Nature's Series of Signals Precursing the Return of Jesus
THE DARK DAY OF MAY 19, 1780
By Benjamin G. Wilkinson
This is Dr. Wilkinson's concluding article on the events of the seven seals recorded in Revelation 6 to 8. Spanning the time from Christ's first advent to His second coming, we have witnessed the remarkable response of historical events to God's advance history. In the preceding article, we saw the breaking of the sixth seal, and located in 1755, the great earthquake of Lisbon as the first of nature's series of signals heralding the time of the end. We are facing the last act in God's great drama of the ages.
THE great Lisbon earthquake of November 1, 1755, was followed by yet another sign pointing to the nearness of the end. "The sun," says the apostle, "became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Rev. 6: 12. May 19, 1780, has gone down in the annals of American history as the famous dark day.
The unusual appearance of the sun on that day is still a theme in current literature. Thus we read in the Ladies' Home Journal, July, 1905:
"It is not easy now to produce a circumstantial account of a day which possibly has never been equaled anywhere in the United States for the fright which it excited; but here and there, there are still to be found some contemporaneous references to its singular effects. The day was the nineteenth of May, 1780. . . . It was generally pronounced to be the most extraordinary occurrence of that generation. . . . Where it was seen in its full effects, the darkness was appalling.
"At some places, all the light of day seemed as if it had been blotted out. . . . A thick cloudiness in the atmosphere seems to have been first observed about ten o'clock in the morning, gradually deepening into an oppressive gloom; and hour after hour, and long after the time for the setting of the sun, the blackness, with some intervals of light in the afternoon, continued to envelop a vast region. Dr. Samuel Penny, when, several years later, he wrote upon the cause of the phenomenon, declared that 'the darkness of the evening was probably as gross as it has ever been observed since the Almighty's fiat gave birth to light.'"
Four Advance Signals
THE phenomenal appearance of the moon the night following this dark day, fulfills precisely the words of the apostle that "the moon became as blood," and the words of our Saviour that "the moon shall not give her light." Matt. 24: 29. Thus says Samuel William Hallas, professor of mathematics and philosophy in the university of Cambridge, in the "Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences," volume 50, pages 234-247: "It is probable that it [the darkness] extended much beyond the limits [New England]; but the exact boundaries cannot be ascertained by any observations that I have been able to collect. The sun and the moon appeared remarkably red in color, and divested of their brightness and lucid appearance."
These two signs foretelling the second return of the Lord fully answer the word of our Saviour. But there is still a third sign, the falling of the stars to the earth "as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken by a mighty wind." It would be a waste of time here to answer any objection that this language presents a scientific impossibility. Christ and John evidently did not mean fixed stars, but just what the expression means to-day, "shooting stars."
Did any such great phenomenon obtain a marked place in history? — Yes. Of the astonishing star shower of the night of November 12 to 13, 1833, Humboldt, the great scientist, says: "At the time of the appearance of the falling stars the night of November 12 to 13, epoch since become so celebrated, the falling stars appeared to depart from the same and identical point of the celestial vault. . . . An aurora borealis very intense accompanied the most magnificent appearance of falling stars that is known, that of the twelfth to the thirteenth of November, 1833."
Many other quotations might be given from numerous noted men and from standard magazines. It will not be necessary, however, to give such, as reference to these great events may be found in many well-known works.
Thus we have located the four signs preceding the Saviour's coming. It is true that the apostle saw other signs; but they were movements in the heavens which accompanied the return of the Saviour, rather than preceding Him as signals.
Cry Out for Death
How great will be the effect of this event upon the élite of society, upon capitalists and laborers, is indicated by the fact that all classes cry out in their anguish and fear for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and hide them "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?" We all know what would happen if a mountain fell on a man. Hence these transgressors cry out for death.
The return of Christ carries back the mind of those in all stations of life who rejected the grace offered to make them victors over sin. The terrors of a guilty conscience are upon them at the glorious event; or as says the revelator in another verse: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him." Rev. 1: 7.
Have we not here enough to show us that the six seals do indeed reach from the first advent to the return of our Lord? And have not enough gone by to let us know that we are living under the sixth seal — nay, more, that we are living toward the very close of the sixth seal?
