Chapter 17 : Heralds of the Morning

One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in

the Bible is that of Christ’s second coming, to complete the great

work of redemption. To God’s pilgrim people, so long left to sojourn

in the “region and shadow of death,” a precious, joy-inspiring hope

is given in the promise of His appearing, who is “the resurrection

and the life,” to “bring home again his banished.” The doctrine of the

second advent is the very key-note of the sacred Scriptures. From

the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden,

the children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised One to

break the destroyer’s power and bring them again to the lost Paradise.

Holy men of old looked forward to the advent of the Messiah in

glory, as the consummation of their hope. Enoch, only the seventh

in descent from them that dwelt in Eden, he who for three centuries

on earth walked with his God, was permitted to behold from afar the

coming of the Deliverer. “Behold,” he declared, “the Lord cometh

with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all.” [Jude

14, 15.] The patriarch Job in the night of his affliction exclaimed

with unshaken trust: “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he

shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; ... in my flesh shall I see

God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and

not another.” [Job 19:25-27.]

The coming of Christ to usher in the reign of righteousness, has

inspired the most sublime and impassioned utterances of the sacred

[300] writers. The poets and prophets of the Bible have dwelt upon it in

words glowing with celestial fire. The psalmist sung of the power

and majesty of Israel’s King: “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence....

He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may

judge his people.” [Psalm 50:2-4.] “Let the heavens rejoice, and let

the earth be glad” “before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to

judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the

people with his truth.” [Psalm 96:11, 13.]

Said the prophet Isaiah: “Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust;

for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the

dead.” “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall

they arise.” “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God

will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people

shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited

for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for

him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” [Isaiah 26:19;

25:8, 9.]

And Habakkuk, rapt in holy vision, beheld His appearing. “God

came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory

covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his

brightness was as the light.” “He stood, and measured the earth; he

beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains

were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow; his ways are everlasting.”

“Thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation.”

“The mountains saw thee, and they trembled... The deep uttered his

voice, and lifted up his hands on high. The sun and moon stood still

in their habitation; at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the

shining of thy glittering spear.” “Thou wentest forth for the salvation

of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed.” [Habakkuk

3:3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13.]

When the Saviour was about to be separated from his disciples, [301]

he comforted them in their sorrow with the assurance that he would

come again: “Let not your heart be troubled.” “In my Father’s house

are many mansions.” “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go

and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto

myself.” [John 14:1-3.] “The Son of man shall come in his glory,

and all the holy angels with him. Then shall he sit upon the throne

of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations.” [Matthew

25:31, 32.]

The angels who lingered upon Olivet after Christ’s ascension,

repeated to the disciples the promise of his return: “This same Jesus,

which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner

as ye have seen him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:11.] And the apostle

Paul, speaking by the Spirit of inspiration, testified: “The Lord

himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of

the archangel, and with the trump of God.” [1 Thessalonians 4:16.]

Says the prophet of Patmos: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and

every eye shall see him.” [Revelation 1:7.]

About his coming cluster the glories of that “restitution of all

things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets

since the world began.” [Acts 3:21.] Then the long-continued rule

of evil shall be broken; “the kingdoms of this world are become

the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign

forever and ever.” [Revelation 11:15.] “The glory of the Lord shall

be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” “The Lord God will

cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.”

He shall be “for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto

the residue of his people.” [Isaiah 40:5; 61:11; 28:5.]

It is then that the peaceful and long-desired kingdom of the

Messiah shall be established under the whole heaven. “The Lord

[302] shall comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and he will

make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the

Lord.” “The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency

of Carmel and Sharon.” “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken;

neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt

be called My Delight, and thy land Beulah.” “As the bridegroom

rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” [Isaiah

51:3; 35:2; 62:4, 5 (Margin).]

The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of his

true followers. The Saviour’s parting promise upon Olivet, that he

would come again, lighted up the future for his disciples, filling their

hearts with joy and hope, that sorrow could not quench, nor trials

dim. Amid suffering and persecution, “the appearing of the great

God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” was the “blessed hope.” When

the Thessalonian Christians were filled with grief as they buried

their loved ones, who had hoped to live to witness the coming of the

Lord, Paul, their teacher, pointed them to the resurrection, to take

place at the Saviour’s advent. Then the dead in Christ should rise,

and together with the living be caught up to meet the Lord in the

air. “And so,” he said, “shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore

comfort one another with these words.” [1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.]

