LAST week we gave in brief the evidences which God has given us in the great highways of prophecy that his coming is near. Eight lines of prophecy were briefly considered and illustrated by a diagram. These great prophecies were the second chapter of Daniel and the seventh chapter of Daniel, symbolic prophecies of the great universal empires of earth, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome; the eighth chapter of Daniel, a prophecy of the three last powers, of the persecution of the people of God and the work of Christ as prophet and sacrifice and priest, of the prophetic period of 2,300 days, or years, to 1844; the eleventh chapter of Daniel; the Seven Seals of Revelation 6–8; the Seven Trumpets of Revelation 8–11; and the symbolic prophecies of chapters 12 and 13 of the same book. The last and next event in all these great highways to the kingdom of God is the coronation of our coming King, Jesus Christ.
The Time of the End.
In most of these prophecies is a period of persecution distinctly marked, and in several this period is defined as a “time, and times, and half a time” (Dan. 7:25; 11:33–35; 12:7; Rev. 6:7–11; 12:14), “forty and two months” (Rev. 13:5), “a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (Rev. 11:3; 12:6). All these expressions mean, according to the Bible mode of reckoning time (twelve months to the year and thirty days to the month), three and one-half years, 1,260 days symbolizing 1,260 literal years, “each day for a year.” Eze. 4:6. It has been shown (see previous issues of June 17 and 24) that this period covered the persecution of the Dark Ages, beginning in 538 and ending in 1798. In 1798 therefore began “the time of the end,” during which would be seen the culmination of the great lines of prophecy, and the revelation of our glorious Lord, in whom all the types and hopes of the ages center. The year 1798 marks the ending of the first great prophetic period. Other periods are mentioned, like the 541 days and over (541 years, 15 days literally) of Rev. 9:5, 15, the 1,335 days of Dan. 12:12, and the 2,300 days of Dan. 8:14, ending respectively in 1840, 1843, and 1844; but no definite prophetic period reaches to the end. From the time of the closing of the first till our Lord shall come is the time of the end, when men in the light of the prophecies begin to look for Christ’s coming.
Assurance for All.
But some will say, “We do not understand history, and are therefore not fitted to understand prophecy; may we not have other assurance than this that these things are so?” In reply we would say that the understanding of the prophetic word is not beyond the reach of all intelligent men and women if they rightly regarded its importance. “Whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19.
Yet God has other assurances, evidences which will appeal to every thinking mind. In addition to the great highways of prophecy leading to the kingdom, God has given us
Special Signs of His Coming.
These signs all occur within “the time of the end,” as indicated in the accompanying diagram. In answer to his disciples’ question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” (Matt. 24:3) our Lord replies: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity: 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; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:25–27.
“When ye see all these things, know ye that He is nigh, even at the doors.” Matt. 24 : 33, R. V.
In the Word of God, therefore, will be found a description of these signs, or evidences, which assure us that Christ’s coming is near; otherwise we would not know what to expect. Above we are told that these signs will be hung out everywhere,—in the physical, social, political, moral worlds. Let us note them as given herein and in other parts of his Word:—3
1. Increase of Knowledge.—Not simply knowledge in general, but as regards the Word of God. Here is the prophecy:—
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro; and knowledge shall be increased.”
“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel! for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Dan. 12:4, 9, 10.
Never has there been such an increase of knowledge as has been seen since the coming in of the present century. In the arts and sciences and in inventions this has been notably manifest. But it has been especially true as regards the Word of God. It is since the “time of the end” that British and American Bible societies have translated the Bible into various tongues of earth, and placed a copy in nearly every home of earth where language may be read. Seemingly the Bible, and especially the prophecies, were sealed until that time, and many would have us believe that it is so still; but, while the wicked do wickedly and will not understand when knowledge is within reach, “the wise [‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’] shall understand.” The manifestation of this sign is everywhere visible.
