EVIDENCES OF THE END by George W. Amadon

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 20, 1860

EVIDENCES OF THE END.

By George W. Amadon

ABOUT eighteen hundred years ago a class of subtle persons came to the Saviour, and demanded a sign from heaven. He denounced their wicked motives, and told them they very readily judged of the weather by the aspect of the heavens, but inquired why they could not discern "the signs of the times." The Lord gave them to understand by this that we might just as readily judge of the moral condition of the world by the signs of the times, as we could the weather by the appearance of the heavens. We believe it is the duty of the "wise servant" to be well posted up on the signs of the times. We believe God has given certain signs, easily enough understood by all who want to understand them, by which we may certainly determine when deliverance will come to God's people. Believing it is an excellent thing to stir up our minds to things we already know, we will point out some of those prominent signs which declare that we are on the eve of the fulfillment of the promises. And,

1. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." Matt. xxiv, 14. This must either mean the gospel in its broad sense, or some distinctive feature of it. The word gospel means literally good news, and embraces the doctrine of the incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension and second coming of Christ. Paul says the gospel in his time had been preached to every creature, and its sound had gone into all the earth; but not in the sense spoken of in Matthew, for then would the end have come. We don't believe that a distinctive message on the Second Advent was preached in all the world in Paul's day, for it would not have been present truth. The burden of the apostles' labors and the primitive Christians, was to make the world believe in the first advent; but in our day a special message has been sounded in all the enlightened world that the Lord is coming. Missionaries also have spread the gospel all over the earth, as their printed works show, and in this we have the most convincing evidence that the end of all things is at hand. We will now pass to another evidence of the end.

2. Knowledge shall increase. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. xii, 4. Here we are told that at the time of the end there shall be a remarkable increase of knowledge. This must include knowledge in general or knowledge on the prophetic Scriptures. Taking it either way, though it probably refers to knowledge on the prophecies, how wonderfully it has been fulfilled. What an age of improvement, of invention, of enterprise and discovery is ours. It is a time when science reigns, literature abounds, and mechanical skill astonishes us with her useful productions.

But what shall we say of knowledge on the Scriptures? It is a day when Bible Societies flourish, Tract Societies exist in wonderful numbers, religious institutions are found all over the world, and for a few shillings a man may purchase more reading than he can despatch for a twelvemonth. Bibles and religious books are sent all over the world by tons and shiploads; and when we speak of knowledge on the prophecies and the Second Advent, it cannot be fathomed. For over twenty years have faithful watchmen traversed the globe, telling the story of Jesus' coming, whether men would hear or forbear. The press has also mightily assisted in sending forth this message from heaven. Books have been published in vast quantities, tracts, millions of pages, have flown all over the earth, papers, magazines, journals, &c., exist in such numbers that all can hear and understand if they will. This then becomes our second mighty reason for believing we shall soon see the King in his beauty. And,

3. The great signs in the sun, moon and stars. It says in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, that the "sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven," prior to the closing up of God's great day of probation on earth. If we take the most authentic histories of the past few years, times in the remembrance of many living witnesses, we shall find how minutely and yet grandly those prophecies have been fulfilled, and the exciting effects they had on the people at that time. It is needless for us to say much on this point, for the "dark day" of 1780, and the "falling stars" of 1833, are facts familiar to all. But what do they teach the Christian, God's humble believer? They teach him to believe and prepare for the event mentioned in the verse following the description of these celestial phenomena—"And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Reader, do you believe this? If so, keep your lamp trimmed and burning, for as certain as the sun rolls through the heavens, so sure is Jesus soon coming. Let us discern all the signs of the times.

4. The increase of riches as in the present day. Hear the apostle: "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 moth-eaten. 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." Jas. v, 1-4. Here is a sign which any one with the least particle of discernment knows how to apply. The insurance companies, the banking institutions, brokers' shops, land offices, speculations, schemes, lotteries, railroad operations, begun, carried on, and finished in fraud, guile, deceit and covetousness, show how devoutly the "god of mammon" is worshiped, and how graphically this scripture is illustrated before our eyes. This is a money-making age. All the mass do is to lay plans, reckon interest, buy, sell and get gain. But what of all this? Why, to us, it constitutes a most startling sign of the times we live in. Heaven help us to understand our position.

5. Scoffers and mockers. The apostle says, "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?" 2 Pet. iii, 3, 4. No one who has any acquaintance with the Advent doctrine will be at a loss to know how to interpret this scripture. It has received its fulfillment from the lips of all ranks and classes. The pulpit, the press, the infidel, the professor, the great man and the mean man have joined hands and derided the little company who are waiting for the Consolation of Israel. Peter's scoffers and Jude's mockers are here, and this is fearfully significant of our position in this world's history.

