THIS GENERATION by William Penniman

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 31, 1881

THIS GENERATION.

By William Penniman

By WM. PENNIMAN. (Continued.)

S. S. Brewer, in a work on "The Kingdom of God, and the Signs of the Times," says of January 25, 1837 (speaking of "fearful sights and great signs"), "The very heavens for a short time seemed to be on fire, and the snow upon the ground much resembled blood and fire, which was so alarming in appearance as to cause the solemn inquiry by some, who were out at the time, if the day of Judgment had come, and caused the animals to tremble with fear." Mr. Brewer quotes from a London paper, dated September 5, 1839, concerning a wonderful phenomenon that occurred there, of which the writer declares: "The consternation in the metropolis was very great; it had a most alarming appearance, and was like that occasioned by a terrific fire. There were to be seen mingled with it, volumes of smoke. Every beholder seemed convinced that it was a tremendous conflagration." The reader can judge how well this corresponds with the prediction of the prophet Joel: "And I will show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come."

Henry Jones, in his Celestial Phenomena, quotes a clergyman, who states that "during a protracted meeting, suddenly, through the windows, the whole house was filled with the most vivid and fiery light, so alarming in its appearance, that several of the audience shrieked aloud, and all was disorder and commotion; many rushed for the doors."

Another article, dated Fort Leavenworth, Mo., March 20, 1843, states: "On the 14th of February we had the most remarkable phenomenon here that I ever heard of, except the falling stars. At 3 A. M., the moon, that had been obscured by a cloud for some hours, burst forth of a deep, blood red color, with a black cross, of equal proportions, over the face, but not extending beyond the rim, while on the sides small pieces of a rainbow were visible." "After continuing in this way for about an hour, the color of the cross changed to its ordinary hue, and it became a silvery white," etc.

Litch's Exposition, vol. 1, p. 153, states: "On the night of the earthquake (referring to the one of which Mr. Beadle, of Aleppo, gave an account in the Missionary Herald of June, 1842) there was something peculiar in the atmosphere, the moon appearing as red as blood. This greatly alarmed the inhabitants, who were continually crying out, 'Now we shall hear the trumpet sound, and the dead will rise! the day of Judgment has arrived.'"

Another, among the many evidences of the positive nearness of the end of the world, and that these signs are given to the last generation, is the fact that "we are now under the very last phase of the sixth seal." "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. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." Rev 6:12-14.

The careful reader will notice the order of the fulfillment of these events, and also the harmony of the Scripture records of the same.

1. "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake." Putnam's "World's Progress," page 303, concerning the great earthquake at Lisbon, of November 1, 1775, says: "In about eight minutes most of the houses and upwards of 50,000 of the inhabitants were swallowed up, and whole streets buried. The cities of Cambra, Oporto, and Braga, suffered dreadfully, and St. Ubez was wholly overturned. In Spain, a large part of Malaga became ruins; one half of Taj, in Morocco, was destroyed, and more than 12,000 Arabs perished there; about half of the island of Maderia became waste, and 2,000 houses in the island of Metalmi, in the Archipelago, were overthrown. This awful earthquake extended 5,000 miles, even to Scotland."

D. T. Taylor, in a work entitled, "The Coming Earthquake," says of it: "The earthquake at Lisbon, November 1, 1755, was doubtless the most extensive that ever occurred. Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean, were affected by it. It disturbed over fifteen millions of square miles of the earth's surface. The tidal wave from the sea first rolled on to the land fifty feet high in some places, in others, sixty feet, and then traveled to the West Indias at a height of twenty feet, and at the rate of about eight miles per minute. It also rolled northward eight or ten feet in height, and all night long thundered on the shores of England."

In view of such evidence, who can doubt but that this earthquake was the opening event of the sixth seal?

2. "And the sun became black, as sackcloth of hair."

3. "And the moon became as blood."

4. "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."

It will be noticed that "the fearful sights" and "great signs from heaven," came in 1837, just four years after the falling of the stars.

5. "And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together," which brings the great day of his wrath. Where, then, do we find "this generation?" Between the last sign, the falling stars, which was fulfilled November 13, 1833, and the rolling together of the heavens as a scroll, of which the apostle declares that it will come as a thief in the night.