On rocky Patmos the beloved disciple hears the promise, “Surely,

I come quickly,” and his longing response voices the prayer of the

church in all her pilgrimage, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” [Revelation

22:20.]

From the dungeon, the stake, the scaffold, where saints and martyrs

witnessed for the truth, comes down the centuries the utterance

of their faith and hope. “Being assured of Christ’s personal resurrection,

and consequently of their own at his coming, for this cause,”

says one of these Christians, “they despised death, and were found

to be above it.” They were willing to go down to the grave, that they

“might rise free.” They looked for the “Lord to come from Heaven

in the clouds with the glory of his Father,” “bringing to the just the [303]

times of the kingdom.” The Waldenses cherished the same faith.

Wycliffe looked forward to the Redeemer’s appearing as the hope of

the church.

Luther declared: “I persuade myself verily, that the day of Judgment

will not be absent full three hundred years. God will not,

cannot, suffer this wicked world much longer.” “The great day is

drawing near in which the kingdom of abominations shall be overthrown.”

“This aged world is not far from its end,” said Melancthon.

Calvin bids Christians “not to hesitate, ardently desiring the day

of Christ’s coming as of all events most auspicious;” and declares

that “the whole family of the faithful will keep in view that day.”

“We must hunger after Christ, we must seek, contemplate,” he says,

“till the dawning of that great day, when our Lord will fully manifest

the glory of his kingdom.”

“Has not our Lord Jesus carried up our flesh into Heaven?” said

Knox, the Scotch reformer, “and shall he not return? We know that

he shall return, and that with expedition.” Ridley and Latimer, who

laid down their lives for the truth, looked in faith for the Lord’s

coming. Ridley wrote: “The world without doubt—this I do believe,

and therefore I say it—draws to an end. Let us with John, the servant

of God, cry in our hearts unto our Saviour Christ, Come, Lord Jesus,

come.”

“The thoughts of the coming of the Lord,” said Baxter, “are most

sweet and joyful to me.” “It is the work of faith and the character of

his saints to love his appearing and to look for that blessed hope.” “If

death be the last enemy to be destroyed at the resurrection, we may

learn how earnestly believers should long and pray for the second

coming of Christ, when this full and final conquest shall be made.”

“This is the day that all believers should long, and hope, and wait

for, as being the accomplishment of all the work of their redemption,

and all the desires and endeavors of their souls.” “Hasten, O Lord,

[304] this blessed day!” Such was the hope of the apostolic church, of the

“church in the wilderness,” and of the reformers.

Prophecy not only foretells the manner and object of Christ’s

coming, but presents tokens by which men are to know when it is

near. Said Jesus: “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon,

and in the stars.” [Luke 21:25.] “The sun shall be darkened, and

the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall,

and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall

they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and

glory.” [Mark 13:24-26.] The Revelator thus describes the first of the

signs to precede the second advent: “There was a great earthquake;

and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon become

as blood.” [Revelation 6:12.]

These signs were witnessed before the opening of the present

century. In fulfillment of this prophecy there occurred, in the year

1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded.

Though commonly known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended

to the greater part of Europe, Africa, and America. It was felt in

Greenland, in the West Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway

and Sweden, Great Britain and Ireland. It pervaded an extent of not

less than four million square miles. In Africa the shock was almost

as severe as in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed; and

a short distance from Morocco, a village containing eight or ten

thousand inhabitants was swallowed up. A vast wave swept over

the coast of Spain and Africa, engulfing cities, and causing great

destruction.

It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme

violence. At Cadiz the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high.

Mountains—some of the largest in Portugal—“were impetuously

shaken, as it were from the very foundation; and some of them

opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful

manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the subjacent

[305] valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains.”

