Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 32.
Come Now, Let Us Reason TogetherPage 1
Earlier text: Come Now, Let Us Reason TogetherLET me advise you to wear no armor for your backs when you have determined to follow the track of truth. Receive upon your breastplate of righteousness the sword cuts of your adversaries; their stern metal shall turn the edge of your foeman's weapon. Let the right be your lord paramount, and for the rest be free and your own masters still. Follow truth for her own sake; follow her in evil report; let not many waters quench your love to her. Bow to no customs if they be evil. Yield to no established rules if they involve a lie. Do not evil even though good should come of it. "Consequence!" this is the devil's argument. Leave consequences to God, but do the right. If friends fail thee, do the right. If foemen surround thee, do the right. Be genuine, real, sincere, true, upright, and god-like. The world's maxim is, trim your sails and yield to circumstances. But if you would do any good in your generation, you must be made of sterner stuff, and help make your times rather than be made by them. You must not yield to customs, but, like the anvil, endure all the blows until the hammers break themselves. When misrepresented, use no crooked means to clear yourself. Clouds do not last long. If in the course of duty you are tried by the distrust of friends, gird up your loins and say in your heart, I was not driven to virtue by the encouragement of friends, nor will I be repelled from it by their coldness. Finally, be just, and fear not; "corruption wins not more than honesty;" truth lives and reigns when falsehood dies and rots.—Mr. Spurgeon's New Lecture on "Counterfeits." THE LONG COACH-WHIP PENNANT.
MANY people have wondered what is the significance of the long pennant carried at the main truck of all vessels of war in commission. When the Dutch Admiral Van Tromp hoisted a broom at the top of the mast of his vessel to indicate his intention to sweep the English from the sea, the English Admiral hoisted a horse-whip, indicating his intention to chastise the Dutchman. Hence the coach-whip pennant was adopted as the distinctive insignia of a war vessel in commission for service.—New York Tribune. HOW A LITHOGRAPH IS MADE.
AFTER the lithographer has carefully studied the original drawing before him and laid out his plan, he makes a careful tracing of it on transparent gelatine, on which he indicates every line or shade or degradation, and this tracing is carefully transferred to a previously prepared stone and serves as a "key" to the entire work and for all the color stones. The work on stone is drawn with a greasy, black, chemically prepared crayon, which, by the way, has to be sharpened backward, or from the point up, as its very brittle nature will not allow of its being sharpened in the ordinary way. The greasy crayon penetrates the stone, which is then subjected to a solution of gum arabic and nitric acid, after which it is carefully washed off with water. The black drawing, however, still shows, but is now easily washed from the face of the stone with turpentine, leaving the surface, to all appearance, as clean as when the stone first came into the artist's hands. It is then dampened with water. The printer passes his roller, charged with color, over the surface, and this adheres only where the stone is dry, or in other words, where the grease of the crayon is, and this color is transferred from the stone to the paper. The same process is employed for the application of each successive color, portions of the picture being drawn on several different stones to obtain what may be called the composite tints, while others are only drawn on a single stone when the color in the picture is to be one of those directly employed.—Selected. More Forgiven, Greater Love
By Edward Payson
EVERY Christian knows more evil of himself than he can know of any other human being. He ought therefore to feel as if more had been forgiven him, and as if he were under greater obligations to love God than is any other human being; as if it were worse for him to sin against God than it would be for any other.—Edward Payson. "The average woman," says Lucy M. Hall, "seems to be possessed of a positive mania for keeping the sunlight excluded from her house. This domestic photophobia is one of the most obdurate as well as one of the most general of maladies. The sufferers will consent to cough, to limp, to endure the torturing twinges of rheumatism, or to see their children grow up pale and peevish, rather than that the colors of the cherished carpets should be dimmed by a hated sunbeam; or that a "horrid fly," invited by such radiance, should dare to buzz within their sacred domains. Occasionally we see a pretty bay-window invitingly thrown out; and we cannot help thinking what a lovely place for mother's sewing-chair, a reading-desk, or, oh, horror! the children's play-things. But from a shutter drawn grudgingly a little to one side we see—what? A plaster image or a piece of pottery perched upon a spindle-legged stand, all the radiance which is permitted to enter, lost upon its senseless particles. There was a substratum of reason in the so-called 'blue-glass craze' of a score of years ago. It meant that pallid houselings sat in the sunshine and got well. 'Tis pity that a folly so wise should have been abandoned." FAITH AND HUMILITY.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