We will now briefly allude to the remaining verses, which closely precede the one containing our subject. There is some difference of opinion as to what is meant by the words, "sign of the Son of man in heaven." The allusion to the "coming of the Son of man," directly follows the mention of the shaking of the "powers of the heavens," in Mark and Luke. Mark says: "And then shall they see the Son of man," etc. The language of Luke is similar. It is therefore plain that in this event the Son of man himself is the sign; or, at least, his sudden appearance in the cloud, which at first will appear small, but will increase in size as quickly as the lightning's flash. "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." The shaking of the powers of the heavens, the personal and visible coming of Christ, and the gathering of the elect, are future events, and cannot be spiritualized away in the past. These events have not been seen in any age, but according to the "sure word of prophecy," they will be seen by "this generation."

Our Saviour taught his disciples of the nearness of his coming by the parable of the fig-tree, saying: "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 [do not guess, think, or imagine], know that it is near, even at the doors." We trust it will now be seen what is implied by "all these things" of the second question.

Three times in succession our Lord seems to have impressed the minds of his disciples with the nearness of his coming to "this generation." To make his words more impressive the second time, he said: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." And again the third time, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

Having shown the complete fulfillment of "these things," we will now present a few words in regard to ## TIME SETTING. We are taught in the 36th verse of this chapter that no man maketh known the time. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of Heaven, but my Father only." The correct rendering of this is, "But of that day and hour maketh known no man, not the angels of Heaven [Mark adds, "neither the Son"], but my Father only." Says Campbell: "Macknight argues, that the term known is here used as a causative, in the Hebrew sense of the conjugation hiphil, that is, to make known. His [Christ's] answer is just equivalent to saying, The Father has not authorized man, angel, nor the Son, to make it known. Just in this sense Paul uses the term know, 1 Cor. 2:2: 'I came to you making known the testimony of God; for I determined to make to know nothing among you but a crucified Christ.'"

Albert Barnes also favors this rendering: "Others have said that the verb rendered knoweth, means sometimes to make known or to reveal, and that the passage means, 'that day and hour none maketh known, neither the angels, nor the Son, but the Father.' It is true the word has sometimes that meaning, as in 1 Cor. 2:2."

If we are to take the language of the 36th verse in the sense that no man knows anything of the time, then certainly we must understand that the angels and the Son of God know nothing about it. Christ will know the time of his second coming, the holy angels who accompany him will know of it, and so will man, for we read (Dan. 12:9, 10), "And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed 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." In the 4th verse the angel said to 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." We have every reason to believe that we are now living in the "time of the end" when this book is open, and that the "wise" will increase in knowledge, and though they may not, or will not, know the day or the hour of Christ's coming, yet just as surely as they know that summer is near when the "fig-tree putteth forth leaves," just so surely they will know when they see "all these things" fulfilled that "it is near even at the doors." The consistent Adventist therefore will not set time or attempt to make it known, but will leave this thing for the infinite wisdom of God. But, says the objector, are you not setting the time in saying "this generation" will witness the end? The word of God says it will, yet does not set the time, the day, hour, nor even the year when the end will come.

It has been seen that, according to Greenfield, generation means a family, race, or generation of men, and that so far as time is concerned, the Smith's Bible Dictionary makes it indefinite. In the patriarchal age it was one hundred years. In modern times, according to Smith and Barnes, about forty years. Therefore it may now be more or less than this period. Taking the position that the beginning of the fulfillment of "these things" which "this generation" was to witness commenced with the darkening of the sun in May, 1780, then nearly one hundred and one years have already passed. Nearly forty-eight years have passed since the falling of the stars, Nov. 13, 1833. It may be asked if the time of the longest generation, one hundred years, and of the shortest, about forty, has not already passed. In reply let it be borne in mind, that the language does not imply any definite or certain time will pass, but that this generation, race, or family will not pass till "all these things" be fulfilled. We know not how many of the generation will survive. If only ten are alive it will answer to the fulfillment of the prophecy. Yes, if even one is alive it could be truly said, "This generation shall not pass," etc. Many who saw the last sign, or the falling of the stars, may live to see the end, perhaps but very few who saw the first, or the darkening of the sun, will. It is very evident that the language does not imply that all who have witnessed any of these signs will see the end.

Some of the best Biblical chronologists make the date of the flood nearly or about 2000 A. M. Christ came about 4000 A. M. Then according to the best chronologists the world is nearly 6000 years old from the creation, or will be in about 119 years (if time lasts), or in A. D. 2000. Chronologists can not be positive in regard to the correctness of all dates, and it is thought by some that there was a mistake in the reckoning in the days of the Judges, this being the case (and mistakes may have been made in other dates) we may be much nearer the end of the 6000 years than most imagine. Again, eminent writers of different theological schools think that some great event is near at hand, some say the millennium, and some one thing, and some another; but all agree that we must look for some great change soon. Even some scientists predict this.

(To be Continued.)