"Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." Isa. 21:6.
S TRANGE things are happening in these days, and so vastly different from anything that ever occurred, that more than a passing notice must be taken of them.
A Diseased Earth.
There will come a time in the history of this world, before it reaches the end when mourning will be widespread and the people shall pine away, as saith the prophet: "Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away." Have we reached that time? Does the land mourn? Ask the farmer, orchardist, vine-dresser, or florist, if they can depend on the ground with the same degree of certainty of harvesting a bountiful crop as they did ten or twenty years ago. Farmers tell us they give closer attention to the soil than ever, but it is incapable of producing as formerly. It is losing its strength, becoming old and worn out. The orchardist sprays his trees several times each year, whitewashes the trunks as a preventive, then ties a collar of cloth around each, trying in this way to prevent the enemies of the fruit from reaching it; yet with all these precautionary measures the codlin moth, or the horned caterpillar, or the canker-worm are encroaching upon him with alarming rapidity. He is frightened over the situation, for he is not blind to the fact that his orchard is sick, without any prospect of recovery.
A Sickly Humanity.
"Every one that dwelleth therein shall languish," reads the above text. This refers to the human family. To languish, "to become weak, feeble, weary; to droop." Is the human race in this condition? If they were not, what would two-thirds of the physicians, druggists, and dentists do? If the people were not more sickly now than fifty years ago it would not be necessary to graduate about six thousand doctors each year in America, or to carry tons in weight of patent medicines in our drug stores in order to meet the growing demand for "cure-alls" by those who are sick? If we were not languishing, what would be the object of manufacturing "aids to digestion" of varieties reaching into hundreds? Why have so many tonics for liver and stomach? Why so many stimulants,—whiskies, wines, beers, etc.? Why so many narcotics,—opium, morphine, cocaine? Why so many germicides?
Do the germs prey on the human family now more than formerly? In the beginning the Creator gave man "dominion" (power) over everything, (Gen. 1:28), but now trainloads of germicides, both in powder and liquid form, are made to destroy the germs that would kill the people. If we are not coming to the end of the race, why do we see so many specialists in every city who give attention only to diseases of women, or of children, or of the eye, or of the nose and throat, or chest, or some other part of the human anatomy?
Dental Difficulties.
Look for a moment into the mouths of the people. Do you see that shining gold? Well, it requires from five to eight tons yearly of this costly metal to fill the cavities in the teeth of the people in America. Twenty-five thousand registered dentists in the United States are kept busy preserving sound teeth, filling those worth saving, and extracting millions that are already beyond repair, and replacing them with sound artificial ones. A hundred years ago doctors and barbers attended to this work, but the rapid decline in this portion of the human organism became so apparent that a more perfect preparation for its treatment was demanded, so the profession of Dentistry came in. Now we have buildings in the cities five to seven stories high, containing hundreds of offices, and each office is occupied by a dentist. Other buildings, equally large, are filled with doctors only, notwithstanding the signs of the doctor or dentist are displayed throughout the city in close proximity to each other. Was it so as late as fifty years ago?
The Health Question.
Another question: Is it more difficult to keep in good health now than formerly? Notwithstanding the plentifulness of "pure foods," "health foods," and other helps, and the multiplicity of books ably instructing "how to live," still we are going down, with the end almost in sight.
Given to Pleasure.
As the watchman looks he beholds new play-houses just completed, others being built, even store buildings converted into places of amusement, and he sees the people flocking to them, often with even standing-room at a premium. But the large and costly churches have many empty seats. So the increase of pleasure-seeking and the decrease of reverence for God are two noticeable features among the people to-day. Now the Lord says that this condition will be characteristic of the time of the end. "This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, . . . lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." 2 Tim. 3:2-5. Now bear in mind the people referred to are church-members, "having a form of godliness," and should have greater love for God than for pleasure. We would expect them to be reverent and ready to acknowledge God's power as manifested in His universe and in the salvation of sinful men, but we are told that in the last days they will be "denying the power." Consequently, if these be the last days, we may look for a teaching to be spreading among church-members, as well as in the world, which shall question whether after all the worlds and man are really God's handiwork, and whether there is any need of the saving power of His Gospel. How does Evolution fulfil the specifications of the prophecy, having for its fundamental principle the theory that both the world and man developed by the agency of natural laws, unaided by God? And was there ever a greater denial of the necessity for the Gospel's power to save than is being made all over the "Christian" world by the "New Thought" doctrine, which declares man has only to will strongly enough in order to accomplish anything he chooses?
God's messages always correct errors prevalent at the time they are to be given. Then we would expect the message for the last days to be one emphasizing the creatorship of the Lord. In the first part of the final message to the world we read (Rev. 14:7): "and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." And this message has been before the people for nearly threescore years.
"Prepare War."
In the "time of the end" great preparations for war will be made. "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." Joel 3:9, 10. Have the nations made any preparations for war? Let the millions upon millions of dollars which have been spent in making ships of war and destructive weapons answer? And have all the nations gone into this sort of thing? Have the kings of the earth and the whole world prepared for war?—Indeed they have. Please read Rev. 16:13, 14. May the God of heaven help you, dear reader, to see that the gathering of the nations and the great expenditure of fortunes in navies and armies are signs of the awful approaching storm that will culminate in the "battle of that great day of God Almighty."
Heaping Up Riches.
Before the second coming of Christ men will accumulate vast fortunes. They will not get them honestly; and, as a result, the relations between capital and labor will be greatly strained. The laborer will continue to be robbed, and will, in consequence, grow poorer and more dissatisfied as he beholds the inequality. The rich will continue to plunder till patience ceases to be a virtue and the storm of wrath breaks upon them. Read the message to the rich: "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." James 5:1-3. Have we rich men now? The watchman surveys the field, and he discovers men with fortunes ranging from $1,000,000 to almost $1,000,000,000. These men combine with each other and form trusts that control and fix the price of nearly every commodity on the earth. So completely have the few rich men everything in their power that prices rise or fall apparently at their will. The Lord saw this state of affairs and knew it would cause hardship and untold trouble, with suffering and perplexity; so He said, using for illustration the farmer who patiently waits for his crops to mature: "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:7, 8. This will put an end to all selfishness, greed, and inequality.
For lack of space we can not speak of the many boycotts that have and are taking place, simply educating the people to participate in the cruel and heartless boycott that will be inaugurated just before the coming of Christ. See Rev. 13:17. Neither have we space to tell of the alarming increase of cancer, insanity, and tuberculosis in the human family, all of which show with unmistakable evidence that this present human life is about to close.
"The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night."