"FOR I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Rom. 12:3. This text indicates that the greater a man's faith is, the less will he think of himself. As the apostle expresses it, he will "think soberly." Pride is intoxication. Just as alcohol stimulates a man without building him up, and finally deprives him of reason, so a man, to use a common expression, "loses his head" when he gets to hunting for the good traits in his character. And withal pride, like alcohol, furnishes no nourishment with which to build a man up. If a man is to grow strong, he must receive nourishment from a source outside of himself; but the vain person lives upon himself, and so becomes poorer by what he feeds upon. And as alcohol causes a man to stumble in his walk, and finally brings him to ruin, so "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 16:18. So the apostle well describes humility as thinking soberly. But why will a man live soberly, according to the measure of faith which he possesses? The answer is not difficult. Faith is that which justifies the sinner. Rom. 5:1. If men were not sinful, they would have no need of faith. The only reason for having faith in Christ is to secure pardon for past sins, and freedom from the love of sin. No man will exercise faith in Christ unless he feels himself to be a sinner. It is the sense of sin, which comes by the law, that drives a man to Christ that he may be justified by faith. Therefore for a man to confess Christ, is to acknowledge himself a sinner. Great diseases call for great remedies; the weaker a man is, the more aid will have to be given him. So the more the man feels his sinful condition, the more faith in Christ will he exercise. Therefore it is true that great faith on the part of any person is an evidence that that person feels that he is by nature very weak and sinful, and that without Christ he is nothing. But such a feeling is in itself humility, which is nothing else but "a sense of one's own unworthiness through imperfection and sinfulness." Such a man estimates himself at his true value, which is nothing. And since faith in Christ cannot be exercised by any except those who "have no confidence in the flesh," it follows that the man who walks by faith will be a humble man. It is only when Christians lose their sense of unworthiness, and begin to look upon themselves with complacency, that they lose faith. When the individual is nothing in his own eyes, Christ is everything; but when he begins to rise in his own estimation, Christ sinks out of sight. Nothing can produce true humility but a knowledge of one's natural imperfections. In harmony with these ideas, and the text first quoted, are the words of the prophet Habakkuk: "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." Hab. 2:4. Faith and humility are inseparable. We ask again, Why does a man exercise faith in Christ? Simply because he feels a need of Christ; he has no confidence in his own strength, and feels that without Christ he must perish. It is not natural for the human heart to acknowledge another as superior. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Independence, boastfulness, and self-conceit are natural to the human heart. But "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." He became a new creature in consequence of acknowledging his wretched sinfulness, and pleading for mercy through Christ. This in itself was a humiliation of soul. Now, so long as he continues in that state of justification by faith, he must retain a sense of his own unworthiness, for by the law of faith boasting is excluded. Says the beloved disciple: "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." 1 John 5:4. It is only as we exercise faith that God's strength supplies our lack, and keeps us from falling. And since faith and humility are so closely joined together, Bunyan has beautifully written,— "He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide." The man who is lifted up with pride and self-esteem must assuredly fall sooner or later, for the time will come when "the lofty looks of man shall be humbled," and the Lord alone exalted; but the man who is down cannot fall, for he is already as low as he can be. But such an one shall not always be abased. The promise is, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up," James 4:10. Not in their own estimation, not in the estimation of the world, will such be lifted up, but they will be raised up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:6. "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight saith the Lord." Jer. 9:23, 24. "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1:30, 31. Therefore "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Gal. 6:14. E. J. W. IS IT REASONABLE?
By C. P. B.
