The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
The cry out of Seir asks the watchman what of the night, with God's people seeking signs of their coming King with earnest interest in the solemn hours before the judgment. The watchman's answer is that the morning comes, and also the night. The morning means the soon revealing of Christ's glory and the beginning of endless day for the righteous, while the night means eternal darkness for the wicked, and both are near. The watchman must know the time of night, recognizing the urgency of the time, the abounding iniquity, and the plain evidence that Christ's coming and God's judgments are at hand. Those entrusted as watchmen must therefore give a clear, decisive warning under the Holy Spirit, staying alert, guarding souls, and rousing people from sleep while probation still lingers.
Question and Answer
The call comes out of Seir to the watchman, asking what of the night. It is the question of God's people seeking signs of their coming King. It puts those set to watch over souls under charge to give a clear warning and to care faithfully for those entrusted to them.
The inquiry is to be made with earnest interest, as one faithful watchman asks another for light on the time. It seeks understanding of where the night stands rather than acting in an unchristlike spirit. It is to be heard in the solemn hours before the judgment, calling for heed to the warning and to its mingled prospect.
The question is one asked and answered again and again. As the final message sounds, it is put to each brother, who must decide what answer he will give. The watchman's answer is that the morning comes, and also the night. That answer is to be given clearly and decisively under the Holy Spirit's influence by those charged to guard every outpost, since leading souls into confusion and ruin brings accountability for their loss. It is also a challenge to examine beliefs, judgment, motives, words, and influence rather than accepting them without scrutiny.
Meaning of Morning and Night
The question out of Seir is the inquiry of God's people longing for signs of their coming King, asking the watchman what of the night. The watchman's answer is that the morning cometh, and also the night. The morning is the soon revealing of Christ's glory and the beginning of endless day for the righteous, described as the rising of the Sun of Righteousness. The night is eternal night and darkness settling upon the wicked, and both outcomes are near.
The morning comes to those who rely on God's Word and follow His counsel, while the night comes to those who work by human wisdom. The closing call to inquire, to return, and to come is a call to leave human direction and to seek God's counsel. The morning is to be announced to the faithful, while the slothful, the ease-loving, and those working against God are to be warned that night is coming. That division of the message calls watchmen to wake from indifference and to stand united in work for the salvation of souls with a clear warning.
The morning comes followed by night when no man can work, so readiness and action are required while there is still time. God's watchmen are responsible for warning people of this succession of light and closing darkness. The night includes tribulation and darkness, but it is no reason for discouragement. Faith looks beyond it to the dawn of the eternal day when there will be no more night.
The same answer, the morning cometh and also the night, applies to the growing light of Bible truth and to prophetic knowledge of the world's place in history. Those seeking truth are as those asking the watchman what of the night. Thorough study of prophecy gives assurance that Christ's second coming is near.
Discerning the Prophetic Time
The watchman must know the time of night, and therefore those who face the day of God must recognize the time in which they live, recognize its urgency, and make ready. That readiness is required because God's judgments are about to fall upon the world, while the signs that Christ's coming is near call for earnest response in preparation to stand in the great day of God.
The night is the solemn time when the ends of the world have come, the evidence that Christ's coming is near is many and very plain, and only a few days of probation remain. To know the time is to understand the importance of passing events, to feel the solemnity that all who believe the truth should feel, to gather earnestly the important truths given for admonition, and to act in reference to the great day of God and make ready to stand in it. This stands in contrast to sleeping like many who profess to look for Him, for such sleep risks being registered in the books of heaven as an unfaithful steward.
The night is the present time when iniquity abounds everywhere, the love of many has grown cold, and the plagues of God are just upon the world, with the evidence of Christ's soon coming right at hand. To know the time is to wake out of sleep, to understand the importance of moments swiftly passing into eternity, to feel the solemnity now clothing everything, and to make ready a people to stand in the great day of God by living by every word of God as daily spiritual food. Many are asleep and do not half gather the important truths written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world have come, and failure in faithful stewardship leaves one registered in the books of heaven as an unfaithful steward.
The watchman's question about the night is a call to recognize the signs of the approaching day. Those looking for Christ's coming must be awake to the evidence that it is near, must understand the solemn events of the last days, and must prepare for the great day of God.
Work of the Watchmen
The watchmen are those charged with watching over souls, and the cry out of Seir is put to ministers as a demand for a clear, decisive warning given under the Holy Spirit's influence. They must care faithfully for the church and guard every outpost, remembering they are accountable to God for those entrusted to them because those souls were bought with Christ's blood. To lead people into confusion and spiritual ruin is to incur accountability for their loss. Those who have the light must answer faithfully, with assurance and authority, that morning comes and also night, that God is Father and Christ is Saviour. That answering means constant, aggressive work of warning those still in darkness and error who do not know the truth, not restricting labor to strengthening and confirming believers who already have every advantage. The faithful watchman gives the message clear and distinct that the Lord is coming to execute judgment upon all who do not obey the gospel.
The watchmen must wake to their duty and awaken from insensibility and indifference, standing united for the salvation of souls. They are to proclaim that the time of night has come and that the Lord is soon coming, rousing people from spiritual lethargy before they sleep the sleep of death. The faithful are to be told that morning is coming, while the slothful, ease-loving, and those working against God are to be warned that night is coming. Those on the walls of Zion must stay alert and call out the message plainly, for there is no place for sleepy, timid, or silent sentries. Silence or lack of response when fellow watchmen call marks a watchman as unfaithful. The people have a right to demand of ministers as watchmen what time of night it is, how far probation has advanced, and what perils belong to this time.
Ministers must therefore be earnest, vigilant, and active, fully believing and feeling in and out of the desk the truths they preach, kindled from the divine altar with unction from on high rather than doing formal, mechanical pulpit work copied from others. Because probation is soon to close, mercy soon to cease, the wrath of God about to be poured out, and the end nearer than when belief began, they must give a clear, certain warning that keeps souls awake to bring them to Christ and does not let them be lulled to sleep until salvation is past. The watchmen must recognize the dangers of their time, see dangers approaching, feel responsibility to raise the warning signal, and guard God's people. They must speak up when dangerous teachings threaten standing truths, distinguishing truth from error and righteousness from unrighteousness, and those who will not warn are unfit to be entrusted with further light.
Teachers as watchmen who can tell the time of night must take a clear stand, guide God's people safely, and feed them sound teaching. One called to this work stands between the living and the dead to alert God's people. God's watchmen must lift their voices to announce that morning is coming and night as well, must not sleep but declare the time as the world nears the close of its history. This is an urgent call for Christians to warn those who have not heard the message. The watchmen are filed under Christ's banner under the third angel's message, the last message of mercy to the world, and they have no time, wisdom, or strength to spend in taking sides with political parties or giving influence to political strife. It disappoints Christ as Captain when brothers in the same faith wear the badges of opposing parties and proclaim divided opinions instead of doing the watchman's work.
Call to Personal Readiness
The inquiry of what remains of the night is joined to the reply that morning comes and night also, and that pairing turns the question back upon each hearer as a personal examination. Beliefs are not to be taken without scrutiny, nor judgment, motives, words, and influence left untested, but all are to be weighed in the light of the answer given.
The question is to be asked rightly, with earnest interest, as one seeking light on the time rather than acting in an unchristlike spirit. Those who fail to so inquire are left as pale faces peering out into the darkness, while the true inquiry receives the answer that the night comes and also the day. In the last days that same call becomes watch and pray, requiring continual spiritual alertness. To remain filled with the Holy Spirit is the only safeguard against being drawn away from God's work.
The cry out of Seir asks the watchman what of the night, with God's people seeking signs of their coming King with earnest interest in the solemn hours before the judgment. The watchman's answer is that the morning comes, and also the night. The morning means the soon revealing of Christ's glory and the beginning of endless day for the righteous, while the night means eternal darkness for the wicked, and both are near. The watchman must know the time of night, recognizing the urgency of the time, the abounding iniquity, and the plain evidence that Christ's coming and God's judgments are at hand. Those entrusted as watchmen must therefore give a clear, decisive warning under the Holy Spirit, staying alert, guarding souls, and rousing people from sleep while probation still lingers.
Question and Answer
The call comes out of Seir to the watchman, asking what of the night. It is the question of God's people seeking signs of their coming King. It puts those set to watch over souls under charge to give a clear warning and to care faithfully for those entrusted to them.
The inquiry is to be made with earnest interest, as one faithful watchman asks another for light on the time. It seeks understanding of where the night stands rather than acting in an unchristlike spirit. It is to be heard in the solemn hours before the judgment, calling for heed to the warning and to its mingled prospect.
The question is one asked and answered again and again. As the final message sounds, it is put to each brother, who must decide what answer he will give. The watchman's answer is that the morning comes, and also the night. That answer is to be given clearly and decisively under the Holy Spirit's influence by those charged to guard every outpost, since leading souls into confusion and ruin brings accountability for their loss. It is also a challenge to examine beliefs, judgment, motives, words, and influence rather than accepting them without scrutiny.
Meaning of Morning and Night
The question out of Seir is the inquiry of God's people longing for signs of their coming King, asking the watchman what of the night. The watchman's answer is that the morning cometh, and also the night. The morning is the soon revealing of Christ's glory and the beginning of endless day for the righteous, described as the rising of the Sun of Righteousness. The night is eternal night and darkness settling upon the wicked, and both outcomes are near.
The morning comes to those who rely on God's Word and follow His counsel, while the night comes to those who work by human wisdom. The closing call to inquire, to return, and to come is a call to leave human direction and to seek God's counsel. The morning is to be announced to the faithful, while the slothful, the ease-loving, and those working against God are to be warned that night is coming. That division of the message calls watchmen to wake from indifference and to stand united in work for the salvation of souls with a clear warning.
The morning comes followed by night when no man can work, so readiness and action are required while there is still time. God's watchmen are responsible for warning people of this succession of light and closing darkness. The night includes tribulation and darkness, but it is no reason for discouragement. Faith looks beyond it to the dawn of the eternal day when there will be no more night.