Reception Committee Called Out
THE sixth seal ended with the great question, "Who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6: 17. In the seventh chapter of Revelation, nothing is said of the seventh seal. Only when we reach the eighth chapter do we find again the seventh seal. Why is this? — Evidently the seventh chapter is thrown in between the sixth and the seventh seal, to answer that great question, "Who shall be able to stand?" by saying, Those who are sealed with God's seal, they shall be able to stand. The seventh seal brings to view the seven trumpets. These cover chapters eight to eleven of the book of Revelation. They are retrospective. They go back over the ground of the seven seals, and bring it out in larger measure, with fuller detail, and presenting other events.
The great and glorious moment, however, has been reached under the seventh seal; and the sealing work in chapter seven brings forward the people called out to be a reception committee for the Lord's return. There is as it were but a moment of time left, and the seventh seal brings everything to its consummation. Is the hope of Christ's second coming burning bright in your heart? Are you responding to the conviction of His Spirit that you should become better? And have you put yourself in training to obtain the prize of eternal life?
"FINANCIAL ILLUSIONS OF THE WAR"
The Pathetic Failure of Man's Theories — Ruthlessly Shattered by the March of Events
"THE war has been breaking down principles, overturning axioms, shattering theories, in every direction. We have seen this statement overwhelmingly proved in military, in naval affairs. No less is it true in finance. In the school of finance, as well as that of the army and navy, there were certain tenets that men had long clung to which proved to be great illusions."
The foregoing sentences form the opening paragraph of a significant article by Thomas W. Lamont, in Harper's Magazine for July. Mr. Lamont is one of the partners in the house of J. P. Morgan & Co., the great international banking firm of Wall Street.
Holland, in the Wall Street Journal, commenting upon Mr. Lamont's article, says, "He [Lamont] and those associated with him are persuaded that the United States must face, and if possible accept, very great responsibilities at the close of the European war." Mr. Holland also suggests that aside from some occasional addresses by the president of the National City Bank of New York, and other incidental addresses made by some of the expert authorities, "Mr. Lamont's article is the only one that has been written by a man of high authority since the European war began which deals with momentous subjects that are the offspring of the conflict."
Bankers to Prevent War
IN view of Mr. Lamont's prominent position and unrivaled facilities for knowledge in the world of finance, his utterances should demand careful attention.
He presents three great illusions that have been dispelled by the war. He says, "To begin with, there was the favorite theory that the great international bankers could prevent war."
Then he calls attention to the "famous Six-Power Group" of bankers that President Taft and Secretary Knox formed with the purpose of preserving the integrity of China. This financial group was made up of the leading bankers of the United States, England, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan. The hope in combining these great financial powers was that "such an entente cordiale in great finance would be established as would absolutely prevent war. It was argued that if the Six-Power Group, in accord as to the distressing economic effect which any great war must have upon all the nations, declared together to their respective governments that they would finance no wars, the governments would find, perforce, that all their paths were paths of peace."
"For the moment," continues Mr. Lamont, "this principle, which many intelligent people pronounced to be sound, seemed actually to be in effect." Then he refers to the Agadir or Moroccan incident, over which "the German kaiser was described as being eager to declare war on France," when "he was flatly told by the great German bankers in Berlin and Frankfort that Germany was at that time in no condition to finance a great war. The accepted dictum of these German bankers was at once acclaimed as establishing the soundness of the general theory."
But to use again the words of Mr. Lamont: "When the storm clouds of the present war were gathering, the opinion of the great groups of bankers counted apparently for nothing. . . . On the main question of war or peace, they were not even consulted." Mr. Lamont's conclusion in regard to this theory is that "on August 1, 1914, this interesting theory was disposed of promptly, and perhaps for all time."
The second theory which this great banker puts forward as having been necessarily discarded is "that the cost of a world war, such as this, was bound to be so stupendous as to enforce an early peace"; for, he continues, "statisticians for years had been wagging their heads, and saying that the per diem cost of any great power at war would run up to the ruinous figure of $5,000,000. This belief was partially based on the figures of our own Civil War, when, in its final weeks, the daily cost to the Federal government was estimated at $3,000,000."
