The Sermon by James White

California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists · Oakland, Cal. · Feb 11, 1875

The Sermon.

By James White

SIGNS OF THE END.

BY ELD. JAMES WHITE.

"What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world."—DISCIPLES. "When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."—JESUS. Matt. 24:3, 33.

J. LITCH, in his lecture on Matt. 24, Advent Herald, Nov. 23, 1850, says: "Many supposed the wars of Napoleon were the wars of the last days, to precede the millennium; and that the battle of Waterloo was the battle of Armageddon, as it is called. But the discussion of the subject of prophecy drew forth inquiry, and a few discovered the true light, the doctrine of Christ's personal reign on earth, and began to teach it. Among these was a Spanish Roman Catholic, who wrote an able and voluminous work under the anonymous signature of Ben Ezra. His work fell into the hands of Edward Irving, the celebrated and eloquent advocate of the doctrine of the pre-millennial advent of Christ. It opened his eyes to the glorious truth, and led him to devote himself most zealously to its advocacy. He first translated Ben Ezra, and subsequently wrote and published several valuable works on the subject. For a time, the excitement on the subject in England, under his labors, was as intense as it subsequently was in this country, under the labors of Mr. Miller. Thousands flocked to hear him wherever he went, and listened with wonder at the strange and glorious truths he brought forth from the word of God. The cause received an impulse under his efforts which it will never lose till time shall end. Many of the clergy of the Established Church, as well as dissenting ministers of all denominations, caught the theme, and joined to spread it abroad."

"Nor has the influence of Rev. Joseph Wolfe been unfelt. He visited and proclaimed 'the gospel of the kingdom,' in the four quarters of the globe, to Protestants, Catholics, Mohammedans, Jews, and pagans. The seed thus sown will not be lost. A work similar to that of Ben Ezra, in Spain, appeared in Germany, the production of Bengel. This, by the evangelical portion of the German people, is esteemed as a standard work on prophecy. It has been widely circulated and read as far as the German language extends throughout continental Europe. It was from this source the Russian Milk-eaters, of whom an account was given in the Advent Herald a few years since, obtained their information on the speedy second advent of Christ."

"The Great American movement on this subject, and the diffusion of information with regard to it, within the last ten years, is too well known to need extended remarks in this place. Neither labor nor sacrifice was regarded in the wide and rapid extension of the good news of the kingdom, as far as the English language could make it known. It was sent to the four quarters of the globe, and to the islands of the sea, upon the wings of all the winds."

E. R. Pinney, in his exposition of Matthew 24, says: "As early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains. We find this doctrine in Tartary, about twenty-five years ago, and the time for the coming of Christ to be in 1844. This fact is obtained from an Irish missionary in Tartary, to whom the question was put by a Tartar priest, when Christ would come the second time. And he made answer that he knew nothing at all about it. The Tartar priest expressed great surprise at such an answer from a missionary who had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible, and remarked 'that he thought everybody might know that, who had a Bible.' The Tartar priest then gave his views, stating that Christ, he thought, would come about A. D. 1844. The missionary wrote home a statement of the facts, which were published in the Irish Magazine, in 1821. The commanders of our vessels, and the sailors, tell us they touch at no point where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent inquiries respecting it are made of them."

"I noticed, in a late number of the Voice of Truth, that a brother traveling on the lakes, met with a Russian gentleman, direct from his country, who informed him that the doctrine of 'Christ's coming, and the end of the world,' had been preached there, but was received only by the lower classes. Rev. Mr. Mansfield had an interview with a Moravian missionary, stationed in Antigua, who said that several years since, the doctrine of immediate coming was extensively preached in Germany, and that the whole of the south of Germany was aroused upon the subject."

The Advent Shield, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 86, 87, says: "We look upon the proclamation which has been made, as being the cry of the angel who proclaimed, 'The hour of his judgment is come.' Rev. 14:6, 7. It is a sound which is to reach all nations; it is the proclamation of 'the everlasting gospel,' or 'this gospel of the kingdom.' In one shape or other, this cry has gone abroad through the earth wherever human beings are found, and we have had opportunity to hear of the fact. Within the last six years, publications treating on the subject have been sent to nearly every English and American missionary station on the globe; to all, at least, to which we have had access."

An English writer, Mourant Brock, thus remarks: "It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the continent of Europe. I was lately told by one of our German missionaries, that in Wirtemburg there is a Christian colony of several hundreds, one of the chief features of which is, the looking for the second advent. And a Christian minister from near the shores of the Caspian Sea, has told me that there is the same expectation among his nation. They constantly speak of it as 'the day of consolation.' In a little publication, entitled, 'The Millennium,' the writer says that he understands that in America about three hundred ministers of the word are thus preaching 'the gospel of the kingdom;' whilst in this country, he adds, about seven hundred of the Church of England are raising the same cry."—Advent Tracts, Vol. II, p. 135.

The Signs of the Times, for Feb. 14, 1844, says: "A brother, the captain of a vessel now in England, writes his friends that his vessel lay at Newport, in Wales, forty days, on account of storms, during which time a continued concourse of individuals thronged him to inquire about the coming of the Lord, having heard that he was an Adventist. Among these were ministers and laymen that received the truth gladly, and embraced it with all their hearts."

Eld. R. Hutchinson, Midnight Cry, Oct. 5, 1843, says: "I send about 1,500 copies of the Voice of Elijah [an Advent paper], to Europe every fortnight, besides what I scatter over the Provinces. This I have done regularly for the last four or five months. The result, eternity will unfold."

