Earlier text: EditorialTHE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
By Elder F. M. Wilcox
"TELL us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" These were the questions propounded to Jesus Christ over eighteen hundred years ago by his puzzled disciples. They had just been calling the attention of their Lord to the Jewish temple. With marbled walls and sunlit gilded domes and turrets, it presented an imposing scene to the minds of the humble fishermen. And truly it was a noble structure. "Forty and three years was this temple in building." Herod, by the sacrifice of many lives, and the lavish expenditure of untold wealth, had made it the pride of the nation, the glory of oriental architecture. Into its construction had entered stones so massive that no devices now known to architecture could have adjusted them to their proper place. To finite minds, and especially to minds biased by dreams of dawning national prosperity, as were the minds of all Jews, including the disciples, a building of such strong and massive proportions would withstand the ravages of time and age almost indefinitely. As the disciples dwelt upon this glory and luxury of the sacred edifice, they were startled to hear Christ proclaim: "See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." In the privacy of Olivet's quietude the disciples sought the meaning of this startling prediction, in the words at the beginning of this article: "Tell us, when shall these things be [or when shall the temple be thus destroyed]? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:1-3. These same problems interest us at this time in the consideration of this question. And in the answer given by our Saviour we may find a solution to the queries in our minds as well as did the early disciples. Let us then consider the answer returned. Christ evidently does not answer the questions in the exact order of their asking. In verses 4-14 he speaks of the events which would mark the history of the world from that time down to the end of the age, ending with the statement in verse 14: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." With verse 15, as is clearly shown by the context, does he begin a recital of those signs and events which would indicate THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM.
We shall consider this point only as it is pertinent to an understanding of what follows. "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand); then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." Verses 15, 16. Luke 21:20, 21 expresses this even more plainly: "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains," etc. The fulfillment of this prediction occurred in the year A.D. 70, when the Roman army under Titus besieged and took Jerusalem, butchering the inhabitants with indiscriminate slaughter, and reducing the city with its beautiful temple to smouldering ruins. But none of the Christians perished in this destruction. Acting upon the counsel of their Lord, they escaped to Pella, a small mountain town north of Jerusalem, and thus saved their lives. Following the flight of the Christians from Jerusalem there was to begin the tribulation from the powers of earth, which in the end would become the "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." To what period of persecution does this "great tribulation" refer? Some have contended that it had reference to the tribulation of the Jews when Jerusalem was destroyed. Several important considerations, however, preclude its application to the Jewish tribulation. First, this "great tribulation" was to be a time tribulation. It was to have connected with it certain specified "days," as shown by the expression, "except those days should be shortened." Verse 22. Indefinite, unspecified periods cannot be shortened. The destruction visited upon Jerusalem by Titus was not a time tribulation. No prophet predicted that it would be performed within certain days. Hence this specification alone forever denies the application of the "great tribulation" to the destruction of Jerusalem. Second, the days should be shortened "for the elect's sake," in order that the elect people of God might not all perish from off the earth. Who could be counted the elect at the destruction of Jerusalem? Not the Jews, for they had filled up the cup of their iniquity in the crucifixion of Christ, and the martyrdom of Stephen and James. Certainly none but the disciples of Christ could have been counted the elect at that time. But did the ravages of the Roman army at Jerusalem need to be checked to save the disciples?—No, indeed; for, as we have already learned, they were far from the noise and din of the besieging army, safe in their mountain retreat. Then we must conclude that the "great tribulation" did not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. But to what time does the expression refer? There can be but one answer,—to the long and bitter persecution waged by the papal power against the church of Jesus Christ. Beginning with their hazardous escape from Jerusalem, fraught as it was with loss of property and friends, and many temporal and physical discomforts, the Christians endured persecution under pagan rule for many years. But the afflictions of the church under Pagan Rome were as nothing almost, compared in severity, suffering, and bitterness with the "great tribulation" endured under papal rule. And the two specifications above, which so thoroughly preclude the application of the tribulation to the destruction of the Jews, fix with great certainty its application to the persecution under Papal Rome. Let us see: First293 the point of time, "days." Was the papal persecution one of days? Did God by his prophets proclaim its limit? We answer, Yes. In Dan. 7:25 we have brought to view