Your ShelfYour Projects

The Present Truth

6%

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 4, 1880

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 41.

Read the full edition

The Present Truth

By Dudley Marvin Canright

THE PRESENT TRUTH. BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.
III. A warning message will be given to the world, immediately preceding the coming of Christ.
This is an important proposition, and, if it be true, it shows the importance of engaging in such a proclamation. Here, again, we might give a great many texts to the point, but have room for only a few. Let us first reason a moment. God is merciful, long-suffering, not willing that any should perish; hence he always warns the wicked of coming judgments in sufficient time for them to repent and escape them if they will. He loves his people, and does nothing without revealing it to them. Did God warn the world in the days of Noah? So, then, he will here. Christ says, "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:37. Did God warn the Sodomites? Did he warn the men of Nineveh? Did John the Baptist give a warning message before the first advent? Did Jesus warn them of the fall of Jerusalem? How much more reasonable, then, that there should be a warning here. Did the righteous know when the flood was to come? when Sodom was to fall? when the Jews were to come out of Egypt? when Nineveh was to be overthrown? when Christ was to come the first time? Then will they know in regard to his second advent. Nothing is more reasonable and just than this conclusion. But let us hear the word of the Lord:—
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Joel 2:1. What is the day of the Lord? It is when the Lord comes, as will be seen by the following texts: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2 Pet. 3:10. This shows that the day of the Lord is when all things shall end. This is the time of which the prophet speaks:—
"For the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand." This fact is further confirmed by the language of verses 10, 11: "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?"
Having shown what the subject is, now look at the prophecy. "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion." This was always done to warn the people of some important event. "Sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble." This shows that it is some awful event that is just pending. What is it? When is this warning to be given, this alarm to be sounded? "For the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Then when the day of the Lord is drawing near, is even nigh at hand, then is the time that this prophecy must be fulfilled. Will not God see that it is fulfilled? He certainly will, if he has to raise up men from the very stones to do it; and when it is thus fulfilled, what will the world hear? They will hear the blowing of the trump and sounding of the alarm here predicted.
Compare this with Isaiah 40:3: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Here was a prophecy given 700 years before Christ. Age after age rolled on, and no one came up to fulfill it. By and by, in the wilderness of Judea, is heard the voice of a humble man proclaiming this very message. The proper time had come. God, who very jealously guards the fulfillment of his word, raised up a man to accomplish it. So it must be with regard to this prophecy relating to the end. When the day of the Lord is nigh at hand, God will lay the burden of his work upon those who will blow the trumpet and sound the alarm. All the powers of darkness cannot prevent it.
Take another text. "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord. The mighty man shall cry there bitterly." Zeph. 1:14. Thus he goes on describing the terrors of that day, and then says: "Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you." Chap. 2:1, 2. This shows that in connection with that great day of God's wrath there will be a gathering message to prepare the people to stand in that awful time of trouble. Once more: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come." Rev. 14:6, 7. Here is another prophecy. It is in your Bible the same as in mine. God put it there. He worded it just right. He will see that it is fulfilled at the proper time. God's word cannot fail. This message will be accomplished.
When it is fulfilled, what will the world hear? Just the message here given, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come." This, it will readily be seen, is an announcement that the time for God's Judgment to sit has arrived, and this announcement is made to every nation, tongue, and people; hence, it is a world-wide message. Now such a message as this could be true only in the last generation, because that is the time when the Judgment will occur. It would not have been true if given a thousand years ago, or five hundred years ago; for the hour of God's Judgment had not come then. Hence, this is a last-day message. It is a positive proof that, immediately preceding that event, God will cause a solemn warning to be given to the world concerning it. When the proper time shall come, and the signs shall appear, and God shall cause this message to be heralded to the world, will it be a matter of no account whether men heed that warning or not? Can men disregard it with impunity? Can they mock at it and denounce it as the work of the devil, and still enjoy the blessing of God? Can they please God by simply passing it by unnoticed? How did the men who rejected Noah's warning fare? and those who did not believe the words of John the Baptist, and other similar messages? And will not those fare the same who shall reject this, when God shall cause it to be given?
We are not now arguing as to whether this message is now being given; that is not the point. But we are endeavoring to show that such a message must certainly be given, whenever the proper time comes, immediately preceding the second advent. Let me call attention again to that oft-repeated assertion, that if we are only prepared to die, we are prepared for the coming of the Lord; and, hence, even though the Lord is coming soon, and there are signs which show it, and the warning is being given concerning it, yet it does not matter if we do not heed them, provided our hearts are only right. This, I firmly believe, is a subterfuge gotten up to lull men to sleep and to close their eyes to the truth.