2. The Increase of Riches.—Read the prediction in James 5:1–7 (R. V.):—
“Go to now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out; and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.”
And all this we see. Witness the piling up of vast fortunes in a few years, months, and days, such as the world never witnessed before, and this at the expense and toil of the many. Children of God are slaughtered through hunger, famine, and cold, while those who profess his name live delicately. They multiply their costly and unused garments till they are moth-eaten, while many die of exposure. They heap up gold and silver and treasure till it rusts, corrodes, cankers, while thousands suffer in extremest poverty. They become wanton in pleasure and feasting, while myriads die from starvation. This is a sign of the last days—the two extremes—and that most marked in a republic.
3. The Increase of Crime.—Here are two prophecies among many:—
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:13.
“For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.”
“Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.”
“In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey; and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.” Isa. 59:3, 7, 13–15.
The first prediction, it will be seen by reading the context, comes in close connection with a prophecy of the last days, which we quote under the eighth sign. The second is composed of brief extracts from Isaiah 59, the whole chapter of which speaks of the crime and wickedness even among those who profess to be the Lord’s children, and which will be especially manifest among them when Christ shall “put on the garments of vengeance,” when “the Redeemer shall come to Zion,” and will execute judgment “according to their deeds.” Verses 17, 18, 20.
And we see it all now, especially in this country. Untold and unnamed crimes of thirty years ago are now common. There were over ten thousand homicides and murders in the United States during the last year. There were but 1,449 in 1886. There were 160 lynchings. Suicide is also increasing, in many cases following crime. Bribery, embezzlement, and betrayal of trust is notoriously prevalent even among public officials. It is a sign that the last pages of earth’s history are being written.
4. Last-day Scoffers.—The apostle Peter, in speaking of the last days, gives us this assurance:—
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4.
Here are two evidences, one explicitly given, the other implied. The one implied—that some persons will say that Christ is soon coming—is clearly stated elsewhere. God expressly gives the messages his servants are to proclaim. (See Joel 2:1; Zeph. 2:1–3; Rev. 14:6, 7.) When these messages are proclaimed to the world, scoffers will arise and ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” It is asked to-day. By men in the church and in the world, in the pulpit and in the pew, from the sacred desk to the barroom, the question comes, “Where is the promise of his coming? The world does not change; things are now as they always were and always will be except in the constant progress made.” But the very question is itself a promise, because it is a fulfilment of the prophecy given eighteen centuries ago. Men ask it as did the Sadducees of old, because they “know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God.” Mark 12:24; 2 Peter 3:5. The word of his power created the world, changed it by a flood, preserved it to the present, and will restore and fashion anew at his coming. And even the scoffers proclaim that his coming is near.
5. Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars.—Here is one prediction:—
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and 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. 6:12, 13.
Other predictions of the same signs are found in Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24–26. All these, it will be noted, are given as heralds of Christ’s coming.
The darkening of the sun and moon came within the days of the great persecution, after the persecution had been stayed by the providence of God. May 19, 1780, the sun was supernaturally darkened, and the day has gone down in history as “The Dark Day.” The following night, altho the moon was at the full, it was as dark as tho “every luminous body,” says one writer, “had been struck out of existence.” When, however, the moon appeared, as it did at times, it had the appearance of blood. But these alone were not a sign of his coming till the “stars fell.” This was fulfilled Nov. 13, 1883, when the most remarkable meteoric shower, falling in the very manner described above, occurred that was ever witnessed by man. Abundance of historical testimony exists for all these, and many are now living who witnessed the latter. When the stars fell, the great three-fold sign was complete, and it has been heralded to the world in the light of the prophecy, and thousands have thus seen it as a sign of Christ’s coming.
6. Peace and Safety Cry.—Thus speaks the apostle Paul:—
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thess. 5:3–5.
