THE GREAT FAMINE by W. H. Wild

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 11, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 31.

THE GREAT FAMINE.

By W. H. Wild

BY W. H. WILD.

"BEHOLD, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord; and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11, 12.

God is a God of love, "long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." All are dependent upon God for their existence. He sendeth rain upon the unjust as well as on the just, he causeth the sun to shine upon the evil as well as on the good. "The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works." After man had sinned, and become God's enemy, a traitor to his government, even then, when in man there was no hope of a future life, God sent his Son, his only Son, into the world, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.

There is no end to the love of God. To be sure he is not a God that loves iniquity; he would not and could not save us if he did. He has provided a way whereby poor, fallen man may become like him, pure, holy, lovely, and loving. He says:—

"Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. . . . Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

God cannot be just and save people in their sins, for then he would perpetuate sin and sinners to all eternity. But he can be just in blotting out from the universe all sin, and sinners who identify themselves with the sin, who will not come to him, that they might have eternal life. They will be speechless and without excuse when they are brought to judgment. For in his great mercy the Lord says:—

"Turn you at my reproof; behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." Prov. 1:23-28.

And why does the Lord do this?—Because of their own choice. Inspiration thus tells us:—

"For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of my counsel, they despised all my reproof." Verses 29, 30.

We will now return to our subject, the great famine. I desire to show, first, why God permits such a famine to come, and, secondly, when it will come, or upon what generation.

We find in the book of Revelation (chapter 14, verses 9, 10) a warning to all the inhabitants of the earth against the worshiping of a certain beast, or his image, and also against receiving the mark of the beast. All who reject this warning and worship the beast will be visited by the seven last plagues, or drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which will be poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. What the beast and his image are, that we are forbidden to worship, are portrayed in the prophecy of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. Here are brought to view two beasts, the leopard beast and the two-horned beast. It is the two-horned beast that is to enforce the worship of the leopard beast. See verse 12. It is the two-horned beast that is to deceive the people by its miracles, and enforce the mark of the beast.

We cannot take time in this article to prove what governments these two beasts are a symbol of. We will briefly say that the leopard beast, or first beast in the chapter, is a symbol of the papal power, and the two-horned beast symbolizes our own government. If the reader wants proof for this, let him send for the book entitled "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation," 43 Bond Street, New York City.

To prove that the Third Angel's Message of chapter 14 is the last message of mercy, to be given just before the great day of God's wrath comes, we call attention to the events which immediately follow the proclamation of this message, as found in the latter part of the chapter, commencing with verse 14. There the coming of Christ and the harvest of the world are brought to view. Moreover, the wine of God's wrath, that all who worship the beast are to drink, is synonymous with the seven last plagues of chapter 16. This is shown by verse 2 of chapter 16, which tells us that the noisome and grievous sore falls upon those who worship the beast or his image, and receive his mark.

Now we are prepared to show what generation it is that will experience the effects of the famine. It will be that generation which rejects the Third Angel's Message. The fact of their seeking the word of God, and not finding it anywhere on the earth, proves that there is no one to preach that word to them, for they have rejected the word. It seems that their probation has closed, and that, although they have had warning after warning, yet, after all, the day of God has come upon them unawares.

The words of our Saviour, found in Matt. 24:14, prove that a famine for the word of God could not come before the end comes, and we are told repeatedly by the prophets of God that when Christ comes all the wicked will be destroyed. "The Lord shall be revealed

from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." See 2 Thess. 1:7-9. This takes in all classes who, at that time, obey not God. The time of the pouring out of the plagues of God's wrath seems to be one year, from the close of probation to the coming of Christ. Isa. 63:4, 6; Rev. 18:8. These plagues are before Christ's coming, for the Saviour does not come until after the sixth vial is poured out. It will also be in this day when they will experience the great famine. Before this the inhabitants of earth will have rejected the word of God, refused to hear its message of life and salvation, choosing their own way instead of God's way, and God gives them their fearful choice. His servants have no more burden to preach; his Spirit is withdrawn. When the wrath which they have chosen comes, then, when too late, they will seek for God's word. What a universal wail will go up from those who fear not God and obey not his gospel, when that day overtakes them! Then shall they cry, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." Reader, yield to God now.