Peace And Safety.
The attitude of the religious world toward this most important subject is worthy of more than passing notice both because of its effect upon the cause of truth and also because it of itself is a sign of the times. While it is true that many individuals in the different Christian denominations recognize with more or less distinctness the fact that we are living in the last days, with many of these [pg 080] it does not become a practical truth. Outside of these there are many who ridicule the idea as preposterous and outlandish; and in opposition to the message that Christ is soon coming, raise the cry of, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Such teaching is alluded to by the prophet in Eze. 13:10, 11.
The groundwork of the peace and safety cry is the doctrine of the temporal millennium. This teaches that the world is now entering, or about to enter upon a period of universal peace and good will, that the moral tone of the world is improving, men and nations are learning righteousness; and the gospel of Christ is about to become the controlling principle in public and private life. And, further, this happy state will continue for one thousand years, which period of time the word millennium literally signifies. At the end of that time, perhaps, the Lord will come. However, if this doctrine be true, it will make but little difference to this generation or to the one living at the close of the period whether he does or not. The verses we have just considered which liken the last days to those of Noah wholly disprove this position. In addition to what Matthew states, Luke gives a still more forcible version of our Saviour's words:—
“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.”Luke 17:26-30.
Paul writes in his epistles to Timothy as follows:—
[pg 081]“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Tim. 4:1.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1-5.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” Verse 13.
In very many scriptures it is plainly declared that when Christ comes, he comes not only to reward and save his people but also to punish his enemies. Looking upon the last days he exclaims, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. The idea of a thousand years of peace and righteousness before Christ comes might be dismissed as utterly out of the question. But space will be given to one or two passages supposed to teach it, which will represent the whole class. The first and chief is found in Isa. 2:2-4:—
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Almost the same language is used in Micah 4:1-3. It is enough to call attention to the authorship of the [pg 082] propositions contained in the text. They come from the people. “Many people shall go and say, Come ye,” etc. Inspiration asserts that in the last days the mountain or power of the Lord's house or church shall be established in the tops of the mountains, or civil power. Undoubtedly it will. Everything is tending to the union of Church and State and the professed church of Christ is riding on a high tide to civil power in all lands. But farewell to godliness and spiritual power. When this is accomplished, in a general chorus all will proclaim the dawning millennium.
How the Lord regards the people who are saying these things is shown in the succeeding verses:—
“Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.”Isa. 2:6-8.
Now let us see what God says on the same point and concerning the same time:—
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw [pg 083]their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Joel 3:9-16.
Mark, this is not what the people say, but what the Lord says of the very same time when the people are preaching a good time coming.
Another verse referred to, and representing quite a numerous class of similar ones, is found in Num. 14:21.
“But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.”
There is no occasion to modify or limit the meaning of those words; for their utmost significance will be realized. But when?—When sin and the curse are wiped away. After the purifying fires of the day of the Lord have burned up the last work and relic of rebellion, and the earth made new in Edenic glory comes again from the hand of its Maker, as beautiful, yea, more beautiful, if possible, than at first. It would not be within the limits of this pamphlet to follow out this subject, but the reader is referred to the following scriptures: Isa. 65:17-22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21 and 22, and to published works.
In that state this and all kindred scriptures will meet a fulfillment that is ample and complete. But for such a condition of things this side of the coming of Christ neither the Bible nor the trend of events give any promise whatever.
Judging of the probability of the conversion of the world from the facts, it would seem to be far from striking. The following table gives a comparatively accurate showing of the present religious status of the world:—
[pg 085]Concerning the very small proportion of this number classed in the list of Christians, Bishop Foster has very aptly said:—
“There are some who too fondly anticipate a millennium. There is a lack of information on the progress of Christianity. The facts are misstated daily in pulpits all over the country. Ministers hesitate to present the worst side for fear of causing discouragement, and they create hopes that are never realized. We are not at the dawn of a millennium. Compared with the work to be done, the past is nothing. Our children's children for ten generations to come must labor harder than we are doing, to accomplish the conversion of the world. The world's population is 1,500,000,000. Of these, Christians number less than a third; and half of that third belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestants number 114,000,000. They are divided into 500 sects. And this number of their strength includes, also, all the thieves, ex-convicts, the debased, besotted, and the speckled and streaked in Christendom.”—Northwestern Christian Advocate of Dec. 2, 1885.
Farther on in the same article the Bishop said:—
“Before us we have the great problem—the 1,100,000,000 of pagans to convert to Christianity. That is the solid rock that looms up in our path. Look at it; see what work has been done in 1800 years, and how much is yet to be accomplished. In India, after more than a hundred years of mission work, we have 600,000 native converts and 2,000,000 Christians among 260,000,000 heathen. Can we remove that solid boulder that is as old as the hills?... Our Methodist Church we think the most divine and ineffable. We boast that we are going to conquer [pg 086]the world, and come from our palaces and princely farms to subscribe fifty cents a head for the undertaking! It is a burning disgrace that excites pity and disgust.”
And as to the prospects for universal peace, the following recent statement of the armament of Europe does not indicate that the nations are really contemplating such a happy consummation:—
The remaining states of Europe make up with the above a total of about 6,000,000 men.
The Final Separation.
Verses 40, 41: “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
This language shows the final separation between the righteous and the wicked. There is no elaborate explanation as to how the circumstances will meet their fulfillment, but that is not the essential force of the text. The line will in some cases be drawn between those who are intimately related. Some members of the same family will be taken away by the judgments of God, while others will be left to receive their coming Lord.
Those Who Watch Will Know The Time.