Speaking of Eld. Hutchinson, and his Voice of Elijah, F. G. Brown says: "He has forwarded them to the Canadas, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Constantinople, Rome, &c., &c.

"But it will be asked, Is the news that such a truth is preached a sufficient proclamation to fulfill the prophecy? Rev. 14:6, 7; Matt. 24:14. The answer is, If it was sufficient in the days of the apostles, it is now. That it was then, is clear from Acts 19:8-10, where Paul preached or taught in Ephesus two years, so that they in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. They could not all have heard a sermon, but they heard the sound of the gospel. In this sense, I have no doubt but the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world." We still wait for the approaching end. But when the purpose of God in the proclamation of the coming reign of Christ shall be fully accomplished, then will the end come.

WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE?

Our Lord having passed over the important events in the Christian age down to the end, in verses 5-14, goes back and introduces the destruction of Jerusalem, at verse 15, in the answer to the inquiry, "When shall these things be?" Verses 15-20: "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand); then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day." The "abomination of desolation" is called "armies" in Luke 21:20, and refers to the Roman army. "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." This desolating power is spoken of by Daniel as follows: "And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. . . . And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Margin, "desolator." Dan. 9:26, 27. Here is a clear prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies. Our Lord referred to the book of Daniel, and taught his disciples to read and understand it; and when they should see what was there predicted take place, they must make their escape. The flight of the Christians of Judea to the mountains would be attended with difficulties. And their subsequent condition would be that of hardship and suffering. The Lord knew this, and gave them the instructions and warnings necessary. The statement of verse 19 was given to save them from the sorrows of unnecessary woe. That was a time of trouble. But one, "such as never was," is just before the people of God. Jesus recognizes the existence of the Sabbath in verse 20, as late as the destruction of Jerusalem, as verily as he does the seasons of the year.

The Sabbath, is the uniform term of both testaments to designate the very day on which Jehovah rested after the creation, the day upon which he put his blessing, and which he set apart for man. Jesus does not speak of the Sabbath as being only a seventh part of time, or one day in seven, and no day in particular. The Sabbath, is the term used, referring to the last day of the first week of time, and to the last day of each subsequent week. But if the term, the Sabbath, means only a seventh part of time, or one day in seven, and no day in particular, then we may read this definition into the text as follows: But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a seventh part of time! or on one day in seven. If such a prayer could be answered, pray tell us when the disciples could take their flight. Verse 21: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." The "great tribulation" here mentioned is that of the church of Jesus Christ, and not the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem. We offer the following reasons:— 1. It is a fact that the tribulation of the Christian church, especially under the reign of the papacy, was greater than God's people had suffered before "since the beginning of the world." But it is not true that the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem was the greatest tribulation the world ever witnessed. The tribulation of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain when God rained on them fire and brimstone, or, the tribulation when God destroyed all men from the face of the earth, save eight souls, by the flood, was certainly greater than that at the destruction of Jerusalem. 2. The tribulation of the Christian church has been greater than it will ever be again. True, a time of trouble, "such as never was," spoken of in Dan. 12:1, is coming upon the world; but we find in the same verse this blessed promise, "And at that time thy people shall be delivered." The tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem was not greater than the world will ever witness. The vials of Jehovah's unmingled wrath are yet to be poured out, not upon the people of one nation only, but upon the guilty thousands of all nations. "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." Jer. 25:33. 3. If this tribulation be applied to the Jews, or any other class of unbelieving men, it cannot be harmonized with Dan. 12:1, which speaks of the time of trouble such as never was, when Michael shall stand up. Certainly there cannot be two times of trouble, at different periods, greater than ever was, or ever would be. Therefore, we apply the "tribulation" spoken of in Matt. 24:21, 29, to the church of Christ, extending down through the 1260 years of papal persecution; and the "trouble" mentioned in Dan. 12:1, to the unbelieving world, to be experienced by them in the future. 4. The period of tribulation was shortened for the elect's sake. Who are the elect here mentioned? The Jews? No; their house had been pronounced desolate. They were left of God in their hardness of heart and blindness of mind. Says Paul, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles." The elect were the followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. And where were they when tribulation was upon the Jews? They had fled to the mountains. How absurd, then, to say that the days of the tribulation of the Jews, in the city of Jerusalem, were shortened for the sake of the elect, who had fled from the place of tribulation. 5. The connection between verses 20 and 21, shows that the tribulation was to commence with those Christians who were to flee out of the city. "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day; for then shall be great tribulation." Our Lord here speaks of the tribulation which his people would suffer from the time of their flight onward. We follow them in their flight to the mountains, and then pass along down through the noted persecutions of the church of God under pagan Rome, and we see, indeed, tribulation. And when we come to the period of papal persecution, we see them suffering the most cruel tortures, and dying the most dreadful deaths, that wicked men and demons could inflict. This last period is especially noted in prophecy. The prophet Daniel saw the papacy, its blasphemy, its arrogance, its work of death on the saints, and its duration as a persecuting power, under the symbol of the little horn. "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Chap. 7:25. It is generally admitted that "a time and times and the dividing of time" is 1260 years. Commencing the 1260 years A. D. 538, they reach to A. D. 1798, when Berthier, a French general, entered Rome, and took it. The pope was taken prisoner and shut up in the Vatican. The papacy was stripped of its civil power. Here ended the period of tribulation spoken of by our Lord, which was shortened for the elect's sake. (To be Continued.)