Our Faith and Hope

by James S. White

SERMON ONE. SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

TEXT. - Can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matt.16:3.

OUR Lord asked the Pharisees and Sadducees this question at a time when they came to him tempting him for a sign from Heaven. It was a reproof to them for their unbelief in the signs mentioned by the Old Testament writers, which they professed to believe, and which were actually fulfilling before their eyes, yet disregarded by them. They could tell the weather for the morrow, but had no skill in those prophecies that pointed to that time. "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, It will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" We will here name some of the signs which the Jews had as evidence of Jesus' being the true Messiah.

SIGNS OF THE FIRST ADVENT

1. Christ was born of a virgin, Matt.1:18-25; spoken of in Is.7:14.

2. Bethlehem was his birthplace, Matt.2:1; mentioned in Micah 5:2.

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3. Herod's slaying all the children in Bethlehem, from two years old and under, Matt.2:16,18; prophesied of in Jer.31:15.

4. His forerunner, John. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, etc. Is.40:3. All Judea and Jerusalem saw this sign when they went out to be baptized of John. Matt.3:1-6.

5. The gospel preached. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue to read, he opened the book and read where it is written, Is.61:1, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings," etc. The eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened upon him. And he said unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Luke 4:16-21.

6. His humility when on trial. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted; yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." Is.53:7.

7. The manner and circumstances of his death. "They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. . . . They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." Ps.22:13-18. This prophecy had an exact and literal accomplishment at the crucifixion of Christ, and the Jews saw it. Read Matt.27:35.

8. The fulfillment of the seventy weeks of Dan.9:24-27. The Jews understood this, or might have understood it. Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "Ye know nothing at all,

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nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself; but being high priest that year, he prophesied [or taught the prophecies] that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." John 11:49-52. We might add to these signs the miracles of Christ, his resurrection, the pouring out of the Holy Ghost on the day of pentecost, and still others which were distinctly spoken of by the prophets.

But notwithstanding all this Scripture was fulfilling before the faces of the rulers of the Jews, and all these signs were actually accomplished in a little more than thirty years, and they themselves had to acknowledge that notable miracles had been done, yet they believed not. Well may it be said by this generation, that the Jews deserved wrath, and God was just in destroying their nation and place. But how is it with the professed people of God at this day? Do they believe in that Word which they blame the Jews for rejecting? The Jews were looking for a temporal kingdom, and overlooked the signs of Christ's first advent. The nominal church, as a body, is looking for a temporal millennium, and overlook the signs of his second advent, which are more numerous and forcible than those of his first advent. Then if the signs of Christ's second coming are doubted and rejected by the professed people of God of this generation, the sin of unbelief will rest upon them heavier than it did upon the Jews, in proportion as they reject greater light.

SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT

In this discourse we design to call attention to only the three great signs in the heavens: the darkening of the sun, and of the moon, and the falling stars. Other signs of the times will be noticed in another sermon.

1. The dark day of May, 19, 1780. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven." Matt.24:29.

The tribulation here mentioned is that which was upon the church of Christ for 1260 years, noted in Dan.7:25; Rev.12:6; 13:5. In Matt.24:21, it is said to be "tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." During the 1260 years of papal persecution, fifty, and some writers say a hundred, millions of Christians were put to death by sword, flame, and rack, and by every other engine of cruelty that wicked men and demons could invent. It was a greater tribulation than the church will ever suffer. It is true that the prophet speaks of a "time of trouble such as never was," when Michael (Christ) shall stand up. Dan.12:1. But that will be a national trouble upon all the wicked, and not upon the people of God; for "at that time," says the angel to the prophet, "thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

The tribulation named in the text cannot apply to the destruction of Jerusalem; for that trouble on that nation was not so great as that of the cities of the plain, when God rained fire and brimstone

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from heaven on them; or the destruction of the old world by the flood. Neither was it so great as the day of God's anger will be, when the last vials of his wrath shall be poured out.

If this tribulation be applied to the Jews, or any other class of unbelieving men, it cannot be harmonized with Dan.12:1, which speaks of the time of trouble such as never was, when Michael shall stand up. Certainly there could not be two times of trouble, at different periods, greater than ever was, or ever would be. Therefore we apply the tribulation spoken of in Matt.24:21,29, to the church during the 1260 years, and the trouble mentioned in Dan.12:1, to the unbelieving world, to be experienced by them in the future.

Then, immediately after the tribulation of those days of papal persecution, the sun was to be darkened. Mark this: it does not say, after those days; but after the tribulation of those days. The days reached to 1798, eighteen years this side of the dark day; but the tribulation of the days ceased before the sun was darkened in 1780. The days of tribulation were shortened for the elect's sake. Verse 22. The reformation under Martin Luther modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain the rage and consume the power of the papacy until 1700; since which time, according to all church history, there has been no general persecution against the church. Mark 13:24, makes this point very plain: "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened." That is, before the 1260 years should close; but after the tribulation, or martyrdom, of the church ceased, the sun was darkened. Those who would point to the future, or to the past, prior to the eighteenth century, for the darkening of the sun

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here mentioned, will do well to read again Mark 13:24: "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened."

"A something strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world will come to an end, and that the last day is even at the door. - Martin Luther.

"In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New England, when 'all faces seemed to gather blackness,' and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived: 'men's hearts failing them for fear' that the Judgment-day was at hand. The neighbors all flocked around the holy man; for his lamp was trimmed, and shining brighter than ever, amidst the unnatural darkness. Happy and joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude." - Tract No. 379 of Am. Tract Society. - Life of Edward Lee.

"The 19th day 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 (Ct.) Historical Collections.

"ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARK DAY. - The dark day, May 19, 1780, is thus described by Mr. Stone, in his History of Beverly: 'The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. About 10 o'clock, A. M., it became unusually dark. The darkness continued to increase till about one o'clock, when it began to decrease. During this

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time, candles became necessary. The birds disappeared and were silent, the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew as at daybreak, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens was great.'" - Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843.

The supernatural darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780, has been so universally understood that Noah Webster's dictionary, in the edition for 1869, under the head of Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Noted Names, says:

"The dark day, May 19, 1780; - so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New England. In some places, persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought the barnyard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with differences of degree and duration in different places. For several days previous, the wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south-west and the north-east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."