A COMMON objection to the observance of the Bible Sabbath is that the keeping of it is an effort to secure justification by works, and that it is therefore opposed to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ which teaches that the sinner can be justified only by faith. The objection if true would be a serious one. One thing however makes us suspicious of this objection at the very outset, namely, that those who urge it are almost invariably observers of the first day of the week, the so-called Lord's day. The question which naturally arises is this: Why is not the keeping of Sunday just as much an effort to obtain salvation by works as is the keeping of the day specified in the fourth commandment? If honest, the Sunday-keeper observes the day because he thinks that it is a duty which he owes to God; the observer of the seventh day keeps it because an explicit commandment bids him do it. Why is the act of the latter any more a denial of Christ than the act of the former? It cannot be, nor as much, for the latter has a divine warrant for keeping the seventh day while the former has none. But again: Why should the keeping of the fourth commandment be any more a denial of Christ and an effort to obtain justification by works than is the keeping of any other precept of the decalogue? All who are at all worthy of the name of Christians teach in one way or another the necessity of obedience to the moral law; then why except the fourth commandment? There is and can be no reason for it other than an unwillingness to obey it. Christ died not only that men might be saved, but that they might be changed and brought into harmony with the law of God. Says the apostle: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:3, 4. The law could not make men righteous, for they had all broken it, but Christ could and does make righteous those who believe in him, by imputing to them his own perfect righteousness, but this he does not that they may continue in sin, but that they may turn away from sin. Says the apostle: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" Rom. 6:1, 2. Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), and according to the text just quoted from Romans, the Christian cannot live in transgression; he must therefore live in obedience. Again, the Spirit of God tells us by the apostle that "the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then," the apostle says, "they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But," he adds, "ye are not in the flesh [that is, not carnally minded], but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Rom. 8:7-9. How any man can read this and still contend that it is not a Christian duty to keep the law of God, can be accounted for only on the supposition that he is still dominated by the carnal mind, which is enmity against that law. C. P. B. THE CLOSE OF THE MILLENNIUM.
By M. C. W.
OUR last article carried us to the close of the sabbath of the earth. The millennium will then have ended, the time of Satan's confinement will have passed, the "many days," during which the wicked have been shut up in the prison house of the grave, will have terminated, and the time will have come when God will visit them again to call them back to life. Isa. 24:22; Rev. 20:5. The latter text reads: "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years are finished." "The rest of the dead" are the wicked dead. The "blessed and holy" were raised at the beginning of the thousand years. "This is the first resurrection." The wicked are again given life, in order that they may know what they have rejected, that they may see the wisdom and promises of God in his gospel vindicated and fulfilled to those who have believed and obeyed, and that they may receive the sentence—the due reward of their deeds—meted out to them during the thousand years in the Supreme Court of Equity, the sittings of which are forever ended, and from the decisions of which there is no appeal. The wicked come up from their graves animated and actuated by the same selfish, sinful thoughts and motives which dominated their lives when they died. They are just as determined to accomplish their ends now as they were then. As they are raised from the dead, the city of God appears. This is mentioned in Zech. 14. A mighty plain will, by the power of God, be prepared in the very place where the Son of God shed his blood for guilty man. Here the New Jerusalem will descend. Christ came at the beginning of the thousand years503 to gather his saints and to take them to mansions on high; but now the Lord our God shall come and all the saints with him. Zech. 14:5. The same facts are shown in Rev. 20 and 21. In verse 9 we have "the camp of the saints" and "the beloved city" referred to as showing the place where the wicked nations of earth will be gathered. In order to not break the connection, no mention is made in Rev. 20 of the descent of the city; that subject is reserved for the next chapter, in which is given a description of the New Jerusalem and its descent from Heaven. God's Spirit being withdrawn from the earth as a reprover of men, the wicked fall again an easy prey to the prince of evil:— "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." Rev. 20:7, 8. How long this period of deceiving the nations, marshalling and training their armies, and gathering them to Jerusalem over the plague-desolated and earthquake-broken world to fight against God, may be, we know not. But it will necessarily take some time. The wicked are still mortal and selfish. The first will compel more or less time, and the second would delay union. But the master mind among them—he who once was Lucifer—reduces to something like order the vast host under the mightiest generals of the world, and prepares to attack the city