Signs of His Coming by Roderick S. Owen

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 3, 1911

Signs of His Coming

By Roderick S. Owen

II. Signs in the Sun and Moon

In Gen. 1:14 God said of the sun and moon, "Let them be for signs." Isaiah, Joel, Peter, and John the revelator all spoke of these signs as indicating the coming of the "great day of the Lord." When on the Mount of Olives the disciples asked Jesus as to the sign of His coming, He first warned them against deceptions, and then said: "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 heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." In this reply Jesus not only pointed out the signs, but also located them in the world's history. They were to come immediately after the tribulation of certain days.

The Long Tribulation

In verse 15 of Matthew 24 He called the attention of the disciples to what the prophet Daniel had said about the abomination of desolation which was to destroy the city of Jerusalem. He next refers to a great tribulation which was foretold by the same prophet, and which was to come upon God's people, but which was to be shortened for the elect's sake. This tribulation is spoken of by Daniel in the seventh chapter, verse 25, where in speaking of a persecuting power he says, "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time," or for three and one half prophetic years, which equals 1,260 prophetic days, or literal years. This prophecy refers to the time of papal supremacy beginning at the fall of the three Arian powers; to wit, the Heruli, Vandals, and Ostrogoths, the last of which fell A.D. 538. Adding to this date the 1260 years, we find the year 1798 marks the close of the period. In that year the French army under the command of Berthier entered Rome, took the pope captive, and thus ended the days of his spiritual domination of the nations. But as stated by the prophet Daniel, in this tribulation God's people would receive a little help (Dan. 11:33, 34); or as more explicitly stated by the Saviour, these days of tribulation were to be shortened.

Influence of the Reformation

In the sixteenth century, or about 1,000 years after the beginning of this period, the Reformation which arose in Europe had gained strength sufficient to check the persecutions of the Papacy. This movement continued to gain force and to mold public sentiment until it led to the abolition of the society of Jesuits in the year 1773. This was followed by the decree of Maria Theresa and the acts of toleration to 1776. As a result of these the persecutions ceased

about this time; but as we have seen, the days did not end until 1798, thus giving us a period of about twenty-two years for the shortening of the tribulation before the ending of the days. But Mark tells us that "in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened;" while Matthew says "immediately after the tribulation." So we see that the sun must be darkened in the days, but soon after the tribulation ceases.

The Sun Darkened

On the 19th of May, 1780, about four years after the tribulation, and eighteen years before the ending of the days, occurred a notable dark day in New England; a day which since has become known as "The Dark Day," and has been described as follows:

On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o'clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print or to tell the time of day by their watches, or to dine, or to transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost; objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, tho inferior in the degree of their extent and darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses.—Robert Sears' "Guide to Knowledge," ed. 1844.

Rev. Elam Potter delivered a sermon May 28, 1780, just nine days after the occurrence, from which we quote as follows:

But especially I mention that wonderful darkness on the nineteenth inst. Then as in our text, the sun was darkened, such a darkness as probably was never known before since the crucifixion of our Lord. People left their work in the house and in the field. Travelers stopped. Schools broke up at eleven o'clock; people lighted candles at noonday, and the fire shone out as at night. Some people, I have been told, were in dismay, and thought whether the day of judgment was not drawing on.

The Moon as Blood

A great part of the following night also was singularly dark. The moon, tho in the full, gave no light, as in our text. Another eye-witness says:

At noon we lit a candle; but it did not give light as in the night, and my father could not see to read with two candles. My father and mother, who were pious, thought the day of judgment near. They sat up that night, during the latter part of which they said the darkness disappeared, and then the sky seemed as usual; but the moon, which was at its full, had the appearance of blood. The alarm it caused, and the frequent talk about it, impressed it deeply on my mind.—Milo Bostwick, Camden, N. J.

This fear seems to have affected beasts as well as men, for one writer says:

The darkness of that night was so great that in some instances it was impossible to induce horses to leave their stalls when wanted for service.

Thus we see the sun was darkened, and became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon did not give her light, and became as blood, thus appearing exactly as described in the Scripture, and at exactly the time foretold by the Saviour. Surely these are the signs for which God's children were to watch; and surely we ought to recognize them as such, and rejoice that God's Word has not failed, and that Jesus is soon coming.

[The next article will be upon "The Failing Stars."]