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VII.
Coming Events and Signs of
the Times
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Chapter 69
:
Signs of the Times
1.
FOR what did Christ reprove the Pharisees and Sadducees?
"O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky;
but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"
Matt. 16:3.
2. What sign
had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah by which Christ,
at His first advent, might be known as the
Messiah?
"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call His name Immanuel." Isa. 7:14. For
fulfillment, see Matt. 1:22,23.
3. Where had
the prophet said Christ should he born?
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee
shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in
Israel." Micah 5:2. For fulfillment, see Matt. 2:1.
4. What
prophet had foretold Christ's ride into Jerusalem?
"Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; shout, 0 daughter
of Jerusalem: behold, thy King comes unto thee: He is
just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an
ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Zech. 9:9.
For fulfillment, see Matt. 21:4,5.
5. What
question did the disciples ask Christ concerning His
second coming?
"And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the
disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when
shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of
Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt.
24:3.
6. How,
according to Luke, did Christ answer this question?
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the
moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth
distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things Which are coming on
the earth." Luke 21:25,26.
7. What,
according to Matthew's account, did Christ say were to
he the signs in the sun, moon, and stars?
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days
shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven." Matt. 24:29.
8. In what
language had some of the Old Testament prophets already
foretold these signs?
"And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the
earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
blood, before the great and he terrible day of the
Lord come." Joel 2:30,31. "The sun and the
moon shall be darkened, and the stars
shall withdraw their shining." Joel 3:15. "For
the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall
not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his
going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to
shine." Isa. 13:10. "I will cause the sun to go
down at noon, and I will darken the earth in a
clear day." Amos 8:9.
9. When were
the sun and moon darkened?
May 19, 1780.
NOTES.-"The nineteenth of May, 1780 was a remarkably
dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The
birds were silent, and disappeared. The fowls
retired to roost. It was the general opinion that
the day of judgment was at hand. The legislature of
Connecticut was in session at Hartford, but being
unable to transact business, adjourned."-President
Dwight, in "Historical Collections."
"In some places persons could not see to read
common print in the open air for several hours
together. Birds sang their evening songs,
disappeared, and became silent the barnyard; and
candles were lighted in the silent; fowls went to
roost; cattle sought the barnyard and candles were
lit in the houses. The obscuration began about ten
o'clock in the morning, and continued until the
middle of the next night, but with differences of
degree and duration in different places. . . . The
true causes of this remarkable phenomenon are not
known." Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, edition
1883, page 1604, in article "The Dark Day."
Herschel, the great astronomer, says: "The dark day
in Northern America was one of those wonderful
phenomena of nature which will always be read with
interest, but which philosophy is at a loss to
explain."
The darkness was not caused by any eclipse of the
sun by the moon, for it was full moon only the night
before, and consequently the moon was on the
opposite side of the earth from the sun.
"The darkness of the following evening was probably
as deep and dense as ever had been observed since
the Almighty first gave birth to light; it wanted
only palpability to render it as extraordinary as
that which overspread the land of Egypt in the days
of Moses. If every luminous body in the universe had
been shrouded in impenetrable shades, or struck out
of existence, it was thought the darkness could not
have been more complete. A sheet of white paper,
held within a few inches of the eyes, was equally
invisible with the blackest velvet." - "Our First
Century," by R. M. Devins, Page 94.
The darkness of the night was as supernatural as
that of the previous day, from the fact, as stated
by Dr. Adams, that "the moon had fulled the day
before."
10. When was
there a remarkable display of falling stars?
November 13, 1833.
NOTES.-The celebrated astronomer and meteorologist,
Professor Olmsted, of Yale College, says: "Those who
were so fortunate as to witness the exhibition of
shooting stars on the morning of November 13, 1833,
probably saw the greatest display of celestial
fireworks that has ever been since the creation of
the world, or at least within the annals covered by
the pages of history. . . . The extent of the shower
of 1833 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part
of the earth's surface, from the middle of the
Atlantic on the east to the Pacific on the west; and
from the northern coast of South America to
undefined regions among the British possessions on
the north the exhibition was visible, and everywhere
presented nearly the same appearance."
