p. 2 | SIGNS OF THE TIMES by James White

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jan 8, 1880

SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

By James White

BY ELD. JAMES WHITE. TEXT.—Can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matt. 16:3.

OUR Lord asked the Pharisees and Sadducees this question at a time when they came to him tempting him for a sign from Heaven. It was a reproof to them for their unbelief in the signs mentioned in the Old-Testament writings, which they professed to believe, and which were actually being fulfilled before their eyes, yet disregarded by them. They could tell the weather for the morrow, but had no skill in those prophecies that pointed to that time. "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"

That which constitutes a sign of the times, in a scriptural sense, must be a matter of prophecy. The prophetic pencil sketches that which shall take place in the political and religious worlds. Time shows the fulfillment. The student of prophecy compares the prophetic sketch with the facts of history, and, finding a perfect agreement, he sees his position on the great highway of time. The prophets of God had spoken of the first advent of Christ; and the fulfillment of their words relative to his birth, his gospel, his miracles, his humiliation and death, were signs to the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah.

SIGNS OF THE FIRST ADVENT.

1. Christ was born of a virgin, Matt. 1:18–25, spoken of in Isa. 7:14.

2. Bethlehem was his birthplace, Matt. 2:1, mentioned in Micah 5:2.

3. The act of Herod in slaying all the children in Bethlehem, from two years old and under, Matt. 2:16, 18, prophesied of in Jer. 31:15.

4. His forerunner, John. "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Isa. 40:3. All Judea and Jerusalem saw this sign when they went out to be baptized of John. Matt. 3:1–6.

5. The gospel preached. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue to read, he opened the book and read where it is written, Isa. 61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings." The eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened upon him. And he said unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Luke 4:16-21.

6. His humility when on trial. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted; yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." Isa. 53:7.

7. The manner and circumstances of his death. "They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones; they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." Ps. 22:13-18. "Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness; and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Ps. 69:20, 21. These prophecies had an exact and literal accomplishment at the crucifixion of Christ, and the Jews saw it. Read Matt. 27:35; John 19:28-30.

8. The fulfillment of the seventy weeks of Dan. 9:24-27. The Jews understood this, or might have understood it. Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself; but being high priest that year, he prophesied [or taught the prophecies] that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." John 11:49-52. We might add to these signs the miracles of Christ, his resurrection, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of pentecost, and still others which were distinctly spoken of by the prophets.

But notwithstanding the fulfillment of these prophecies before the faces of the rulers of the Jews, and all these signs were actually accomplished in a little more than thirty years, and they themselves had to acknowledge that notable miracles had been done by our Lord, yet they believed not. Well may it be said by this generation, that the Jews deserved wrath, and God was just in destroying their nation and place. But are they less guilty of the sin of unbelief than the Jews were? Do they believe in that Word which they blame the Jews for rejecting?

The Jews were looking for a temporal kingdom. They applied many of the prophecies of Christ’s second appearing in power and great glory to his coming as a prince to deliver them from the Roman yoke, and exalt them to worldly glory. They were disappointed and grieved with the humility of Jesus of Nazareth, and in their pride rejected the signs of his first advent. The popular professors of our day as a body are looking for a temporal millennium, and overlook the signs of his second advent, which are much more numerous and forcible than those of his first advent. Then if the signs of Christ’s second coming are held in doubt, and are rejected by the professed people of God of this generation, the sin of unbelief will rest upon them heavier than it did upon the Jews, in proportion as they reject greater light.

Can anything be known relative to the period of Christ’s second coming is a question unsettled in many minds. We accept the Bible as a revelation from Heaven. What God has revealed in that book let no man call a mystery, or a secret of the Almighty. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever." Deut. 29:29. If the sacred Scriptures do not designate any period in particular for the second appearing of Christ, then men should no longer search for proof of his soon coming. But if prophecy, in a most clear and harmonious manner, does point to the period of that great event, and if there is evidence that "it is near, even at the doors," the subject at once assumes very grave importance.

When the disciples inquired, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Jesus did not reprove them for inquiring into that which was purposely hidden from all men; but he answered that question in the most definite manner. He even stated that there should be signs of that event 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." The simple fact that the Lord mentions signs of his second advent, is the best proof possible that his people were not to remain ignorant of the relative nearness of the event. Add to this evidence his declaration that when these signs should be seen, his people should know that it was near, even at the doors, and the case becomes an exceedingly strong one.

Prophecy is history in advance. From the very nature of the case Daniel could not understand his own prophecy, which related to those kingdoms which were to exist. When the prophet inquires: "O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things," Gabriel answers: "Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Dan. 12:8, 9. To this agrees the apostle who speaks of the prophets, "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister." 1 Pet. 1:12. We will now consider the subject of the signs of our times in the light of the fulfillment of prophecy.

SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT.

