'WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE NIGHT?'
By John Nevins Andrews
In the long, dark night of time since man's expulsion from Eden, how often has this solemn and thrilling question been anxiously addressed to those who have professed to be watching "the signs of the times." As every new occurrence has called attention to the fulfillment of the prophetic word, various have been the answers given to this question; but corresponding always to the situation and real character of the watchman addressed. Those who have been sleeping at their post, and have been anxious rather to keep those quiet who have entrusted in a measure the care of their souls to them, than to announce the true time of night, and to give the real note of warning, have endeavored to explain away, as a thing of common occurrence, the passing events in which the fulfillment of the prophetic word may be clearly seen. But those who have been watching with no other object than to note the approach of that long expected morning, have been able with Simeon, Anna, and John the Baptist to "mark the tokens" of coming day, and to speak of them to all who are looking for, redemption, and "waiting the consolation of Israel." "Looking forward" and anxiously watching the dawn of day, and the restoration of the "children of promise" to the Paradise of God has ever been the position of those of whom the world has not been worthy. But how greatly has this interest been increased, as the fulfillment of predicted events have shown in the clearest manner that "the great day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly." When, but a few years since, the voice of warning was every where heard, and the message was borne upon the wings of the wind, "The hour of his judgment is come," presenting at a glance, in a light so clear that he might run who should read it, the expiration of the great prophetic chains, the termination of the prophetic periods, and the fulfillment of the signs promised by our Lord to immediately precede his coming to "judge the quick and the dead;" such was the mighty outpouring of the Spirit of God, and such the evidence and conviction that the message was "from heaven," that with one voice the waiting people of God acknowledged the fulfillment of the first proclamation of Rev. xiv. Those who rejected it, did it for the same reasons that the Jews rejected the message of John the Baptist, and with the same effect upon themselves. The counsel of God was rejected against their own souls. Following this, and just preceding the great disappointment, was heard the voice of the second angel, exposing the corruption and wickedness of the religious bodies with which the people of God were connected, and holding up in its true light the purity of Christ's church when separate from "the friendship of the world," which is "enmity with God." These messages made the Advent people what they were, prior to their being scattered in the time of disappointment and of "patience," through which we have so long been passing. And by a large portion of them they have ever been cherished as the work of the Holy Spirit, and the voice of the God of heaven giving us the words of Eternal Life. But as the voice of the third angel is beginning to be heard, calling our attention to the fearful oppression of the two-horned beast yet before us, [Rev. xiii, 11—18,] and presenting "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus," the most of those who would avoid the cross of keeping ALL the commandments of the Father, turn round and deny the first and second messages, in order to apply them elsewhere. To do this the Advent Herald (which even now claims to be giving the first message) attempts to show that they were fulfilled many hundred years in the past; the Advent Harbinger (which has zealously proclaimed the first two messages) is equally certain that they are all to be fulfilled in a future dispensation; while the Advent Watchman, seeing the absurdity of attempting to destroy, and break down the first and second messages, affirms that the third message has been heard as distinctly as the first and second. An idea of which few persons ever dreamed. Having heretofore pointed out some of the absurdities of the first two positions named, [See Review and Herald Vol. II. Nos. 3 and 8,] we will briefly notice the last,—the position of the Advent Watchman. Some one having written to the Editor for help on this subject, the following is what this "Watchman" says of the night: "By a careful analysis of all the chapters up to xiv, it is very evident that the three angels (chap. xiv, 6—12) who, in turn, fly through the midst of heaven, bear the latest messages of mercy to this fallen world.