The Wide-Spread Occurrence of the Signs in the Heavens
By D. E. Robinson
THE question is sometimes raised, Why were the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, as foretold by our Saviour, seen only by the dwellers in the United States? It is worthy of note that at the proper time to fulfil the specifications of prophecy these signs were seen in various parts of the world. Our readers are familiar with the fact that on May 19, 1780, there occurred in the eastern portion of North America a darkness "so intense that many who were but a little way from home, on well-known roads, could not without difficulty retrace the way to their own dwellings."—John W. Whiton, in "Sketches of the History of New Hampshire," page 144. In 1783 a mysterious darkness rested over all Europe, extending far into Asia on the west, and into the northern regions of Africa on the south. The darkness was first experienced at Copenhagen on the twenty-fourth of May, and spread southward and westward, until by the end of June it had spread over all Norway, France, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Russia, and other European countries, and by the middle of July it had penetrated into Asia as far as the Altai Mts. Leaves fell from the trees in June, as they usually fall in the autumn. "The obscurity prevailed a greater portion of the summer, imparting to the sun an unnatural color of a dull, rusty red, and causing both the days and the nights to wear a weird and gloomy aspect. The atmosphere was highly electric, and nature was greatly convulsed."—D. T. Taylor, in "Great Consummation." The Hamburger Neue Zeitung of July 18, 1783, speaks of the appearance of the sun, and says that it was gradually dimmed, till it appeared as if its rays had passed through thick smoke or dark glass. "On the ninth of October (1785) there was an uncommon darkness in Canada, while the atmosphere was of a very luminous appearance. This was followed by squalls of wind and rain, with severe thunder. On the fifteenth occurred a still greater obscurity, succeeded also by lightning, thunder, and rain. "On the sixteenth, the morning was calm and foggy. At ten o'clock arose a wind from the east, which partly expelled the fog; and soon after commenced the darkness of midnight. The people dined by candlelight."—Dr. Noah Webster, in "History of Epidemics and Pestilential Diseases," Vol. I, page 280. In the REVIEW AND HERALD of Oct. 29, 1867, a lengthy article is quoted from the Advent Herald, entitled "A Dark Day in France." The writer of this article quotes the following from the "Encyclopedia, First American Edition, Philadelphia, 1798," found in the article on the "French Revolution":— "We cannot here avoid mentioning a physical event which assisted not a little in producing many of the convulsions attending the revolution, a general scarcity of grain, which occurred about that time. On Sunday, the thirteenth of July, 1788, about nine in the morning, without any eclipse, a dreadful darkness suddenly overspread several parts of France. It was the prelude of such a tempest as is unexampled in the temperate climates of Europe. Wind, rain, hail, and thunder seemed to contend in impetuosity; but the hail was the great instrument of ruin. . . . The country people, beaten down in the fields on their way to church, amidst this concussion of the elements, concluded that the last day had arrived; and scarcely attempting to extricate themselves, lay despairing and half suffocated amidst the water and the mud, expecting the immediate dissolution of all things." On these dark days the predictions of Scripture regarding the darkening of the sun came to the minds of many. Men and women who were usually irreverent, prayed for mercy. In the churches many of the preachers read to their congregations those portions of Scripture that foretell the coming of the day of judgment. One writer declares that on May 19, 1780, "hosts of people believed that the end of the world had begun to come; men dropped to their knees to pray in the field; many ran to their neighbors to confess wrongs and ask for forgiveness; multitudes rushed into the meeting-houses in towns where they had such, where pious and aged ministers, pleading repentance, interceded with God in their behalf; and everywhere throughout this day of wonder and alarm, the once careless thought of their sins and their Maker."—"History of the Town of Antrim, New Hampshire," by W. R. Cochrane. Dr. Noah Webster also speaks of the "haziness in the atmosphere," which spread over "all parts of Europe, Great Britain, Italy, Sicily, France, and even the Alps," and says:— "This caused universal consternation, as a similar appearance had preceded the earthquake in Sicily on the fifth of February. The churches were crowded with suppliants. The French astronomer Lalande attempted to quiet the popular fears by ascribing the phenomena to a superabundance of watery particles in the earth, from the moisture of the preceding year, which were then exhaled by the summer heats."—"History of Epidemics," Vol. I, page 267. Causes of These Dark Days