a power, the "little horn," which no Protestant will deny to be a symbol of Rome. Of the power represented by this "little horn" does the prophet declare: "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they [God's people] shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Here, then, is a tribulation predicted, having time, or days, connected with it, and the time is a specified, definite period. We learn from Rev. 12:6, 14 that this period equals 1,260 days, or, according to Rev. 13:5, "forty and two months." But this is prophetic time, a day in prophecy standing for one year (see Eze. 4:1-6), hence would equal 1,260 prophetic days, or an equal number of literal years. That the papal power of Rome practiced and prospered for just such a period of time is well known to the student of history, hence no more than a mere statement of the dates marking the beginning and ending of this period will be necessary. Papal domination began in 538 A.D. by the decree of Emperor Justinian, whereby was conferred upon the bishop of Rome the power to define heresy and to punish heretics. This temporal power continued till 1798, when it was snatched from the Papacy by the French Government in the capture of Rome and the dethroning of the pope by Berthier, the commander of the French forces. Thus we find brought to view a tribulation to the church of God, based upon the matter of time. We come now to inquire, Was this Reliable historians estimate that between fifty and one hundred millions of God's people have attested the genuineness of their faith under most excruciating torment, by rack, thumbscrew, stake, and gibbet, and by every other kind of torture that human ingenuity, aided by hellish cunning, could invent. A meager idea of the extent of these papal cruelties may be gleaned from the following extract from the "Cottage Bible," in its comment on Rev. 17:6:— According to the calculations of some, about 200,000 suffered death in seven years under Pope Julian; no less than 100,000 were massacred by the French in the space of three months; the Waldenses who perished amounted to 1,000,000; within thirty years the Jesuits destroyed 900,000; under the Duke of Alva 36,000 were executed by the common hangman; 150,000 perished in the Inquisition; and 150,000 by the Irish massacre, besides the vast multitude of whom the world never could be particularly informed, who were proscribed, banished, starved, burned, buried alive, smothered, suffocated, drowned, assassinated, chained to the galleys for life, or immured within the horrid walls of the Bastille, or others of their church or State prisons. According to some, the whole number of persons massacred since the rise of the Papacy, amounts to 50,000,000. When once the destruction of Jerusalem, at which perished, according to Josephus, less than one and one-half millions of people, is compared with the long reign of papal tribulation, during which over fifty millions of people were put to death in the terrible manner described above, it will be readily seen that the latter and not the former is the "great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be." In an unworthy but terrible manner did it earn its designation, "great." But what is this power elect of God? Small need to raise such a query. Wearily to the church of God did the long period of papal domination drag itself along. Often did it seem to those contending for the right that the lamp of truth would go out forever. But God had said, "For the elect's sake those days shall be shortened," and, lo, we find when the Papacy was at the height of its heaven-daring glory, that there was silently germinating in its midst those principles of truth which under God shortened its days of supremacy, and culminated in its final overthrow. Wycliffe, the morning-star of the Reformation, sounded the cry of religious freedom from papal assumption; Luther and his colaborers caught the note, and soon that power which had usurped the prerogatives of God himself found itself confronted by a force which it could not flatter by cajolery nor intimidate by anathemas. Long before its final overthrow in 1798 did the Papacy feel its power weakening. The world had awakened from its dream of blood and carnage, and was asserting its right to think for itself. The cause of the Reformation continued to advance. Some of Europe's rulers became friendly to its teachings, and others more bold declared themselves disciples of the Lord Jesus. This took from papal support, and made less potent the bulls and anathemas of the Roman see. In 1776 the empress of Austria issued a decree of religious toleration. Then, too, in the Western wilds rapidly shaping events were developing a new nation—a nation composed of men who had fled from papal intolerance, and who in the wilds of America had established a State upon the principles of civil and religious liberty and equality. The same year that Maria Theresa issued her edict of toleration, the ensign of this new nation was unfurled to the breeze. These events conspired to limit papal dominance, and to shorten the days, not the days of the Papacy's temporal power as a prince, but the days of its persecution. The Papacy maintained its temporal sovereignty till its capture by Berthier in 1798; but after 1776, by the new order of events shaping themselves in the earth, its power to persecute was practically taken away. Thus upon every count does the "great tribulation" meet its fulfillment in the history of Papal Rome. The premises we have thus established give us data from which to draw important conclusions. Important signs of Christ's second coming were to transpire between 1776 and 1798. The interesting discussion of what these were to be, and how they were fulfilled, we leave for our next paper. GLORIOUS POWER.