"At Niagara the exhibition was especially brilliant,
and probably no spectacle so terribly grand and
sublime was ever before beheld by man as that of the
firmament descending in fiery torrents over the dark
and roaring cataract."-The American Encyclopedia,
edition 1881, article "Meteor."
Upon reading a statement that modern fireworks excel
this greatest exhibition of shooting stars, Mr.
Clarkson, father of the former editors of the paper
from which the following quotation is made, and
himself agricultural editor of it, said: "The writer
of that sentence did not witness the glorious
meteoric shower of November, 1833, when the display
was so much superior to any artistic display of
fireworks that neither language nor any element in
nature can furnish comparisons. The comparison of
the sheet-iron thunder of the theatres to the
electric display of Providence when the heavens are
all on fire, and the earth trembles would be
tolerable. But the awful grandeur of the display on
the night of the thirteenth of November, 1833, which
made the stoutest heart stand in awe, and the most
defiant infidel quake with fear, is never to he
compared with the most brilliant fireworks. Those
who witnessed the meteoric shower named saw the
greatest display that man ever will see until the
day that Peter speaks of when the heavens, being on
fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat. The agricultural editor of
the Register was out alone with a team and
load of lumber all night on that never-to-be
forgotten night. And he cannot now consent to hear
of human fireworks being superior to that most grand
and sublime spectacle ever before or since beheld by
man. Patent fireworks are no nearer this wonderful
phenomenon than a lightning-bug is equal to the
Sun." -Iowa State Register, July 12, 1889.
Frederick A. Douglas, in his book "My Bondage
and My Freedom," page 186, says: "I witnessed this
gorgeous spectacle, and was struck with awe. The air
seemed filled with bright descending messengers from
the sky. It was about daybreak when I saw this
sublime scene. It was not without the suggestion at
that moment that it might be the harbinger of the
coming of the Son of man; and in my state of mind I
was prepared to hail Him as my friend and deliverer.
I had read that the stars shall fall from heaven,
and they were now falling."
A single star appeared to the wise men, and directed
them to the Savior, at His first advent. Myriads of
stars have announced the nearness of His second
advent.
It will be seen that these signs produced the very
impression that God evidently intended that they
should-that the day of judgment, Christ's coming,
and the end of the world are near at hand.
11. Have we
reached the time when there is "distress of nations,
with perplexity"?
Every intelligent person knows that the world is in a
state of unrest at the present time, and that men are
troubled and perplexed at the outlook of present
conditions throughout the civilized world.
NOTES.-"Those who study the map of Europe at the
present moment, and the condition of things in
Europe, must feel that there is hanging over us a
war-cloud greater than any that has hung over Europe
before. It means when it bursts, and burst it will
as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, a war of
extinction of devastation, between great nations
whose populations are armed and trained to fight."-Lord
Wolseley.
"It is impossible for anyone to contemplate the
present naval and military arrangements without the
gravest forebodings. . . . In fact, we never now
have any real peace; we live practically in a state
of war." -Sir John Lubbock.
"The danger, if the Ottoman Empire fall; would not
merely be the danger that would threaten the
territories of which that empire consists; it would
be the danger that the fire there lit should spread
to the other nations, and should involve all that is
most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous
and calamitous contest." -Lord Salisbury, in
Mansion House Speech, London, Nov. 9, 1895.
"There can be no division of either of those
countries [Turkey or Persia] without setting all the
nations of Europe at the throats of each other." -Washington
Post, April 24, 1909.
"This is the most unsettled condition of the
world since the crucifixion of Christ. The stability
of government is no longer a fact. Change is in the
atmosphere. . . . Statesmen are at their wits' end.
Philosophers speculate In Vain." -
The Late Bishop
Newman.