At the very time that the Lord through faithful servants and by a multitude of signs is warning the world of its coming doom and exhorting all to flee from the wrath to come by hiding in God and laying up treasure in heaven, another class will be crying, “Peace and safety! a good time coming!” Peace in sin has ever been the cry of false prophets from Jeremiah to the present day. Isaiah and Micah show us that this cry will deceive many people and many nations, and the “many people” and “many nations” will say: “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his4ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” See Isa. 2:3–5; Micah 4:2–5. The mixture of the idolatry and divided worship implied in the message is shown in Micah 4:5. But concerning this message of peace of “many people,” the prophet says: “For thou [God] hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of strangers.” Isa. 2:6, R. V. Here is the cry as predicted. We have it even now as preached. And the Word declares, “When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape.” But the children of God shall not be deceived. That day will not overtake them as a thief. The false message that deceives and lulls to sleep its thousands will be to the children of the light an evidence that Christ’s coming is near.
7. War Preparations.—Strange, yet it is true, that, while the “many people” are raising the cry of peace and safety, of no more war, the Word predicts, and events fulfil the prediction, that war preparations shall go forth in an unparalleled manner when “the day of the Lord is near.” Here is the prophecy of the facts and the time:—
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:9–14.
“The harvest is the end of the age.” Matt. 13:39; Rev. 14:14. The age closes with Christ’s coming. The nations are preparing for war. Never before were there so many men under arms and drilling for expected warfare. Never was so much money expended on implements and explosives for killing men. The nations of earth are groaning under the burdens of war expenditures, and still the heaping up of debts goes on. Because of this, socialism and anarchy are rampant, and greater preparations are made to meet these. “Distress of nations with perplexity” is manifest everywhere. But God still holds the winds of strife till his work of warning is done. Rev. 7:1–3. “Multitudes” are “in the valley of decision” over various voices sounding in the earth. Reader, what will be the decision in your case? Will it be on the side of man or God? Will you be lulled to sleep by the cry of peace and safety, or will you heed God’s message of light, and prepare to meet him? See Zeph. 2:1–3; Rev. 14:6–14.
8. Great Spiritual Declension.—Here are the predictions:—
“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matt. 24:12, 13.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1–5.
This is a sad picture. We expect to find such sins in the world, for all these are legitimate products of the carnal heart (see Gal. 5:19, 21; Rom. 1:28–32); but the sad thing is that all these things are manifest in the professed church, among those who have a form of godliness, but not the power as manifest in a godly life. The abounding iniquity of the world has been received into the church. What of its fulfilment? Read the scripture again, and ask yourself, reader, if these sins are not now everywhere manifest among the professed people of God. This then is a sign of the last days.
“Know That He Is Near.”
Here are the special signs of Christ’s near coming. Of one or two or more we might say, This has occurred in other centuries and generations since Christ first came; and that is true; but there was never another generation save this that saw all these signs fulfilled and fulfilling. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree [“and all the trees,” Luke 21:29]: 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 [“he,” margin and R. V.] is near, even at the doors.” Matt. 24:32, 33.
Yet we do not know the exact time; for “of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Verse 36. But how near may we know him to be? Our Lord has answered:—
“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Verses 34, 35.
We see “all these things;” therefore we should know that he is near. “This generation,” the generation which sees and beholds these signs, the generation to whom is preached these warnings, now almost world-embracing, shall not pass. Blind eyes may not see the bursting buds and green leaves, and in the chill of cold spring days deny the approaching summer, but nevertheless it is coming. Blind eyes of unbelief may not see the signs of the King’s approach, yet he is coming. His words will not fail the heaven and earth be blotted out, “This generation shall not pass.” Reader, do you believe the Word of the blessed Lord?
“Heir of the kingdom, say, why dost thou linger:
How canst thou tarry in sight of the prize?
Up, and adorn thee, the Saviour is coming;
Haste to receive him descending the skies.”
“Keep the eye single, the head upward lifted;
Watch for the glory of earth’s coming King;
Lo! o’er the mountain-tops light is now breaking;
Heirs of the kingdom, rejoice ye and sing.”