At Lisbon “a sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately

afterward a violent shock threw down the greater part of

that city. In the course of about six minutes sixty thousand persons

perished. The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry, it then rolled in,

rising fifty feet above its ordinary level.” “The most extraordinary

circumstance which occurred at Lisbon during the catastrophe, was

the subsidence of the new quay, built entirely of marble, at an immense

expense. A great concourse of people had collected there for

safety, as a spot where they might be beyond the reach of falling

ruins; but suddenly the quay sunk down with all the people on it,

and not one of the dead bodies ever floated to the surface.”

The shock of the earthquake “was instantly followed by the fall of

every church and convent, almost all the large and public buildings,

and one-fourth of the houses. In about two hours afterward, fires

broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the

space of nearly three days that the city was completely desolated.

The earthquake happened on a holy day, when the churches and

convents were full of people, very few of whom escaped.” “The

terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; it was

beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and

astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, ‘Misericordia!

the world’s at an end!’ Mothers forgot their children, and ran loaded

with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches

for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did

the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people

were buried in one common ruin.” “Ninety thousand persons are

supposed to have been lost on that fatal day.”

Twenty-five years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the

prophecy,—the darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered

this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfillment had [306]

been definitely pointed out. In the Saviour’s conversation with his

disciples upon Olivet, after describing the long period of trial for

the church—the 1260 years of papal persecution, concerning which

he had promised that the tribulation should be shortened—he thus

mentioned certain events to precede his coming, and fixed the time

when the first of these should be witnessed: “In those days, after

that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not

give her light.” [Mark 13:24.] The 1260 days, or years, terminated in

1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly

ceased. Between these two dates, according to the words of Christ,

the sun was to be darkened. On the 19th of May, 1780, this prophecy

was fulfilled.

“Almost if not altogether alone as the most mysterious and as

yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind, ... stands the dark day

of May 19, 1780,—a most unaccountable darkening of the whole

visible heavens and atmosphere in New England.” That the darkness

was not due to an eclipse is evident from the fact that the moon was

then nearly full. It was not caused by clouds, or the thickness of the

atmosphere, for in some localities where the darkness extended, the

sky was so clear that the stars could be seen. Concerning the inability

of science to assign a satisfactory cause for this manifestation,

Herschel the astronomer declares: “The dark day in North America

was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which philosophy

is at a loss to explain.”

“The extent of the darkness was also very remarkable. It was

observed at the most easterly regions of New England; westward,

to the farthest part of Connecticut, and at Albany, N. Y.; to the

southward, it was observed all along the sea coast; and to the north,

as far as the American settlements extended. It probably far exceeded

those boundaries, but the exact limits were never positively known.

With regard to its duration, it continued in the neighborhood of

Boston for at least fourteen or fifteen hours.”

[307] “The morning was clear and pleasant, but about eight o’clock

there was observed an uncommon appearance in the sun. There were

no clouds, but the air was thick, having a smoky appearance, and the

sun shone with a pale, yellowish hue, but kept growing darker and

darker, until it was hid from sight.” There was “midnight darkness

at noonday.”

“The occurrence brought intense alarm and distress to multitudes

of minds, as well as dismay to the whole brute creation, the fowls

fleeing bewildered to their roosts, and the birds to their nests, and

the cattle returning to their stalls.” Frogs and night hawks began

their notes. The cocks crew as at daybreak. Farmers were forced

to leave their work in the fields. Business was generally suspended,

and candles were lighted in the dwellings. “The Legislature of

Connecticut was in session at Hartford, but being unable to transact

business adjourned. Everything bore the appearance and gloom of

night.”

The intense darkness of the day was succeeded, an hour or

two before evening, by a partially clear sky, and the sun appeared,

though it was still obscured by the black, heavy mist. But “this

interval was followed by a return of the obscuration with greater

density, that rendered the first half of the night hideously dark beyond

all former experience of the probable million of people who saw

it. From soon after sunset until midnight, no ray of light from

moon or star penetrated the vault above. It was pronounced ‘the

blackness of darkness!’” Said an eye-witness of the scene: “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.”

Though the moon that night rose to the full, “it had not the least

effect to dispel the death-like shadows.” After midnight the darkness

disappeared, and the moon, when first visible, had the appearance

of blood.

