But can ye not discern the signs of the times-Study,12/11/2019
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
FOR what did Christ reprove the Pharisees and Sadducees?
Matthew 16:3 0 ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times
Note–Desire of Ages.406-407- “O ye hypocrites,” said Jesus, “ye can discern the face of the sky,”—by studying the sky they could foretell the weather,—“but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Christ’s own words, spoken with the power of the Holy Spirit that convicted them of sin, were the sign that God had given for their salvation.And signs direct from heaven had been given to attest the mission of Christ. The song of the angels to the shepherds, the star that guided the wise men, the dove and the voice from heaven at His baptism, were witnesses for Him. “And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign?” “There shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, Christ was to be the same time “in the heart of the earth.” And as the preaching of Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so Christ’s preaching was a sign to His generation. But what a contrast in the reception of the word!
The people of the great heathen city trembled as they heard the warning from God. Kings and nobles humbled themselves; the high and the lowly together cried to the God of heaven, and His mercy was granted unto them. “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation,” Christ had said, “and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Matthew 12:40, 41. Every miracle that Christ performed was a sign of His divinity. He was doing the very work that had been foretold of the Messiah; but to the Pharisees these works of mercy were a positive offense. The Jewish leaders looked with heartless indifference on human suffering. In many cases their selfishness and oppression had caused the affliction that Christ relieved.
Thus His miracles were to them a reproach. That which led the Jews to reject the Saviour’s work was the highest evidence of His divine character. The greatest significance of His miracles is seen in the fact that they were for the blessing of humanity. The highest evidence that He came from God is that His life revealed the character of God. He did the works and spoke the words of God. Such a life is the greatest of all miracles.
What sign had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah by which Christ, at His first advent, might be known as the Messiah?
Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
For fulfilment, seeMatthew 1: 22,23 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Note-–From Heaven With Love.pp.386–Chapter 1—Christ Before Coming to Earth–From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was the image of God, the outshining of His glory. To manifest this glory, to reveal the light of God’s love, He came to our sin-darkened earth. Therefore it was prophesied of Him, “They shall call His name Immanuel, … God with us.” Matthew 1:23; cf. Isaiah 7:14.
Jesus was “the Word of God”—God’s thought made audible. Not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. Both redeemed and unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song.
They will see that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. They will see that the law of life for earth and heaven is the law of self-renouncing love. That love which “seeketh not her own” has its source in the heart of God and is manifested in Jesus, the meek and lowly One. In the beginning, Christ laid the foundations of the earth. His hand hung the worlds in space and fashioned the flowers of the field. He filled the earth with beauty, and the air with song. See Psalms 65:6; 95:5.
Upon all things He wrote the message of the Father’s love. Now sin has marred God’s perfect work, yet that handwriting remains. Nothing, save the selfish heart of man, lives unto itself. Every tree and shrub and leaf pours forth that element of life without which neither man nor animal could live; and man and animal, in turn, minister to the life of tree and shrub and leaf. The ocean receives streams from every land, but takes to give. The mists ascending from it fall in showers to water the earth, that it may bring forth and bud.
The angels of glory find their joy in giving. They bring light from above, and move upon the human spirit to bring the lost into fellowship with Christ. But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God in Jesus. We see that it is the glory of God to give. “I seek not Mine own glory,” said Christ, but the glory of Him that sent Me. John 8:50; 7:18. Christ received from God, but He took to give.
Through the Son, the Father’s life flows out to all; through the Son it returns in joyous service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all. Thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is complete.
Where had the prophet said Christ should be born?
Micah 5:2 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.
For fulfilment, see Matthew 2 :1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
4.What prophet had foretold Christ’s ride into Jerusalem?
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an’ ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
NOTE–Desire of Ages,pp.569–This chapter is based on Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke19:29-44; John 12:12-19–.“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Zechariah 9:9.
Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. He who has so long refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.It was on the first day of the week that Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Multitudes who had flocked to see Him at Bethany now accompaniedHim, eager to witness His reception.