1. Daniel, second chapter. The second chapter of Daniel’s prophecy has to do with five universal kingdoms which were to succeed each other. The first four are earthly and perishable; the fifth is immortal and will stand forever.

The first four kingdoms are represented by the several parts of the great metallic image, of gold, silver, brass and iron mixed with clay. The golden head represents the kingdom of Babylon; the silver breast and arms of the image represent Media and Persia; the brazen sides, Grecia; the iron legs, Rome; the feet and toes, part of iron and part of clay, symbolize the divided, weakened condition of Rome.

The several specifications of this line of prophecy are fulfilled, excepting the last, which is expressed in these words: "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." Dan. 2:34.

2. Daniel, seventh chapter. The seventh chapter of this prophecy covers the same ground as the second. The symbols employed are a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a nameless beast with ten horns. The lion, like the golden head of the image, represents Babylon; the bear, like the silver breast and arms, Media and Persia; the leopard, like the brazen sides, Grecia; the nondescript beast, the same as the iron legs, Rome. His ten horns, the same as the ten toes of the image, the present condition of the Roman empire, divided into ten kingdoms.

This line of prophecy, however, is more definite than that of the second chapter, especially that which relates to the fourth kingdom. The Roman beast is given in a second form with three horns plucked up by a little horn. This little horn is a symbol of the papacy, through whose influence three of the ten kingdoms were subdued in its onward march up to complete supremacy, A. D. 538. The blasphemous character, cruel persecutions, and the period of the civil power of the little horn are given by the prophet in these words:—

"And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25. This period is the same as the forty-two months of Rev. 13:5, and the twelve hundred and sixty prophetic days of Rev. 12:6. From 538, 1260 years would extend to 1798, when, on Feb. 10, Berthier a French general, entered the city of Rome and took it. On the 15th of the same month, the pope was taken prisoner and shut up in the Vatican. The Papal government, which had continued from the time of Justinian, was abolished, and a republican form of government given to Rome. The pope was carried captive to France, where he died in 1799. Thus, he that led into captivity went into captivity; he that killed with the sword was killed (subdued) with the sword. Rev. 13:10.

Where are we in this prophetic line which reaches to the end of all earthly governments? We have passed the lion, Babylon; the bear, Media and Persia; the leopard, with his four wings and four heads, Grecia, has been passed. The history of the terrible beast, Rome, has been written; and the papacy, symbolized by the little horn, has fulfilled its twelve hundred and sixty years of blasphemy and terrible persecutions; and its civil power was taken away eighty-two years since.

For what do we wait? The prophet answers in these words: "I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." Dan. 7:11. "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Verse 27.

3. Daniel, chapter eight. The eighth chapter of Daniel presents a third prophetic line, embracing a ram with two horns, a symbol of the kingdom of Media and Persia; a goat with a notable horn, Grecia, with Alexander for its first king. The four horns taking the place of the one, represents the division of Alexander’s kingdom after his death. And the little horn which waxed exceeding great, which stood up against the Prince of princes, representing Jesus Christ at his crucifixion, is Rome. This "power" being "broken without hands," represents its destruction at the second coming of Christ, when the man of sin, a symbol of the same power, 2 Thess. 2:3–8, will be consumed by the spirit of Christ’s mouth, and be destroyed by the brightness of his coming.

4. Daniel, chapter eleven. In the eleventh chapter of this prophecy, the same ground is again covered by historic prophecy, reaching down to the standing up of Michael, or the reign of Christ, the great time of trouble, the deliverance of the saints, and the resurrection of the dead. This chain of prophecy terminates with these words: "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever," Dan. 12:1–3, carrying us out into the boundless ocean of eternity. With this view of the subject, how forcible the words of Gabriel to Daniel, "I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days." Dan. 10:14.

5. The dark day of May 19, 1780. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall

from heaven." Matt. 24:29.

The tribulation here mentioned is that which was upon the church of Christ for 1260 years, during the persecuting career of the little horn of Dan. 7:25. Compare with Rev. 12:6; 13:5. Then immediately, after the tribulation of those days of papal persecution, the sun was to be darkened. Mark this: It does not say after those days; but after the tribulation of those days. The days reached to 1798, eighteen years this side of the dark day; but the tribulation of the days ceased before the sun was darkened in 1780. The days of tribulation were shortened for the elect’s sake. Matt. 24:22. The reformation under Martin Luther modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain the rage and consume the power of the papacy until 1700, since which time, according to all church history, there has been no general persecution against the church. Mark 13:24, makes this point very plain: "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened." That is, before the 1260 years should close, but after the tribulation, or martyrdom, of the church ceased, the sun was darkened. Those who would point to the future, or to the past, prior to the eighteenth century, for the darkening of the sun here mentioned, will do well to read again Mark 13:24: "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened."

"A something strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world will come to an end, and that the last day is even at the door."—Martin Luther.