By Frederick M. Wilcox
It is the privilege of the child of God to be "strengthened with all might according to His glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." We said it was his privilege to have this strength; it is his privilege, his right, and his duty. If Christ is in him and he in Christ, he will have it. And think how much power it confers. It is "might according to His glorious power." Christ says, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Then the promise to the Christian is that, in his battle against sin, he may have divine power. That power will be bestowed in proportion as he becomes a "partaker of the divine nature." With such unlimited resources as these from which to draw, certainly the child of God may take heart. Christ is his Captain, and victory through him knows no defeat. F. M. W. LOVE—THE LIFE AND MOTIVE POWER OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
By Matthew Larson
WHEN we see the mighty steamers moving off so gracefully, cutting their way through the waters as though possessed of life, or the huge engine steaming along the track with such rapidity, we are naturally led to inquire for their motive power. What causes them thus to move? So with the Christian. What actuates and sustains him in his life of righteousness? What constitutes the motive power of his Christian endeavors? In the fall man lost his righteousness, his innocence. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12; 3:23. But Christ is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10), and through his blood we have redemption, "even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14). Says the beloved disciple: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. But to forgive his sins and merely restore him to his innocence, could never suffice to save him; for man not only lost his innocence, or holiness, but he also lost moral strength, or his power to live a pure and holy life. It is the logic of sin to not only defile, but to weaken and overthrow, one's power to resist sin, so that our best endeavors will become but miserable failures. Says the apostle:— "For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not; for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I . . . For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." Rom. 7:14-18. How many of us are there not who can testify by a sad personal experience to the truthfulness of this language? In looking over our past life, how many of us are not made to regret the consciousness of a life strewn with wrecks of promises and resolutions made but never kept? How often we have made mistakes; we have been overcome by Satan, and our good intentions, "our determinations to do better hereafter," have been shattered, until the consciousness of our weakness has caused us almost to lose faith, and in despair and remorse of conscience we have felt to exclaim, with the apostle Paul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. Thus, we need not only the forgiveness of our sins, but the power thereafter to render a life of obedience restored to us as well. And this power is supplied to us in Christ. Says Paul of his deliverance, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 7:25. "Without me ye can do nothing," said Christ. John 15:5. But, says an apostle, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phil. 4:13. But what is this power with which he strengthens us? Paul says it is Christ,—the love of Christ. "For the love of Christ constraineth us." 2 Cor. 5:14. By the term294 "the love of Christ" we do not understand the expression of his love in coming and suffering and dying for us to be meant, but the love itself—the principle of love, or the motive that actuated Christ and caused him to come and thus suffer and die for mankind. Christ was the very embodiment of love, and he is to be "formed" and "revealed" in us. Gal. 4:19; 1:16. We are to be "partakers of the divine nature." 2 Peter 1:4. And if Christ is in us, the "inner man," we will manifest it by living and walking "even as he walked." 1 John 2:6. Says another apostle:— "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. . . . For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." Col. 2:6-10. Here, then, is our motive power. Says the apostle, "The love of Christ constraineth us." It impels, or compels, us forward in the service of Christ; it is this that renders our faith active, and imparts life and force to it; without this element of love, our faith would be dead, would be worthless to us. "And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." 1 Cor. 13:2, Revised Version. In fact, without love our belief would only afford us a source of dread; "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Heb. 10:27. "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" James 2:19, 20. And why "tremble"? why "dead"? —Simply because the love of God is not there—is not in such a faith. For— "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is love with us [margin] made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. . . . There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:16-18. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.