Many people were on their way to the city to keep the Passover,and these joined the multitude attending Jesus. All nature seemed to rejoice. The trees were clothed with verdure, and their blossoms shed a delicate fragrance on the air.
A new life and joy animated the people. The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up.Purposing to ride into Jerusalem, Jesus had sent two of His disciples to bring to Him an ass and its colt. At His birth the Saviour was dependent upon the hospitality of strangers.
The manger in which He lay was a borrowed resting place. Now, although the cattle on a thousand hills are His, He is dependent on a stranger’s kindness for an animal on which to enter Jerusalem as its King.
But again His divinity is revealed, even in the minute directions given His disciples for this errand. As He foretold, the plea, “The Lord hath need of them,” was readily granted. Jesus chose for His use the colt on which never man had sat. The disciples, with glad enthusiasm,spread their garments on the beast, and seated their Master upon it.
For fulfilment, see Matthew 21:4,5 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
What question did the disciples ask Christ concerning His second coming?
Matthew 24:3,6 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?
NOTE–Christ Triumphant,pp353-When Shall These Things Be?”, December 12-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? Matthew 24:3.
Christ warned His disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem as well as of the temple. This event was foretold by Daniel. The oblations and sacrifices were no more of value, for type had reached antitype in the one great oblation….
When Christ referred to the destruction of Jerusalem, His prophetic words reached beyond that event to the final conflagration that will take place in that day when the Lord rises out of His place to punish the world for their iniquity, when the earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain.
This entire chapter is a warning to those who shall live in the last scenes of this earth’s history.Turning to His disciples, Christ said, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;and shall deceive many.” Many false messiahs will appear, claiming to work miracles, and declaring that the time of the deliverance of the Jewish nation has come.
These will mislead many. These words were fulfilled. Between the death of Christ and the siegeof Jerusalem, many false messiahs appeared. But this warning is given also to those who live in this age of the world. The same deceptions practiced prior to the destruction of Jerusalem will be practiced again. The same events that took place at the overthrow of Jerusalem will take place again….Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem human beings wrestled for the supremacy. Emperors were murdered. Those supposed to be standing next to the throne were slain…Through the apostles God gave the Jewish people a last opportunity to repent. He manifested Himself through His witnesses, in their arrest, in their trial, and in their imprisonment. Yet their judges pronounced on them the death sentence….
How, according to Luke, did Christ answer this question?
Luke 21:25-26 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.
NOTE–Last Day Events,pp.18-Chapter 2—Signs of Christ’s Soon Return Our Lord’s Great Prophecy-–Christ forewarned His disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs to take place prior to the coming of the Son of man. The whole of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is a prophecy concerning the events to precede this event, and the destruction of Jerusalem is used to typify the last great destruction of the world by fire.—Manuscript 77, 1899.
Christ upon the Mount of Olives rehearsed the fearful judgments that were to precede His second coming: “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: … Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” [Matthew 24:6-8]. While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct application in the last days.—Testimonies for the Church 5:753 (1899).
Signs in the Heavens
At the close of the great papal persecution, Christ declared, the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light. Next, the stars should fall from heaven. And He says, “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 He is near, even at the doors” (Matthew 24:32, 33, margin).
Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” These signs have appeared. [See The Great Controversy, 306-308, 333, 334.] Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand.—The Desire of Ages, 632 (1898).
The nations are in unrest. Times of perplexity are upon us. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear of the things that are coming upon the earth. But those who believe in God will hear His voice amid the storm, saying, “It is I; be not afraid.”—The Signs of the Times, October 9, 1901.
Strange and eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven—events which it was declared should shortly precede the great day of God. Everything in the world is in an unsettled state.—Manuscript Releases 3:313 (1908).
False Prophets
As one of the signs of Jerusalem’s destruction, Christ had said, “Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” [Matthew 24:11]. False prophets did rise, deceiving the people and leading great numbers into the desert. Magicians and sorcerers, claiming miraculous power, drew the people after them into the mountain solitudes. But this prophecy was spoken also for the last days. This sign is given as a sign of the second advent.—The Desire of Ages, 631 (1898).