The poet Whittier thus speaks of this memorable day:— [308]

“‘Twas on a May-day of the far old year

Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell

Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring,

Over the fresh earth, and the heaven of noon,

A horror of great darkness.”

“Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp

To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter

The black sky.”

May 19, 1780, stands in history as “The Dark Day.” Since the

time of Moses, no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and

duration has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as

given by the poet and the historian, is but an echo of the words of

the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years

previous to their fulfillment: “The sun shall be turned into darkness,

and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the

Lord come.” [Joel 2:31.]

Christ had bidden his people watch for the signs of his advent,

and rejoice as they should behold the tokens of their coming King.

“When these things begin to come to pass,” he said, “then look

up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” He

pointed his followers to the budding trees of spring, and said: “When

they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that

summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these

things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at

hand.” [Luke 21:28, 30, 31.]

But as the spirit of humility and devotion in the church had

given place to pride and formalism, love for Christ and faith in his

coming had grown cold. Absorbed in worldliness and pleasureseeking,

the professed people of God were blinded to the Saviour’s

instructions concerning the signs of his appearing. The doctrine of

the second advent had been neglected; the scriptures relating to it

were obscured by misinterpretation, until it was, to a great extent,

ignored and forgotten. Especially was this the case in the churches

[309] of America. The freedom and comfort enjoyed by all classes of

society, the ambitious desire for wealth and luxury, begetting an

absorbing devotion to money-making, the eager rush for popularity

and power, which seemed to be within the reach of all, led men to

center their interests and hopes on the things of this life, and to put

far in the future that solemn day when the present order of things

should pass away.

When the Saviour pointed out to his followers the signs of his

return, he foretold the state of backsliding that would exist just prior

to his second advent. There would be, as in the days of Noah, the

activity and stir of worldly business and pleasure-seeking—buying,

selling, planting, building, marrying, and giving in marriage—with

forgetfulness of God and the future life. For those living at this time,

Christ’s admonition is: “Take heed 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.” “Watch

ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to

escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before

the Son of man.” [Luke 21:34, 36.]

The condition of the church at this time is pointed out in the

Saviour’s words in the Revelation: “Thou hast a name that thou

Heralds of the Morning 263

livest, and art dead.” [Revelation 3:1, 3.] And to those who refuse to

arouse from their careless security, the solemn warning is addressed:

“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.” [Revelation

3:1, 3.]

It was needful that men should be awakened to their danger; that

they should be roused to prepare for the solemn events connected

with the close of probation. The prophet of God declares: “The

day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”

[Joel 2:11.] Who shall stand when He appeareth who is “of purer

eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity?” [Habakkuk

1:13.] To them that cry, “My God, we know thee,” yet have transgressed

his covenant, and hastened after another god, [Hosea 8:2, [310]

1; Psalm 16:4.] hiding iniquity in their hearts, and loving the paths

of unrighteousness, to these, the day of the Lord is “darkness, and

not light, even very dark, and no brightness in it.” [Amos 5:20.] “It

shall come to pass at that time,” saith the Lord, “that I will search

Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their

lees; that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will

he do evil.” [Zephaniah 1:12.] “I will punish the world for their evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of

the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

[Isaiah 13:11.] “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to

deliver them;” “their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a

desolation.” [Zephaniah 1:18, 13.]

The prophet Jeremiah, looking forward to this fearful time, exclaimed:

“I am pained at my very heart.” “I cannot hold my peace,

because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the

alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried.” [Jeremiah 4:19,

20.]

“That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day

of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a

day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm.”

[Zephaniah 1:15, 16.] “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, ... to

lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of

it.” [Isaiah 13:9.]

In view of that great day the Word of God, in the most solemn

and impressive language, calls upon his people to arouse from their

spiritual lethargy, and to seek his face with repentance and humiliation:

“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.” “Sanctify a fast, call

a solemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,

assemble the elders, gather the children.... Let the bridegroom go

[311] forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests,

the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar.”

“Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with

weeping, and with mourning. And rend your heart, and not your

garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and

merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” [Joel 2:1, 15-18, 12,

13.]

To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work of

reform was to be accomplished. God saw that many of his professed

people were not building for eternity, and in his mercy he was about

to send a message of warning to arouse them from their stupor, and

lead them to make ready for the coming of their Lord.

