SIGNS OF HIS COMING by Alfred Mallett

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 15, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 49.

SIGNS OF HIS COMING.

By Alfred Mallett

BY ALFRED MALLETT.

IN these days we hear many rumors about Christ's being on the earth in person. This or that man sets himself up as Christ, and each gets his devoted followers. The cry of "Lo, he is here," or "Lo, he is there," is continually reaching the ear. Is not this a sign of the last days? Christ, when on the earth, warned us against this. In answer to the question of his disciples, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" he said, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Christ at this time had been telling the disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem. This had stirred their curiosity, and led them to their inquiry, "What shall be the sign of thy coming?" The first thing that Christ warned against was false Christs.

How shall we escape this deception? "The entrance of thy word giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple," says the Psalmist. By the study of the word of God, we can escape every deception of Satan. Notice, the Psalmist says "the entrance of thy word giveth light." It must be within in the heart, written upon the heart. It is by not adhering strictly to this word that many are deceived.

"Many shall come, . . . saying, I am Christ." When?—In the last days, just before the appearing of the true Christ in the clouds of heaven. False Christs were to arise more particularly after the "great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world." This time of tribulation I will merely say ended in 1798. After this tribulation, Christ warns us: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs. . . . Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." Then the appearance of false Christs is one of the signs of the last days.

How is the child of God to know who is the true Christ?—The word of God tells us that "every eye shall see him." We shall not know of it through the religious or secular papers, or through a few individuals, but every eye shall see him. And Christ says: "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." So, then, rumors may come, but he who follows the teachings of Christ will not be moved, for he knows just how the Master will come.

But in this connection Christ gives us other signs that will precede his second advent. He says: "Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences." All these calamities are constantly increasing. The nations at the present time are all in commotion, not knowing what the end will be. They cry, "Peace, peace," but there is no peace. Every government is becoming bankrupt. The poor man cries for bread; pestilences and earthquakes have raged and are raging in divers places. There is the cry of "hard times" throughout the world. "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." The rich have hoarded up their money for the last days, bringing poverty upon the poor, as the word of God has foretold us; and rumors of their coming doom are in the air. The apostle James describes this in these words: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth."

Is this true to-day? Does this rightly foretell the present state of affairs? What did the "Industrial Armies" marching through the country to the capital of the United States mean? They were comparatively small bodies, but they represented many behind them. The late great strikes are indicative of the same unrest, and show that we have reached the last days, and prophecy must be fulfilled. The time must come when the rich man will weep and howl. But above all this are heard the rumors of war on every hand. There is the consoling cry of "Peace and safety," but sudden destruction is the end thereof.

But what are the popular ministers of the gospel doing to sound the alarm, that the people may awake from their lethargy?—Oh, they are telling the people that the glorious millennium will soon be ushered in; that the world is growing better! Their cry is, "Peace and safety," and so the people are lulled to sleep, because they put their trust in the "multitude of their mighty men" instead of trusting in God, their only help.

"But," says one, "are not the ministers enlightening the people?" If the ministers followed the Bible they would be warning the people of the impending dangers, of the signs of the times, and of the soon coming of our Saviour. The true representatives of Christ will do this; for there is no great event takes place but God will make it known to his people. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7.

He has given us landmarks all along the way, that we may know when his second advent draws near, just as he did when his first advent drew near; but the professed people of God to-day are like the Jews of old; they are blinded by their own selfish desires, and are not looking for Jesus to come as he said he would. They would make him king on this wicked earth, when he himself has declared that his "kingdom is not of this world."

All these things will not affect the child of God, for he rests in the promise of the Saviour, "He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved." He sees the signs of the coming kingdom. He knows the Shepherd's voice. And Jesus says, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

Brooklyn, N. Y.