We shall encounter false claims, false prophets will arise, there will be false dreams and false visions, but preach the Word; be not drawn away from the voice of God in His Word.—Selected Messages 2:49 (1894).
I have been shown many who will claim to be especially taught of God, and will attempt to lead others, and from mistaken ideas of duty they will undertake a work that God has never laid upon them. Confusion will be the result. Let everyone seek God most earnestly for himself that he may individually understand His will.—Selected Messages 2:72 (1893).
Gluttony and Intemperance
Gluttony and intemperance lie at the foundation of the great moral depravity in our world. Satan is aware of this and he is constantly tempting men and women to indulge the taste at the expense of health and even life itself. Eating, drinking, and dressing are made the aim of life with the world. Just such a state of things existed before the Flood. And this state of dissipation is one of the marked evidences of the soon close of this earth’s history.—Letter 34, 1875.
The picture which Inspiration has given of the antediluvian world represents too truly the condition to which modern society is fast hastening.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 102 (1890).
We know that the Lord is coming very soon. The world is fast becoming as it was in the days of Noah. It is given over to selfish indulgence. Eating and drinking are carried to excess. Men are drinking the poisonous liquor that makes them mad.—Letter 308, 1907.
In the days of Noah the overwhelming majority was opposed to the truth, and enamored with a tissue of falsehoods. The land was filled with violence. War, crime, murder, was the order of the day. Just so will it be before Christ’s second coming.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 1:1090 (1891).
The labor unions are quickly stirred to violence if their demands are not complied with. Plainer and plainer is it becoming that the inhabitants of the world are not in harmony with God. No scientific theory can explain the steady march of evil workers under the generalship of Satan.In every mob wicked angels are at work, rousing men to commit deeds of violence.The perversity and cruelty of men will reach such a height that God will reveal Himself in His majesty. Very
soon the wickedness of the world will have reached its limit and, as in the days of Noah, God will pour out His judgments.—The Upward Look, 334 (1903).
The terrible reports we hear of murders and robberies, of railway accidents and deeds of violence, tell the story that the end of all things is at hand.Now, just now, we need to be preparing for the Lord’s second coming.—Letter 308, 1907.
Wars and Disasters
The tempest is coming and we must get ready for its fury by having repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord will arise to shake terribly the earth. We shall see troubles on all sides. Thousands of ships will be hurled into the depths of the sea. Navies will go down, and human lives will be sacrificed by millions. Fires will break out unexpectedly and no human effort will be able to quench them.
The palaces of earth will be swept away in the fury of the flames. Disasters by rail will become more and more frequent. Confusion, collision, and death without a moment’s warning will occur on the great lines of travel. The end is near, probation is closing. Oh, let us seek God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near!—Messages to Young People, 89, 90 (1890).
In the last scenes of this earth’s history war will rage. There will be pestilence, plague and famine. The waters of the deep will overflow their boundaries. Property and life will be destroyed by fire and flood. We should be preparing for the mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for them that love Him.—Maranatha, 174 (1897).
Great Balls of Fire
Last Friday morning, just before I awoke, a very impressive scene was presented before me. I seemed to awake from sleep but was not in my home. From the windows I could behold a terrible conflagration. Great balls of fire were falling upon houses, and from these balls fiery arrows were flying in every direction. It was impossible to check the fires that were kindled, and many places were being destroyed. The terror of the people was indescribable. After a time I awoke and found myself at home.—Evangelism, 29 (1906).
I saw an immense ball of fire fall among some beautiful mansions, causing their instant destruction. I heard someone say: “We knew that the judgments of God were coming upon the earth, but we did not know that they would come so soon.” Others, with agonized voices, said: “You knew! Why then did you not tell us? We did not know.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:28 (1909).
Earthquakes and Floods
The enemy has worked, and he is working still. He is come down in great power, and the Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth. God has withdrawn His hand. We have only to look at Johnstown [Pennsylvania]. He did not prevent the devil from wiping that whole city out of existence. [On May 31, 1889, an estimated 2,200 people lost their lives in the Johnstown flood when a dam broke after many days of heavy rains.] And these very things will increase until the close of this earth’s history.—Sermons and Talks 1:109 (1889).
