p. 3 | THIS GENERATION by L. D. Santee

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 27, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 17.

"THIS GENERATION."

By L. D. Santee

BY L. D. SANTEE.

"VERILY I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:34. These words of our Lord were in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The same words are repeated in Mark 13:30, and again in Luke 21:32. You will notice that after each of these texts the verse following reads, "Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away." Why is this solemn statement thrice repeated?—Because the preceding verse is hard to believe. Whenever this conviction enters into the heart and becomes an abiding principle, the whole life is transformed. There is a solemnity that before we never felt.

All the duties of life become holy, and we walk "as seeing Him who is invisible." The thought that we are the ones on whom the ends of the world are come, is a thrilling one,—that this generation has a future before it that no preceding generation has ever had, and that the life we are now living may be changed by the power of God, into that life that knows no end. No wonder that we can not grasp the mystery of immortality, for we have never seen its glorious reality. Jesus said, "Whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die" (John 11:26); and in this generation our lot is cast. No wonder that this stupendous truth is hard to believe. It seems too good to be true. And so the Lord caused it to be thrice repeated, and each time with a reminder of the immutability of His word.

The many prophecies that the Saviour gave to His disciples in His answer to their question, were landmarks, or stepping-stones, toward the great consummation, the coming of the Lord, and the thrilling events that attend it. Last, in the history of this present world, are signs in the sky and on the earth. Matthew enumerates them as follows:—

"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, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." Matt. 24:29, 30.

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." Mark 13:24-26.

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring." Luke 21:25.

Joel bears witness of the same time as follows:—

"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." Chapter 2:31.

Again I read:—

"The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Rev. 6:12.

These events are in the past. A hundred histories have noticed them, and a record of their fulfilment is spread before the world. The sun was darkened May 19, 1780. A newspaper, bearing date of three days later, said, "It was the spreading of the pall-cloth over the earth by strong, invisible hands." A minister testified, "It was midnight darkness at noon-day." "And the moon shall be darkened." The night following, a full moon, in a cloudless sky, was enshrouded in utter darkness. We shall not take time to notice this further. Reliable histories are on every side, and it has never been questioned. "And the stars shall fall from heaven." Nov. 13, 1833, saw this prophecy of our Lord fulfilled. Evidence of this is on every hand. Living witnesses are abundant. The leading authority at Yale College voiced the universal sentiment when he said that it was probably the greatest display of celestial fireworks that had ever been since the creation of the world, or at least within the annals covered by the pages of history. There are two other signs noticed, "distress of nations, with perplexity," and the shaking of the powers of heaven. He also adds as an existing condition, "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21:26.

We shall not take time to dwell on these signs. Let the thoughtful ponder. Study existing conditions. Are these signs fulfilled? We continue this subject, and now notice our Saviour's conclusion. "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [margin, He] is near, even at the door. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:33, 34.

The next question is, Where shall we begin in reckoning "this generation"? The signs shown in the heavens seem to be different from the rest recorded in this chapter. They are followed by the coming of Christ. So we would naturally reckon the generation from the last sign, which was the falling of the stars in 1833. When this took place, then the world could say, Now we have seen "all these things." The things that are spoken of as following, do not have a definite time, but are conditions that will grow worse and worse, until the end. Then it seems entirely reasonable to conclude that the generation began with the falling stars, and will reach to the Lord's coming. Cruden, in his concordance, quotes Matt. 24:34, and makes this comment on "this generation":—

"All who are at present living, shall not be dead, when this shall come to pass."

Again: If the Lord should not come in this generation, then our preaching of the Third Angel's Message would not be in place. The message declares that any man that worships the beast or his image, or receives his mark, shall suffer the seven last plagues. They begin after probation closes, and continue one year, to the coming of the Lord. Now, if we are not living in the generation that shall witness those plagues, we are giving the wrong message,

just as Noah, had he preached to a preceding generation. The Lord says that the one that saith in his heart, "My Lord delayeth His coming," is an evil servant. Satan tries in every possible way to draw our minds away from the coming of the Lord; for he knows that "every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

We have no right or reason to doubt the Word of God. I close by quoting Rom. 3:3, 4: "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar."

Elgin, Ill.