Costs $100,000,000 Daily
BUT the $5,000,000 a day that was the estimated cost to a great power like England, Germany, etc., in case of war, was very far below the facts. England, in a very little while, found herself expending $10,000,000 a day; and this increased so rapidly that it is found, according to the last statement of Mr. Asquith, that England is spending $25,000,000 a day. The other leading nations involved in the struggle are also spending the following daily sums:
Germany, $22,000,000; France, $15,500,000; Russia, $16,000,000; Austria, $12,000,000; Italy, $8,000,000; Turkey, $1,500,000; Servia, $1,500,000; Belgium, $1,500,000.
According to the estimates, $30,000,000 a day would have been sufficient to finance the six great powers of England, Germany, France, Russia, Austria, and Italy, should they go to war; but the facts show that they are expending instead about $100,000,000, or practically three and one third times as much as the most careful estimates would have provided for. But notwithstanding this stupendous and staggering expenditure, the war has driven on furiously for two whole years, and, in the words of Mr. Lamont, "Thus another fond theory, that of heavy expenditures forcing an early peace, is shattered."
Mr. Lamont, however, would have the people of the world get some comfort out of the idea that the percentage of expenditure in proportion to the national wealth is really not so great as it was for the nations that were involved in the Napoleonic wars.
Another Financial Tradition Abandoned
THE "third financial tradition that has had to be abandoned" "is the one that international trade and exchange, soundly built up for a series of generations, was so firmly established that nothing could wreck it." "Another great illusion!" continues Mr. Lamont; "for when the war came, our exchanges broke down overnight. . . . All precedents, all traditions, went by the board. As Frederick Scott Oliver says, in his admirable 'Ordeal by Battle,' there is no further use in declaring a thing unthinkable, when we have only to look about us and see that the unthinkable has become true."
The world renowned New York banker also speculates in regard to such strong governments as Great Britain, France, and Russia repudiating their debts after the war is over. He believes that such a repudiation would be "out of the question." He also informs us that "many economists are studying conditions as they appeared at the close of the Napoleonic conflicts, the War of the Rebellion, and the Franco-Prussian struggle, hoping from the study of such phenomena to be able to form sound, working theories for the coming post bellum period."
Among these economists who are studying the situation there are "two general schools. One holds to the belief that business prostration in the now warring countries will be complete and prolonged. . . . This school holds, furthermore, that the wastage of human life will have been so great that abroad there will be a dearth of labor, both skilled and unskilled; and that490almost a generation, in point of time, will pass before this wastage of life will have been replaced and normal conditions of life brought back. . . . The same school points out, too, that the belligerent nations will suffer grievously from the loss of a whole generation of educated and trained young men, who naturally would have been the leaders in science and industrial progress over the next two decades."
The other school of economists affirms that the destruction of capital will be found to be greatly overestimated, and that soon "the returning soldier" will "beat his sword into a plow-share," and everything will move on as before.
Adjusting Their Shattered Illusions
If men would give half the attention to the study of what the divine Book says concerning these days in which we live, they would not be under the necessity of continually adjusting themselves to the shattering of so many illusions. Without any question whatever, we are standing in the open door of that great period so strongly set forth in the Bible as "the day of the Lord." Concerning this day, the prophet Zephaniah has foretold:
"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, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung." Zeph. 1: 15-17.
Through the prophet Isaiah, we have the striking announcement that "the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many." Isa. 66: 15, 16.
And again we have the words through the prophet Jeremiah: "A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, 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. 25: 31-33.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks of God’s "four sore judgments" as follows: "For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send My four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?" Ezek. 14: 21.
Centering in This Generation
THE inspired Book is freighted with evidence which shows that the fulfillment of all the prophecies pertaining to the second coming of Christ is centering in this very generation in which we live. Tremendous wars are to curse the age. And, as stated in the foregoing passage quoted from Jeremiah, the Lord has a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh, and He will give the wicked to the sword. As expressed by Zephaniah, distress will come upon men until they will be found walking like blind men, "because they have sinned against the Lord."