The earth’s crust will be rent by the outbursts of the elements concealed in the bowels of the earth. These elements, once broken loose, will sweep away the treasures of those who for years have been adding to their wealth by securing large possessions at starvation prices from those in their employ. And the religious world, too, is to be terribly shaken, for the end of all things is at hand.—Manuscript Releases 3:208 (1891).
The time is now come when one moment we may be on solid earth, the next the earth may be heaving beneath our feet. Earthquakes will take place when least expected.—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 421 (1896).
In fires, in floods, in earthquakes, in the fury of the great deep, in calamities by sea and by land, the warning is given that God’s Spirit will not always strive with men.—Manuscript Releases 3:315 (1897).
Before the Son of man appears in the clouds of heaven everything in nature will be convulsed. Lightning from heaven uniting with the fire in the earth will cause the mountains to burn like a furnace and pour out their floods of lava over villages and cities. Molten masses of rock thrown into the water by the upheaval of things hidden in the earth will cause the water to boil and send forth rocks and earth. There will be mighty earthquakes and great destruction of human life.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:946 (1907).
Crime, Famines, Pestilence
Satan is working in the atmosphere; he is poisoning the atmosphere, and here we are dependent upon God for our lives—our present and eternal lives. And being in the position that we are, we need to be wide awake, wholly devoted, wholly converted, wholly consecrated to God. But we seem to sit as though we were paralyzed. God of heaven, wake us up!—Selected Messages 2:52 (1890).
God has not restrained the powers of darkness from carrying forward their deadly work of vitiating the air, one of the sources of life and nutrition, with a deadly miasma. Not only is vegetable life affected but man suffers from pestilence…. These things are the result of drops from the vials of God’s wrath [God takes responsibility for that which he allows or does not prevent. See Exodus 7:3; 8:32; 1 Chronicles 10:4, 13, 14.] being sprinkled on the earth, and are but faint representations of what will be in the near future.—Selected Messages 3:391 (1891). \
Famines will increase. Pestilences will sweep away thousands. Dangers are all around us from the powers without and satanic workings within, but the restraining power of God is now being exercised.—Manuscript Releases 19:382 (1897).
I have been shown that the Spirit of the Lord is being withdrawn from the earth. God’s keeping power will soon be refused to all who continue to disregard His commandments. The reports of fraudulent transactions, murders, and crimes of every kind are coming to us daily. Iniquity is becoming so common a thing that it no longer shocks the senses as it once did.—Letter 258, 1907.
God’s Purpose in Calamities
What mean the awful calamities by sea—vessels hurled into eternity without a moment’s warning? What mean the accidents by land—fire consuming the riches that men have hoarded, much of which has been accumulated by oppression of the poor? The Lord will not interfere to protect the property of those who transgress His law, break His covenant, and trample upon His Sabbath, accepting in its place a spurious rest day.
The plagues of God are already falling upon the earth, sweeping away the most costly structures as if by a breath of fire from heaven. Will not these judgments bring professing Christians to their senses? God permits them to come that the world may take heed, that sinners may be afraid and tremble before Him.—Manuscript Releases 3:311 (1902).
God has a purpose in permitting these calamities to occur. They are one of His means of calling men and women to their senses. By unusual workings through nature God will express to doubting human agencies that which He clearly reveals in His Word.—Manuscript Releases 19:279 (1902).
How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man, but in them all God’s purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.—Prophets and Kings, 277(c. 1914).
Coming Events Are in the Hands of the Lord
The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations as well as the concerns of His church in His own charge.—Testimonies for the Church 5:753 (1889).
These symbolical representations [the fiery serpents in the wilderness] serve a double purpose. From them God’s people learn not only that the physical forces of the earth are under the control of the Creator, but also that under His control are the religious movements of the nations. Especially is this true with reference to the enforcement of Sunday observance.—Manuscript Releases 19:281 (1902).
