THE DAY OF THE LORD by E. S. WALKER

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 13, 1861

THE DAY OF THE LORD.

By E. S. WALKER

“The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly.” Zeph. i, 14.

The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly—the day in which every transgression shall receive a just recompense of reward—the day to which the unjust are to be reserved to be punished—the day that will pass as the chaff before the fierce anger of the Lord. I propose to introduce a few passages of scripture where the day of the Lord is brought to view, in order to show its character, and to bring it before our minds, and then endeavor to show that it is near at hand and hasteth greatly.

“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.” Zeph. i, 15. It is to be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation. “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. vi, 15-17. “Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord saith thus: Wailing shall be in all streets, and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! And they shall call the husbandmen to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.” Amos v, 16. “For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Mal. iv, 1. It is also to be a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness. Joel says, “Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and a day of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains.” Joel ii, 2. “Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light? even very dark and no brightness in it.” Amos v, 20.

The heavens and the earth will probably shadow forth God’s vengeance—dark and ominous clouds will flit athwart the sky, causing it to be dark and gloomy—the sun and moon will be darkened and the stars withdraw their shining—the wicked will tremble—their knees smite together through fear, and all faces will gather blackness. And in the midst of this universal gloom, this ominous silence, suddenly the Lord will utter his voice. Yes, the Lord is to utter his voice again. He spoke once upon Mt. Sinai. “Whose voice then shook the earth, but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” Heb. xii, 26. “Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” Isa. xiii, 13. “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?” Joel ii, 11.

But when will he come? When will the day of the Lord dawn upon our world? We think that the scriptures we have quoted have their application in our day and age of the world. We believe that the day of the Lord is near, and hasteth greatly. We will now introduce a few scriptures as a reason for the hope that is within us.

In Luke chap. xxi, we read of certain signs which are to precede that day, the last of which is “distress of nations with perplexity, and men’s hearts falling them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” This prophecy is now meeting its fulfillment—distress of nations abounds, not only distress, but distress with perplexity—the rulers know not what to do—how to alleviate the difficulty—the people are alarmed—they too are perplexed—with what avidity do they seek after the latest news—how eagerly do they devour the daily papers to learn whether there is any prospect of a speedy adjustment of our difficulties—their hearts fail them for fear, and for looking after the things which are coming on the earth.

I received a letter from a friend a short time since, who was lately, if not now, a member in one of the prominent churches of the day. With reference to the signs of the times and the present war he writes, “I believe fully half the advent doctrine, now; corruption, deceit, fraud, in general, every vice stalks broadcast through the churches unrebuked by ministers or laymen. What’s to be the end? God only knows. Nothing but war, war, war, in every man’s mouth!”

Does not this sound like the language of perplexity? I make this extract for the purpose of showing the feeling that pervades the minds of men. And again we find recorded in Jeremiah that “evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth, 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, 32-34.

Is not that prophecy meeting its fulfillment now? Let us look at home at our once happy and prosperous nation, now being deluged with blood, and let it answer. Has not evil come upon this nation? And if we may credit the reports from the scenes of carnage, the people are fast losing that respect and natural affection which would prompt them to spare a wounded foe, or bury a slain enemy; for according to reports numbers of the wounded were run through with the bayonet, or had their throats cut, and their dead bodies left unburied upon the ground, paving the way for greater atrocities and for more inhuman and unfecing actions. If these reports are correct, or if not, the time will soon come when it will meet its fulfillment, for when brother can imbrue his hand in his brother’s blood, there is nothing too inhuman for him to do. Then if these reports are correct it is not only in part, a fulfillment of this prophecy, but one of the signs of the last days given by Paul in his second letter to Timothy, third chapter commencing at the first verse: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers,” &c. The order of the day among the nations is war, war! The proclamation in Joel iii, 9-11, is being proclaimed. “Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong; assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about.” And again in Jeremiah xlvi, 9, 10, “Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Lybians that handle the shield, and the Lydians that handle and bend the bow; for this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood.”

Let us look at home at our once peaceable nation, and see if we cannot behold the fulfillment of this prophecy. Has there not been such a preparation of war and a waking up of mighty men in our own country within the last few months, as has had no precedent in the past? Congress has authorized the President to call out an army of 500,000 men, and voted $500,000,000 to carry on the war. And it has been estimated that there has already been not far from $200,000,000 expended, and scarcely a commencement made. This when compared with former wars is almost incredible. The Crimean war it is said cost only $84,000,000. The late Italian war cost but $47,000,000, and the late war in India cost $38,000,000. If we are correct in our estimates, the present war has already cost more than those three wars combined, and the “Ten Years War,” known in history as the French Revolution, cost only $220,000,000, being only about $30,000,000 more than has been expended by our government in a few months. Does not this look like preparing for war and waking up the mighty men, when a peaceable nation like ours prepares for war upon such a stupendous scale? It is not in our own nation only that this prophecy is meeting with its fulfillment. All the other nations have been and are still preparing for war more extensively than was ever before known in the history of the world. And were it not that the winds are being held until the servants of God are sealed, the battle of the great day of God Almighty would take place immediately. But soon the servants

of God will be sealed, and then our great High Priest will leave the heavenly Sanctuary, probation will have ended, the fiat will then go forth, “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. And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. xxii, 11, 12.

There will then no longer be any mediator between God and man. The winds (powers of earth) will then be let loose—there will then no longer be a restraining power to hold them in check—then the great battle of Armageddon will be fought, in which blood will flow to the horses’ bridles—then the wrath of God will be poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. Sinners may scoff and say, 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; but remember that the Lord is not slack concerning his promises. “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. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” 2 Pet. iii, 10-14.

Although the great day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly, probation still lingers. Christ still pleads in the heavenly sanctuary. He is still an advocate before the Father, still willing to make intercession for us. It is yet true that “now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation;” but that day will soon, very soon, close. Christ will soon lay down the censer and take up the crown; soon lay off his priestly robes and be clothed in his kingly garments; soon “appear without sin unto salvation to those who look for him,” but “revealed in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And in view of these things, and in order that you may escape the perils of the last days which are thickening around us, will you not make the Lord your refuge, even the Most High your habitation? If you will, you have the promise: “Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Ps. xci, 3-12.