—It is also very clear that the angel, verse 6, is the same angel of chap. x, and that the sum total of the three messages is no more than is contained in the one angel's message, in chap. x; for both terminate in the judgment—not by Sabbatarians, but by the great God. A careful study of the book will show that the angel of chap. x, is the seventh angel; that his message is the seventh and last message; for with that message, the mystery—gospel—of God is finished. So, also, the gospel drama is finished with all the messages in chap. xiv. From chap. x, we assuredly learn that the advent message is the last message adapted to save men, and the finishing truth of the gospel. The three angels of chap. xiv, are, therefore, advent angels, or are bearers of the advent message; not the first only, but all of them bear a part or parts of the message of chap. x, only their work is more minutely defined, and their order given." We wish to call attention to the leading ideas stated above: 1. The three angels of Rev. xiv, who in turn fly through the midst of heaven, bear the latest messages of mercy to fallen men.—This we believe to be truth. 2. But if the angel of chapter xiv, 6 'is the same angel of chapter x,' how can the angel of chapter x be the same as the THREE angels of chap. xiv, 6, 8, 9? 3. The message of the angel of chapter x is not the final message, for that angel gives John directions to prophesy again. 4. The reference to being judged by Sabbatarians reminds us of what has ever been the language of a certain class when the truth has uttered its just condemnation, beginning in the days of Lot: 'This one fellow came in to sojourn and he will needs be a judge.' Gen. xix, 9; 1 Cor. vi, 2, 3. 5. A little proof that the angel of Rev. x, who declares that the mystery of God should be finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, is the seventh angel himself already sounding, might be quite as much in place as an assertion without any evidence. 6. The three angels of Rev. xiv, bear the last message adapted to save men, and with them the gospel, or mystery of God is finished. Please to bear these points in mind. Now we will hear this "Watchman" again: "If, therefore, we have been preaching the advent doctrine in its appropriate time, these angels have flown in succession, as seen in vision by John—the first, the second, and the third. Nearly all professed adventists admit that the first angel has flown, but many deny that the others have followed. The Sabbatarians admit that two have flown before their peculiar message, and claim that they are the third. If they are correct, we can prove very easily that it will be a long time yet before the Lord will come; for a message of vast importance is heard in heaven, after the third angel has made his circuit. But we will keep to the point. If the first angel's message was the first proclamation of the advent (and this Sabbatarians and others admit) then the three messages were given before the Sabbatarians began their work of extravagance and folly. The advent was first proclaimed; then the cry was heard, just as distinctly and extensively, 'Come out of her, my people.' Next, and equally distinct, was the message given to the church, to stand aloof from all organized governments of every kind; and by the faithful this message has been as conscientiously obeyed as was either of the others." To two or three ideas of the above we call attention; the remainder are not worthy of notice. 1. The three 'angels have flown in succession, as seen in vision by John.' 2. 'The three messages were given BEFORE the Sabbatarians began their work of extravagance and folly.' Now look at these statements in a connected manner: 1. 'The three angels, (chapter xiv, 6—12,) who in turn fly through the midst of heaven, bear the latest messages of mercy to this fallen world.' 2. 'These angels have flown in succession as seen in vision by John,' and 'the three messages were given BEFORE the Sabbatarians began their work of extravagance and folly;' that is, before they began to do and teach the commandments of God. The answer, then, to the question, 'What of the night?' from this 'Watchman' is, 'The latest message of mercy' was given several years since. Such is the conclusion to which this position drives those who occupy it. Such the result of teaching that the third angel's message has been fulfilled in the past, in the face of the fact that no one is able to show how, or by whom. But the 'Watchman' tells us that 'a message of vast importance is heard in heaven AFTER the third angel has made his circuit'—that is, after the 'latest message of mercy.' This 'message of vast importance,' we are presently told, has been heard since the third message in '44; so that since that time, though the church has had this message, there has been no mercy in it. Hear the 'Watchman' again: 'But the Sabbatarians say that 'the beast is the papacy.' Indeed! does not the word inform us that the papal beast was to continue but forty and two months.' [See chap. xiii.] How, then, can any now worship the papal beast, since his forty-second month expired more than forty years since? The fact is, the beast named here is the beast from the bottomless pit,15(chap. xi and xvii,) and can never be shown to be the papal beast." We call attention to the following points: 1. The Scriptures of the prophets teach plainly, that though the dominion of the Papal beast over the saints of God was limited to 1260 years, yet it should live and make war upon them until the judgment.