By Ellen G. White
Christ is a risen Saviour; for, though he was dead, he has risen again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us. We are to believe with the heart unto righteousness, and with the mouth make confession unto salvation. Those who are justified by faith will make confession of Christ. “He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” The great work that is wrought for the sinner who is spotted and stained by evil is the work of justification. By Him who speaketh truth he is declared righteous. The Lord imputes unto the believer the righteousness of Christ and pronounces him righteous before the universe. He transfers his sins to Jesus, the sinner’s representative, substitute, and surety. Upon Christ he lays the iniquity of every soul that believeth. “He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Christ made an atonement for the guilt of the whole world, and all who will come to God in faith, will receive the righteousness of Christ, “who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed.” Our sin has been expiated, put away, cast into the depths of the sea. Through repentance and faith we are rid of sin, and look unto the Lord our righteousness. Jesus suffered, the just for the unjust. Although as sinners we are under the condemnation of the law, yet Christ by his obedience rendered to the law, claims for the repentant soul the merit of his own righteousness. In order to obtain the righteousness of Christ, it is necessary for the sinner to know what that repentance is which works a radical change of mind and spirit and action. The work of transformation must begin in the heart, and manifest its power through every faculty of the being; but man is not capable of originating such a repentance as this, and can experience it alone through Christ, who ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Who is desirous of becoming truly repentant? What must he do?—He must come to Jesus, just as he is, without delay. He must believe that the word of Christ is true, and, believing the promise, ask, that he may receive. When sincere desire prompts men to pray, they will not pray in vain. The Lord will fulfill his word, and will give the Holy Spirit to lead to repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He will pray and watch, and put away his sins, making manifest his sincerity by the vigor of his endeavor to obey the commandments of God. With prayer he will mingle faith, and not only believe in but obey the precepts of the law. He will announce himself as on Christ’s side of the question. He will renounce all habits and associations that tend to draw the heart from God. He who would become a child of God must receive the truth, that repentance and forgiveness is to be obtained through nothing less than the atonement of Christ. Assured of this the sinner must put forth an effort in harmony with the work done for him, and with unwearied entreaty he must supplicate the throne of grace that the renovating power of God may come into his soul. Christ pardons none but the penitent, but whom he pardons he first makes penitent. The provision made is complete, and the eternal righteousness of Christ is placed to the account of every believing soul. The costly, spotless robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has been provided for the repenting, believing sinner, and he may say: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Abundant grace has been provided that the believing soul may be kept free from sin; for all heaven, with its limitless resources, has been placed at our command. We are to draw from the well of salvation. Christ is the end of law for righteousness to everyone who believeth. In ourselves we are sinners; but in Christ we are righteous. Having made us righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ, God pronounces us just, and treats us as just. He looks upon us as his dear children. Christ works against the power of sin, and where sin abounded, grace much more abounds. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” “For by grace are295 ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” The Lord would have his people sound in the faith,—not ignorant of the great salvation so abundantly provided for them. They are not to look forward, thinking that at some future time a great work is to be done for them; for the work is now complete. The believer is not called upon to make his peace with God; he never has nor never can do this. He is to accept Christ as his peace, for with Christ is God and peace. Christ made an end of sin, bearing its heavy curse in his own body on the tree, and he hath taken away the curse from all those who believe in him as a personal Saviour. He makes an end of the controlling power of sin in the heart, and the life and character of the believer testify to the genuine character of the grace of Christ. To those that ask him, Jesus imparts the Holy Spirit; for it is necessary that every believer should be delivered from pollution, as well as from the curse and condemnation of the law. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the sanctification of the truth, the believer becomes fitted for the courts of heaven; for Christ works within us, and his righteousness is upon us. Without this no soul will be entitled to heaven. We would not enjoy heaven unless qualified for its holy atmosphere by the influence of the Spirit and the righteousness of Christ. In order to be candidates for heaven we must meet the requirement of the law: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” We can do this only as we grasp by faith the righteousness of Christ. By beholding Jesus we receive a living, expanding principle in the heart, and the Holy Spirit carries on the work, and the believer advances from grace to grace, from strength to strength, from character to character. He conforms to the image of Christ, until in spiritual growth he attains unto the measure of the full stature in Christ Jesus. Thus Christ makes an end of the curse of sin, and sets the believing soul free from its action and effect. Christ alone is able to do this, for “in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.” Reconciliation means that every barrier between the soul and God is removed, and that the sinner realizes what the pardoning love of God means. By reason of the sacrifice made by Christ for fallen men, God can justly pardon the transgressor who accepts the merits of Christ. Christ was the channel through which the mercy, love, and righteousness might flow from the heart of God to the heart of the sinner. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” COUNT THE COST.