From Robert Sears' Guide to Knowledge, published in New York, 1844, we extract the following: 'On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o'clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print, or tell the

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time of the day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost. Objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses.'"

2. The dark night of May 19, 1780. "And the moon shall not give her light." Matt.24:29.

"The moon shines with a borrowed light; and, therefore, if the sun from whom she borrows her light is turned into darkness, she must fail, of course, and become bankrupt." - Matthew Henry.

"The night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780,) was of such pitchy darkness that, in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy." - Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843. - Extract from Stone's History of Beverly.

Mr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, to the Historical Society, speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says:

"The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few

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inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet."

Dr. Adams, speaking of the dark night, says:

"At nine, it was a darkness to be felt by more senses than one, as there was a strong smell of soot. Almost every one who happened to be out in the evening, got lost in going home. The darkness was as uncommon in the night as it was in the day, as the moon had fulled the day before."

3. The falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833. "And the stars shall fall from heaven." Matt.24:29. We here give an extract from an article written by Henry Dana Ward, in regard to the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, published in the Journal of Commerce, Nov. 15, 1833:

"At the cry, 'Look out of the window,' I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors. The zenith, the north, and the west also, showed the falling stars, in the very image of one thing, and only one, I ever heard of. I called to my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed, 'See how the stars fall!' I replied, 'That is the wonder!' and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days; for, truly, 'the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind." Rev.6:13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday, it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster, in Greek, and stella, in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. The refinement of modern astronomy has made the distinction between stars of heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed

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in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday.

"And how did they fall? Neither myself, nor one of the family, heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted."

"The stars fell 'even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind." Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one: those which appeared in the east fell toward the east; those which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the Park) fell toward the south. And they fell not as the ripe fruit falls - far from it; but they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when, under a violent pressure, it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude's falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force, but each one falls on its own side of the tree. Such was the appearance of the above phenomenon to the inmates of my house."

Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College, says:

"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

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north, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance.

"The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the sickle.

"This is no longer to be regarded as a terrestrial, but as a celestial, phenomenon; and shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as visitants from other worlds, or from the planetary voids."

The People's Magazine, Boston, Jan., 1834, on the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, says:

"The Rockingham (Va.) Register calls it 'A rain of fire,' - thousands of stars being seen at once; some said it began with considerable noise.

"The Journal of Commerce informs, that 'three hundred miles this side of Liverpool the phenomenon was as splendid there as here; and that in St. Lawrence County there was a snow-storm during the phenomenon, in which the falling stars appeared like lightning. . . . That in Germantown, Pa., they seemed like showers of great hail.'

"The Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner says: "The air was filled with innumerable meteors or stars; . . . hundreds of thousands of brilliant bodies might be seen falling at every moment, . . . . sloping their descent toward the earth, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, resembling flashes of fire.'"

This is important testimony as to the vast extent of the falling stars, and also from their emanating from a single point in the heavens. It was the greatest display of celestial fire-works recorded

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on the pages of history. It was no atmospheric or terrestrial phenomenon, common to the upper regions of the earth; but a display of the divine power, baffling the science of man.

After our Lord names these three signs; first, the sun darkened; second, the moon's not giving her light; and third, the stars' falling from heaven, Matt.24:29-31, he gives the parable of the fig tree.

"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 [He, margin] is near, even at the doors." Matt.24:32,33.

The parable of the fig tree is probably the most forcible that could be used by our Lord to inspire in the hearts of his people faith in his speedy coming. When the trees of the field begin to put forth their leaves, and the tender grass springs up, and the ground is being covered with its green velvet carpet, we know that summer is nigh. If one should doubt, and talk of the season's changing back to winter, he would be thought insane. It is a certainty with us that summer is near when we see these signs in nature. We know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, or with the same certainty, know that Christ's coming is at the doors when the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, are fulfilled.

Here, dear reader, our Lord has stated the object of these signs, which is, that we may know when his coming is at the doors. But we are told that the church is not to know anything of the period of Christ's second advent. Then, we inquire, why did our Lord give signs of the event?

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Are they given to deceive us? to lead the honest Christian to look for Christ's coming when, in fact, nothing is to be known of the time of the event? Certainly not. The fact that Christ foretells signs of his coming, and then states the object of those signs, that the church may KNOW when the event is near, even at the doors, is sufficient proof that it is the design of Heaven that the church should understand the period of the second advent.

SERMON TWO. THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

TEXT: 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. Matt.24:14.

THE proclamation of this gospel of the kingdom in all the world is the first sign of the second coming of Christ, and the end of the world, mentioned by our Lord. It was given in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Verse 3. But this text is supposed by many to teach that all men will be converted. What then? The end? No, not for one thousand years at least, in which all will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. And some hold that the one thousand years of Rev.20, are prophetic, each day in the year representing a year, making three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, during which time all men will be holy and happy.

But the text does not intimate that all men will

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be converted. It does not say that any one will be converted as the result of preaching this gospel of the kingdom. It does not even state that all would hear this gospel. And we find it far from intimating that the world would be converted, and remain so a thousand years, or three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, before the end. The text simply states:

1. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world,"

2. "For a witness unto all nations,"

3. "And then [not a thousand years later, nor three hundred and sixty-five thousand years; but then] shall the end come."

It may be worthy of notice right here that very many who hold the doctrine of the world's conversion, and a thousand years, or three hundred and sixty-five thousand years, of peace and holiness before the end, assert that nothing can be known of the period of the second advent. But would they not know when their supposed millennium, whether it be literal time, or prophetic, had commenced? Certainly they would. If those enjoying the millennium could not tell when it commenced, we conclude that it would hardly be worth having. But if they could tell when it had commenced, and most certainly they could, then they could tell when it would close, and bring the end. These men should be the very last to oppose the view that the prophetic word points to the very generation that shall witness the second coming of Christ and the end of the age.

If we understand the phrase, "this gospel of the kingdom," to be the gospel, in the common acceptation of the word, is not the work very nearly accomplished?