—Dan. vii, 19—26. And that the concluding career of the Papal beast will be in an eminent degree deceptive, and calculated to draw after it many worshipers, is evident from 2 Thess. ii; Rev. xiii, 8. 2. Whoever will take the pains to compare the language of the third angel's message with chapter xiii, cannot fail to identify the beast, the image, the mark &c. as one and the same.—But in the next paragraph the "Watchman" denies that that beast which was to make war forty and two months, and which received "the deadly wound" was the Papal beast, a thing which in the last paragraph it affirmed. Hear it further: "The two-horned beast of chap. xiii, is the beast who commands that an image be made—not to the papal beast, but to the beast which had a wound by the sword, and did live. This was the Dragon, who by the sword was crushed and bound, but not killed, for he must live and ascend out of the pit before the end, and make war with the remnant of the woman's seed. The beast is a symbol of civil government. The two-horned beast or the beast from the bottomless pit, is the protestant civil government of the world, as opposed to the papacy, originating in the revolt of Henry VIII, which is now an image to the old Roman forms of government." We offer a few reflections on this: 1. It is distinctly stated [Rev. xiii, 2] that the dragon gave his power and seat to this beast. But this "Watchman" says that this beast, which received a "deadly wound" was the dragon itself. Rev. xiii, 3. 2. The "Watchman" says that the dragon was crushed and bound by the sword; but John says that he shall be bound by an angel from heaven, not with a sword, but with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Rev. xx, 1—3. 3. It is true that the dragon is to "make war with the remnant of the woman's seed." But mark, this remnant are designated by the fact that they "keep the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD and have the testimony of Jesus." 4. How could England, under the rule of Henry VIII, or any other monarch, be represented as "another beast" beside the ten-horned beast, when it is, and must remain one of the horns of "the first beast" until he is slain and "given to the burning flame?" 5. But how could the third angel's message be given some seven or eight years since, when, if the "Watchman" has now got the right idea of the two-horned beast, no one had the right idea of it then? For it will not be denied that the third angel's message refers directly to the work of that beast. Compare Rev. xiv, 9—12; xiii, 11—18. The "Watchman" continues: "The woman on the scarlet beast from the pit, chap. xvii, is nominal christendom, of every name, supported by civil government, sustained by the beast. Therefore, all that Sabbatarians claim for the change of the times and laws by the Pope, by way of enforcing their claim to the mission of the third angel, or as enforcing the observance of the Sabbath, is all gammon; the papal beast does not come into the scene after the forty-two months, until the judgment. Their whole argument on this point therefore is an entire failure." On this paragraph we offer a few thoughts: 1. With the definition of the woman of Rev. xvii, or Babylon, we see no reason to find fault. It is certainly much more reasonable than to limit the mass or corruption, represented by that symbol, to the Roman church; or to teach that Babylon is the literal city of Rome, and that its fall is its utter destruction by fire, after which fall the people of God are called out of it. 2. How the writer is able to prove from what he has advanced, that the blasphemous powers described in Dan. vii, 23—25; Rev. xiii, 1—10, do not synchronize; or how he has been able to hide from himself the fact that the Papacy in exalting itself above all that is called God, and in changing times and laws, has laid hold on, and attempted to change several of the commandments spoken by Jehovah's own voice; and has actually, to use the expression of J. B. Cook in his recent discourse on the subject, sabbatized Sunday, is something which we are not able to explain.— 3. The charge of "gammon," "entire failure" &c. rightly belongs to such an argument as this of the "Watchman." The "Watchman" adds: "To stand entirely aloof from all present forms of government, is to refuse to worship the beast or his image, and to avoid his mark in every form. The third angel, bearing this message to the church, followed in close succession after the cry, 'Come out of her, my people,' and was distinctly heard as early as the spring of '44; since which, a voice has been heard from heaven, from all the church, 'Blessed are the dead, &c., from henceforth.'