12. Are men's
hearts now "failing them for fear, and for looking after
those things which are coming on the earth"?
Everyone familiar with present-day conditions knows that
this is the case.
NOTES.-"We are marching toward the unknown. Who
knows what tomorrow has in store for us?"-Signor
Crispi, ex-Prime Minister of Italy.
"In regard to the future I am filled with
disquietude when I think how easy it is to fan these
international jealousies, and how difficult it seems
to allay them." -Lord Balfour, of England.
"In this world of ours we seem to ' be borne
down by commercial and spiritual controversy. . . .
We grope in the daytime with fear and trembling for
the future. Poor, distracted man is tossed over the
night to a more distraught tomorrow." -John
Wanamaker, ex-Postmaster-General of the United
States.
"The bonds of society are relaxed; traditional
principles are losing their sacredness, and perils
hitherto unknown are menacing the life of the social
organism."- Archbishop Ireland.
These, with forebodings of coming droughts,
famines, fires, storms, earthquakes, tidal waves,
and pestilences, are filling men's hearts with fear.
13. What may
be said of "the sea and the waves roaring"?
Great tidal waves and storms at sea, with cyclones and
tornadoes on land, have become fearfully frequent of
late years, making men apprehensive of still greater
calamities to come.
14. What,
according to the prophecy of Daniel, was to characterize
the time of the end?
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the
book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and
fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.
NOTES.-The time of the end began in 1798. See Dan.
7:25; 11:35; 12:4- 9, and the reading "The Kingdom
and Work of Antichrist," pages 25, 26, under
questions 5-8. Since 1798 there has been a most
wonderful increase of all kinds of knowledge, both
scientific and religious. Men have been "running to
and fro" through both the world and the Word of God.
The prophecies of Daniel are now themselves
understood. Since 1798 five great Bible and tract
societies have been organized; namely, the London
Religious Tract Society, the British and Foreign
Bible Society, the American Bible Society, the
American Tract Society, and the International Tract
Society, besides many, smaller societies of the same
kind. From these have gone forth to the world
hundreds of millions of copies of the Bible, and
countless pages of tracts and pamphlets,
disseminating knowledge upon the truths of
salvation. Besides these, millions of copies of
religious papers are being circulated annually in
the various countries of the world. Missions have
been established in all parts of the world. All this
has been accomplished since 1798.
Concerning the increase of knowledge in the
material, scientific, and intellectual worlds, see
the next reading.
15. What is
predicted of the moral condition of the world in the
last days?
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times
shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, . . .
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." 2
Tim. 3:1-5.
16. How did
the Apostle Peter say the message of the Lord's coming
would be treated by some?
"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and
saying, 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." 2 Peter
3:3,4.
17. What will
God's faithful servants be doing at this time?
"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord
hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat
in due season?" Matt. 24:45.
NOTE.-The "meat in due season" here spoken of
evidently refers to the proclamation of the message
based upon the signs which indicate the near
approach of the Lord. The preaching of this message
is what causes scoffers mockingly to ask, "Where is
the promise of His coming?"
18. What are
all admonished to do when these signs have appeared?
"Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour
as you think not the Son of man comes." Verse 44.
19. How will
Christ's coming overtake those evil servants who say in
their hearts, "My Lord delays His coming"?
"The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he
looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware
of, and shall cut him asunder. And appoint him
his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth." Verses 50, 51.
We
know not the hour of the Master's appearing,
Yet signs all foretell that the moment is nearing
When He shall return,-'tis a promise most cheering,-
But we know not the hour.
There's light for the wise who are seeking salvation,
There's truth in the Book of the Lord's revelation,
Each prophecy points to the great consummation,-
But we know not the hour.
We'll watch arid we'll pray, with our lamps trimmed and
burning,
We'll work and we'll wait till the Master s returning,
We'll sing and rejoice, every omen discerning,-
But we know not the hour.
F. E. BELDEN.
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