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J. Litch, in his Prophetic Expositions, page 147, under the heading, "Signs of the Times," says:

"Rev. J. O. Choules, author of a voluminous work, a History of Missions, from the apostolic age down to the present day, being asked, last May (1842), if he knew of any nation which never had received the gospel, replied that he did not; but he thought the promise implied something more than its being barely preached in each nation. The same question was proposed to Rev. Mr. Janes, general financial agent of the American Bible Society, and nearly the same answer was elicited. Dr. Nathan Bangs, for many years at the head of the Methodist missionary operations, was asked the question last July, and after reflecting some time, replied that he believed there was a tribe, somewhere upon the north-west coast of North America, to whom it has never been preached."

Wm. Miller, in his Lectures, page 288, says:

"Is not this sign already accomplished? Bible translated into more than two hundred different languages; missionaries sent among all nations known to us on the globe. . . . . The gospel has now spread over the four quarters of the globe. It began in Asia. In the apostles' days, that quarter was full of light. From thence it went into Africa; and, for a number of centuries, Africa stretched out her hands unto God. Europe, too, has had a long visitation of gospel blessings; and now America, the last quarter of the globe, is reaping a harvest of souls for the last day. The gospel, like the sun, arose in the east, and will set in the west."

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But, if the term, "this gospel of the kingdom," be understood as applying to the proclamation of, or to that portion of the gospel which relates to, the coming and kingdom of Christ, the fulfillment is equally evident. And it seems necessary to so understand the passage, as it was spoken in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?"

Campbell's translation of this verse decidedly favors our view of this subject: "And this good tidings of the reign shall be published through all the world, for the information of all nations, and then shall come the end." Whiting's version also gives the same idea: "And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations, and then will the end come."

Wm. Miller, in his Lectures, page 238, says:

"'Midnight cry' is the watchmen, or some of them, who, by the word of God, discover the time as revealed, and immediately give the warning voice, "Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." This has been fulfilled in a most remarkable manner. One or two on every quarter of the globe have proclaimed the news, and agree in the time; - Wolfe, of Asia; Irving, late of England; Mason, of Scotland; Davis, of South Carolina; and quite a number in this region are, or have been, giving the cry. And will not you all, my brethren, examine and see if these things are so, and trim your lamps, and be found ready?"

J. Litch, in his lecture on Matt.24, Advent Herald, Nov. 23, 1850, says:

"Many supposed the wars of Napoleon were the wars of the last days, to precede the millennium;

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and that the battle of Waterloo was the battle of Armageddon, as it is called. But the discussion of the subject of prophecy drew forth inquiry, and a few discovered the true light, the doctrine of Christ's personal reign on earth, and began to teach it. Among these was a Spanish Roman Catholic, who wrote an able and voluminous work under the anonymous signature of Ben Ezra. His work fell into the hands of Edward Irving, the celebrated and eloquent advocate of the doctrine of the pre-millennial advent of Christ. It opened his eyes to the glorious truth, and led him to devote himself most zealously to its advocacy. He first translated Ben Ezra, and subsequently wrote and published several valuable works on the subject. For a time, the excitement on the subject in England under his labors was as intense as it subsequently was in this country under the labors of Mr. Miller. Thousands flocked to hear him wherever he went, and listened with wonder to the strange and glorious truths he brought forth from the word of God. The cause received an impulse under his efforts, which it will never lose till time shall end. Many of the clergy of the Established Church, as well as dissenting ministers of all denominations, caught the theme, and joined to spread it abroad."

"Nor has the influence of Rev. Joseph Wolfe been unfelt. He has visited and proclaimed 'this gospel of the kingdom,' in the four quarters of the globe, to Protestants, Catholics, Mohammedans, Jews, and Pagans. The seed thus sown will not be lost. A work similar to that of Ben Ezra, in Spain, appeared in Germany, the production of Bengel. This, by the evangelical portion of the German people, is estimated as a standard work on

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prophecy. It has been widely circulated and read as far as the German language extends throughout continental Europe. It was from this source that the Russian Milkeaters, of whom an account was given in the Advent Herald a few years since, obtain their information on the speedy second advent of Christ.

"The great American movement on this subject, and the diffusion of information with regard to it within the last ten years, are too well known to need extended remarks in this place. Neither labor nor sacrifice was regarded in the wide and rapid extension of the good news of the kingdom, as far as the English language could make it known. It was sent to the four quarters of the globe, and to the islands of the sea, upon the wings of all the winds."

E. R. Pinney, in his Exposition of Matthew 24, says:

"As early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains. Joseph Wolfe, the Jewish missionary, we find from the journal of his labors, visited most of the missionary stations in the East, from 1831 to 1834, and preached this doctrine. He had free conversation with the missionaries, and also with the Jewish and Mohammedan priests. We find this doctrine in Tartary, about twenty-five years ago, and the time for the coming of Christ to be in 1844. This fact is obtained from an Irish missionary in Tartary, to whom the question was put by a Tartar priest, when Christ would come the second time? And he made answer that he knew nothing at all about it. The Tartar priest expressed great surprise at

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such an answer from a missionary who had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible, and remarked that he thought 'everybody might know that, who had a Bible.' The Tartar priest then gave his views, stating that Christ, he thought, would come about A. D. 1844. The missionary wrote home a statement of the facts, which were published in the Irish Magazine, in 1821. The commanders of our vessels and the sailors tell us they touch at no port where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent inquiries respecting it are made of them."

"I noticed, in a late number of the Voice of Truth, that a brother traveling on the lakes, met with a Russian gentleman, direct from his country, who informed him that the doctrine of 'Christ's coming and the end of the world,' had been preached there, but was received only by the lower classes. Rev. Mr. Mansfield had an interview with a Moravian missionary, stationed in Antigua, who said that several years since, the doctrine of the immediate coming was extensively preached in Germany, and that the whole of the south of Germany was aroused on the subject."

The Advent Shield, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 86, 87, says:

"We look upon the proclamation which has been made, as being the cry of the angel who proclaimed, 'The hour of his Judgment is come.' Rev.14:6,7. It is a sound which is to reach all nations; it is the proclamation of 'the everlasting gospel,' or 'this gospel of the kingdom.' In one shape or other, this cry has gone abroad through the earth wherever human beings are found, and we have had opportunity to hear of

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the fact. Within the last six years, publications treating on the subject have been sent to nearly every English and American missionary station on the globe; to all, at least, to which we have had access."

An English writer, Mourant Brock, thus remarks:

"It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the Continent of Europe. I was lately told by one of our German missionaries, that in Wirtemberg there is a Christian colony of several hundreds, one of the chief features of which is, the looking for the second advent. And a Christian minister from near the shores of the Caspian Sea, has told me that there is the same daily expectation among his nation. They constantly speak of it as 'the day of consolation.'"