Sin, as manifested in every form of vice and crime, is rampant throughout the world. The conditions force men everywhere to acknowledge this. Social and political corruption is flooding the whole earth, and even the professing church of Christ itself is not awake to the situation.
All sorts of discordant theories in regard to the prospects for this world in the immediate future are put forth. Men are trying to make us believe that out of this awful welter of blood and violence and strife that confronts us on every hand, a millennium of righteousness can be produced; but God’s word is all on the other side of the question.
Theories have indeed been shattered; and there are many more theories forming that are out of harmony with the divine Book, and that are yet to be shattered. Why will not men take the truth, when the divine Father has been so kind as to reveal it to us abundantly in His word?
We may theorize in regard to peace and prosperity in this world; we may put forth the doctrine that during this war, men will become so disgusted with strife that they will never fight again; but this war will only lay the foundation for the world’s headlong plunge into the Armageddon that is almost reached.
Men may continue to theorize, if they will insist upon doing it, only to have these theories shattered by the great procession of events that is on its terrific march through this world. But while men are thus theorizing and speculating, there stands the infallible Word, with its blazing light, beckoning us to discard our speculative theories and to see and understand. Will we do it?
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FINGER MARKS OF SATANIC ERROR
By L. A. R.
Purported Messages from the Spirit World
In Direct Collision with the Bible
WE have many times stated the Bible doctrine that there is no consciousness in death, and no life after death until the resurrection. It will be remembered that we quoted in the issue of July 25, 1916, from an article in Hearst’s Magazine for July, in which Miss Stead, daughter of W. T. Stead, the late journalist of international fame, had invited the mourners who have lost their loved ones during the present war, to be comforted by the information which comes to us through the revelations of spiritualism. Speaking of some of the great scientists who had investigated spiritualism with the hope of refuting its claims, she tells us that “they were themselves convinced beyond doubt that communication with those said to be dead is possible, and that they have communicated with those who have passed on to the great beyond.” Her appeal to her readers follows:
“Then comes the question, Why should not they too converse with their loved ones? And to those who have the courage and faith and patience to learn the way and overcome the difficulties, comes one day the assurance, ‘There is no death.’”
Pictures of Purported Spirits
MISS Stead goes on to give the results of the investigation that she has made in the matter of spirit photography, and claims to show a number of pictures taken of these returned spirits. Most of them are of persons with whom she is well acquainted, and one of them purports to be a portrait of her own father. She gives a final appeal to faith in spiritualism in the following terms:
“For those mourning their loved ones I would say, Have courage and fear not — you can prove the truth of my words if you will have patience and faith to try.
“Of the boys who are passing over from the battle field, my father tells me that many are looking after them; that bands have been formed in which are many young fellows who have themselves passed on suddenly, and so are able better to appreciate and realize the feelings of the boys passing on from the battle field to-day. Those bands have been drilled and trained, and they wait for the boys, and deal with them according to nationalities. Some are raving, some are hungry. The bands look after them all. They are not in a state to see their relations at once. It takes a long while sometimes for them to recover. By sending out thoughts and prayers toward them, we can help nurse them. As they recover, they too work to help their comrades. The great thing my father wants me to tell you is that they are all pressing and eager to make those loved ones mourning them here realize they are not dead.”
Echoes of Satan’s Great Lie
IN comment upon this statement, alleged to have come from those who have died, we would say that any one who is at all conversant with the Bible can find something here terribly incongruous with the truth of the Word. Let us see some of the11ways in which these statements by the spirits claiming to be the spirits of the departed dead, are absolutely antagonistic to the statements of the Bible.
First, we have an utter denial that there is such a thing as death. We are told plainly that “there is no death.” This at once places us where we must accept either God’s word, or the word of the devil originally given in the beginning of the Bible, when the problem of evil was first introduced. God said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2: 17. But the serpent — in reality, the devil — said to the woman, “Ye shall not surely die.” Now, since it was by spiritualistic mediumship, the devil using a serpent, that the first denial of death, against God’s word, was brought in, who is it to-day that is uttering denial of God’s word, and claiming that there is no death?