In the great closing work we shall meet with perplexities that we know not how to deal with, but let us not forget that the three great Powers of heaven are working, that a divine hand is on the wheel, and that God will bring His purposes to pass.—Evangelism, 65 (1902).
As the wheel-like complications were under the guidance of the hand beneath the wings of the cherubim, so the complicated play of human events is under divine control. Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the affairs of the earth. [See Ezekiel 1:4, 26; 10:8; Daniel 4:17, 25, 32.]—Education, 178 (1903).
In the annals of human history, the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as if dependent on the will and prowess of man; the shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the Word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, above, behind, and through all the play and counterplay of human interest and power and passions, the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will.—Prophets and Kings, 499, 500 (c. 1914).
Heaven’s Regard for Earth’s Affairs
In sparing the life of the first murderer, God presented before the whole universe a lesson bearing upon the great controversy…. It was His purpose, not merely to put down the rebellion, but to demonstrate to all the universe the nature of rebellion….The holy inhabitants of other worlds were watching with the deepest interest the events taking place on the earth.
God carries with Him the sympathy and approval of the whole universe as step by step His great plan advances to its complete fulfillment.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 78, 79 (1890).
The act of Christ in dying for the salvation of man would not only make heaven accessible to men, but before all the universe it would justify God and His son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 68, 69 (1890).
The whole universe is watching with inexpressible interest the closing scenes of the great controversy between good and evil.—Prophets and Kings, 148 (c. 1914).
7.What, according to Matthew’s account, did Christ say were to be the signs in the sun, moon, and stars?
Matthew 24:29 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.
NOTE–The Story of Jesus,pp.175--“There shall be signs,” He said, “in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.” Luke 21:25. And He speaks still more plainly: “The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” Matthew 24:29.
Upon the earth, He said, there shall be “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.“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 with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:30, 31.
The Saviour adds: “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.” Matthew 24:32, 33.
Christ has given signs of His coming. He says that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. When the trees put forth their leaves in the spring, we know that summer is near. Just so surely,when the signs appear in the sun and the moon and the stars, we are to know that Christ’s coming is near.
These signs have appeared.On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened. That day is known in history as “the dark day.” In the eastern part of North America, so great was the darkness that in many places the people had to light candles at noonday.And until after midnight the moon, though at its full, gave no light.
Many believed that the day of judgment had come. No satisfactory reason for the unnatural darkness has ever been given, except the reason found in the words of Christ.
The darkening of the sun and the moon was a sign of His coming.November 13, 1833, there was the most wonderful display offalling stars ever beheld by men. Again thousands believed that the day of judgment had come.Since that time earthquakes, tempests, tidal waves, pestilence,famine, and destructions by fire and flood, have multiplied. All these,and “distress of nations, with perplexity,” declare that the Lord’s coming is near.Of those who beheld these signs
He says,“This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”Matthew 24:34, 35.“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, withthe voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort on another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
8.In what language had some of the Old Testament prophets already foretold these signs?
Joel 2:30,31 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 the terrible day of the Lord come.
Joel 3:15.The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their lights: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Amos 8:9 I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in a clear day.
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 song, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought the barn-yard; and candles were, lighted 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 explainmoon had fulled only the night before, and consequently 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 over-spread 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? Nov. 13, 1833.
NOTES-The celebrated astronomer and meteorologist, Professor Olmsted, of Yale College, says: “Those who were so fortunate as to wit-ness the exhibition of shooting stars on the morning of Nov. 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 agri-cultural 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 freworks that neither language nor any element in nature can furnish comparisons.
The comparison of the sheet-iron thunder of the theaters 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 be 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-for-gotten 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 Re3ia-ter, July 12, 1889.
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 Saviour, at His first advent. Myriads of stars have announced the near-ness 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.
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.
NOTE—”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 any one 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.
Are men’s hearts now “failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth”? Every one familiar with present-day conditions knows that -this is the case.
NOTE–“We are marching toward the unknown. Who knows what tomorrow has in store for us?”— Signor Crispi, ex-Prime Minister of Italy.
Ambassadors of Christ 