<PAGE 13>
STUDY
I
SPECIAL
TIMES AND SEASONS
DIVINELY APPOINTED
The Times and Seasons of Divine Appointment--Why Not More
Plainly Stated--In Due Time Revealed--Earnest Desire to Know
the Times and Seasons Commendable--Mistakes of Adventists--The
Real Object of Time Prophecies--Our Present Position--The
Object of Succeeding Chapters.
AS
in "THE PLAN OF THE AGES" we endeavored to set forth the prominent
outlines of the divine arrangement for human salvation from
a purely Scriptural standpoint, so it is the purpose of this
volume to show, on the same authority, that the various features
of that plan have definitely appointed times and seasons for
their accomplishment; that, so far as that plan has progressed,
each succeeding feature of it has been accomplished exactly
on time; and that the time is now at hand for
its culmination in the blessing of all the families of the earth.
`Gen. 28:14`; `Gal. 3:16`
During
the long centuries of the Gospel age, the Church, as instructed
by her Lord, has prayed, "Thy kingdom come; thy will be done
on earth as it is done in heaven." But, like drowsy children,
because the time was long, many have almost forgotten the import
of the words that now seem to die upon their lips. To all such
whose hearts are still
<PAGE 14> loyal to the Lord, we call in
the words of the Apostle Paul, "It is high time to awake out
of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
The night is far spent, the [Millennial] day is at hand." Yea,
it is even at the doors. The kingdom of heaven is now at hand,
not in its mere embryotic or incipient stage, as at our Lord's
first advent (`Matt. 3:2`), but
in the sense in which he declared it was yet to come (`John
18:36,37`)--"in power and great glory."
Only
those, however, who have made a careful study of the Plan of
the Ages will be prepared to appreciate the teaching of this
volume concerning the divinely appointed times and seasons for
the development of the various features of that plan, and for
its final consummation. It is hoped that none will undertake
this study, therefore, before they have thoroughly comprehended
the lessons of the preceding volume. Otherwise it will not be
meat in due season to them. Truth is only meat in season when
we are prepared to receive it. A child is not prepared to solve
a mathematical problem until he has first been instructed in
the use of figures and of language. So also with divine truth:
it is built up step by step, and to gain an understanding of
it we must ascend by the steps provided--carefully, of course,
proving by the Scriptures every advance step we take, yet not
fearful to take the steps as we thus find for them sure footing.
Only those who have implicit faith in God, and to whom a "Thus
saith the Lord" is the end of all doubt and controversy, can
be led by the Spirit of God into advanced truth as it becomes
due--led into things new, as well as confirmed in things old
and proved true by the same authority.
Only
such, God proposes so to lead. In the end of the age, which
is the harvest time, much truth is due to be uncovered, which
God did not make known in times past, even to his most faithful
and devoted children. It was in the time of the end
that the Prophet `Habakkuk (2:3)`
declared that the
<PAGE 15> vision, concerning the glorious
consummation of God's plan, should speak and not lie; and that
to some of God's children it should speak so plainly that they
would be able, as directed, to make it plain on tables; that
through their instrumentality others might be enabled to read
it clearly: and then `Daniel also (12:4,9,10)`
declared that knowledge should be increased, and that
the wise (through faith) should understand the vision.
Our
object here is not to prophesy out of the abundance of human
imagination, nor in any sense to be wise above what is written
in the sacred Scriptures. Therefore, discarding all human inventions,
we keep close to the fountain of divine truth, endeavoring to
read prophecy in the light of prophecy and its manifest fulfilment;
and to make plain upon tables that which God said would be sealed
up, and which therefore could not be understood before this
time of the end, but of which he gave assurance that it should
then be understood.
In
this volume we offer a chain of testimony on the subject of
God's appointed times and seasons, each link of which we consider
Scripturally strong, while the whole of it when viewed together,
in the relationship which one part bears to another, gives evidence
of a plan so broad and comprehensive, a design so deep, and
a harmony so perfect, as to clearly manifest to the studious
and reverent inquirer that it is beyond the breadth and depth
of human thought, and therefore cannot be of human origin.
We
find that the end of the Gospel age, like the end of the Jewish
age, is called a harvest (`Matt. 9:37;
13:24,30,39`); that like that also, it is a period of
forty years; and that upon the harvests of the ages the rays
of prophetic testimony are specially concentrated, particularly
upon the harvest of this age, where even all the light of the
Jewish age--because of its typical character--converges in a
<PAGE 16> glorious focus. In this light
we may now distinctly see the stately steppings of our God,
not only in the long vista of the ages past, but also in the
present outworkings of his plan. And not only so, but according
to his promise to show us things to come (`John
16:13`), we see, with wonderful distinctness of vision,
his wise policy for the blessing of all in the incoming Millennial
age--even down to its glorious consummation in the restitution
of all things. We find that many great and wonderful events
center in this harvest: that in it occur the great time of trouble,
the day of Jehovah; the final and complete overthrow of Antichrist
and the fall of Great Babylon; the beginning of returning favor
to the Jew; the second advent of our Lord and the establishment
of his kingdom; and the resurrection and reward of the saints.
We
find in prophecy the beginning and the ending of this harvest
period clearly marked, as well as the events due to occur in
it. And to call attention to and trace the various lines of
prophetic time to the events in which they culminate is, in
substance, the object of this volume. To receive its testimony,
the reader will need to have an ear to hear (`Rev.
2:7`; `Matt. 11:15`), and
must expect meekly to cast away many preconceived opinions as
fast as he comes to see their lack of harmony with God's Word.
To such as are thus minded, and who pursue the lessons of this
volume with patience and care, and in the order of their arrangement,
we doubt not it will be a great blessing. If its lessons are
received into good and honest hearts, we trust it will be a
power to separate them from the world and to ripen them as wheat
for the garner. To thus quicken and ripen and separate the saints,
as wheat from tares, in this time of harvest, is the object
for which, we apprehend, these prophecies now unfolding were
designed by our Lord.
<PAGE 17>
Those
permitted to view God's grand chart of the ages, which so clearly
maps out the orderly arrangement, the deep design and the wonderful
scope of the divine plan as set forth in the preceding volume,
should be anxious to discover whatever God may be pleased to
reveal concerning its times and seasons. Their interest in this
subject should be many fold greater than that of any in the
past ages who did not see the great blessings in reservation
for all. Faithful children of God long to know when the King
of Glory shall come in, and the prince of darkness be bound;
when the children of the light shall shine forth as the sun,
and the darkness be scattered; when the saints shall be received
into full divine adoption, and the groaning creation released
from the bondage of corruption; and when our heavenly Father's
glorious character shall be fully revealed to an astonished
world, causing all who love righteousness to bow their hearts
in adoration and love and obedience.
To
be devoid of such desires indicates a lack of interest in, and
appreciation of, God's plans. The apostles, the prophets and
the angels all desired and sought earnestly to know what time
the spirit of God indicated through the prophets. And this interest
on the part of his children is ever pleasing to God; for though
he never heretofore gratified such desires to any considerable
extent, because the due time had not yet come, he never once
chided such interest. On the contrary, he called the inquiring
Daniel greatly beloved, and answered his inquiry so far as was
consistent with his plan.
Such
inquiry, therefore, should not be regarded as an improper prying
into the secrets of God. God would have us manifest that interest
in his plans which would "search the Scriptures," and "take
heed to the sure word of prophecy," and thus be in that proper,
waiting attitude which will
<PAGE 18> quickly discern the truth as it
becomes due. Secret things belong unto God, but things
revealed belong unto us and our children forever. (`Deut.
29:29`) Therefore, if we confine ourselves strictly to
the Word of God, and avoid idle speculation, we are on safe
ground. If God's plan and times and seasons are not recorded
in the Scriptures, none can find them there; and God has surely
had nothing recorded by his prophets and apostles which he desires
to keep secret forever. In due time and order every recorded
feature of the divine plan, and its time and season, is manifested
to those watching; but the entire outline of the plan, together
with the time features of it, was not due to be understood until
the period designated "The time of the end." (`Dan.
12:9,10`) And let it be borne in mind that until such
time as God purposes to reveal his secrets, neither learning
nor piety can find them out. Although the prophecies have stood
for centuries before the eyes of all, they could not
be unlocked and their secrets read until the due time had come.
When
some of the disciples came to our Lord inquiring concerning
the time for the establishment of the Kingdom of God, before
it was yet due to be revealed, he answered, "It is not for you
to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath appointed
by his own authority." (`Acts 1:7`)
And on another occasion, concerning the same subject, he said,
"Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels who
are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed,
watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is....And what
I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch."
`Mark 13:32,33,37`
These
words of our Lord cannot be understood to mean that none but
the Father will ever know of his times and seasons; hence
it no more proves that we cannot know those times and seasons
now, than that our Lord cannot know them now. And the
very fact that the entire outline of our
<PAGE 19> Father's plan, and also his times
and seasons, are now clearly discernible, is strong proof that
we are now living in the time of the end of the present dominion
of evil, and the dawn of the Millennial Day, when knowledge
should be increased, and the wise should understand. (`Dan.
12:4,10`) If prophecy was never designed to be understood,
there could have been no reasonable object in giving it.
These
expressions of the Master indicate that God is not executing
the various parts of his plan in a random, haphazard manner,
but that he has fixed and definite times and seasons
for every feature of his great work. And his infinite power
and wisdom guarantee that there can be no miscarriage or delay.
The
words also impress the thought that up to that time the Father
had revealed the times and seasons connected with his plans
to no one, not even to our Lord Jesus. So far from warranting
the general supposition, that our Lord rebuked investigation
and interest in the times and seasons, and by these words forbade
such examination, the very reverse is true. His words clearly
show that though the times and seasons were not yet given
to them to know, they would be very important some time, and
would then be revealed to those watching. In view of the fact
that they would be unsealed some time, and that they would be
very important then, he urges them to "take heed,"
and not to allow indifference to come over them, but to "watch"
continually, that they might know when the due time should come.
Those
who watched all down the age, though they did not see
all they watched for, were nevertheless greatly blessed and
kept separate from the world, by so doing; while those who will
be living in the "due time" and shall obediently "watch,"
shall know, shall see, "shall understand," and not be in ignorance,
in the midst of the wonderful events of the "harvest" of this
age. He who at any time neglects to watch,
<PAGE 20> loses a blessing upon which the
Master laid great stress, and proves himself to be either blinded
with prejudice by the god of this world, or overcharged with
matters of this life and present interests, to the neglect of
his vow of full consecration to the Lord, to seek chiefly the
Kingdom and life to come.
The
Apostles Peter and Paul call attention to this subject of the
times and seasons. Peter declares (2 Pet.
1:16), that we are not following cunningly devised fables;
that he saw in a figure the glory of the coming kingdom of Christ
on the mount of transfiguration, when he beheld the glorious
"vision" of Moses and Elijah and Jesus in glittering
garments-- Moses representing the ancient worthies (`Heb.
11:38-40`) who shall be the earthly representatives of
the heavenly Kingdom, and Elijah representing the "overcomers"
of this Gospel age--the scene as a whole foreshadowing the "glory
to follow," after the sufferings for righteousness' sake shall
have completed the election according to favor. Yet Peter, even
while relating his vision, points to the prophetic testimony,
saying, "We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto
ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in
a dark place until the day dawn." (2 Pet.
1:19) He well knew that all the prophecies could not
be fully understood by any then, and thus urged a watching
attitude on the part of the saints--not a watching of the sky,
but a watching for the fulfilment of all that God had spoken
by the holy prophets concerning the restitution, and the "times
of restitution," which form so large and important a part of
their testimony. He assures us that prophecy will have freshly
important truths for us, all the way along until Day-dawn.
The
Apostle Paul declares, "Of the times and seasons, brethren,
ye have no need that I write unto you; for yourselves know perfectly
that the Day of the Lord so cometh as
<PAGE 21> a thief in the night. [Quietly,
stealthily it will come, and after it has come, many will not
for some time know that they are in it.] When they shall say,
Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them [sudden
or rapid, compared with the slow processes of the past six thousand
years, as our day is called the fast day of steam and electricity--
not sudden as lightning, but sudden] as travail upon
a woman. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day
should overtake you as a thief." `1 Thess.
5:1-4`
The
"brethren" all have the lamp, the sure word of prophecy mentioned
by Peter, as a light in a dark place; and while they keep the
proper attitude of brethren, as faithful, meek and humble students
of the Word, they will at no time be in darkness: they
will always have the truth supplied as meat in due season.
At no time have those then living in full harmony with God been
left in ignorance of necessary truth, to grope their way in
the dark with the world. Abraham and Lot knew of the destruction
of Sodom beforehand, God saying, "Shall I hide from Abraham
that thing which I do?" (`Gen. 18:17`)
Noah knew of the flood in time to build the ark, and was informed
of the very day that he should go into it. At the first
advent, too, Simeon and Anna, and the wise men of the East,
knew to expect Messiah. In fact, the expectation was general
then. (`Luke 2:25-38`;
`Matt. 2:2`; `Luke 3:15`)
And if God so dealt with the house of servants, shall he do
less for the house of Sons? Our Lord and Head has said, "Henceforth
I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his
Lord doeth; but I have called you friends, for all things that
I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."
Our Lord certainly shall know of the times and seasons in due
time, since he is to accomplish the plan, and unless he
has changed, he will make known the plans to those close
to him and associated in his work--his friends, his saints.
<PAGE 22>
Reason,
then, teaches us that so surely as it is written, "The Lord
will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants
the prophets" (`Amos 3:7`), and
that most of what he revealed unto them was not for themselves,
but for us, the Gospel Church (`1 Pet.
1:12`), so surely will the faithful not be left in darkness,
unable to discern it, when the day of the Lord has come. It
will not come upon them as a thief and a snare--unawares;
for they will be watching, and will have the promised light
then due upon the subject.
The
Apostle states why he makes the positive assertion that ye,
brethren, will know of the times and seasons when due, and will
not be in darkness, saying (`verse 5`), "Ye are all the children
of light, and the children of the day." Such are begotten of
the truth, and are to be developed by the truth more and more
unto the perfect day--to which they belong.
`James 1:18`; `John 17:17,19`
Notice
how carefully the pronouns ye and you, and they
and them, of this and other scriptures, distinguish the
classes referred to--the saints from the world. The knowledge
which the saints will have in the day of the Lord is contrasted
with the ignorance, on the part of the world, of the significance
and tendency of transpiring events--"Ye have no need
that I write unto you." "When they shall say,
Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them...
and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are
not in darkness that that day should overtake you as
a thief. Ye are all children of the light." "Take heed,"
says our Lord, "to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares;
for as a snare it shall come on all them that dwell on
the face of the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore [watch
yourselves and also the word of prophecy], and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy
<PAGE 23> to escape all these things that
shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
`Luke 21:24-36`
It
follows, then, that if a child of God, living in the day of
the Lord, remain in darkness or ignorance as to the fact, he
must be either surfeited with the things of this life and intoxicated
with the spirit of the world, or else overcharged with the cares
of this life, and in either case indifferently neglecting to
watch with his lamp trimmed and burning and with oil in his
vessel--i.e., with the Word of God in heart and mind, and with
the spirit of truth in himself.
Though
much, connected with the times and seasons, as well as with
the details of the plan, had been foretold by the prophets,
they confessed their ignorance of the import of the prophecies
to which they gave expression. (See `Dan.
12:8`; `Ezek. 20:49`;
`Matt. 13:17`; `1 Pet. 1:10-12`.)
Stated in dark and symbolic language, and linked with events
then future, to understand them then was impossible. Thus, though
recorded aforetime, and made to bear witness to the divine foreknowledge
and arrangement, they were for the learning of those living
in the due time for their fulfilment, and not for those who
uttered them. (`Rom. 15:4`) They
awaited the unfolding of various connected features of the divine
plan and human history, which, by God's arrangement, should
unlock them, and enrich the patient, searching children of God
with "meat in due season" for an hour of trial and need in "the
evil day"--the day of trouble with which this age closes, and
in the midst of which also the new era and dispensation dawns.
A
wonderful modern device, which serves well to illustrate the
divine arrangement of time prophecy, is what is termed a Combination
Time-Lock, used in some of the largest banks. Like other combination
locks, the key or handle remains in the lock constantly. Certain
peculiar
<PAGE 24> movements of the handle, known
only to one aware of the arrangement, are needful to open it,
while the slightest deviation from the proper movements only
complicates the matter and makes it the more difficult to open.
The Combination Time-Lock adds the peculiar feature,
that by a clock arrangement inside the bank vaults, the doors
when closed at night are so locked that they cannot be opened
by any one until a fixed hour the next morning; and then, only
in response to the use of the right combination upon which the
lock has been set.
Thus
our Heavenly Father has closed up and sealed many features of
his plan during the night with his great Time-Lock, which was
so set as to prevent their being opened until "the time appointed"--in
the morning of the great day of restitution. And then Jehovah's
Anointed, "he that hath the key" and understands the combination
upon which it has been set, "openeth, and no man shutteth."
(`Rev. 3:7`) He opens unto us by
giving us the necessary information as to how the key of prophecy
is to be operated by those desiring to find the treasures of
infinite wisdom. And we may unlock the treasures of divine wisdom
now, because the morning hour has come--though it is early and
not yet light to the world. But only by carefully heeding the
instructions, and applying the key to the combination set by
the great Designer, will its treasures open to us.
In
fact, this illustration fits the entire plan of God in all its
parts: Each feature of truth and each prophecy is but a part
of the one grand combination, which may be opened now because
it is morning--because the bolts of the great Time-Lock are
withdrawn. And this grand combination, once opened, discloses
fully and grandly the boundless treasures of divine wisdom,
justice, love and power. He who opens will indeed know God as
never before.
<PAGE 25>
Let
us, then, examine the Scriptures with a reverent spirit, that
we may learn what God is pleased to show us with reference to
his times and seasons. Since he has recently made the grand
outlines of his plan so clear, we may reasonably expect that
his time is due to lead us into a knowledge of its time features.
The times and seasons were wisely hidden in the past, and the
saints were thus saved from discouragement, because the time
was long; but as the plan nears its glorious consummation, it
is the privilege of the saints to know it, that they may lift
up their heads and rejoice, knowing that their deliverance draweth
nigh. (`Luke 21:28`) The revealing
of the time, in the "time of the end," will be as profitable
and stimulating to the saints as its revealing before would
have been unprofitable and discouraging.
Evidently
our God is a God of order. Everything that he does is in accordance
with a definitely prearranged plan; and his appointed times
and seasons are no insignificant or unimportant part of that
plan. Notice that Jesus was born on time--"In the fulness
of time God sent his only begotten Son." (`Gal.
4:4`) Not before, nor after, but just when the time was
full. Our Lord's first preaching was on the subject of time--"He
came preaching, and saying, The time is fulfilled....
Repent and believe the good tidings." (`Mark
1:15`) "In due time Christ died." (`Rom.
5:6`) "He rose again the third day [at the appointed
time] according to the Scriptures." (`1
Cor. 15:4`) During his ministry his enemies frequently
sought to take him, but it is stated that they could not, "because
his hour was not yet come." `John
7:30`
The
time prophecies were not given to satisfy mere curiosity, but
to enable the student of the Word to recognize the foretold
events when due. For instance: Although prophecy marked
the time and manner of the first advent,
<PAGE 26> it was not understood until Christ
had come; and then it helped those who carefully studied the
Scriptures to recognize the man Jesus as the Christ, sent of
God according to appointment and prophecy. And, just so, prophecies
marking the time and manner of the second advent are due to
be understood at about the time of that event, to aid us in
recognizing his day when it has come--and its order of events
and the duties of the hour. One cannot read the Old Testament
Scriptures thoughtfully without noticing the prominence given
to dates, and the great particularity with which some are marked,
even to a day, though quite frequently they are attached to
what may seem to be very insignificant events. But the close
student will find that these various dates and chronological
references are links in a wonderful chain of evidence which
points out with great precision particularly two of the most
notable and important events in the history of the world, viz.:
the first and second advents of the world's Redeemer and Lord,
and the important matters associated therewith.
The
fact that the majority of Christians are indifferent to these
things is no reason why those who love his appearing, and desire
to be found approved of him, should drop into a similar condition
of lukewarmness.
It
should be borne in mind that fleshly Israel, except the "friends"
of God, stumbled and knew not the time of their visitation
(`Luke 19:44`), and that the prophet
has foretold the stumbling of both the houses of Israel--the
nominal Jewish house, and the nominal Christian house. (`Isa.
8:14`) Only "a remnant" in the close or
harvest of each dispensation is prepared to receive and appreciate
the truths then due, and therefore to enter into the special
privileges and blessings of the dawning dispensation. It therefore
remains for each individual Christian, in the closing period
of this age, to see to it that he is one of "the remnant," and
not one of the lukewarm,
<PAGE 27> listless, indifferent mass of
the nominal Christian Church, which will surely stumble,
as foretold by the Prophet, by the Lord and by the apostles,
and as foreshadowed by the course of fleshly Israel, which was
declared to be its shadow or type.
But
while time prophecy will be of great advantage in its due time,
showing various features of God's plan pertaining to the harvest,
etc., it is also true that a knowledge of the manner of our
Lord's coming and appearing is very necessary. To this, very
careful attention, in its appropriate place, is requested. And
back of all this knowledge must lie holiness and humility, which
must pave the way for its reception by enabling the child of
God to remove prejudice from his heart and to search diligently
to know what has been revealed. So it was at the first advent:
the earnest, consecrated, meek ones alone discerned the time
and manner. The worldly and overcharged ones, the full ones,
will not discern either the prophecies or the signs of the times
fulfilling them, until the harvest is past and the summer of
special favor is ended.
In
the end or "harvest" of the Jewish age, the truly humble and
earnest "Israelites indeed" were in a condition of expectancy
which differed widely from that of the proud, worldly-minded
and self-righteous about them; so that not only were they more
ready to accept God's plan as he had arranged it, but they were
more ready to hear and examine the truth when they came in contact
with it. And our Lord, while dismissing the self-satisfied,
fault-finding quibbles of the Pharisees with dark or evasive
answers, took time and care in making truth clear and plain
to the humble, earnest seekers. (`Matt.
13:10-17; 16:1-4`; `Mark 7:1-23`;
`Luke 18:18-30`; `John 1:45-51`;
`Luke 24:13-32 and 33-49`; `John
20:24-28; 21:1-12`) The proud and self-satisfied, and
all who followed them, stumbled (`Matt.
15:14`), while the humble and
<PAGE 28> truth-hungry inquired earnestly
for the truth. (`Matt. 13:36`;
`Mark 4:10`) And the Lord expounded the dark sayings
to such, and said, "Unto you it is given to know the
mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to them that are without
[not Israelites indeed], all these things are done in
parables, that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing
they may hear and not understand."
So,
too, it is at the end of this age. Truth here, as there, separates
the earnest and humble, and leads them forward into the knowledge
now due to such, and strengthens and enlightens them, that they
may not stumble with the mass of nominal Christians; while the
lukewarm and self-satisfied reject the truths here due, because
blinded by their own improper condition of heart. Hence they
will be rejected by the Lord as unworthy of becoming his bride.
`Eph. 4:1`; `1 Cor. 9:27`
It
is a serious error into which many fall, to suppose that a knowledge
of God's doings and plans is of little importance, that the
graces of Christian character are all that God requires, and
that these are better conserved by ignorance. How differently
the Scriptures present the matter! They counsel us, not only
to cultivate the graces of the Christian character, but to preserve
constantly that condition of heart which will enable us to discern
the truth--especially that great truth of the Lord's presence
when due-- and when dispensational changes take place. A knowledge
of dispensational truth is quite as important in the end of
this age as it was in the end of the Jewish age. Those who did
not discern the truth then due did not receive the favors then
due. And just so in the end of this age: Those who cannot discern
the truth now due, being blinded by unbelief and worldliness,
cannot receive special favors now due. They are not overcomers,
and hence are unfit to be the bride of Christ, and to enter
into the glorious inheritance of
<PAGE 29> the saints as joint-heirs with
him. Truth, in this age, under the adverse circumstances for
its reception, becomes a test of our faithfulness to God, and
therefore as a sickle separates the fit ones from those unfit--the
wheat from the tares.
Odium
attaches to the study of prophetic time by reason of past misapplications
of it by "Second Adventists" and others, and the consequent
failures to realize the events expected to occur at stated times.
We see, however, that even this has been a part of God's plan
to obscure the subject to all but the class for whom it was
intended, by permitting contempt and ridicule to attach to it,
thus hindering the worldly-wise and prudent from apprehending
it. (`Matt. 11:25`) This, we doubt
not, was as much a part of the divine plan as the sending of
Jesus into Nazareth, a despised place, "that he might be called
a Nazarene" (`Matt. 2:23`), though
he was really born in the honorable town of Bethlehem. As the
worldly-wise and prudent of that day said, "Can any good thing
come out of Nazareth?" so today, when prophetic time or anything
relating to the Lord's second advent is mentioned, many cry
"Adventist," as if to say, "Can any good thing come out of Adventism?"--even
though they admit that many prophecies containing time are not
yet fulfilled, and that the second coming of the Lord is the
most prominent topic of Scripture.
We
have great sympathy for both the First Adventists (the Jews)
and the Second Adventists, though only a few of either realized
the truths they so nearly apprehended, yet failed to grasp,
each being blinded by false expectations. Our Adventist
friends have failed to recognize both the manner and the object
of the Lord's return as taught in the Scriptures; consequently
they have not been expecting to "see him as he is," but
as he was. They consider the object of his coming one
which will fill the hearts of all except the saints with dismay
and terror; that his object is to gather the elect,
<PAGE 30> destroy all others of mankind,
and burn up the world. Having such ideas, they used the time
prophecies as a whip to scourge and drive the world to God.
But the world coolly looked on, and said that these were unreasonable
enthusiasts, and, if there is a God, he is certainly more reasonable
and just than that. The scorn of the world grew more and more
intense, as time after time they foretold a wreck of matter
and a crush of worlds, and time after time their predictions
failed--until now the very mention of prophetic time is received
very generally with an incredulous smile, or with open contempt,
even by Christians who well know that prophecy and chronology
constitute a large proportion of God's revelation.
But
blessed is he "Who
bears unmoved the world's dark frown,
Nor heeds its scornful smile; Whom seas
of trouble cannot drown,
Nor Satan's arts beguile."
But
God provided time prophecies for no such purpose, nor will he
attempt to convert the world in any such way as this; for he
seeketh such to worship him as worship in spirit and in truth
(`John 4:23`), and not such as
are frightened into his service. If he had designed to terrorize
men into obedience, he could have devised some more successful
method than the proclamation of time--as our Adventist
friends have proved. Prophetic time was given, not to alarm
the world--nor for the world in any sense--but to enlighten,
strengthen, comfort, encourage and guide the Church in
the troublous times in the end of the age. Therefore it is written,
"None of the wicked shall understand, but the wise only." To
these, this becomes meat in due season, and it, with other meat,
will strengthen those who use it, so that they will be "able
to stand in the evil day"--the day of trouble with which
this age closes. It will enable them to understand
<PAGE 31> the wonderful events transpiring
around them, so that they will neither be consumed by fear and
dread, nor swallowed up by the projects and false theories--science
falsely so called--with which this day will abound. And, withal,
they may be in the devouring fire [trouble], witnesses for God
and his plan, and teachers of the people-- pointers to the glorious
outcome of Jehovah's plan, lifting up a standard for the people.
`Isa. 62:10`
This
is the object of time prophecy, and how important, how indispensable--that
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished, at this
time. Without these prophetic time-proofs, we might see the
events of this Day of the Lord, and know not of it, or of our
duties and privileges in it. Let none, then, of the truly consecrated
undervalue these prophetic time-evidences, which were designed
to guide our words and deeds in the early Dawn of the Millennial
Day, before sunrise, while the world and the nominal church
are yet asleep, ignorant and heedless of the dispensational
changes now occurring. These prophetic time-proofs were largely
God's means of drawing the attention of the writer more fully
and carefully to other features of the divine plan. Attention
given to these must result in lasting profit to the student,
not only by informing him of "present truth," but also by giving
force and vital reality to all Scriptural truths, by furnishing
proof that all God's plans are working together in time,
as well as in kind, to the development of his glorious
purposes.
The
failure of the predictions of Adventists, who attempted to fix
a time for the burning of the world, etc., etc., has been more
in regard to the character of the events expected than in the
time. Like the Jews, they erred by looking for the wrong
thing at the right time. This was the secondary cause
of their failure to clearly apprehend the truth, but the primary
cause of it was the fact that it was
<PAGE 32> not yet time for a clearer unfolding.
And yet it was time for the stirring up of the saints to look
for the Lord's appearing --for a going forth to meet the Bridegroom,
and a disappointment prior to his actual coming--all of which
was indicated in our Lord's parable of the Ten Virgins, as will
be shown at length hereafter. As shown in the preceding volume,
the fire which is to devour the earth in the Day of the Lord
is symbolic, not literal; and in succeeding chapters it will
be shown that the applications of some time prophecies which
Adventists have discarded as failures were not failures, but
correct, and that they clearly mark the symbolic fire of this
time--already getting under way.
The
Advent people, laboring under the difficulty of expecting a
literal burning of the earth, attempted to force all the prophetic
periods to one common day of termination-- a twenty-four hour
day at that--and thus they did violence to some prophecies to
make them fit and end with others. But the clearer view of the
divine plan now reveals the perfect harmony of the various time
prophecies, and there is no necessity for twisting or doing
violence to any, to make it fit with the others. As in succeeding
chapters we institute an examination of the leading prophecies,
we do not form a theory and then endeavor to bend all the prophetic
periods to it, but we carefully trace each period to its termination,
and then weave together the theory or plan thus indicated by
the great Revealer of secrets. It will be found that the order
and harmony of God's plan are just as manifest in its times
and seasons as in the glorious features of that plan traced
in the preceding volume, and mapped out on the Chart of the
Ages. And when the great clock of the ages strikes the hours
indicated on the prophetic dial, the events foretold are as
sure to follow as that God foretold them.