So long as these dark days occurred at the time specified by the prophecy, need we contend that they were supernatural? However, the differences of opinion among scientists is at least significant. Dr. Noah Webster does not regard the explanation offered by Lalande as satisfactory, and he attributes the darkness in Europe of 1783 to volcanic dust from Mt. Hecla. The famous German meteorologist, Alexander Von Humboldt, in turn, doubts the plausibility of Webster's explanation. He says: "On account of the magnitude of the phenomena, I have always regarded as exceedingly improbable the opinion which is even still sometimes expressed, attributing the remarkable darkness which . . . overspread a considerable portion of Europe and Asia as well as of the north of Africa . . . to great volcanic action in Iceland and to the earthquakes in Calabria."—"Kosmos," Vol. III, page 414 (German edition). Some thought that this darkness was the result of the earth's having entered the tail of a comet. Others regarded these dark days as having been caused by an eclipse, while others have suggested that the darkness may have been caused by smoke from forest fires. Thus we see that there is no agreement among scientific writers as to the real cause, and Humboldt admits that "for such phenomena no general satisfactory explanation has been assigned."—Ib. We can only conclude that be the cause what it may, supernatural or natural, these dark days were, like the great darkness which enshrouded Egypt, a6manifestation divinely foreseen and divinely foretold. Thus it will be seen that there seems to have been a period of a few years, beginning with the darkness of May 19, 1780, in which the inhabitants at least of the Christian portion of the globe witnessed the sign in the heaven that reminded them of the words of Christ. The same conclusion may be reached regarding the falling of the stars, which was the next sign foretold by Christ after the darkening of the sun and moon. The first star shower of the magnitude that has been witnessed within these last days was on the night of Nov. 12, 1799. It was described by Alexander von Humboldt, who with Aime Bonpland, a French scientist, was then traveling in Venezuela. Their statement, as recorded by Amedee Guillemin, is as follows:— "Between the hours of two and five in the morning, the sky was covered with innumerable luminous trains, which incessantly traversed the celestial vault from north to south, presenting the appearance of fireworks let off at an enormous height; large meteors having sometimes an apparent diameter of one and a half times that of the moon, blending their trains with the long, luminous, and phosphorescent paths of the shooting stars."—"The Heavens," translated into English by Norman Lockyer, page 166. In his "Kosmos" (Vol. I, page 115), Humboldt says that by the observations he had brought together, this fall of meteors was shown "to have extended simultaneously over the new continent, from the equator to New Herrnhut, in Greenland, . . . and from 46° to 82° of west longitude from Paris." For further statements regarding the splendor and extent of this celestial exhibition, see Humboldt’s "Relation Historique," Vol. I, pages 519-527; also Andrew Ellicott’s "Transactions of the American Society," 1804, Vol. VI, page 29. A splendid meteoric shower was witnessed in Europe on Nov. 12, 1832. "This phenomena was seen in England, France, Switzerland, southern Germany, Belgium, on the Rhine, in Berlin, Warsaw, Riga, St. Petersburg, and at Odessa. At Suczowina, in the Bukowina, according to Dr. Rohrer’s observations, the stars were so many and fell so thickly that they resembled a heavy rain of fire."—"Poggendorff’s Annalen der Physik und Chemie," Vol. XXIX, page 447. In the United States and Canada
"But the most sublime phenomenon of shooting stars of which the world has furnished any record, was witnessed throughout the United States on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833. The entire extent of this astonishing exhibition has not been precisely ascertained; but it covered no inconsiderable portion of the earth’s surface."—"Burritt’s Geography of the Heavens," page 163, edition 1854. As was the case during the dark days, many who witnessed these brilliant spectacles thought of the words of the Scripture referring to the event, and were filled with fear and apprehension. The following statement, which appeared in the Old Countryman, New York (quoted in the Portland Evening Advertiser, Nov. 26, 1833), no doubt expresses the conviction of others besides the writer:— "Many things now occurring upon the earth tend to convince us that we are in the latter days. This exhibition we deem to be a type of an awful day fast hurrying upon us."