This warning is brought to view in Revelation 14. Here is a

threefold message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings,

and immediately followed by the coming of the Son of man “to reap

the harvest of the earth.” The first of these warnings announces the

approaching Judgment. The prophet beheld an angel flying “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.”

[Revelation 14:6, 7.]

This message is declared to be a part of the “everlasting gospel.”

The work of preaching the gospel has not been committed to angels,

but has been intrusted to men. Holy angels have been employed in

directing this work, they have in charge the great movements for

the salvation of men; but the actual proclamation of the gospel is

performed by the servants of Christ upon the earth.

Faithful men, who were obedient to the promptings of God’s

Spirit and the teachings of his Word, were to proclaim this warning

to the world. They were those who had taken heed to the “sure word

of prophecy,” the “light that shineth in a dark place, until the day [312]

dawn, and the day-star arise.” [2 Peter 1:19.] They had been seeking

the knowledge of God more than all hid treasures, counting it “better

than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.”

[Proverbs 3:14.] And the Lord revealed to them the great things of

the kingdom. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and

he will show them his covenant.” [Psalm 25:14.]

It was not the leaders in the church who had an understanding of

this truth, and engaged in its proclamation. Had these been faithful

watchmen, diligently and prayerfully searching the Scriptures, they

would have known the time of night; the prophecies would have

opened to them the events about to take place. But they did not

occupy this position, and the message was given by another class.

Said Jesus, “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon

you.” [John 12:35.] Those who turn away from the light which God

has given, or who neglect to seek it when it is within their reach,

are left in darkness. But the Saviour declares, “He that followeth

me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” [John

8:12.] Whoever is with singleness of purpose seeking to do God’s

will, earnestly heeding the light already given, will receive greater

light; to that soul some star of heavenly radiance will be sent, to

guide him into all truth.

At the time of Christ’s first advent, the priests and scribes of the

holy city, to whom were intrusted the oracles of God, might have

discerned the signs of the times, and proclaimed the coming of the

Promised One. The prophecy of Micah designated his birthplace;

[Micah 5:2.] Daniel specified the time of his advent. [Daniel 9:25.]

God had committed these prophecies to the Jewish leaders; they

were without excuse if they did not know and declare to the people

that the Messiah’s coming was at hand. Their ignorance was the

result of sinful neglect. The Jews were building monuments for the

slain prophets of God, while by their deference to the great men of

earth they were paying homage to the servants of Satan. Absorbed

in their ambitious strife for place and power among men, they lost [313]

sight of the divine honors proffered them by the King of Heaven.

With profound and reverent interest the elders of Israel should

have been studying the place, the time, the circumstances, of the

greatest event in the world’s history,—the coming of the Son of God

to accomplish the redemption of man. All the people should have

been watching and waiting that they might be among the first to

welcome the world’s Redeemer. But lo, at Bethlehem two weary

travelers from the hills of Nazareth traverse the whole length of the

narrow street to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly seeking a

place of rest and shelter for the night. No doors are open to receive

them. In a wretched hovel prepared for cattle, they at last find refuge,

and there the Saviour of the world is born.

Heavenly angels had seen the glory which the Son of God shared

with the Father before the world was, and they had looked forward

with intense interest to his appearing on earth as an event fraught

with the greatest joy to all people. Angels were appointed to carry

the glad tidings to those who were prepared to receive it, and who

would joyfully make it known to the inhabitants of the earth. Christ

had stooped to take upon himself man’s nature; he was to bear an

infinite weight of woe as he should make his soul an offering for

sin; yet angels desired that even in his humiliation, the Son of the

Highest might appear before men with a dignity and glory befitting

his character. Would the great men of earth assemble at Israel’s

capital to greet his coming? Would legions of angels present him to

the expectant company?

An angel visits the earth to see who are prepared to welcome

Jesus. But he can discern no tokens of expectancy. He hears no

voice of praise and triumph that the period of Messiah’s coming is

at hand. The angel hovers for a time over the chosen city and the

[314] temple where the divine presence was manifested for ages; but even

here is the same indifference. The priests, in their pomp and pride,

are offering polluted sacrifices in the temple. The Pharisees are with

loud voices addressing the people, or making boastful prayers at the

corners of the streets. In the palaces of kings, in the assemblies of

philosophers, in the schools of the rabbis, all are alike unmindful of

the wondrous fact which has filled all Heaven with joy and praise,

that the Redeemer of men is about to appear upon the earth.

