"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Matt. 24:34.
THUS spake Jesus to His disciples, sitting upon the Mount of Olives with Jerusalem at His feet.
What generation shall not pass until what things are fulfilled?
This was in reply to a question by His disciples as to when Jerusalem would be destroyed, but they also asked, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?"
In His reply, He gave them a series of events which covered the time from the destruction of Jerusalem to His second coming.
A Time of Tribulation.
The first event which would seriously affect the people of God after the destruction of Jerusalem was to be a time of tribulation such as never was since the beginning of the world, no, nor never should be, but for the elect's sake those days were to be shortened. Daniel also foretold this tribulation (chapter 7:23-25), where, under the symbol of a little horn, a blasphemous, persecuting power is represented as making war with the saints, and prevailing against them; and they are delivered into his hands for a time, times, and the dividing of times, or three and one-half years, or 1,260 prophetic days, or 1,260 years of literal time.
In speaking of this time of tribulation again (Dan. 11:33-35), the prophet says that in the midst of it the people of God would receive a little help, or, as the Saviour said, the tribulation should be shortened; in other words, the help which was to come to God's people would check and finally stop the persecution before the 1,260 years should end.
In Matt. 24:29, Jesus says: "Immediately after the tribulation [or, as Mark expresses it, "But in those days, after that tribulation"], shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Where do we stand in this series of events, and what may we next expect?
The Testimony of Sun and Moon.
Let us see. In A.D. 70 Jerusalem was destroyed. This was followed by intermittent persecution of God's people until the establishment of the Papacy in the year 538, when the days of tribulation really began, and the little horn of Daniel 7 began its 1,260 years of war against the saints; and it prevailed against them until the sixteenth century, when the Reformation brought help to them. This help stayed the power of the Papacy so that by A.D. 1776-79 open persecution entirely ceased, thus leaving a period of more than twenty years of the 1,260 as the shortening of the tribulation. Immediately after the tribulation ceased, or in the year 1780, the first great sign of His coming mentioned by the Saviour was given, and in that land to which His people had fled to free themselves from the persecutions of the Old World, the sun and moon were darkened.
About nine o'clock in the morning, in New England, it began to grow dark. All nature was clothed as with a mantle of deepest twilight. Birds and beasts sought shelter as for the night, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. In the night following, the full moon appeared like a ball of blood, and did not give her light, so that May 19, 1780, has been set down in history as "The Dark Day."
We know this to be a great sign of the coming of the Lord because it meets the description given, and came exactly at the time foretold, to wit, "in the days," and immediately after the tribulation.
In A.D. 1798 we reach the end of the 1,260 years, and we find the power and influence of the Papacy so weakened that Berthier, a French general, enters Rome, and takes the pope captive, thus inflicting a deadly wound upon that power.
The Witness of the Stars.
Passing on to the night of Nov. 13, 1833, and the people are startled by a light streaming in at the windows, almost as the day. Rushing to the doors to see the cause, the exclamation bursts from many lips, "The stars are falling! The stars are falling!" Starting from one point in the heavens, the meteors fell violently in all directions toward the earth in an appalling shower.
Those who witnessed it not only felt impressed that it was a sign of the day of God, but said that it could not be better described than by using the words of Rev. 6:13, "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."
The next event in the series is the shaking of the powers of the heavens. This is described in Rev. 6:14 as the departing of the heavens as a scroll when it is rolled together. Isa. 34:4 reads: "And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down, as a leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree."
This, all can see, is not a sign of His coming, but an attendant circumstance. There is seen the sign of the Son of Man in heaven—not a sign of His coming, but the sign of His presence. When this sign is seen all recognize that He is there, and all the tribes of the earth mourn as they see Him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
While the tribes of the earth mourn, the saints will hail Him with joy, as they exclaim, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us." And Jesus sends the angels, and the saints are caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so to be ever with the Lord. O, glorious consummation to the people of God!
Learn the Parable.
But where do we stand in this series of events of to-day?—The sun has been darkened, the moon has refused to give her light; the stars have fallen from heaven. The last sign spoken of by the Saviour has been given, the next to follow is the departing of the heavens and the coming of the Lord.
Can we tell anything about how near the great event is?—The Saviour continued His instruction by saying, "Now learn the parable of the fig tree."
When, and by whom is this parable to be learned?—Certainly when these signs are seen, and by those who see them.
What is the parable?—"When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
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Witnesses in the Heavens.
(Continued from page 5.)
Luke says, "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; . . . ye see and know . . . that summer is nigh at hand."
The lesson taught is, that when we see these signs, we are to be just as certain that the coming of the Lord is near as we are sure that summer is near when the leaves appear. All the world could not persuade us to doubt these signs in nature. So all the world ought not to be able to lead us to doubt these signs in the heavens. And if we believe and obey the words of our Master, we will "know that He is near."
How near?—The Saviour answers again, "Even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
This Generation.
What generation shall not pass?—Certainly the generation which He addresses, the generation to which He says, "When ye see all these things, know that it is near." "This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
Are we near the close of that generation? Has it nearly passed away?
I go out among the children of men to find those who saw the stars fall. The mass of men tell me that they did not see it. The most of those who saw it have passed away. There are but few left. Yet the word of the Lord stands; and I hear my Master say, "Lift up your heads and rejoice, for this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away."
Christian, do you believe, and are you ready? Sinner, will you believe it, and get ready? "Be ye also ready."
