Outline of the Signs of the Times.
It is a generally acknowledged fact, that our lot has been cast in no ordinary times. Men immersed in worldly business, the politicians, and those engaged in the study of the Sacred Volume, are all alike sensible of this truth. Nay, even the unstored Turks, living in utter ignorance of what is going on in the civilized world, feel deeply that eventful times are at hand. They often express their feelings on this subject to the writer of these remarks by saying, "Our time is gone by now, the end of the world is coming!" Now, these ignorant men, who never see a newspaper, or come much in contact with the rest of mankind, appear to have an intuitive perception of an eventful future, merely from what little they hear by coming here and there in contact with travelers, or by what they experience in the change of customs handed down by their forefathers, and altered circumstances in regard to their rule and power. They would often ask the writer, "What do your books say shall come?" meaning our prophetic Scriptures; showing that they have no confidence in their Koran, nor in what their teachers tell them. In Asia Minor, on one occasion passing the Lord's day in a small town, a Turk visited us. We read to him certain portions of the New Testament, some of a prophetic character, and explanatory remarks were made as we proceeded. On taking leave, he said, "Were I able to read this book, I should beg you to let me have it; but this not being the case, I shall retire to my country house, and serve my God as well as I can." Such instances show plainly that there is an impression on the minds of these uninformed men of approaching events, inexplicable to themselves. This foreboding of coming events, more or less met with among civilized and semi-barbarous nations, is a sure indication that the Lord is about to fulfill his yet remaining purposes with regard to this world. And according to the infallible and uniform voice of the prophets of the Old and New Testaments, these purposes will be accompanied with tremendous judgments and convulsions of nations, ending with the second coming of Christ. Whenever the Lord was about to visit this world in any unusual manner, he always gave some warning beforehand. We need only refer to his first coming, and the intimations of that event before it arrived. That glorious event was very extensively known over the known world, else how could the magi from the East have come to pay their adorations to the newborn Saviour, "The king of the Jews?" They must have had some knowledge of it beforehand. The star could only point out to them the precise time, and show them the way. This knowledge doubtless was promoted through the dispersion of the Jews among the nations, even beyond the Roman Empire. And the second coming of our Lord, though constantly represented as taking place unawares, like the coming of a thief, is brought to our notice in these days more than perhaps ever before. Within these thirty years, numberless publications have issued from the press, in this country and elsewhere, calling upon the Christians of all classes to be ready to welcome their Lord. But who attends to these calls? The great masses of professing Christians are indifferent to these monitions, being satisfied, like the foolish virgins, in having the lamp of profession without oil in their vessels. The signs of the times have no meaning for them; they proceed with a light heart, and confident expectation of entering with the Lord to the marriage at his coming, though they have never seriously considered the necessity of being in a watchful and prepared state for that glorious event. Our Saviour's monition is, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour, wherein the Son of man cometh." The true followers of the Lord, however, who compare the signs of the times with what is written, will not be overtaken by that day as by a thief. 1 Thess. v, 4, 5. They are looking for and hasting (unto) the coming of the day of God. They pray with the Spirit and the bride, and say, "Come." Yea, "come quickly." Amen. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."—Quarterly Journal of Prophecy.