of God. This object and its result is shown in the next verse. "And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of Heaven and devoured them." Actuated by the same selfishness that first inspired Satan, urged on by his mighty power and consummate artifices, they attempt with rebellious hearts to storm the city. But all the combined powers of the universe are naught against Him or the city of the jasper wall. The fire of God devours the wicked. They are "burned up" "root [Satan] and branch [the wicked]." Mal. 4. Then will be fulfilled the words of the prophet regarding the New Jerusalem:— "Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake." "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." Isa. 54:15, 17. The tenth verse of Rev. 20 presents the fate of Satan. He is cast into the lake of fire "where are also the beast and the false prophet." Revised Version. Just as the presence of Christ at the beginning of the thousand years caused the consumption of the wicked, so at the close of the thousand years God's presence and the fire which falls from heaven converts the earth into one vast liquid lake of fire in which the wicked will be overwhelmed, and into which Satan, the prince of the power of the air, who has heretofore had the privilege of navigating aerial regions, will be cast to be burned with them. It is thus that Peter speaks of this lake of fire:— "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be destroyed." 2 Peter 3:10. This fire is universal; that is, it includes the whole earth. It does not occur in the beginning of the millennium or all animal life would be extinct. The unjust are destroyed at that time, but the fowls of the air survive to feast upon the flesh of the men slain in the battle of Armageddon. But at the close of the thousand years, the elements of the earth are melted by the fierce heat, and the whole forms one vast lake of fire. This great burning comes in the day of the Lord, but after the thousand years. "In the which," that is, in the day of the Lord, says Peter, quoted above. Then will be fulfilled such expressions as, Zeph. 1:2, 3:— "I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord." The glory and power of the presence of God as he passes sentence upon the wicked just previous to their destruction, is thus presented:— "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." Rev. 20:11. The wicked then see what they have lost. They see in transfigured glory and immortality those whom they had in the day of probation scoffed at, ridiculed, persecuted. Those who crucified Christ, now see the Man of Calvary in his glory. Satan and all others are revealed in their iniquity and moral deformity as recipients of God's wrath, while to the righteous are fulfilled the promises of God. In the twelfth verse John is carried back to the thousand years when the wicked dead were judged from the records. It was the investigative judgment of the ungodly. Verse 13 relates to the executive judgment of the unrighteous; and in its execution, the wicked are cast in the lake of fire to be utterly burned up. This is the second death. The first death was in sin; the second death is for sin unrepented of and cherished. Eze. 18:26. A part of the work of Christ is here completed, for Satan is destroyed forever. Christ died "that through death he might destroy him who had power over death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14. Of the same great enemy, the Lord through the prophet says: "I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror [literally a worn out or wasted thing—Young], and never shalt thou be any more." Eze. 28:18, 19. Here we leave the subject for this time with sin and Satan swept from the face of the earth, the earth itself burning under its purifying fires, and the saints safe from harm in the city of God. Our next article will close this series. "THE LAW OF CHRIST"?
By Editor
WHAT next? A Mr. J. W. Jones, in an article entitled, "The Christian System; Its Law," quoted in the Christian Oracle from the Octographic Review, says: "It was about twenty-five years after the gospel of Christ was preached on the day of Pentecost that the law of Christ was published." And this law, says Mr. J., was given through Peter—second epistle, chapter one, verses four to six: "Add to your faith virtue," etc., which he calls "the seven commands." But this "law of Christ," so called, does not contain one principle not found in the decalogue. It is no more a new law than was Paul's injunction—"Let him that stole, steal no more"—a new law. All of the apostolic injunctions concerning morality, righteousness, or godliness, are but the principles of God's eternal, immutable law, enjoined and magnified anew in the increasing light of the gospel. The gospel, says Mr. J., guides us "through the picket lines into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ ["on earth," as he elsewhere explains], and bids them farewell forever;" "the law [as given by Peter] gives us an entrance into the everlasting kingdom"!! So men are through the gospel helped into the church, but they must do all the rest alone! And this we suppose is called "rightly dividing the word of truth"! This is the food for the flock! It makes us sick at heart. What is the truth?—It is this: God's eternal, unchangeable law, founded in the principles of love to God and love to man, summarily comprehended in the decalogue, is the only and everlasting rule of conduct; for it embraces all morality, all righteousness; it is righteousness. Eccl. 12:13, 14; James 2:8-12; Isa. 51:6, 7. The gospel "is the power of God unto salvation" to bring us into perfect harmony with the law of God, and to keep us there to the end. Rom. 1:16, 17; Titus 2:11-14. "These things . . . speak with all authority." THE BETTER WAY.