To show the fallacy of this statement, look at it in the light of other similar events. Suppose the men who heard Noah preach had reasoned that way. Perhaps the flood is coming, said they, and perhaps it is not, we do not know; and it don't make any difference any way; if our hearts are only right, let it come. What would have been the consequences? They would have perished in the flood just as they did. Suppose that Noah himself had reasoned that way; who would have built the ark? who would have warned the world? Would not God have rejected him, and let him perish with the ungodly, while he raised up somebody else to do that work? Suppose Lot had reasoned thus when he heard of the threatened destruction of Sodom. Suppose, again, that the men who heard John the Baptist had argued thus: He says that the Messiah is soon to come, and that he is his fore-runner; may be it is so, and may be it is not. We cannot tell. What matter is it to us? When we see him it will be time enough to believe on him. What good will it do us simply to have our bodies put under the water? If we only love God and obey him, we shall be safe enough, whether the Messiah comes or not. Could they thus reject God's work and God's message with impunity? No; the fact is, God never causes any warning to be given unless it is needed. And when he does this, it cannot be ignored nor rejected with impunity. Those who reject it thereby give evidence that they do not really love God, nor his truth, and they are not walking in the light. If they were, they would discern the work of God, would hear the voice of the Master, and would gladly obey it.
IV. The Scriptures teach that when Jesus appears, there will be two classes upon the earth.
One class, the saints, will be brought out by this proclamation, and will not be in darkness with regard to that event, but will be looking and waiting for him; the other class will be those who do not believe the signs nor regard the warning, but are scoffing at these things; and upon them that day will come as a thief in the night. These facts are clearly stated by Paul, in 1 Thess. 5:1, 2: "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
"Yes," replies one, "that is just what I believe. That day will come as a thief in the night. This shows that the Adventists are mistaken, thinking that they can know something about it." Not too fast, my friend. The next verse shows that all who are overtaken by his coming as by a thief will be destroyed: "For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape." Verse 3. This verse gives us the class who will thus be surprised by that event, viz., those who are crying, Peace and safety. But the next verse brings to view the other class—the saints. "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." Verse 4.
Nothing could be plainer than this statement. One class will be overtaken as of a thief; the other class will not. Those who are thus surprised by his coming are found crying, "Peace and safety;" but what are the other class doing? This class are found in the light and watching. Watching what? The signs of the times. Here is one class preaching that the world is growing better, and will so continue to do until the whole world will be converted. They have no idea that the Lord is coming; they see no signs of it. They do not believe he is. Now, suppose that the Lord should come to-day; would it not come upon them as a thief in the night? It most certainly would; for they do not even dream that such an event is at hand. Hence they would certainly be destroyed; for this is the very class spoken of. Christ says it shall come upon them as a snare. Luke 21:35. They have fixed their attention on something away in the future, and are utterly blind with regard to the great and terrible events of the end of all things. The first they will know of it they will find themselves overtaken by it, and utterly unprepared for it.
2 Pet. 3:3, 4, brings out additional facts touching these two classes in the last days. "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." The time mentioned is the last days. What will come then? Scoffers. A scoffer is one who ridicules and makes sport of what somebody else is saying. But what is the subject about which they are scoffing? Their words show plainly what it is, viz., the coming of the Lord; for they sneeringly ask, "Where is the promise of his coming?" This shows that another class is preaching with regard to the promise of his coming. These scoffers proceed to argue the case. Why, say they, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. This language lets us into the subject of their scoffing. They are scoffing at those who are calling attention to the signs showing the advent near, opposing them in their work and trying to meet their arguments. This shows, 1. That in the last days one class will be found opposing and making sport of the coming of Christ. 2. That another class will be doing exactly the opposite of that, viz., preaching it and proving it. This, again, shows that there will be two opposite classes, the same as our proposition asserts. Daniel gives us some information on this. Speaking of the time of the end, the angel said to Daniel, "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. 12:9, 10. This is in harmony with the other texts showing that the wicked will not understand with regard to the end, but the wise will understand. The same fact is brought out in Matt. 24:44-51. "Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods." Verses 44-47.
This is the position of the faithful and wise servant. When the Lord comes he finds him giving the household meat in due season. We have already shown what that means, viz., to be teaching truths which are applicable at that time. Now, what would be present truth just before the Lord comes? Would it not be the signs of the times, the fulfillment of the prophecies, and a warning to the people of the approaching Judgment? Most certainly it would. The context shows that this is just what the wise servant is doing; for that is the very subject that is under consideration. This fact is further proved by what the evil servant says, whose work is just the opposite of that of the wise servant. Listen, therefore, to what the evil servant is saying: "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Verses 48-51. By this we see that the evil servant is saying that his Lord delays his coming; that is, that the coming of Christ is not near at hand, as the other servant affirms. Now, while the evil servant is thus preaching against the coming of the Lord, and is feasting and making merry with the ungodly, the Lord suddenly comes upon him and he is destroyed. This text certainly confirms what we affirm in our proposition, viz., that there will be two classes when the Lord comes—one class faithfully teaching the people with regard to the signs of the times and the coming of the Lord; the other class opposing this work, and arguing that the Lord is not coming.