F. G. Brown, in an article published in the Midnight Cry of Feb. 15, 1844, writes:

"During our Conference [New Bedford, Mass.] we were favored, among other good brethren whom we love, with the presence of Bro. Hutchinson from Montreal, editor of the Voice of Elijah. His power of presentation of Scripture truth, and his brief recital of what he had suffered in its defense, thrilled every heart, and drew the silent tear from many an eye. Bro. H. occupies the most favorable position for distributing the light throughout the British Possessions and Europe. Having a large acquaintance in Europe, and as papers can be sent from the Canadas thither free of postage, he has embraced every opportunity of sending large supplies by each

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returning steam-ship. He has forwarded them to the Canadas, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Constantinople, Rome, etc., etc."

The Midnight Cry for Sept. 21, 1843, says:

"We learn from a letter received from James Perrin, who is captain of a canal-boat running between Albany and Buffalo, some very interesting facts. After relating the manner in which he was led to an examination and a belief of the truth of the Lord's speedy coming, which was first by hearing a minister denouncing it, he relates some interesting facts in reference to some emigrants from Norway who took passage with him from Albany to Buffalo. He says: 'Three of the number could speak English. I spoke to them concerning the coming of Christ this year, and asked them if they had heard anything on the subject in their own country. They asked if it was Mr. Miller's prophecy. I told them it was so called. They then said that almost every paper among them, last fall and winter, had more or less to say on the subject. I then showed them the chart I have on board. The moment they saw it, they said they had seen it in their own country.' To what an astonishing extent has this unutterable subject spread, and with what rapidity. Has not 'this gospel of the kingdom' of Heaven at hand, been well-nigh preached all over the world, as a witness?"

J. W. Bonham, Midnight Cry, Nov. 28, 1844, remarks:

"On my passage to London, I distributed among the passengers several second-advent papers and publications. Some of Bro. Litch's German

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tracts I sent to Holland; some copies of the Midnight Cry I sent to Van Diemen's Land, and others to different parts of England, by persons who were going on visits to their friends. Several copies of the Cry I sent to Norfolk, which were the means of causing the subject of the Advent to be agitated previous to its being visited by Brn. Winter and Burgess. . . I was often much cheered by receiving letters from the brethren who were laboring in the country, with the heart-cheering intelligence of the progress of the Advent cause. In some places as many as 5,000 or 6,000 persons were assembled to hear on this all-important subject, some of whom embraced the truth with joy. I was also much cheered by receiving letters, stating that much good had resulted from reading the letters and papers which I had sent to England. One copy of the Cry, containing Bro. Storrs' lectures on the visions of Daniel, was taken to India, and another found its way into one of the Theological Institutions in Bristol, and the inmates declared that it threw considerable light on many parts of Scripture, which before were considered as wrapped up in mystery."

The Signs of the Times for Feb. 14, 1844, says:

"HOW THE LORD WORKS. A brother, the captain of a vessel now in England, writes his friends that his vessel lay at Newport, in Wales, forty days, on account of storms, during which time a continued concourse of individuals thronged him to inquire about the coming of the Lord, having heard that he was an Adventist. Among these were ministers and laymen, who received the truth gladly, and embraced it with all their hearts."

The Signs of the Times for Nov. 15, 1843, says:

"The subject of an English mission having been

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agitated, an impression has obtained among some that the 'cry' had not been effectually made in that country. But we are assured from writings of distinguished clergymen and laymen, which we have received from that country, that the cry has been faithfully made in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and also on the Continent."

Eld. R. Hutchinson, Midnight Cry, Oct. 5, 1843, says:

"I send about 1,500 copies of the Voice of Elijah [an Advent paper] to Europe, every fortnight, besides what I scatter over the Provinces. This I have done regularly for the last four or five months. The result eternity will unfold."

The Signs of the Times for Nov. 13, 1843, says:

"A young man in this city [Philadelphia], who has recently returned from a whaling voyage around Cape Horn, relates the spread of the doctrine in the Pacific, and on the western coast of South America. It will show at the same time how our enemies have assisted in spreading the cry. 'We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.' The whale ship, William C. Neye, of New London, Ct., fell in with a New-Bedford ship, some time in the month of February, off Cocas Island. The crew of the New-London ship received from the New-Bedford vessel the news from the United States. Among many other things, they were told that 'Miller predicted the end of the world on the 23rd of April.' They were on their homeward voyage, and the latter part of March they put into the port of Talkahonna, on the coast of Chili. It was a Spanish, Catholic settlement. But when they arrived, they learned that the same story had been circulated there which had met them on the ocean. They were in port

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on the 23rd of April. When the day arrived, the whole community were in a state of consternation; and during a dreadful thunder-storm, which occurred that day, they were in momentary expectation of the coming of Christ. Mr. Wardwell, our informant, says that the thing was understood far back in the interior; and that persons from a hundred miles back in the country had been brought together at the town for the occasion. It is thus the New York Sun has given light to the world, and sent it to the regions and places we could not have reached.

"But it will be asked if the news that such a truth is preached is a sufficient proclamation to fulfill the prophecy. Rev.14:6,7; Matt.24:14. The answer is, If it was sufficient in the days of the apostles, it is now. That it was then, is clear from Acts 19:8-10, where Paul preached or taught in Ephesus two years, so that all they in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. They could not all have heard a sermon, but they heard the sound of the gospel. In this sense, I have no doubt but the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world."

Dr. Joseph Wolfe traveled in Arabia Felix, through the region inhabited by the descendants of Hobab, Moses' father-in-law. In Yemen he saw a book which he mentions thus:

"'The Arabs of this place have a book called SEERA, which treats of the second coming of Christ, and his reign in glory!' In Yemen, he spent six days with the Rechabites. 'They drink no wine, plant no vineyards, sow no seed, live in tents, and remember the words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab. With them were children of Israel, of the tribe of Dan, who reside near Terim in Hatramawt,

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who expect in common with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven.'" - Dr. Wolfe's Mission to Bokhara.

The "Voice of the Church," by D. T. Taylor, speaks as follows concerning the wide diffusion of the Advent sentiment:

"In Wirtemberg there is a Christian colony numbering hundreds, who look for the speedy advent of Christ; also another of like belief on the shores of the Caspian; the Molokaners, a large body of Dissenters from the Russian Greek church, residing on the shores of the Baltic - a very pious people, of whom it is said, 'Taking the Bible alone for their creed, the norm of their faith is simply the Holy Scriptures' - are characterized by the 'expectation of Christ's immediate and visible reign upon earth.' In Russia, the doctrine of Christ's coming and reign is preached to some extent, and received by many of the lower class. It has been extensively agitated in Germany, particularly in the south part among the Moravians. In Norway, charts and books on the Advent have been circulated extensively, and the doctrine received by many. Among the Tartars in Tartary, there prevails an expectation of Christ's advent about this time. English and American publications on this doctrine have been sent to Holland, Germany, India, Ireland, Constantinople, Rome, and to nearly every missionary station on the globe. At the Turks Islands, it has been received to some extent among the Wesleyans. Mr. Fox, a Scottish missionary to the Teloogoo people, was a believer in Christ's soon coming. James MacGregor Bertram, a Scottish missionary of the Baptist order, at St. Helena, has sounded the cry

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extensively on that island, making many converts and pre-millennialists; he has also preached it at South Africa, at the missionary stations there. David N. Lord informs us that a large proportion of the missionaries who have gone from Great Britain to make known the gospel to the heathen, and who are now laboring in Asia and Africa, are millennarians; and Joseph Wolfe, D. D., according to his journals, between the years 1821 and 1845, proclaimed the Lord's speedy advent, in Palestine, Egypt, on the shores of the Red Sea, Mesopotamia, the Crimea, Persia, Georgia, Arabia, throughout the Ottoman Empire, in Greece, Turkistan, Bokhara, Affghanistan, Hindoostan, Cashmere, Tibet, in Holland, Scotland, and Ireland, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, St. Helena, also on shipboard in the Mediterranean, and at New York City, to all denominations. He declares he has preached among Jews, Turks, Mohammedans, Parsees, Hindoos, Chaldeans, Yescedes, Syrians, Sabeans, to Pachas, Shieks, Shahs, the kings of Organtsh and Bokhara, the queen of Greece, etc.; and of his extraordinary labors the Investigator says: 'No individual has, perhaps, given greater publicity to the doctrine of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, than has this well-known missionary, to the world. Wherever he goes, he proclaims the approaching advent of the Messiah in glory.'" pp. 342-344.

We still wait for the approaching end. And when the purpose of God in the proclamation of the coming reign of Christ shall be accomplished, then will the end come. This grand three-fold proclamation is illustrated in Rev.14, by three angels, one following the other, each with a distinct message to the people. The first has the

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everlasting gospel, and proclaims the hour of Judgment come. Verses 6,7. The second has a message relative to Babylon, and is a stirring appeal in reference to all corrupted Christianity. Verse 8. The second does not take the place of the first, but simply joins the first, giving strength to the great warning. The third follows, and joins the two before it, with a most solemn warning, and closes with the announcement, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12. The third angel represents the last call of mercy to men, just prior to the coming of the Son of Man. See verse 14. This message does not take the place of the two which preceded it, but joins them, and the great threefold warning moves forward till its work is done, when the end will come.

A train, with one passenger coach, leaves Chicago for Detroit. At Battle Creek, another coach is added to the train; at Jackson, a third is added; and the train moves on to Detroit. No cars are left behind in exchange for those that were added. When the second message is proclaimed, the everlasting gospel is by no means left behind. When the third message is given, the great truths contained in the first and second messages are borne along with it to the close of the work. And in the closing of the great threefold message we see the completion of the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the nations.

SERMON THREE. THE FIRST MESSAGE

TEXT. - And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Rev.14:6,7.

WHOEVER will read attentively the proclamations embraced in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, cannot fail to notice their vast importance. At whatever period in the history of the church these proclamations are made, from their very nature they must constitute the great theme of interest for that generation. Whenever the angels of this chapter are commissioned by God to announce to the nations of the earth that the hour of his Judgment is come, or to proclaim the fall of Babylon, or to utter against the worshipers of the beast the most dreadful threatening which the Bible contains, no man can disregard their work, or treat their warnings as non-essential, except at the peril of his soul. If it were merely possible that these warnings were addressed to ourselves, it would become us to examine this subject with serious attention; but if this point can be proved by decisive testimony, it is certain that we cannot too carefully attend to the warnings here uttered.

The text is called the first message because it is the first of the series. See verse 9. John calls it "another angel" from the fact that he had previously seen an angel flying in the midst of heaven. See chap.8:13.

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This proclamation is one of pre-eminent importance. It is not a mere local judgment, but one that concerns all the inhabitants of the earth. Hence, it has reference to the final Judgment scene. It is the same gospel that Paul preached that is here styled the "everlasting gospel." But the great truth uttered by this angel would not have been a truth if uttered by Paul; for he lived at the commencement of the gospel dispensation, and this proclamation relates to its closing scenes. It seems to be the same as "this gospel of the kingdom," that our Lord presents in Matt.24:14, as the sign of the end of this dispensation, and which was to be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations before the end should come.

The truth on this point is well expressed in the following language of the late Mr. Bliss, editor of the Advent Herald, Dec. 14, 1850:

"As an indication of the approach of the end, there was, however, to be seen another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Rev.14:6. The burden of this angel was to be the same gospel which had been before proclaimed; but connected with it was the additional motive of the proximity of the kingdom, 'saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.' Verse 7. No mere preaching of the gospel, without announcing its proximity, could fulfill this message."

In harmony with this testimony from the editor

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of the Herald, I will here give another from a tract on prophecy, published by J. V. Himes about the same time, which also speaks of the character of the message, and the time of its application. The title of the tract is, "Our Specific Work":

"The proclamation of an everlasting gospel, 'The hour of his Judgment is come,' Rev.14:6,7, is the leading Advent proclamation.

"The facts summed up are these: John, looking into the distant future, gazing upon the theater of the final conflict, sees a messenger, a minister, of an everlasting gospel, fly through mid-heaven, with a special, elevated, joyous, public, proclamation, requiring haste and extraordinary energy in its delivery. The proclamation contains a fact, and a command founded upon that fact. 1. The fact: 'The hour of his Judgment is come.' 2. The command: 'Fear God,' etc. These are the elements of this special commission. The work of this symbol agent is thus clearly defined; no terms more specific.