"In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New England, when all faces seemed to gather blackness, and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived,—'men's hearts failing them for fear' that the Judgment day was at hand. The neighbors all flocked around the holy man; for his lamp was trimmed, and shining brighter than ever amidst the unnatural darkness. Happy and joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude."—Tract No. 379 of Am. Tract Society.—Life of Edwards.

"The 19th day of May, 1780, was a remarkably dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds were silent, and disappeared. The fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the day of Judgment was at hand. The legislature of Connecticut was in session, at Hartford, but being unable to transact business, adjourned.—President Dwight in (Ct.) Historical Collections.

"ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARK DAY.—The dark day, May 19, 1780, is thus described by Mr. Stone, in his history of Beverly: 'The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. About 10 o'clock, A. M., it became unusually dark. The darkness continued to increase till about one o'clock, when it began to decrease. During this time, candles became necessary. The birds disappeared and were silent, the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew as at daybreak, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens was great.'"—Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843.

From Robert Sears’ Guide to Knowledge, published in New York, 1844, we extract the following: "On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o’clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print, or tell the time of the day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost. Objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses."

6. The dark night of May 19, 1780. "And the moon shall not give her light." Matt. 24:29.

"The moon shines with a borrowed light; and, therefore, if the sun from whom she borrows her light is turned to darkness, she must fail, of course, and become bankrupt."—Matthew Henry.

"The night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780,) was of such pitchy darkness that, in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy."—Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843.—Extract from Stone's History of Beverly.

Mr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says:

"The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet."

Dr. Adams, speaking of the dark night, says:

"At nine, it was a darkness to be felt by more senses than one, as there was a strong smell of soot. Almost every one who happened to be out in the evening, got lost in going home. The darkness was as uncommon in the night as it was in the day, as the moon had fulled the day before."

7. The falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833. "And the stars shall fall from heaven." Matt. 24:29. We here give an extract from an article written by Henry Dana Ward, published in the Journal of Commerce, Nov. 15, 1833:

"At the cry, 'Look out of the window,' I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors. The zenith, the north, and the west also, showed the falling stars, in the very image of one thing, and only one, I ever heard of. I called to my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed, 'See how the stars fall!' I replied, 'That is the wonder!' and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days; for, truly, 'the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Rev. 6:13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday, it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster, in Greek, and stella, in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. The refinement of modern astronomy has made the distinction between stars of heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday.

"And how did they fall? Neither myself, nor one of the family, heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted."

"The stars fell 'even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.'" Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one; those which appeared in the east fell toward the east; those which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south—for I went out of my residence into the Park—fell toward the south. And they fell not as the ripe fruit falls—far from it; but they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude's falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force, but each one falls on its own side of the tree. Such was the appearance of the above phenomenon to the inmates of my house."

Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College, says:—

"The extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth's surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east, to the Pacific on the west; and from the northern coast of South America, to undefined regions among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance."

The Rockingham (Va.) Register called it "A rain of fire,"—thousands of stars being seen at once; some said it began with considerable noise.

We now inquire, Why has Christ given the church these signs in the luminaries of heaven of his second coming? Are they given to deceive and lead the honest Christian to look for Christ’s coming, when nothing can be known of the period of that event? Preposterous! The fact that Christ foretells signs of his coming, and then states the object of those signs, that the church may know when the event is near, even at the doors, is sufficient proof that it is the design of Heaven that the church should understand the period of the second advent.

After stating the sun should be darkened, and that the moon should not give her light, and that the stars should fall from heaven, Christ gives the parable of the fig-tree, and makes the most distinct application of it. "Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Verses 32, 33. No figure should exceed the fact illustrated in a single particular. This being the case in the parable of the fig-tree, the point becomes an exceedingly strong one. No language can be more direct. No proof can be more complete. With all that certainty with which we know that summer is nigh when we see the buds and the leaves shoot forth from the trees in spring, and the earth covered with her carpet of green, may we know that Christ is at the doors. The most daring unbelief will hardly venture to deny these words of the Son of God, and assert that nothing can be known of the period of his second coming.

The proclamation of the coming and kingdom of Christ is given to the last generation. God did not send Noah to preach to the next to the last generation before the flood, but to the last. The very generation which was destroyed by the waters of the flood saw Noah build the ark, and heard his warning voice. So God has raised up men to give the solemn warning to the world at the right time to give force to the warning. And the very generation of men that live after the three great signs are fulfilled, and who hear and reject the warning message from Heaven, will drink the cup of the unmingled wrath of God. And those of this very generation who receive the message, suffer disappointments, and endure the trials of the waiting position, will witness the coming of Christ, and exclaim, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us." Isa. 25:9.

With what emphasis our Lord gave utterance to this sentiment. It is a rebuke upon our unbelief. As we read it, God help us to believe it: "Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." And as though this were not enough to lead us to unwavering faith, he adds these forcible words: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."