In this connection, let us read two or three scriptures: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, . . . even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thess. 2: 8-12. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Cor. 11: 13-15. “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.” Rev. 16: 14, 15.
Nationalities in Heaven?
ANOTHER thing that stamps this statement with the finger marks of satanic error, is the statement that nationalities are continued in that other world. Any one who knows anything at all about the Bible, knows that nationalities have come as a result of sin, and when God created this world, all were of one language and one speech, and He promises that the saved shall be turned back to pure speech. If even in this life, as Jesus says, there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, neither bond nor free, neither Jew nor Greek, what will continue the separation of all in the world to come?
These statements, made by these lying spirits, are made in absolute contempt of anything the Bible says about the matter. By this we know who they are. They are not the spirits of the departed dead, for the Bible tells us that “the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” Eccl. 9: 5, 6.
Again, this communication from the spirit world tells us that when these who die on the battle fields are ushered into that other world, some are raving, some are hungry. “The bands look after them all. They are not in a state to see their relations at once. It takes a long while sometimes for them to recover. By sending out thoughts and prayers toward them, we can help nurse them.” What a heaven this pictures! If there is no death, from what are they to recover? If one dies, death is banished; and sickness must be banished with it, for sickness is really partial death. How inconsistent and silly are these statements!
When Christ was here on earth, although His glory was veiled in humanity, although He lived as a man, yet we know that He banished sickness and suffering, and in many a city of the Jews there was not one sick or suffering person in their midst. All had been healed by the great Physician. Think of heaven as a place where the Creator resides, the Mighty One who builds the worlds by His word; think of Christ at His right hand, the One who could speak, and health came again over trembling nerves, and bounded through veins and arteries, giving to the wan sick one, invigorating strength and the flush of health; think of these individuals who have died, coming into the presence of God and Christ and the mighty angels, raving, hungry, and needing our help to cause them to recover. What a blasphemy it is on God and the future state!
The Doctrines of Devils
THESE things are but the doctrines of devils. They are untrue. There is no comfort in them; and any one who can be caught by them, must be either utterly ignorant of the Bible, or a contemptuous unbeliever of the Book.
The word of God makes clear that we shall not enter heaven until the resurrection day. Read the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. Read the fifth chapter of 1 Thessalonians. And when, in God’s order, the saved of earth do reach that land, the inhabitants shall not say, “I am sick.” “The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Isa. 33: 24. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev. 21: 4. And when God, by the resurrection, banishes death, and this mortal puts on immortality, and death is swallowed up in victory, it will not be through any aid that man or spirit can give that these things shall come. It will be the work of God Himself; for He declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” Rev. 21: 5.
One thing more we will say before we close.
It is the one thing, perhaps, more than all others, that shows who sends this communication through spiritualism. In all the writings of spiritualists everywhere, and all through their communications, it will be observed that everybody in the so-called spirit world is alike. No matter how their lives were lived, they are to live together over there. No matter how wicked they have been, life is still promised them. Death itself, it is claimed, in the universal sense, does not exist.
Thomas Paine, the arrant infidel, once said that in a few years’ time, there is reached by these spirits a plane of existence in the other world equal to that of some of the good men of the Bible who were over there hundreds of years before. The character of such a statement reveals the character of the one who made it. It shows an utter defiance and disregard of sin, and of the distinction that sin makes. Christ could say of the sinner and the saint that a great gulf is fixed between them; but nothing of this kind from the communications of the spirits!
It will be seen that, in the quotations which we have here made from Miss Stead’s article, there is not one whisper of the differences in these persons who have died. They died on the battle field. One may have been lisping a prayer, and the other uttering a curse. They go over into eternity alike, and are dealt with on identically the same basis. How is it possible for one to read these statements of the spiritualists, and not see in them inconsistency and incongruity compared with the Word? Who cannot discern the contempt for righteousness? Who cannot see the scandal they seek to utter against God? Who cannot discern their blasphemy?
Although the devil is transformed into an angel of light, although he comes in pleasing garb, and with pleasant voice, the words he utters form themselves into nothing but lies. Christ Himself has said that the devil is a liar, and the father of lies. “From the beginning,” he “abode not in the truth.” John 8: 44.