There is no evidence that Christ is expected, and no preparation

for the Prince of life. In amazement the celestial messenger is about

to return to Heaven with the shameful tidings, when he discovers a

group of shepherds who are watching their flocks by night, and, as

they gaze into the starry heavens, are contemplating the prophecy

of a Messiah to come to earth, and longing for the advent of the

world’s Redeemer. Here is a company that are prepared to receive

the heavenly message. And suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared,

declaring the good tidings of great joy. Celestial glory flooded all

the plain, an innumerable company of angels was revealed, and as if

the joy were too great for one messenger to bring from Heaven, a

multitude of voices broke forth in the anthem which all the nations

of the saved shall one day sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on

earth peace, good-will toward men.” [Luke 2:14.]

Oh, what a lesson is this wonderful story of Bethlehem! How

it rebukes our unbelief, our pride, and a self-sufficiency. How it

warns us to beware, lest by our criminal indifference we also fail to

discern the signs of the times, and therefore know not the day of our

visitation.

It was not alone upon the hills of Judea, not among the lowly

shepherds only, that angels found the watchers for Messiah’s coming.

In the land of the heathen also were those that looked for him; they

were wise men, rich and noble, the philosophers of the East. Students

of nature, the magi had seen God in his handiwork. From the Hebrew

Scriptures they had learned of the Star to arise out of Jacob, and [315]

with eager desire they waited His coming, who should be not only

the “Consolation of Israel,” but a “Light to lighten the Gentiles,”

and “for salvation unto the ends of the earth.” [Luke 2:25, 32; Acts

13:47.] They were seekers for light, and light from the throne of

God illumined the path for their feet. While the priests and rabbis

of Jerusalem, the appointed guardians and expounders of the truth,

were shrouded in darkness, the Heaven-sent star guided these Gentile

strangers to the birthplace of the new-born King.

It is “unto them that look for him” that Christ is to “appear the

second time, without sin unto salvation.” [Hebrews 9:28.] Like the

tidings of the Saviour’s birth, the message of the second advent was

not committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed

to preserve their connection with God, and had refused light from

Heaven; therefore they were not of the number described by the

apostle Paul: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day

should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and

the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” [1

Thessalonians 5:4, 5.]

The watchmen upon the walls of Zion should have been the

first to catch the tidings of the Saviour’s advent, the first to lift

their voices to proclaim him near, the first to warn the people to

prepare for his coming. But they were at ease, dreaming of peace

and safety, while the people were asleep in their sins. Jesus saw his

church, like the barren fig-tree, covered with pretentious leaves, yet

destitute of precious fruit. There was a boastful observance of the

forms of religion, while the spirit of true humility, penitence, and

faith—which alone could render the service acceptable to God—was

lacking. Instead of the graces of the Spirit, there were manifested

pride, formalism, vainglory, selfishness, oppression. A backsliding

church closed their eyes to the signs of the times. God did not forsake

[316] them, or suffer his faithfulness to fail; but they departed from him,

and separated themselves from his love. As they refused to comply

with the conditions, his promises were not fulfilled to them.

Such is the sure result of neglect to appreciate and improve

the light and privileges which God bestows. Unless the church

will follow on in his opening providence, accepting every ray of

light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will

inevitably degenerate into the observance of forms, and the spirit

of vital godliness will disappear. This truth has been repeatedly

illustrated in the history of the church. God requires of his people

works of faith and obedience corresponding to the blessings and

privileges bestowed. Obedience requires a sacrifice and involves a

cross; and this is why so many of the professed followers of Christ

refused to receive the light from Heaven, and, like the Jews of old,

knew not the time of their visitation. [Luke 19:44.] Because of their

pride and unbelief, the Lord passed them by and revealed his truth

to those who, like the shepherds of Bethlehem and the Eastern magi,

had given heed to all the light they had received.