—verse 18. This verse is evidently a symbolic representation of the promulgation of the doctrines of life and death, or immortality only through Christ, which voice has been heard in all the symbolic heaven, since the disappointment of '44, and it is the last part of the last message of the 7th angel. Thus the Sabbatarians by their claim are shown to be at least seven years behind the through train." We call attention to some of the above statements: 1. The third angel's message was "distinctly heard as early as the spring of '44; since which a voice has been heard from heaven, from all the church 'Blessed are the dead, etc., from henceforth.'" Now mark: this "message of vast importance is heard in heaven AFTER the third angel HAS MADE HIS CIRCUIT," with "the LATEST message of MERCY." Then the latest work of mercy preceded this "message of vast importance." 2. But how does this view lessen down to a mere nothing the solemn realities of the third angel's message? "To stand entirely aloof from all present forms of government is the substance of the message according to the "Watchman?" Who that will compare the fearful warning of Rev. xiv, 9—11, with the no less fearful scene described in Rev. xiii, 11—17, can hesitate for a moment to reject this idle notion. 3. How little similarity there is between the "voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord FROM HENCEFORTH," and the message, "The dead know not any thing" I need not now stop to point out. 4. But this message respecting the state of the dead "is the last part of the last message of the seventh angel." That is, if we can gather any idea of what the "Watchman" means, "the angel of chapter x is the seventh angel;" his message is "the sum total of the three messages;" and the "last message of the seventh angel"(?) is the third angel's message; the last part of this last message is "the promulgation of the doctrine of life and death." This is in direct contradiction of its previous statement, that this "message of vast importance is heard in heaven after the third angel HAS MADE HIS CIRCUIT." 5. "Thus the Sabbatarians by their claim, are shown to be at least seven years behind the through train." How so, Dear Sir? Why they claim to be giving now the latest message of mercy; but they are mistaken, for it was "given" seven years since. 6. But the commandment-keepers are IN "the through train"—the only one that will ever reach the Holy City: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that THEY may have a right to the tree of life, and MAY ENTER IN THROUGH THE GATES INTO THE CITY." But those who violate them and teach men so, will have "no esteem in the reign of heaven," and will be left "without," to be "consumed" of "the second death."-But the "Watchman" continues:— "But, suppose they are the third angel; what are they doing? They say they are finishing the mystery—gospel—of God. Pray, what has the law of Moses to do with the finishing up of the gospel?—Are we so foolish, having begun in the spirit (the gospel is the ministration of the spirit), to end in the flesh? (The works of the law are the works of the flesh.)" On this we remark, that these statements of the "Watchman" are either the result of ignorance or of malice: 1. We have neither claimed to be the third angel, nor taught that we were finishing the mystery of God. But we do believe that we are in "the days of the voice of the seventh angel," and that the message of Rev. xiv, 9—12 is now addressed to us: consequently we have united "to do and teach" "the commandments of God," which the "Watchman" is pleased to call "the law of Moses." 2. Those who keep the commandments, leave the Spirit and "end in the flesh." "The works of the law are the works of the flesh."—Now let us contrast this statement with the word of God. What is the character of God's law? "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good." "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin." "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Rom. vii, 12, 14; viii, 7. What are "the works of the flesh?" "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." Gal. v, 19—21. What a blasphemous libel on the God of truth and holiness to say that these are "the works of the law," whose sacred character has just been stated by Paul! But hear the words of the law itself on these points: "Thou shalt not commit adultery;" "Thou shalt have no other gods before me;" "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;" "Thou shalt not kill;" "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."