By M. C. W.
THE word of God has but very little to say upon many important subjects; yet that little is so plain and definite that, among the followers of the word, there is generally no disagreement. Other subjects are set forth more fully by direct statement or plain allusion; and, strange to say, it is in regard to the latter class that the most disagreement is found among Christians. It would seem at first thought that those matters about which the Bible said so much would be most easily understood, and more easily made clear to all, but it is not so. The second coming of Christ is a subject that is of this character. The kingdom of Christ is another. Now there are reasons why there is not a more general agreement upon such subjects. What are they? 1. Men get an idea from some one else, or in the imagination of their own mind, as to how a certain subject ought to be understood, and then they endeavor to warp the Scriptures to their idea. This is an entirely wrong way. It is wrestling the Scriptures. 2. Another class seize upon a certain text of Scripture designed only to teach a certain phase of the subject, regarding all other testimony upon the same subject as of little importance. Such views are at the best but one-sided, and very often lead to extremes, even to fanaticism. The only true doctrine taught in the Scriptures on any subject, is that which harmonizes, or shows the harmony between, all the testimony, and at the same time gives all of its parts their relative importance. Among the subjects variously understood is that change which must take place in a man to fit him for a home in the kingdom of God. This transformation in its various forms, phases, and steps is frequently mentioned in the Bible, especially in the New Testament. In its different phases, it is presented as forgiveness of sins, imputed righteousness, justification, righteousness by faith, being converted, sanctification, adoption, etc. It is illustrated by death of the old man and creation of a new man, by marriage, by being born again, by a building, by the vine and its branches, and in other ways. Now it is manifest that that view which would base itself upon only one class of texts,—like those that pertain to conversion,—or upon one illustration,—like that of being born again,—must be one-sided and very likely to be extreme. The only true doctrine is that which will give due weight to all these scriptures, and to each class its proper place. This will bring harmony. Plain, positive texts will give form to inferences and make clear the object of the illustrations. Other methods will result in confusion, and tend to careless indifference on the one hand, or fanaticism on the other. If we have preconceived motives, we must put them away or hold them in subjection to the consensus of testimony. If we think that former investigations in a certain line are sufficient, we are very likely to be mistaken. Where all these lines converge will be found the truth; and that truth will give due importance to every part, and each part will shine brighter and clearer in its own place, reflecting the effulgence of all. This is the true way to study God's word, and if it is studied in504 this way, with a heart which is open and free to receive the truth, and which cries out with unutterable longing to have the will and truth of God wrought in it, the truth will be found. In this way, we may “understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.” Prov. 2:9. As for us, we can see no hope of union in any other way.
M. C. W. “WHAT IS THE THIRD ANGEL’S MESSAGE?”
By C. P. B.