"Does this messenger symbolize a class of teachers? Such has been the general understanding of expositors. Mr. Wesley and Dr. Benson so interpret the passage. On this point there is great unanimity. It is plain from the fact that it is said to preach. That class of people is modern. Mr. Wesley and Dr. Benson make this messenger symbolize the Protestant reformers in the days of Luther. With their view agree a mass of expositors. This commission, however, cannot be Luther's.

"That body must exist somewhere, and in its character, and in the nature of its work, it must agree with the symbol messenger. They must

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agree as face to face in a mirror. Can such a body be found? The proclamation above stated has been heard. The world can bear testimony to this. The cry, 'The hour of his Judgment is come,' sounded through all Christendom. The multitude heard, and scoffed or trembled. By what body of believers was this proclamation made? Not by those who taught that that Judgment was a thousand years in the future. No church which holds to the doctrine of a spiritual reign can be that body, as the elements of their proclamation flatly contradict those elements above stated. Such a body now existing can be found alone among those who constitute the Advent believers in Europe and America."

In proof that this message has not been fulfilled in the history of past generations, we offer the following reasons:

1. No proclamation of the hour of God's Judgment come, was made prior to the nineteenth century.

2. If such a proclamation had been made centuries in the past, as some contend, it would have been a false one.

3. The prophecies on which such a proclamation to men in a state of probation must be based, were closed up and sealed to the time of the end.

4. The Scriptures plainly locate the message of warning respecting the Judgment in a brief space immediately preceding the advent of our Lord.

We now offer proof in support of the foregoing propositions. If they are sustained, they establish the fact that the present generation is that one to which the angels' messages are addressed.

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1. The apostles did not make such a proclamation. On the contrary, they plainly inform us that the day of the Lord was not then at hand. Martin Luther did not make this proclamation; for he thought the Judgment about three hundred years in the future. And finally, the history of the church presents no such proclamation in the past.

2. We are on firm ground, also, when we say that had such a proclamation been made to the world in past centuries, it would have been a false proclamation. Three reasons sustain this statement. 1. There is no part of the Bible on which such a message in the past could have been based; 2. It would have been in direct opposition to those scriptures which locate the Judgment, and the warning respecting its approach, in the period of the last generation; 3. The history of the world amply evinces that the hour of God's Judgment had not come in the past.

3. The prophecies which give us the time of the Judgment, and which present the succession of events leading down to that great crisis, were closed up and sealed till the time of the end. We refer particularly to the prophecies of Daniel. See chap.8:17,26; 12:4,9. Hence it is evident that God reserves the warning to the generation that alone needs it. Noah's warning respecting the flood was alone applicable to those who should witness it; thus also the warning respecting the Judgment is alone applicable to the generation that lives in the last days.

4. The Bible locates these messages in the period which immediately precedes the second advent, and plainly warns us against the proclamation of the Judgment at hand prior to that

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time. If we recur to the book of Acts, we shall find Paul preaching before Felix, of the Judgment to come; and before the Athenians, that God hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ. Acts 24:25; 17:31. But that book nowhere intimates that Christ was immediately coming to Judgment. Peter points his hearers to the future, saying that the heavens which had then received Christ, must retain him until the times of restitution. Acts 3:21.

The first epistle to the Thessalonians may seem to teach that the apostles expected the coming of Christ to Judgment in their day. Indeed, it is evident that such an idea was received from it by the Thessalonian church. Hence it was, that in his second epistle to them Paul found it necessary to speak explicitly on the point. He tells them that the coming of Christ to the Judgment could not take place until the great apostasy; and that as the result of that apostasy the Man of Sin should be revealed, showing himself that he is God, and exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. That this mystery of iniquity is the great Romish apostasy, none but a Papist will deny.

The papal supremacy began 538, and ended in 1798 with the overthrow of the Pope's temporal power. The warning of Paul against a false proclamation respecting the Judgment at hand, therefore, expires at that time, and not before. For we have then reached the point of time where the last important event in Dan.7, before the Judgment, has transpired.

And what is of very deep interest, the point of time at which Paul's warning expires is the

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commencement of the time of the end, - the very point to which the visions of Daniel were closed up and sealed. Compare chapter 11:33,35; 7:25, and the fact that the 1260 years' persecution of the saints terminates with the commencement of the time of the end, will appear obvious. How gloriously does this view of the subject make the truth of God shine out! For the warning of the apostle against a false proclamation of the Judgment at hand, expires at the very point where the seal is taken from those prophecies which show when the Judgment sits. And it is respecting this period, the time of the end, that it is said, Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge [on the very subject which was before concealed] shall be increased. Then the time of the end is the period in which the Judgment-hour cry and the subsequent messages are to be given.

Disappointment by no means proves that God has no hand in the guidance of his people. It should lead them to correct their errors, but it should not lead them to cast away their confidence in God. It was because the children of Israel were disappointed in the wilderness that they so often denied divine guidance. They are set forth as an admonition to us, that we should not fall after the same example of unbelief.

But it must be apparent to every student of the Scriptures, that the angel who proclaims the hour of God's Judgment does not give the latest message of mercy. Rev.14, presents two other and later proclamations, before the close of human probation. This fact alone is sufficient to prove that the coming of the Lord does not take place at the close of the first angel's proclamation.

SERMON FOUR. THE SECOND MESSAGE

TEXT. - And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Rev.14:8.

THIS angel is spoken of as the second, because the one following it is, in the language of inspiration itself, called the third. In commenting upon language so highly symbolic, the first thing to determine is the meaning of the symbol introduced.

1. What, then, is the Babylon of this message? It is here simply called "that great city." But it is elsewhere spoken of in the book of Revelation in a manner which cannot fail to lead to a correct solution of this question. In Rev.17:18, this same city is called a woman. "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." A woman is always in the Scriptures, when used as a symbol, taken to represent a religious organization, the true church being represented by a virtuous woman, as in chapter 12, and the false by a corrupt woman, as in the text before us, and many other places. Babylon is something distinct from the civil powers of the earth; for with her the kings of the earth form unlawful connections. It is the place where the people of God as a body are, for they are at a certain time called away from her communion. These considerations show that we are not to look to any literal city for the Babylon of the Apocalypse, nor to any civil powers, but to ecclesiastical or church organizations. Is, then,

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any particular church, to the exclusion of all others, designated by the term Babylon? It would not be consistent to suppose this; for the term Babylon, from Babel, where God confounded the language of men, signifies mixture, confusion. In the sense in which we have shown it to be used in the book of Revelation, it must denote conflicting and discordant religious creeds and systems. But this would not be applicable to any one religious denomination, as each of these denominations is more or less a unit. And, besides, the people of God who are called out of Babylon are not as a body connected with any single denomination. Hence we must understand by the term all the false and corrupted systems of Christianity. That the Romish and Greek churches are included in these, few will be disposed to deny; while the Protestant churches, alas! fatally conformed to the world, and guilty of the long catalogue of sins charged by Paul upon professed Christians in the last days, 2Tim.3:1-5, must be reckoned as a member of the family. In this branch of the family we find that mixture and confusion in the multiplicity of sects and creeds, which most fitly answers to the import of the term.

2. What is the fall of Babylon? Evidently a moral fall. In Rev.18:1-5, where a second and subsequent announcement of this event seems to be given, we read, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." That is, as the result of her fall she had sunk to this deplorable condition. Having fallen, her iniquities rapidly increased, her sins reached unto Heaven, and God's people are called out. Verses 4,5.

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Hence this fall is a moral one. The absurdity of applying this to Rome or any other literal city, where but few, if any, of the people of God are, and out of which they could not be called after its fall or destruction, must be very apparent. The harmony of applying it to a religious body which can apostatize and become corrupt, and from which the people of God can be subsequently called out, is equally clear, and the necessity for such an application no less evident. No other is at all admissible.

The cause of the fall of Babylon is said to be that she "made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Her fornication was her unlawful connection with the kings of the earth. The wine of this is that with which the church has intoxicated the nations of the earth. There is but one thing to which this can refer, and that is false doctrine. In consequence of her unlawful union with the powers of earth, this harlot has corrupted the pure truths of the Bible, and with the wine of her false doctrine has intoxicated the nations. As a few of the gross errors which she has caused the masses to receive as Bible truth, we mention the following: 1. That the soul is immortal; 2. That sprinkling and pouring are baptism; 3. That Sunday is the Sabbath; 4. That there are to be a thousand years of peace and prosperity before the coming of the Lord; 5. That the saints' inheritance is not the earth made new, but an immaterial, intangible region beyond the bounds of time and space; 6. That the second advent is to be understood spiritually, and that it took place at the destruction of Jerusalem, or that it takes place at conversion or at death; 7. That it is of no consequence, if

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we may judge from their practice, to come out and be separate from the world. Most of these pernicious errors Protestant sects have drawn from the Romish mother, and others they have themselves originated, showing conclusively that they are but the daughters of the great apostasy.

But that we may not seem to judge these denominations ourselves, as we might be accused of not rendering impartial judgment, we will let their own members speak, and on their testimony will let the question rest. To show that we are not alone in ranking the popular Protestant sects as a part of Babylon, we offer the following. If they themselves claim it, we are not disposed to dispute it.

Mr. William Kinkade, in his "Bible Doctrine," p. 294, says:

"I also think Christ has a true church on earth, but its members are scattered among the various denominations, and are all more or less under the influence of Mystery Babylon and her daughters."

Mr. Hopkins, in a treatise on the millennium, says:

"There is no reason to consider the antichristian spirit and practices confined to that which is now called the Church of Rome. The Protestant churches have much of antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly reformed from her corruptions and wickedness."

Mr. Simpson, in his "Plea for Religion," says:

"For though the Pope and Church of Rome is at the head of the grand 1260 years' delusion, yet all other churches, of whatever denomination, whether established or tolerated, which partake of the same spirit, or have instituted

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doctrines or ceremonies inimical to the pure and unadulterated gospel of Christ, shall sooner or later share in the fate of that immense fabric of human ordinances; and that Protestant churches should imitate the Church of Rome, in this worst part of its conduct, can never be sufficiently bewailed."

Alexander Campbell says:

"The worshiping establishments now in operation throughout Christendom, increased and cemented by their respective voluminous confessions of faith, and their ecclesiastical constitutions, are not churches of Jesus Christ, but the legitimate daughters of that mother of harlots, the Church of Rome."

Lorenzo Dow says of the Romish Church:

"If she be a mother, who are the daughters? It must be the corrupt, national, established churches that came out of her." - Dow's Life, p. 542.

In the Religious Encyclopedia (Art. Antichrist), we read:

"The writer of the book of Revelation tells us he heard a voice from Heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and receive not of her plagues.' If such persons are to be found in the 'mother of harlots,' with much less hesitation may it be inferred that they are connected with her unchaste daughters, those national churches which are founded upon what are called Protestant principles."

In the spring and summer of 1844, a distinct message was proclaimed, setting forth the fallen condition of the churches, which resulted in calling from them fifty thousand believers in the immediate coming of Christ. And the testimonies from the very churches they had left could

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but convince them that they had entertained correct views of the fallen state of the churches, and had done the will of God in separating from them.

The Christian Palladium for May 15, 1844, speaks in the following mournful strains: "In every direction we hear the dolorous sound, wafting upon every breeze of heaven, chilling as the blast from the icebergs of the north, settling like an incubus on the breasts of the timid, and drinking up the energies of the weak; that lukewarmness, division, anarchy, and desolation are distressing the borders of Zion."

The Religious Telescope, of 1844, uses the following language: "We have never witnessed such a general declension of religion as at the present. Truly the church should awake and search into the cause of this affliction; for an affliction every one that loves Zion must view it. When we call to mind how 'few and far between' cases of true conversion are, and the almost unparalleled impenitence and hardness of sinners, we almost involuntarily exclaim, 'Has God forgotten to be gracious? or is the door of mercy closed?'"

For further testimony from their own lips respecting the state of the churches, their covetousness, pride in church buildings, operatic singing in their worship, their religious gambling, their endorsement of dancing, their zeal for worldly pleasure, and their pride and fashion, we refer the reader to the works entitled, "The Three Messages," and "The State of the Churches," for sale at the Review Office, Battle Creek, Mich.

SERMON FIVE. THE THIRD MESSAGE

TEXT. - And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev.14:9-12.

