilled to a mathematical calculation. Does your minister tell you that it does not make so much difference about the coming of the Lord as this people would make it appear, and that it does not make any difference which day you keep for the Sabbath if you only believe it is right? Stop, dear reader. What does your belief have to do in the matter? "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord." Jer. 23: 16. Reader, have you "Thus saith the Lord" for all you believe and practice? Remember God means what he says. Let us dig down and see the foundation upon which we are building, and may God give us willing hearts to obey the truth. C. C. WARD.
Maiden Rock, Wis.