The Day of the Lord by James White

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 20, 1857

The Day of the Lord.

By James White

Most dreadful day! And is it near, and hasting on as fast as the rapid wheels of time can bring it? Yes, it hasteth! It hasteth greatly! What a description given by the Prophet. Read it, and as you read, try to feel how dreadful will be that day.

"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."

"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers."

"And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." Zeph. i, 14-18.

Now we hear the "peace and safety" cry, from the pulpit, and all the way along down to the grog-shop. "Where is the promise of his coming?" is murmured from the impious lips of a thousand last-day scoffers. Eating, drinking, marrying, building, planting, sowing, buying, selling, as in the days of Noah and Lot; in short, the cares, the pleasures and the spirit of this world, fill the whole heart and mind, leaving no room in the thoughts and affections for God, Christ and heaven.

But the scene will speedily change. "For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape." The scoffing of the haughty scoffer will soon be turned to wailing and howling. "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." Isa. ii, 11, 12. "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." Jer. xxv, 33.

Read the doom of the false shepherds, the ministers of the last generation of men, who come up to the day of the Lord with their garments all stained over with the blood of souls. They now cry, Peace and safety, and their flocks confide in them. They stand between us and the people and turn away the arrow of truth. But their day is coming, dreadful beyond description. Thus saith the Lord:

"Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape."

"A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down, because of the fierce anger of the Lord." Jer. xxv, 34-37.

The last plagues, in which are filled up the wrath of God, now bottled up in heaven, waiting for mercy to finish her last pleadings, will then be poured out—unmingled wrath of Jehovah!—And not one drop of mercy? Not one!

Jesus will lay off his priestly attire, leave the mercy-seat, and put on the garments of vengeance, never to offer his blood to wash the sinner from his sins. The angels will wipe the last tear shed over sinners, while the mandate resounds through all heaven, Let them alone. The groaning, weeping, praying, preaching church on earth, who in the last message, use every means within their reach, and employ every power of their being to sound everywhere the Loud Cry, lest the blood of souls be found in their garments, are now hushed in solemn silence. The Holy Spirit has written within them these prophetic words of the soon expected Lord, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. xxii, 11.

Now the ministers of truth and righteousness have a message for the people, and gladly speak the words of life. They joyfully toil on, suffer on, and spend their energies in preaching to hearts as hard as steel, provided a few may be reached, and gathered into the truth; but then they will have no message. Now their prayers and strong cries ascend to heaven in behalf of sinners; but then they will have no spirit of prayer for them. Now the church says to the sinner, Come, the Spirit says, Come, and Jesus offers his blood to bring them to God; but then salvation's hour will be passed, and the sinner will be shut up in darkness and black despair.

"And it shall come to pass in that day saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: and I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day."

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos viii, 8-12.

Now the word of the Lord may be heard, but sinners, in and out of the churches, do not prize it. Then it will not be heard, for the watchmen set to watch, and sound the alarm of danger, will be called down from their high stations. Now the word of the Lord is carried to the sinner, and offered without money or price; but he treats it carelessly, or drives the humble servant of Christ from his door. But then will they go in search for it, "They shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east," but they cannot hear it. "They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but shall not find it." From city to city, from state to state, from one country to another, will they go to find a man commissioned of high Heaven to speak the word of the Lord, but such an one is not to be found. All such will then have finished their high commission. The word of the Lord! The word of the Lord! Where can we hear it? is heard in every land. One general wail, The word of the Lord! goes up to heaven; but the heavens are brass.

Then will the people turn and rend the false shepherds who deceived them with the cry of "peace and safety." Children will reproach parents for keeping them from walking in the truth, and parents their children.

The miser now loves his money, and holds it with an iron grasp. Even some Sabbath-keepers do not hand out for the advancement of the cause of Bible truth more than ten or twenty-five per cent of their yearly increase, yet this they call a sacrifice! But it will be said in that day, "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 motheaten. 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." James v, 1-3.

Now silver and gold may be used to God's glory, and the salvation of men. It can spread the truth in the form of publication, as well as by other means, not only in our own language, but in others. There is now a special call for the German and the French. Here scores of the wealthy have stumbled. They came out clear on the last Message, but when the plain word of the Lord was set before them in regard to the disposition of their wealth, they drew back, and have left the ranks. Others will go also. Here is the stumbling-block of their iniquity. But "They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels; because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity." Eze. vii, 19.

Now such may deliver their souls. "The cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word;" but a portion of these riches may be disposed of for God, and the soul thereby be delivered from useless care, and the deceitful power of a portion at least of their wealth. Now they may lay up a treasure in heaven, bags that wax not old. Now they may deposit in the bank of heaven, and deliver their soul. Then, overwhelmed with terror, they will cast their wealth in the mire of the streets; but "neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath."