Romans 13:12, commentary and pictures

The night is the present dark time of sin, error, trial and delusion that is almost over, and the day is the near time of salvation, light and glory in the appearing of Christ and the end of all things. Knowing this time means it is high time to awake out of sleep, because salvation is nearer than when first believed and there is no excuse for delay. To awake is to decisively cast off sinful deeds and worldly pursuits, especially excess, impurity, strife and selfishness, and to walk honestly as in the day with no provision for the flesh. To put on the armour of light is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteous life, which is the gospel armour of God for standing against the powers of darkness. Because the day for work is nearly ended, this calls for earnest prayer, holy reformation and untiring labor to warn the unwarned and enlighten minds before the night comes when no one can work.

Time and Context

The night is the present dark age of sin and spiritual darkness that is far spent and almost over, while the day at hand is the near time of salvation, full revelation, light and glory. It is the time when truth long clouded by human agencies is almost finished in obscurity, and the time of full opening is near for all who search, when mysteries are explained by the mighty descent of the Holy Spirit so that all shall know the Lord from least to greatest. Then the Sun of Righteousness shall beam forth to every depth and height until the earth is filled with glory, and therefore dissension and strife and selfish thoughts must no longer be cherished. It is also the closing night before the day of salvation, which is nearer than when first believed, calling those who know the time to wake from sleep, reject works of sin, and live watchfully and soberly equipped with the light of truth while awaiting Christ's return. The same nearly spent night is a night of trial in which Satan works with masterly power because his time is short, while the chastisement of God is upon the world to call those who know the truth to hide in God and behold His glory.

Knowing the time means it is high time to awake out of sleep, because salvation and deliverance are nearer than when faith began, leaving no excuse for sleep or delay. The dark period is ending as the day comes, so every dark deed must be thrown off and the protection of light put on. This awakening demands unreserved dedication of life to service and decided reformation, with growth in grace and sanctification of body, soul and spirit by the truth. It calls for active service such as keeping the church in order, visiting the sick, and educating after the divine model, and for turning from sinful conduct to live openly and rightly as in the day.

The verse belongs inseparably with waking from sleep and with what follows it: casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armour of light, walking honestly as in the day. Walking honestly means rejecting rioting and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness, strife and envying, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and making no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Applied directly, this condemns low and vile thought, common talk and deportment, impure practices, adultery and iniquity even among those professing sacred truth, and calls for elevation, purification, refinement and ennobling unto moral power against temptation. It demands full self-denial and self-sacrifice, resolutely resisting the little rivulets of spending for frivolous gratification, overcoming evil with good, and turning every penny and shilling and pound into channels that glorify God. With the armour of light it also means the love that works no ill to the neighbor as the fulfilling and keeping of the law, a keeping that requires long patience with those who do not see alike even when truth itself stirs resistance.

The armour of light is the gospel armour, the whole armour of God and the armour of righteousness. To put it on is to wake out of sleep, to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might rather than in own strength, and to remain vigilant and prepared for conflict with the devil in faithful service to God. It is to stand against the wiles of the devil and to wrestle against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness, with truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith to quench fiery darts, salvation, and the Word of God, that one may withstand in the evil day. This requires realizing the sacred character of the work and watching for souls as those who must give an account, comprehending duty to the world at this stage of its history and doing the Christian work in the face of wickedness in the cities where many are asleep to their calling. It requires personal religion and family piety that gives clear understanding of each one's part in building up the cause, vindicating the downtrodden law, and uplifting Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. Coming to the light by casting off darkness and putting on this whole armour means leaving error for the right way, with forgiveness for repentance, justification for belief, and the crown of life for faithfulness to the end, its grace increasing only as what is given is improved, and its obedience keeping unspotted from the world to stand without spot and blameless before the Judge of all the earth. The pathway is not smooth but a battle with peculiar difficulties, temptations and tests of faith, patience and steadfastness, to be met bravely with unswerving principle in willing obedience and persevering service, knowing Christ and the angels are present so none fights alone, and such endurance wins the crown of life.

Day Drawing Near

The day at hand is the glorious appearing of Christ and the nearness of the eternal world, when the end of all things is at hand and the Lord stands at the door. The night is almost gone and the day is near, so time is very short and the call is to holy readiness, to cast off sinful deeds and habits and worldly pursuits and to put on a righteous life marked by earnest devotion, simplicity, self-denial, and greater zeal rather than carelessness or relaxation. God's messengers always present time as very short, and the coming is nearer now than when first believed, which should solemnize the mind and arouse earnestness to separate from everything offensive to God, for it is not safe to delay His coming. The evidences that Christ is coming soon are many and very plain and the ends of the world have come, leaving no time for speculative ideas or haphazard movements but calling those who profess to look for Him to wake from sleep, gather with far more earnestness the important truths given for admonition, understand passing events, and get ready to stand in the great day of God. This is the Christian pilgrim's motto for moving steadily forward rather than yielding to the desire to rest, acting with reference to that day under a solemnity that now rests on everything, lest one be registered in the books of heaven as an unfaithful steward, for the watchman must know the time of the night.

The day is also the day of God's judgment and the closing of probation, when it is high time to wake from spiritual sleep because salvation is nearer than when first believed. Time to work is now very short, with the day far spent and the night at hand, so all work must be done with an eye single to the glory of God and with self hidden in Jesus. All works and character are passing in review before God, and everyone will receive from the Master according to what has been done whether good or evil, so life must be lived in obedience rather than remaining defiled, that names are not blotted out of the book of life but are confessed before God and the heavenly angels. Because personal probation may soon close, believers must be prepared to meet the Lord and meet God before forbearance ends, ceasing to resist the Spirit, despise truth, and grieve the Saviour, for failure to awaken now to personal responsibility and moral strength that reveals truth in character will soon make it everlastingly too late. God's judgments are already visible on land and sea, calling for coming into line with Him and for immediate action with no false moves, yet there is still opportunity to thank God and to use the time to form a character for eternal life, since no second probation will be granted.

Longer delay than expected does not prove the word failed, because God's promises and threatenings are conditional. The present time is still probation, not yet standing before the judgment seat of God, with Christ as Intercessor who loved each person and gave His own precious life for each one individually as though there were not another soul in the universe, showing infinite value to Christ.

The night nearly spent is a night of trial close to passing, in which Satan is bringing in his masterly power and intensifying his work because he knows his time is short. The chastisement of God is upon the world to call all who know the truth to hide in God, in the cleft of the Rock, and view the glory of God. Because the night is almost over and the day is near, the truth must not be muffled now but plain, unvarnished truth must be spoken and circulated widely in leaflets and pamphlets scattered like the leaves of autumn.

The perils of the last days are upon the hearers and the day of God's preparation is very near, with much still to be done to bring the Sabbath of the fourth commandment before all nations, tongues, and people, a work seen in the Chicago exhibition. To be clothed with the armor of light in this setting is to stand where the Lord would have one stand, valuing soul and influence, with every capability vitalized by His Holy Spirit, and giving with the trumpet no uncertain sound but the very message the Lord gives to bear. A time of peril is near that calls believers to awaken from spiritual stupor and prepare for the work required by the crisis, with prophetic events including the movements concerning the Religious Amendment serving as danger signals that should rouse them to action.

The same imagery of ending night and approaching day portrays the end of spiritual darkness before the Reformation, when long-hidden biblical truths were beginning to reach people and signs of a new dawn appeared in many lands.

Casting Off Darkness

The works of darkness are sinful deeds, habits and worldly pursuits to be decisively cast off in holy readiness rather than continued while waiting, because the night is far spent and the day is near and the time for preparation and action is urgent. To cast them off is to reject sinful conduct and worldly pursuits and to take up the conduct and readiness represented by the armor of light, living in a way that fits the approaching coming of Christ with earnest devotion, simplicity and self-denial rather than carelessness or relaxation. It means putting away sinful works and uncertainty and living openly, honorably and rightly, working while opportunity remains before the time comes when no one can work. The following verses explain this casting off as walking honestly, avoiding indulgence, sexual immorality, strife and envy, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and refusing to provide for the flesh and its desires, which is urgent preparation through holy living and overcoming evil. They are specifically rioting and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness, strife and envying, with all provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts, to be met by walking honestly as in the day and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. This demands full self-denial and self-sacrifice, solidly resisting indulgence of perverted appetite by eating flesh meat and refusing to lower health reform principles to secure patronage, and presenting the body a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God. Keeping the body free from defilement as the temple of God stops licentiousness from destroying physical and mental powers and ends the suffering and misery brought by abuse of the temple, while those who open their understanding make wonderful reforms and decided changes, loving God with all heart and mind and soul and strength and perfecting holiness to stand holy and blameless without spot or wrinkle.

They include impure thoughts, unholy desires and sinful passions that contradict profession of having left the world and dishonor God, and must be rejected in order to bear fruit to His glory. They include low and vile thought, common talk and deportment, impure practices, adultery and iniquity even among married men and women, children and youth professing sacred truth, who must be elevated, purified, refined and ennobled to have moral power to resist temptation. They include health-destroying indulgences and appetites that strengthen unholy passions, dishonest conduct, excess, drunkenness, impurity, strife and envy, to be broken away from through unreserved dedication and decided reformation with growth in grace and sanctification of body, soul and spirit by the truth. Because light about the laws of health is now shining, there is no excuse for closing the eyes and staying ignorant about eating, drinking and the laws of the body as God's dwelling, and continuing harmful habits is disobedience that dishonors God. This call is to be taken hold of in an intelligent manner by educating the intellect and arousing the moral sensibility, with individual accountability to follow Bible teaching on temperance and health reform rather than the practices or excuses of others, without making articles of diet a test of faith. The same standard of temperance and purity that qualifies a man as deacon qualifies him as elder, and those who do this gain clearer perception of true godliness with a wonderful change seen in the religious experience.

They include selfishness, love of money and worldly praise, making wealth or earthly interests the focus of the heart, and the worldly spirit and its influence that must be overcome by strong decided effort while waiting and watching for the Lord's coming. Casting them off means being healed of the leprosy of selfishness that has taken hold of the church, putting away selfishness and other works of darkness, and living and working unselfishly in obedience to known truth and love for others. It demands overcoming evil with good and making decided change to resist the little rivulets of spending that gratify taste for frivolous things and useless gratification, breaking every thread that binds to worldly habits and idols. Every penny and shilling and pound is then to flow into channels that glorify God, using time and money with self-denial and self-sacrifice and sincere love without hypocrisy to enlighten minds and relieve need. They include the war armor of roughness, thrusts, bitter words, fiery defense, evident uncharitableness, accusation and condemnation, which are fatal to the soul and turn souls away from truth and must be laid off by advocates of truth who possess the love of God and long patience with those who do not see as they do. This means refusing words that would not be spoken in Christ's presence and turning away from sinful, vain and wicked talk that stirs up strife, no longer working at cross purposes with God nor acting on principles of the power of darkness nor abusing heaven's sacred principles by unrighteousness and grasping authority that does not belong to them. Those in responsible positions must therefore leave behind wrong conduct and treat young workers with patience, kindness and fairness, educating and encouraging them rather than correcting them harshly, and be clothed with humility and the garments of Christ.

Casting them off requires leaving error for the right way and coming to the light by putting on the whole armor of righteousness, with forgiveness of sin for repentance, justification for belief, and the crown of life for faithfulness to the end. It requires coming just as one is, helpless and sin-polluted, poor, miserable, blind and naked, after years out of harmony with God serving another leader, the prince of darkness, with wasted powers, and casting oneself at the foot of the cross looking unto Jesus in faith so the Saviour lifts him up and he lives. It requires beginning now with diligent repentance and coming to God just as one is, because the only Son of the living God gave Himself, cleansing the soul from all filthiness of the spirit and bringing in a character without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Its grace increases only as what is already given is improved, and its obedience means keeping unspotted from the world in order to stand without spot and blameless before the Judge of the whole earth and be pronounced fit to enter the golden gates and receive the crown of life and the golden harp.

Putting On Light

The armour of light is the righteous life of Christ, put on by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and walking honestly as in the day. Because the night is far spent and the day is near and salvation is nearer than when belief began, it is high time to awake out of sleep and reject sinful conduct, worldly pursuits, rioting and drunkenness, impurity and wantonness, strife and envying, and all provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. Taking on that protection means unreserved dedication to the Lord's service and decided reformation with growth in grace and sanctification of body, soul and spirit by the truth, shown in earnest devotion, simplicity, self-denial and self-sacrifice, sincere love without hypocrisy, overcoming evil with good, breaking every thread that binds to worldly habits and idols, firmly resisting taste for frivolous things and useless gratification, and using time and money to enlighten minds, relieve need and glorify God. Readiness for the coming day includes temperance and self-control, breaking away from health-destroying indulgences and appetites that strengthen unholy passions and defile perception, refusing dishonest conduct and excess, and gaining clearer perception of true godliness with a wonderful change in religious experience.

Walking in the light is not merely saying one is in the light but walking in it by practical earnest endeavor and steady advancement as doers of the Word. It is walking uprightly and surely, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord on the path of obedience with the law of God in the heart, standing firm in Christ, growing constantly in spirituality, righteousness, sanctification and usefulness with every faculty increased and the mind united with the mind of Christ in order to appear with Him in glory when He appears. The nearness of the end is the Christian pilgrim's motto for refusing to rest and moving steadily forward, forgetting what is behind and pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus rather than yielding to desire for rest or self-indulgence in whole surrender to God. Putting on the armor brings the precious light of the Word, but the proving still lies ahead, for those turned from sin to Christ must remain steadfast as good soldiers in the enemy's country, kept standing on the elevated path cast up for the ransomed to walk, the highway of holiness with its downward and upward steps, only by the wisdom and strength and courage the Holy Spirit gives, with the command to go forward.

Putting on the armor of light is love that works no ill to the neighbor and is the fulfilling of the law, leaving no excuse for sleep because deliverance is nearer and the dark period is ending as the day comes. Casting off darkness means laying off the war armor of roughness, thrusts, bitter words, fiery defense, evident uncharitableness, accusation and condemnation, which are fatal to the soul and turn souls away from truth. Being clothed with the garments of Christ and clothed with humility as with a garment means possessing the love of God and exercising long patience with those who do not see the same, since truth itself will create resistance in many hearts, laboring together with God in meekness to convince others and present truth as it is in Jesus. It means cultivating patience, kindness and long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, walking together in love in the companionship in which God has placed believers, bending all energies to saving souls, and thus proving to be laborers together with Him with His light come and His glory risen.

For her final conflict the church putting it on is clothed in light and righteousness, formed by God's grace and truth, with transformed sanctified character to shine before the world. Clad in that complete armor of light and righteousness she is complete in Christ, built as a temple after the divine pattern, fed with manna from heaven and kept under the sole guardianship of grace, radiating in all directions the bright clear beams of the Sun of Righteousness until the worthless dross is consumed and the sanctifying ennobling influence of the truth testifies to the world and the earth is filled with glory.

Wearing it, as Daniel and his companions did in Babylon, means being clothed with what God gives to stand in holiness in an enemy land and not being deceived or misled. It means taking hold of God's strength to make peace with Him, keeping the eye of the mind single to the glory of God, and seeking wisdom and strength and grace from above rather than trusting any human power for wisdom and righteousness and sanctification. It means refusing to yield to flattery, smiles or frowns, jealous plots, entrapments meant to draw into wrong and stop advance in knowledge, or the sophistry of Satan, holding firmness and heroism from God to maintain the way of holiness, and watching unto prayer against Satan's enmity, obstacles and embarrassments not yet fully known.

It must be proved in the life as a soldier of Jesus Christ through conviction and conversion, cutting away supreme selfishness, dying to self and being born again, falling broken upon Christ the Rock, obeying the requirements of God and the truth, and studying the Word to know what is written so that It is written becomes the weapon against every temptation as it was for Christ. To be clothed with it is to stand where the Lord would have one stand, valuing soul and influence, with every capability vitalized by His Holy Spirit, giving with the trumpet no uncertain sound but the very message the Lord gives to bear amid the perils of the last days when the day of God's preparation is very near and much still remains to bring the Sabbath of the fourth commandment before all nations, tongues and people.

Urgent Missionary Work

The near end of night and nearness of day make action urgent, pressing watchmen and all brethren in responsibility to obey the divine charge now and labor for the unwarned multitudes in the large cities. Knowing the time means it is high time to awake out of sleep because salvation is nearer than when first believed, and casting off works of darkness and putting on the armor of light means doing that pointed-out duty without further delay and redeeming the time because the days are evil. Putting on the gospel armor is waking to comprehend duty to the world at this stage of history amid widespread wickedness in the cities, where many people and even many professed Christians are asleep and do not understand they have a work to do. Selfish planning and working in darkness while neglecting God-given missionary work are themselves works of darkness to be cast off, in order to uplift the standard and carry truth to cities where it has never been presented and be prepared for the coming conflict between keepers of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment and keepers of the spurious Sabbath, with condemnation upon failure to do this work. The closing work in the world is near yet cities remain unwarned, so the church needs revival, life, and power.

Believers are to put away sinful deeds and take up a light-filled life, working while opportunity remains because a time is coming when no one can work. The day for work is nearly ended and the night when no one can work is at hand, so those who know present truth must not be inactive while enemies plot to suppress truth, exalt the false Sabbath, enslave souls in error, and deepen darkness over the earth. They must be wide awake and work with energy answering their profession, making every sacrifice to win souls to Christ unto allegiance to God's law, employing every means provided to plant truth in hearts, since God's word was sent to control life and transform character. God's workers are far behind and must put away jealousy and exclusiveness that restrains and narrows advocacy of truth, urgently employing every power and every willing worker established in truth to give light to the world, with a hundred light-bearers where there is one today. When the day is fully come, neglect of the work appointed to human agencies will be more fully discerned.

The night of trial is nearly spent while Satan brings in masterly power because he knows his time is short, and God's chastisement is upon the world to call all who know truth to hide in God and behold His glory. Because the night is almost over, truth must not be muffled now but plain unvarnished truth must be spoken and scattered in leaflets and pamphlets like the leaves of autumn. That nearness of crisis calls those who know truth to seek refuge in God and to speak and spread truth plainly and without disguise, circulating it widely while Satan's time is short.

Awakening means working earnestly and unselfishly together with God and Christ for the saving of souls, making the most of granted opportunities and showing the world God's great interest in sinners. Casting off darkness is being healed of the leprosy of selfishness that has taken hold of the church, and putting on the armor of light is obeying known truth and living and working unselfishly. The end of all things being at hand, God's people must arouse by becoming untiring laborers together with Him in missionary effort, revealing divine love in unselfish ministry that awakens others to the sinfulness of selfishness and leads souls to believe the word just as it reads. Waking also requires being refreshed by the gift of the Holy Spirit in a new baptism of love, so that those sanctified through truth carry a holy influence that encircles the earth with grace and lightens it with divine glory as the Spirit works on hearts to show them God's things. Knowing the times requires faithful commandment-keepers to recognize the moral darkness of a world rapidly filling its cup of apostasy as in Noah's days, and therefore to be better prepared day by day to let light shine by setting every agency in operation for missionary work and bringing all powers into active service, which is the great aim of those professing the third angel's message. This active service includes keeping the church in order, visiting the sick, and educating after the divine model. Casting off darkness also means cultivating patience, kindness, and long-suffering, bearing with and forgiving one another, walking together in love in the companionship where God has placed believers, and bending all energies to saving souls, thus proving to be laborers together with Him with His light come and His glory risen upon them.

Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and walking honestly as in the day means turning from rioting and drunkenness, impurity and wantonness, strife and envying, and making no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. It demands full self-denial and self-sacrifice with sincere love without hypocrisy, overcoming evil with good, breaking every thread binding to worldly habits and idols, and firmly resisting little rivulets of spending that gratify taste for frivolous things and useless gratification. Every penny and shilling and pound is instead to flow into channels that glorify God, using time and money to enlighten minds, relieve need, and glorify Him.

Applied to believers in Battle Creek, the call to wake from spiritual sleep because salvation is nearer is a call to repent of wrongdoing and respond to received light and knowledge rather than continue in wrongdoing. It commands them to decide now what they will do, abandoning deeds of darkness and taking up the armor of light and of Christlike character, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

Holy Life Readiness

The nearness of the day calls for greater zeal, earnestness and fervor in prayer and devotion, with simplicity and self-denial, and not for carelessness, relaxation of effort, or joining in worldly pursuits. Even if the end were not near this distinct, devoted life would be duty, but as the night is far spent and the day is at hand it becomes especially urgent to reject sinful conduct and live in fitness for the coming of Christ. The growing nearness, with salvation nearer than when first believed, presses for seeking the spirit of Christ and for putting on the armour of light as a righteous life in place of works of darkness as deeds and habits to be cast off.

That awakening calls for unreserved dedication of life to service and decided reformation, with growth in grace and sanctification of body, soul and spirit by the truth. Rejecting deeds of darkness means breaking away from all defiling practices and health-destroying indulgences and appetites that strengthen unholy passions, refusing dishonest conduct, excess in eating and drinking, drunkenness, impurity, strife and envy. Taking on the protection of light means taking on the Lord Jesus Christ and walking honestly as in daytime, making no provision for fleshly lusts, which brings clearer perception of true godliness and a wonderful change in religious experience toward a holy, blameless character.

Awakening requires personal religion and family piety, which gives clear understanding of the part each one is called to act in building up the cause in the world, vindicating the downtrodden law of God, and uplifting Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. Parents still in the enemy's country must work earnestly for themselves and strive to reach a higher standard, rejecting evil and living righteously so as to carry their little ones with them into the ark of safety. The near day gives courage to those who love God to cling to Him, trust Jesus fully, and endure trials while the time of waiting nearly over draws to its close.

Time is very short, with many plain evidences that the ends of the world have come and judgments already visible on land and sea, so now is the preparation time for eternity with opportunity still granted to form character for eternal life. There is no time for speculative ideas, haphazard movements or false moves, but solemn earnestness is required to understand passing events, gather important truths given for admonition, act with reference to the great day of God, do quickly whatever must be done, and know as a watchman the time of the night lest one be registered as an unfaithful steward, for no second probation will be granted. Yet the church is rebuked as sleeping when it should awake, bowed in prayer but spiritually asleep, some fast asleep and some so dead asleep they have fallen over, with only two or three sleepily dragging out words of prayer, joined with sins and wrongs rising like a heavy polluting stench that drives souls away and disgusts unbelievers rather than convicting them.

Because the crisis in this earth's history has been reached and the testing time with its perils has come, the time for sleep is past and Satan must not be allowed to lull to sleep to gain his end and draw into deceptive snares. Waking means putting away pride and forsaking a noncommittal, neutral position, taking sides with Christ against the world with decided efforts for the right. It means receiving truth as the Word of the living God, meeting the claims of the gospel, learning the will of Him who gave Himself in self-denial and sacrifice that men might become sons and daughters of God, and speaking a word in season to arrest the careless and indifferent and arouse souls to eternal realities, with prophetic danger signals rousing from stupor to prepare for the work the crisis requires.