—The "Watchman" adds: "O! we are told that Christ informed the young man that, in order to be saved, he must keep the commandments. Certainly; but the instruction of the Saviour to the young man was before the crucifixion. The law of Moses, in harmony with the gospel of the kingdom at hand, was leading until the crucifixion. The gospel of faith—of remission of sins through the blood of Christ—of the resurrection from the dead—the new and living way, was not opened and made binding until the crucifixion—until sealed by the blood of Christ. It was therefore right for the young man to keep the law; for Jesus kept it; for the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ—i. e., to the faith of the gospel. But the law was all nailed to the cross, and the economy of Moses was then and there forever wound up—it was finished; and the gospel, just as it was taught by Jesus is the only saving economy of God." We notice a few of the above ideas: 1. Christ then enforced the commandments as the condition of entering eternal life. This is much more reasonable than the position of those who teach that he then enforced but a part of them.—But since Christ enforced them, they have all been abolished! The proof on this point the writer forgot to offer. 2. Though the New Testament or covenant dates from the "death of the testator," yet it is a plain matter of fact that the only way by which fallen, guilty man could ever hope to escape the just sentence of God's holy law, is through the blood of the Lord Jesus, shed for his sins. Thus the Apostle says that the gospel was preached before "unto Abraham [Gal. iii 8] saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." 3. But it was "right for the young man to keep the law." How does that happen when "the works of the law are the works of the flesh?" 4. But Jesus kept the law. So he did; but this "great truth" though "plainly stated" [John xv, 10; 1 John iii, 4, 5] is often denied by those who wish to excuse themselves in violating the law of God. But if "the works of the law are the works of the flesh" how does it happen that the spotless Lamb of God kept such a law as that? 5. "The law was our school-master to bring us to Christ." So says Paul to the Galatians, and the manner in which this school-master brought Paul to Christ, some years after it is said to have been abolished, may be read in Rom. vii, 7—25; viii, 1—7. He learned from this teacher his duty to God, his inability to perform that duty, and the startling fact that he was a sinner, justly condemned in the sight of God. He fled to the blood of Jesus for refuge, and found pardon, justification and forgiveness. He was no longer under the condemnation of God's holy law, [Rom. iii, 19.] but was under grace, the state of pardon and forgiveness, and from the heart "fulfilled the righteousness of the law." Rom. viii, 1—7. The same school-master (not an abolished law) brought the Galatians to Christ many years after this.166. "But the law was all nailed to the cross." As the words of inspiration are quite as proper as any other, we remark that it was "the hand-writing of ordinances" that was nailed to the cross, but the royal law "remaineth." James ii, 8—12. We think it quite proper to follow the footsteps of Jesus; he kept the commandments and taught men so, and we will through grace do the same. Matt. v, 19. But the "Watchman" continues: "We aver, therefore, that to enforce or keep the law, since the resurrection of Christ, is to prefer Moses to Christ—the law to the gospel; and, as no man can serve two masters, such as serve the law commit adultery by putting away Christ—Christ becomes of no effect to such, however devoted and pious they may appear." Let us compare these statements with the Divine Record: 1. John says that "Sin is the transgression of the law."—But the "Watchman" says, that, "To keep the law is to prefer Moses to Christ." 2. James says, "If ye FULFILL THE ROYAL LAW according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself YE DO WELL;" but the "Watchman" says, that those who keep the law since the resurrection of Jesus "commit adultery by putting away Christ." "Christ becomes of no effect to such." We republish the idea of serving two masters, but as Jesus says, "I and my Father are one," we believe in keeping the commandments of God the Father, and the testimony of his Son Jesus Christ. But hear the "Watchman" further: "Instance; Suppose I can now be sealed an heir of the kingdom by keeping the seventh day according to the law of Moses; of what avail to me are the groans of Calvary? Of what avail is the whole gospel arrangement?" We append to this a single question: What good does the blood of Christ do me, if I am still under obligation to keep the commandments of God? Rom. iii, 31. The "Watchman" adds: "All such as depend on the keeping of the Sabbath, in order to be sealed for the kingdom, are depending on the works of the law instead of the gospel; they have forfeited the mercy of God in Christ, unless they repent—so certain as Christ is our law-giver." 