6. The state of Christianity. Says Paul, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." 2 Tim. iii, 1-7. Here we have an inspired portrait of the popular church in the last days. This is a delineation of church sins, and millions now living know every word of it to be true. It is purely gratis to apply this to the world, for this has always been their condition; but how severely it fits the masses who have a form of godliness and deny the power; who pay great devotion to God with their lips, but in their hearts are to every good word and work reprobate. Who owns 660,000 slaves? The church. Who traffics in human beings, parts families, and are up to their eyes in a system the vilest and cruellest that ever saw the sun? The church. What does all this fraud, and selfishness, and mammon-worship, and hypocrisy become to us? A sign of the last days—an evidence of the close of probation. So teach the Scriptures, and so we believe.

7. The rise of Spiritualism. The record says, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." 1 Tim. iv, 1. Has there any system come up within a few years that exactly answers to this description? Most certainly so. Who teaches that the Bible is a fable, Jesus Christ a mere man, the atonement a myth, and the God of the Bible a tyrant and impostor? Modern Spiritualism. What is the corner-stone of their religious foundation? The doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Who first preached it? The Devil in the garden of Eden. What does Paul rank this teaching with? The doctrines of devils. What has the prophet Isaiah said of Spiritualism? Answer, "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God?" What is the chronology of this? "And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." Then when somebody is looking for Christ's return, others will depart from the faith, as myriads now are doing, and give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the Devil. What does all this teach us? That we are in the last end of the indignation, and that soon God will rise up and sweep the world in the storm of his wrath. What shall we do in view of this? Believe, watch and pray.

8. A reform on the Sabbath and law of God. In the fourteenth of Revelation we have three messages which should be sounded just before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The first two have gone forth, and the last is now going; and its main feature is, "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." The Bible tells us that to "fear God and keep his commandments is the whole duty of man." These commandments bring to view the Sabbath; but the world keeps Sunday. By so doing they have made a breach in God's law, which must be made up by the "repairers of the breach," before the house of Israel will be prepared to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. But does the Bible call Sunday the Sabbath? No, not once. It never speaks of it as any more holy than Monday or any other day; it never tells us to keep it; it never speaks of it as sanctified time; don't say the apostles ever kept it; it don't speak of it but six or eight times;—and on the contrary, we are warned against the mark of the beast; against substituting the doctrines of men for the commandments of God;—we are also told that Jesus kept the law, the apostles kept it, and if we fulfill the royal law according to the Scriptures, we shall do well. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the restoration of the Bible Sabbath just before the second advent. See chap. lvi, 1, 2. And in chap. viii, 16, he speaks of binding up the testimony and sealing the law among the disciples, which seems to exalt it from its present downtrodden position, and prevail on men to keep it. This of course will make trouble in the world, and so we read, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." But is this now being fulfilled? Yes, for more than twelve years a faithful few have been canvassing the country proclaiming, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." "Here is the patience of the saints;" "Jesus is coming, get ready to meet him." What may the world understand by this? Answer. That it is Bible truth, and that soon the books will be opened and every one judged according to the deeds done in the body.

9. Likeness of the last days to those of Noah and Lot.

Said the Saviour, "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke xvii, 26, 28-30.

This testimony shows us that the world will go on just as usual, until Jesus comes in the glory of the Father and the angels. The farmer will be at his toils, the merchant at his counter, the student at his books, the drunkard at his cup; there will be mocking, scoffing, carousing, eating, drinking, buying and selling, until the harvest is past, the summer ends, and the world find that they are lost. When men tell us that the end is not yet, for this is such an age of improvement, it is all very significant to the student of prophecy, and all who truly discern the signs of the times. It is just what Christ predicted. May heaven help us to be like the wise who shall understand.

We have now passed over the most important signs which are portentous of the time we live in. They admonish us in trumpet tones to get ready for the day of war and battle, to prepare for the reception of the King of kings and Lord of lords. There are other events and signs, fulfilled and fulfilling, which go hand in hand with what we have written, which declare we are in the day of God's preparation.

We refer to the ending of the prophetic periods, which places us emphatically in the waiting position—the fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins, and the midnight cry of 1844—the general absence of faith as declared by Christ—signs and fearful sights in the earth—blood, fire, and pillars of smoke—men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things coming on the earth—fiery chariots with the speed of lightning running through the land—the anger of the nations and a general premonition of coming trouble, on our own soil as well as in foreign lands—the decline of the papacy and consumption of that system, as the prophet declared they should take it away and destroy it unto the end—the parable of the fig tree—the general increase of wickedness, all, all of these things unite in telling that soon "a King will reign in righteousness," when the nations will be "dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel," and "the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads."

Glorious hope! Blissful prospect to the saint of God! May we ever be co-workers with God and the angels until we finally rest in the Eden of love. G. W. A.