By Theodore L. Cuyler
HE who would be most like Christ must pay the cost. If a furnace is needed to purify and brighten you, do not shirk the furnace. Patience is an admirable grace, but it is not oftenest worn by those who walk on the sunny side of the street in silver slippers. It is usually the product of head winds and hard fights, of crosses carried and steep hills climbed on the road to heaven. “The trial of your faith worketh patience.” So it is with all the noblest traits of a robust, healthy, and symmetrical character. No man is rocked into godliness in a hammock. Christ offers you no free ride to heaven in a cushioned parlor car. John Bunyan sent his sturdy “Pilgrim” to the “celestial city” on foot, and some pretty rough walking and hard conflicts did he encounter before the pearly portals welcomed him to the streets of flashing gold. His piety was self-denying, stalwart, and uncompromising. He relished even the stiff severities of duty, and was never coddled with confectioneries. Self-indulgence is the besetting sin of the times; but if you long to be a strong, athletic Christian, you must count the cost. It will cost you the cutting up of old favorite sins by the roots, and the cutting loose from entangling alliances, and some sharp set-tos with the tempter; it will cost you the submitting of your will to the will of Christ.—T. L. Cuyler. TRUST IN GOD.
By Walter C. Whitney
ARE the waves of trouble rolling?
Does their power thy bosom fill?
Go to Christ, thy cares unfolding.
He can bid them, “Peace, be still.” Does the world seem dark and lonely,
Cheerless day succeeds the night?
Trust in God and in him only,
Find a true and living light. Does your life seem sad and friendless,
Little comfort does it lend?
Trust in Him whose love is endless,
He will ever be your friend. Are you mourning now for loved ones
Who to you were very dear?
Trust in God, he waits to comfort,
He will aid you, do not fear. Are you aged, weak, and weary?
Do you feel your need of rest?
Trust in God, and he will guide you
To the mansions of the blest. Are you sick? then trust the Saviour;
He will strength and patience lend.
In his hands death hath no power;
He can save you to the end. To the needy God has spoken,
Says that all may come, believe,
Win his favor, test his mercy,
Ask his blessing and receive.
—Walter C. Whitney. WHY NOT FOUND OUT BEFORE?
By L. H. Church
OFTEN when the claims of God's holy and just law are presented, and its clear demands upon us to keep the seventh day are brought before the people, we are met with the query, "If these things are so, why were they not found out before?" Many are willing to rest the whole matter right there, thus showing that they have found it out now sooner than they wished. There is a mystery enveloping ignorance as dark as the shadow of night. For nearly six thousand years our fathers cut grain with a knife, or cycle, and threshed it with a stick, or flail, not knowing anything about headers, harvesters, and threshers. Why did they not find them out before? Our mothers and sisters went to the woods for ages and gathered thorns to fasten their clothing, because no one had used mechanical skill to make a simple pin, or run a pin factory. Why did they not find it out before? There was just as much metal in the world before as now. Our brothers and sisters were sent to the neighbors for generations to borrow fire, because the intelligence of the world had not learned to make a match. Why did they not find it out before? There was just as much sulphur in the world in ages past as now. Again, the planets were whirling through space for thousands of years before Galileo turned his telescope upward; there was just as much power in steam before Watt saw the teakettle boiling; as much gravity before Newton saw the apple fall; as much electricity before Franklin flew his kite; and the human heart beat and throbbed, and sent its life current through the body, long years before the days of Harvey. Why were not all of these things found out before? It surely was not because the knowledge of them would not have been of value to the human family. Indeed, in every walk of life we meet the same question. A man starts in business, invests a large amount of capital and much time, is unsuccessful, and at last finds out it don't pay, and we hear him exclaim, "Why did I not find this out before?" He starts on a journey, gets on the wrong road, and after traveling a distance he finds it out, and as he turns around to retrace his steps we hear him mutter, "Why did I not find this out before?" It is just the same in every case. There is darkness in ignorance, and light in knowledge. Why darkness and ignorance should have hovered over the world for centuries, and "knowledge increased" in "the time of the end," is a mystery, but nevertheless a truth. We can only say that it was in the providence of God. Light, or knowledge, is the voice of the Lord to this generation, saying that the Lord is coming, and a greater light is soon to break upon the inhabitants of this earth. It is to prepare "the children of the light," who are "to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light," to see the Lord of light, and "be like him, for we shall see him as he is." The promised blessing has been echoing down through all these ages. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Eph. 5:14. "Light is sown for the righteous," and "the truth shall make us free." Before it darkness and error vanish away, and "the ruler of darkness" is subdued by "the True Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9. Why people should have been enshrouded in such perpetual darkness so long is a mystery, but it is a still greater mystery why they should prefer to linger under the hellish shadow of the prince of darkness after infinite Mercy had scattered it sufficiently for them to see the blazing light of truth. WAR IN EUROPE.
By George B. Thompson
BY ELDER GEO. B. THOMPSON. "BEAT your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong." Joel 3: 10. He who looks at things in the political world as they really exist is convinced that these words will soon be fulfilled, notwithstanding the siren voice of "peace and safety" which is heard in the land. All Europe quivers with unrest, like some slumbering volcano ready to burst forth at any moment. The nations regard each other suspiciously, and are arming for the impending conflict which each feels to be inevitable. War, rather than agriculture, is the absorbing occupation. Again and again we hear it stated that universal war must begin in the East, and in almost breathless expectation the world looks on to see which of the continental powers will make the fatal move on the political chessboard which will involve, apparently, all nations in the ferocious and deadly contest. How the map will then look we know not. Then will the European "sick man," Turkey, be driven from his possessions, and "plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain." "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Dan. 11: 45; 12: 1. The ingenuity of man is taxed to the utmost to invent engines of destruction with which his fellow-men may be slaughtered faster than ever before, and he who succeeds is placed in the niche of fame. Already "automatic repeating rifles" are in the hands of trained millions, with which it is claimed that bullets can be poured out like a hailstorm, and will "sweep away like flies" the ranks of an opposing army. Smokeless powder is brought into use, and with no merciful cloud of smoke they can better carry on their terrible scenes of carnage, and literally drench the earth with blood. The Boston Journal of November 26, 1892, sets this matter forth as follows:— War as we know in the Rebellion was terrible; but when the armed truce is finally broken, and Europe's armies by the hundred thousand meet on the field with these wonderful new devices of death and mutilation, the horrors of Gettysburg will be multiplied tenfold, with no merciful canopy of smoke to hide them. This picture is a gloomy one, but it shows the situation as it is. Prince Bismarck, when speaking before the German Reichstag, stated the truth when he said:— It will be a furious war, a war of destruction, in comparison with which the war of 1870 was but child's play. All these things are but a fulfilling of the words of the Saviour, telling us of the "distress296 of nations, with perplexity," and "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21: 25, 26. The nations are distressed and perplexed greatly by foes within and foes without. Anarchy, Socialism, and Nihilism perturb them at home, and a dread has filled the hearts of men as they see these things increasing in the earth and they utterly powerless to stay their progress. Knowing that the end will be all-devastating war, they are arming to the teeth for the bloody affray. There is to be no reign of peace prior to the coming of Jesus, but it is while the nations are "angry" that he comes and destroys them with the breath of his mouth. Rev. 11: 18. These mutterings of unrest, discontent, and anger, tell us in unmistakable tones that the time is near at hand when the world will behold the "Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Be ye therefore ready. Matt. 24: 44.