1. We are not sufficiently Antinomian to believe that justifying faith makes "void the law" of God; or that the "blood of Christ," when sprinkled upon the mercy-seat, (the top of the ark,) blots out the holy law contained within that ark. Heb. ix, 4; Rev. xi, 19. 2. But look at the directions which this "Watchman" has given: (1) We must become truly sorry, [penitent,] that we have kept the commandments; (2) We must ask God's forgiveness for the same, and promise through grace to do so no more for ever, or we have forfeited the mercy of God in Christ—so certain as Christ is our law-giver." Now it is an interesting fact that the writer of this article in the "Watchman" has publicly taught the duty of keeping the seventh-day, only he had the seventh day come on the day which the "Popes have sabbatized." In the "Bible Advocate" for Sept. 23d, 1847, he writes as follows: "I must keep that day of the week that can be proved to be the seventh, for I then believed, and do now believe, that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord our God." We present the next remarks of the "Watchman," without comment, to show who it is that possesses the judging spirit: "The spirit and kindness of the gospel, by those who bear this message, is exchanged for the spirit of the law, which said, Do this, and live; disobey one jot or tittle, and be damned. It says, as in ancient times, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth;' it severs the dearest christian friends, leaving the christian to weep and sigh on account of such sad effects, while the once loved one, now made into a Jew, rejoices in a kind of frenzied, fiendlike spirit of triumph, and in the language of the Pharisee, cries out, I thank God that I am not as other men; I am sealed; I am holier than thou." The "Watchman" concludes as follows: "We would affectionately warn all our readers to beware of the smile and apparent love that appears on the first presentation of this (so called) message. Meet the argument promptly with the word of God, and you will soon find that we have spoken truthfully—will shortly hear your doom from the lips of the infatuated Judaizers; and, if you are steadfast to the gospel, you will rarely be visited by them the second time. — Brethren, abide in Christ."
J. TURNER. We have in these paragraphs presented the entire article of the "Watchman," the preface excepted. It concludes with the affectionate warning against the deception of those who present the third angel's message. The brethren must "meet the argument promptly with the word of God," that is with the weapons which the "Watchman" has been presented. They must show these "infatuated Judaizers" that "the three angels, (Chap. xiv, 6—12,) who in turn fly through the midst of heaven, hear the latest messages of mercy to this fallen world;" and that "the third angel made his circuit" before these deluded Sabbath-keepers commenced "their work of extravagance." They must show these persons that since the close of the latest message of mercy, a "message of vast importance" has been heard concerning the state of the dead.—They must show the Sabbatarians that though Rev. xiii proves that the Papal beast should continue but forty and two months, yet the beast there referred to is not the Papal beast, but the dragon; and they must prove to these poor fanatics that the dragon was crushed and bound with a sword instead of being bound by an angel "with a great chain;" they must show them that this message was given at a time when it was so far from the oppression of the two-horned beast, that nobody knew what the two-horned beast was; they must show them that the two-horned beast is one of the ten horns of "the first beast." And that the third angel's message which is the latest message of mercy was given some seven years since,—and finally that "the law was all nailed to the cross," so that whosoever shall now be guilty of keeping the commandments, has committed adultery, and Christ has become of no effect to such, for "they have forfeited the mercy of God in Christ, unless they repent." We think with the Editor of the "Watchman" that if his brethren are able to maintain all this they will not be very likely to be visited a second time by those who "keep the commandments of God."—But with pain and sorrow of heart we confess that this answer of the "Watchman" to the question, "What of the night?" sounds much more like the language of a man talking in his sleep, than the voice of a faithful watchman.—In the language of inspiration we answer: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." The morning of deliverance to God's saints cometh; the night of trouble and darkness begins already to enshroud a wicked world. Ye who rose to meet the Lord—
Ventured on his faithful word,
Faint not now, for your reward
Will be quickly given.
J. N. A.