“WHAT is the Third Angel’s Message?” is a question which is often asked and which we will endeavor to answer briefly, but we trust simply, so that those not familiar with the subject may readily understand it. No Bible student needs to be more than reminded that the Scriptures teach the second coming of Christ, and the Third Angel’s Message has reference to that event. However we will not anticipate, but will, for the benefit of the casual reader of the word, dwell for a little upon the teaching of the inspired writings relative to the second advent. “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” This is a plain promise that Christ will come again; and that the apostles and early Christians so understood it, we have the fullest warrant from the epistles for believing. Referring to this very thing the apostle Paul says: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9 : 28. That Christ promised to come again, and that his coming was still future when the apostle wrote the epistle to the Hebrews, is placed beyond the peradventure of a doubt by the texts quoted, and they are but two of many that might be cited; but some may still question as to the manner of his coming, and while that is not vital to an intelligent answer of the question which we are discussing, we will cite a single text on the subject, namely, Acts 1:9-11, which reads as follows:— “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” This is so plain that it scarcely needs comment, and all must admit that it teaches the personal, bodily, and visible return of our Lord to this earth. In one respect, however, his return will be unlike his going; then only a few knew anything about it. Luke says: “And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” Luke 24: 50, 51. Only his friends saw him go, but Inspiration declares (Rev. 1:7) that when he returns “every eye shall see him,” not friends only, but “they also which pierced him.” And to the same intent the Lord himself said: “If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chamber; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24: 26, 27. These texts make it clear that the second advent will not be in a secret manner or in any way local, but that it will be world-wide. How this can be is not for us to say; it is enough for us to know that the Bible teaches that it will be so, and there we leave it, knowing that that which the Lord has promised, he is able also to fulfill. Having seen that the Scriptures teach the second personal, visible coming of our Lord, we are prepared to take another step in this investigation, namely, to inquire whether or not anything can be known as to the nearness of this event. This question might be answered in a very few words, or, rather, by a single text, but as it is a vital point we will examine it at greater length. Turning first to the 24th of Matthew, we have the testimony of our Lord himself that something can be known about the approach of his second coming. Replying to the question, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (verse 3), the Saviour gave certain signs, and said: “Now learn a parable of the fig-tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Verses 32, 33. What these signs were, and whether or not they have been fulfilled, need not be discussed now; however that may be, the fact remains that the Saviour taught not only that his people might know when his coming was near, but that it would be their duty to know. It may be said that this is simply the construction which we place upon the Saviour’s words, but a sufficient reply to that is to show that the apostle, writing what is really an inspired comment upon these very words, presents the same idea. Addressing those who should live in the last days, the apostle says: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thess. 5 : 1-5. It will be noticed that in this, Inspiration recognizes only two classes, namely, the “brethren” who “are not in darkness,” and who will not be overtaken as by a thief, and those who say, “Peace and safety,” who are in darkness, and upon whom sudden destruction cometh, showing clearly that they are neglecting a duty. That the words here recorded by the pen of Inspiration were not for those living in the apostle’s time, but for those who should live when the coming of the Lord should be near, is evident from the fact that in his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul told them plainly that the Lord would not come in their day. See 2 Thess. 2:1-8. We are now prepared for another step, namely, to show that not only do the Scriptures teach that the people of God will know when the second advent is near, but that they will teach the doctrine; yea, that God has laid upon his servants the duty of proclaiming the approach of the day of the Lord; and this will appear from several scriptures. Turning first to Joel 1:14, 15 and 2:1, we read: “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand; and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Here is a prophetic command to God’s ministers, or watchmen, to sound an alarm and say that the day of the Lord is near at hand, and of course it must apply when that event is near. That somebody will say that “the day of the Lord is near” is evident from 2 Peter 3 : 3, 4 : “Knowing this first,” says the apostle, “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.” Evidently some are saying that the Lord is coming; they are sounding the alarm prophesied of by Joel, and these scoffers rise up and oppose them, saying, “Where is the promise of his coming?” “We see no signs of any change;” “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” Other texts might be cited on this point, but our limited space forbids. Thus far in our examination of this subject we have shown (1) that Christ will come again; (2) that his coming will be literal, personal, and visible; (3) that when he comes every eye shall see him; (4) that not only is it possible for his people to know when his coming is near, but that it is the duty of all to know; (5) that God’s ministers, or watchmen, are commanded to sound a warning of the approach of the day of the Lord, saying, “The day of the Lord cometh.” And that which we call the “Third Angel’s Message” is simply the third of a series of warnings, or more properly speaking it is part of a three-fold warning, which is to prepare those who will heed it for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the glorious change which awaits the righteous when he appears. Of this we shall speak more fully in another article. C. P. B.