Verses 42-44: “Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the [pg 087]house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
The injunction to watchfulness is repeatedly given by our Saviour in connection with his teaching in reference to his second advent. These injunctions must apply especially to those who live in proximity to that event. This fact is convincing evidence that the Lord is not displeased with those who anticipate his coming, and study the word in reference to it. No one watches for that which he does not expect, and indifference or aversion toward the coming of Christ is sure evidence of coldness toward Christ himself. If we love Jesus, we shall love his appearing and if we love his appearing, we shall be eagerly watching and waiting for it. But if we knew the hour when he would come, we should not watch for his coming, nor could we with eagerness expect his coming if we had no knowledge of its approach. The course of time has been measured off in definite periods down to the beginning of the present generation. The time from the end of the prophetic periods to the coming of Christ is emphatically the waiting, watching time. Those who watch, as our Lord commands, will eventually know the time. No man will make it known, for it is not revealed to man in the Scriptures. Angels will not make it known, though they may minister to, and communicate with, the children of men. Neither will the Son. But the Father will make it known when he speaks again from heaven.
It is undoubtedly true that the unscriptural and irrational course pursued by many so-called Adventists in repeatedly setting a time of their own for the Lord to come has had the effect to disgust many with the whole [pg 088] matter. This is the enemy's work. He will seek thus to obscure each truth by bringing it into the shadow of reproach. But it is unwise to be thus misled. Probably there is no prophecy that better describes the present state of unbelief in the world in regard to the second advent, caused partly by fanatical time-movements, than the following:—
“Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged, for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God.” Eze. 12:22-25.
The burden of this prophecy is time; therefore the word here mentioned that the Lord will speak, will be the time. Rev. 3:3, is also to the point:—
“Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
Those who do not watch, will not know the hour. Those who watch will know the hour.
The present watching, waiting position requires much faith and patience. Says Paul:—
“Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God [in proclaiming the coming of Christ], ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; [pg 089]but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Heb. 10:35-39.
Says James: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5:7, 8.
Jesus says: “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.” Rev. 3:10.
The present position and present duty of God's people are defined in Rev. 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
The Faithful And Wise Servant.
Verses 45-47: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.”
In this figure, Christ is represented as the Lord of the household of faith (see Mark 13:35; Heb. 3:6), leaving his house, and committing the work of caring for his church to his servants. A blessing is promised those servants who are found faithfully discharging this duty when their Lord comes. They are to feed the flock of God, over whom the Holy Ghost hath made them overseers. Acts 20:28. They must preach the word. 2 Tim. 4:2. They should watch for souls as they that must give account. [pg 090] Heb. 13:17. They will not only give meat to the household, but they will give it in due season. They will preach the present truth.
And meat in due season when Christ's coming draws near, will be the gospel of the kingdom. Verse 14. It will embrace warnings, instructions, and encouragements pertaining to a message that is designed and adapted to prepare the world for so solemn an event. Suppose, for a moment, that when Noah had received his message of the coming flood to give to the world, he had reasoned with worldly wisdom that as such a thing never had occurred, and from all appearances seemed very unlikely to occur, and hence to preach it would subject him to reproach, it would be better to avoid any particular allusion to such an unwelcome subject. His preaching seemed to excite only ridicule. He could retain his own private convictions and preach the ordinary principles of righteousness, saying, “Do not so, my brethren.” And if the people were only prepared for the flood, that would be all that would be necessary. Of such a course we can say two things. He would thus have proved very unfaithful to his trust, and the blood of his fellow-men would have been upon him; and he would have done just as thousands are doing now. He certainly would not have represented the faithful and wise servant. So it is now. A solemn responsibility is placed upon the watchmen:—
“Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But [pg 091]he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.” Eze. 33:2-7.
When Jesus comes, the faithful servants will be found proclaiming his coming and teaching the necessary preparation. The Saviour speaks of such as “faithful and wise.”
1. He is faithful. As a faithful watchman, he will give timely warning when he sees the sword coming. His work just before the end, is seen in the following scriptures:—
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2:1.
“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”Isa. 58:1.
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” 2. Tim. 4:1-5.
2. He is wise. “He that winneth souls is wise.” He must be wise. He will hold forth the truth in its harmony and beauty, and thus expose error and win men to the truth. When it becomes his duty to “reprove and rebuke,” it will be at a proper time and place, and then with all “long-suffering and doctrine.” He will study to [pg 092] show himself “approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim. 2:15.
The Evil Servant.
Verses 48-51: “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of; and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
What the evil servant says and does, shows most clearly the position and work of the faithful and wise servant. The evil servant says, “My lord delayeth his coming,” because the faithful servant is proclaiming the coming of his lord. The evil servant smites the faithful servant, because he teaches the soon coming of his Lord. The faithful servant, true to his commission to preach the “gospel of the kingdom” to a fallen church and a scoffing world, toils on, and for this the evil servant smites him. Not with the fist, perhaps, but with the tongue of obloquy and reproach. That there should be professed servants of Christ engaged in smiting those who are faithfully warning the world, need not cause surprise in view of the past, but must cause sorrow in the heart of every lover of truth. The wicked servant says in heart, and some are saying with their lips, The Lord is not coming. The world is now just starting out upon its career of knowledge and enjoyment. Where is the promise or indication of his coming? Some say, He may come to-night, he may not come in a million years, thus neutralizing the truth. Such men will be found criticising and discounting the Scriptures and subjecting them to the tests of human philosophy and science. The [pg 093] only safety for the people is to look beyond such watchmen. Let them take the Bible for themselves, and there discerning the truth, embrace it, and live according to it.