What Was Foreseen of the Scoffer, and Famines, War, and the Extravagant Rich
By THEODORE B. WESTBROOK
IN these days, when the subject of the second coming of Christ is considered, the people generally say: "Don't be an alarmist. Don't frighten the people, and get them all stirred up, feeling that the end of the world is just ahead of them." Not so with Christ, however. He entertained the question, and called attention to many signs pointing to His return.
The Scoffer as a Sign
One of the signs of Christ's return is the prevalence of scoffers in the world. The apostle Peter says: "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. Not only are these scoffers scouting the idea that Christ's coming is imminent, but they are also denying the fact of the universal Flood in the days of Noah, and are determined to make men believe that they had monkeys for their ancestors, and that the Bible record of the creation of the world is only a fairy tale.
Because of the sophistries of such teachers, the world is being lulled to sleep, and soon an awful surprise will come upon the inhabitants of the earth. Suddenly, with power and great glory, Christ will come. Then there will be no time to prepare to meet Him. Just such men as present-day scoffers were living in the days of Christ. After beholding the many miracles He wrought, they still disbelieved, and asked for a special sign of His messiahship. He said to them: "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matt. 16: 2, 3.
The hypocrites are not all dead yet; for men are still able to forecast the weather, but are unable to see that events are occurring in the world which are direct fulfillments of the prophecies of the second coming of Christ.
"Shall Run to and Fro"
Take, for instance, the prophecy of Daniel, where he was told to "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." Dan. 12: 4. When we reach the time of the end, according to this prophecy, there will be a great increase of knowledge, both Biblical and scientific. During the last one hundred years, nearly all the great inventions in the world have come into existence.
The prophets of old foresaw the automobiles and other modes of rapid transportation. The prophet Nahum said: "The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of His preparation. . . . The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings." Nahum 2: 3, 4. This is a clear picture of the automobiles, street cars, and railroad trains that have been multiplied in the land, and that are used to carry missionaries, Bibles, and religious literature to every part of the world, announcing the coming of the great King.
Wars and Pestilences
Among the other signs, Christ mentioned the fact that "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven." The Saviour declared that these events would cause men's hearts to fail them "for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21: 10, 11, 26. Already the nations are engaged in the most terrible war the world has ever seen. Earthquakes are increasing in all parts of the world. Millions of men and women have starved to death because of famine in various places. Pestilences have carried off untold numbers; and notwithstanding the fact that medical scientists are doing all within their power to arrest disease, conditions are constantly growing worse. Pests of all descriptions are covering the earth, until the poor farmer has to fight with all his might to secure a crop. Recent reports from missionaries in South America state that grasshoppers and other plagues obscure the sunlight like a cloud, and in their devastation, leave not a morsel of the farmers' crops. All these things are indications that the earth is decaying.
Warning to the Rich
In James 5, God sends a message to the rich men, warning them of the awful snare the devil has set for their feet. This too is one of the signs of Christ's near coming. The Bible says: "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: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth786for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5: 1-8.
The increase of wealth in recent years is phenomenal. At no other period in the history of the world has there been such an accumulation of wealth in the period spanning the life of one man, or one generation. Tremendous fortunes are created in a very brief period.
One writer says: "Such colossal fortunes, such hoarding up of treasures, such combinations of wealth, with such rapid increase of poverty, was never witnessed before. Our age alone fits the prophetic mold."
Room for Dogs, but Not for Children
The extravagant luxury of the rich leads to unrest, and, in some instances, breeds contempt. Many fashionable hotels and apartment houses, while admitting dogs, exclude children. Luxurious suppers are given, where priceless jewels are worn and tens of thousands of dollars are wantonly and lavishly squandered. A metropolitan daily speaks of the surpassing magnificence of one of these princely gatherings as follows:
"The most sumptuous, brilliant, and costly social function that New York has ever known was the fancy dress ball given by Mrs. — at the Waldorf last night. About 800 people were there, of whom more than 450 were women. The ball placed about $500,000 in circulation. The ball began at midnight, and ended at five o'clock this morning. Therefore its pleasures cost at the rate of $100,000 an hour. The cost to the hostess was about $125,000. It was a superb spectacle. People came thousands of miles to attend it."
God declares that His ministers should "charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God." "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Tim. 6: 17, 10.
Can We Buy Heaven?
Can the rich men buy their way into heaven by offering God their wealth when they reach the end of the race? Listen to what the inspired Word says: "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" Micah 6: 6, 7. These verses tell us that they cannot buy their way into heaven.
God has provided the way through the sacrifice of His own Son, and pleads with all flesh to believe in Him for the salvation of their souls. I want to urge the reader to accept of Jesus Christ, and prepare for a home in His soon-coming kingdom.
I know, from the Bible, that thousands will fail to accept Jesus Christ; for the apostle John says: "The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6: 14-17.