CHURCH history presents no testimony that this message has been heard in the past. And the fact that the first and second angels of this series apply to the present generation, most clearly establishes the point that the third message does not belong to the past.

It is proper that we should here notice three symbols employed in this message, namely, the beast, his image, and his mark, and call attention to other distinct points embraced by it. These are the patience of the saints, the commandments of God, the faith of Jesus, and the penalty threatened.

1. The beast. The familiar manner in which the beast, the image, and the mark are introduced in this message, shows that they are symbols which are elsewhere explained in the prophetic word; for when a symbol is first introduced into prophecy, specifications and particulars are given sufficient to lead to an understanding of it. We find no such particulars in this message respecting the symbols here introduced,

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and therefore look for them in other portions of the book of Revelation.

In chapter 13:1, and onward, we find a power introduced under the symbol and name of "a beast." The time and manner of its rise are given, its characteristics are pointed out, its work is described, the time of its duration is stated, and the termination of its career is foretold. That this is the beast mentioned in the third message is certain; for it is the only symbol in the book of Revelation which bears the unqualified title of "the beast." In chapter 12:11, another beast is introduced, but after being once named as another beast, it is ever after designated by the pronoun he.

We now inquire, What power is represented by the beast? To learn this, we go still farther back, to chapter 12, where we find a power symbolized by a great red dragon, which is the one next preceding the beast of chapter 13. The seven heads and ten horns upon both of these symbols show that they represent two phases of the same power. By universal consent of Protestant expositors, the great red dragon is considered a representative of Pagan Rome. The next phase presented by Rome after the Pagan form was the Papal. Rome Papal succeeded Rome Pagan. The dragon gave his seat, power, and great authority to the beast. Hence the beast can represent none other but Papal Rome.

2. The image. This is the image of the beast we have just been considering. An image is a representation, similitude, copy, or likeness, of any person or thing. As the beast is the Papal church, a church having civil power to carry out its decrees, and execute whatever penalty it

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might affix to the crime of heresy, an image of this beast must be an ecclesiastical organization, possessing the same essential features and established upon the same basis. Do we anywhere see any room for, or any indications of, a movement of this kind? The power that forms the image is the second beast of Rev.13, called another beast having two horns like a lamb. Any inquiry respecting the image, properly calls for a previous examination of this two-horned beast symbol; but for this we have not space in the present work. A few propositions only can be here laid down; and perhaps this is all that is in the present case essential, as they will be found abundantly proved in other works. 1. The two-horned beast is a symbol of the United States of America. 2. Its two horns represent the two leading principles of this government, Republicanism and Protestantism. 3. It occupies the right territory to answer to the prophecy; for as it is another beast, it must be located outside of the territory occupied by the first beast and its ten horns. 4. It was seen coming up at the right time, the time when the first beast went into captivity, in 1798. This nation was then beginning to attract the notice of the world as a rapidly-developing and rising power. 5. It bears the right form of government, which, according to the prophecy, must be republican, not monarchical. 6. It is performing the work assigned it in the prophecy. In short, it most admirably fits every part of the prophetic description.

The formation of the image is yet future; and if we are right in the application of the two-horned beast, we are to look for it in our own country, and within a very short time.

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And now we ask, Do we see any indications of a movement of this kind? We answer, Yes, as the following extract, out of many that might be given, will show. Let it be remembered that first it is "said" to them that dwell on the earth, the people of the nation, that they should make an image to the beast. The question must first be agitated, and the movement be recommended, before the public mind will be prepared for decisive action in the matter.

Charles Beecher, in his sermon at the dedication of the Second Presbyterian church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, February 22, 1846, said:

"Thus are the ministry of the evangelical Protestant denominations, not only formed, all the way up, under a tremendous pressure of merely human fear, but they live, and move, and breathe, in a state of things radically corrupt, and appealing every hour to every baser element of their nature to hush up the truth, and bow the knee to the power of apostasy. Was not this the way things went with Rome? Are we not living her life over again? And what do we see just ahead? Another General Council! A world's convention! Evangelical alliance, and universal creed!"

3. The mark and worship of the beast. The two-horned beast causes men to worship the first beast and receive his mark. What is the mark of the beast?

The beast, as we have seen, is the Papacy. The two-horned beast which is to enforce the mark is our own government. What is the mark of the Papacy which this nation is to enforce? It must be something on which they occupy common ground, and in which both are equally interested. The mark of any power must be

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something to distinguish the adherents of that power. And that which distinguishes the adherents of any power must be some law, requirement, or institution of that power. The mark of the beast, then, must be some requirement of a religious nature which the Papacy has instituted, and to which it claims obedience from its followers, as a token of its right to legislate in religious matters.

Among the claims and institutions of the Roman Church we do find something of this kind. And it may surprise some Protestants to learn that it is the institution of Sunday in place of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Hear what that church claims on the subject of the change of the Sabbath:

"Q. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?

"A. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and, therefore, they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church." - Abridgment of Christian Doctrine.

For proof that Sunday-keeping has no foundation in the Scriptures, but is an institution of the Papacy, as Romanists claim, see History of the Sabbath, and other works, published at the Review Office.

The third message warns against receiving the mark of the beast; hence those to whom the message is addressed, have not this mark in the sense of the message, at the time it is being proclaimed. But when the claims of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment shall be fully set before the people, those who then turn from it to accept the counterfeit Sabbath of the beast,

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will receive the mark of the beast. May God prepare the honest in heart to stand fast in the coming conflict.

4. The patience of the saints. The chronology of the third message is distinctly marked as being the period of "the patience of the saints," which follows the proclamation of the two former messages. And this period of the saints' patience is marked by a most important fact, namely, the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

5. The commandments of God. The period of the saints' patience is distinguished by the fact that they are keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; hence the Sabbath reform just now.

6. The faith of Jesus. This term is used in distinction from the commandments of God. "Here are they that keep the commandments of God [the Father], and the faith of Jesus" [the Son]. This excludes alike the blind Jew, who makes his boast in the law and rejects Jesus, and also the Christian who professes faith in Christ while he breaks the commandments of God.

7. The penalty threatened. The fearful penalty connected with the warning of the third angel consists of the unmingled wrath of God in the seven last plagues, and torment with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.

Dear reader, may you seek the Lord while he may be found, and in him and in his truth find a shelter from the impending storm.

J. W.