The same answer, the morning cometh and also the night, applies to the growing light of Bible truth and to prophetic knowledge of the world's place in history. Those seeking truth are as those asking the watchman what of the night. Thorough study of prophecy gives assurance that Christ's second coming is near.
Discerning the Prophetic Time
The watchman must know the time of night, and therefore those who face the day of God must recognize the time in which they live, recognize its urgency, and make ready. That readiness is required because God's judgments are about to fall upon the world, while the signs that Christ's coming is near call for earnest response in preparation to stand in the great day of God.
The night is the solemn time when the ends of the world have come, the evidence that Christ's coming is near is many and very plain, and only a few days of probation remain. To know the time is to understand the importance of passing events, to feel the solemnity that all who believe the truth should feel, to gather earnestly the important truths given for admonition, and to act in reference to the great day of God and make ready to stand in it. This stands in contrast to sleeping like many who profess to look for Him, for such sleep risks being registered in the books of heaven as an unfaithful steward.
The night is the present time when iniquity abounds everywhere, the love of many has grown cold, and the plagues of God are just upon the world, with the evidence of Christ's soon coming right at hand. To know the time is to wake out of sleep, to understand the importance of moments swiftly passing into eternity, to feel the solemnity now clothing everything, and to make ready a people to stand in the great day of God by living by every word of God as daily spiritual food. Many are asleep and do not half gather the important truths written for admonition upon whom the ends of the world have come, and failure in faithful stewardship leaves one registered in the books of heaven as an unfaithful steward.
The watchman's question about the night is a call to recognize the signs of the approaching day. Those looking for Christ's coming must be awake to the evidence that it is near, must understand the solemn events of the last days, and must prepare for the great day of God.
Work of the Watchmen
The watchmen are those charged with watching over souls, and the cry out of Seir is put to ministers as a demand for a clear, decisive warning given under the Holy Spirit's influence. They must care faithfully for the church and guard every outpost, remembering they are accountable to God for those entrusted to them because those souls were bought with Christ's blood. To lead people into confusion and spiritual ruin is to incur accountability for their loss.
Those who have the light must answer faithfully, with assurance and authority, that morning comes and also night, that God is Father and Christ is Saviour. That answering means constant, aggressive work of warning those still in darkness and error who do not know the truth, not restricting labor to strengthening and confirming believers who already have every advantage. The faithful watchman gives the message clear and distinct that the Lord is coming to execute judgment upon all who do not obey the gospel.
The watchmen must wake to their duty and awaken from insensibility and indifference, standing united for the salvation of souls. They are to proclaim that the time of night has come and that the Lord is soon coming, rousing people from spiritual lethargy before they sleep the sleep of death. The faithful are to be told that morning is coming, while the slothful, ease-loving, and those working against God are to be warned that night is coming.
Those on the walls of Zion must stay alert and call out the message plainly, for there is no place for sleepy, timid, or silent sentries. Silence or lack of response when fellow watchmen call marks a watchman as unfaithful. The people have a right to demand of ministers as watchmen what time of night it is, how far probation has advanced, and what perils belong to this time.
Ministers must therefore be earnest, vigilant, and active, fully believing and feeling in and out of the desk the truths they preach, kindled from the divine altar with unction from on high rather than doing formal, mechanical pulpit work copied from others. Because probation is soon to close, mercy soon to cease, the wrath of God about to be poured out, and the end nearer than when belief began, they must give a clear, certain warning that keeps souls awake to bring them to Christ and does not let them be lulled to sleep until salvation is past. The watchmen must recognize the dangers of their time, see dangers approaching, feel responsibility to raise the warning signal, and guard God's people. They must speak up when dangerous teachings threaten standing truths, distinguishing truth from error and righteousness from unrighteousness, and those who will not warn are unfit to be entrusted with further light.
Teachers as watchmen who can tell the time of night must take a clear stand, guide God's people safely, and feed them sound teaching. One called to this work stands between the living and the dead to alert God's people. God's watchmen must lift their voices to announce that morning is coming and night as well, must not sleep but declare the time as the world nears the close of its history. This is an urgent call for Christians to warn those who have not heard the message. The watchmen are filed under Christ's banner under the third angel's message, the last message of mercy to the world, and they have no time, wisdom, or strength to spend in taking sides with political parties or giving influence to political strife. It disappoints Christ as Captain when brothers in the same faith wear the badges of opposing parties and proclaim divided opinions instead of doing the watchman's work.
Call to Personal Readiness
The inquiry of what remains of the night is joined to the reply that morning comes and night also, and that pairing turns the question back upon each hearer as a personal examination. Beliefs are not to be taken without scrutiny, nor judgment, motives, words, and influence left untested, but all are to be weighed in the light of the answer given.
The question is to be asked rightly, with earnest interest, as one seeking light on the time rather than acting in an unchristlike spirit. Those who fail to so inquire are left as pale faces peering out into the darkness, while the true inquiry receives the answer that the night comes and also the day. In the last days that same call becomes watch and pray, requiring continual spiritual alertness. To remain filled with the Holy Spirit is the only safeguard against being drawn away from God's work.