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17 - Heralds of the Morning - The Great Controversy · Sacred Texts Archive

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Chapter seventeen, Heralds of the Morning. One of the most solemn and yet
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most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ's second coming to complete
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the great work of redemption to God's pilgrid people so long left to sojourn in
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the region and shadow of death. A precious joy inspiring hope is given in
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the promise of his appearing, who is the resurrection and the life to bring
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home again has vanished. The doctrine of the Second Advent is the very keynote
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of the Sacred Scriptures. From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing
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steps for Eden. The children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised
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One to break the destroyer's power and bring them again to the lost paradise.
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Holy men of old looked forward to the Advent of the Messiah and Glory as
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the consummation of their hope. Enoch only the seventh in descent from them that
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dwelt in Eden, He who for three centuries on earth walked with his God,
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was permitted to behold form Afar the coming of the Deliverer. Behold,
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he declared, the Lord cometh, with ten thousands of his saints to execute
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judgment upon all. The patriarch job in the night of his affliction, exclaimed
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with unshaken trust, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall
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stand at the latter day upon the earth. In my flesh shall I see
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God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold,
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and not another. The coming of Christ to usher in the reign of righteousness
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has inspired the most sublime and impassioned utterances of the sacred writers. The poets
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and prophets of the Bible have dwelt upon it in words glowing with celestial fire.
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The psalmst song of the Power and Majesty of Israel's King out of Zion,
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the perfection of beauty God hath shined. Our God shall come and shall
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not keep silence. He shall call to the heavens from above and to the
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earth, that he may judge his people. Let the heavens rejoice, and
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let the earth be glad before the Lord, for he cometh. For he
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cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and
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the people with his truth. Said the prophet Isaiah. Awake and sing ye
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that dwell on dust, for thy jew is as the dew of herbs.
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And the earth shall cast out the dead. Thy dead men shall live together
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with my dead body. Shall they arise. He will swallow up death in
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victory. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.
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And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth.
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For the Lord hath spoken it, and it shall be said in that
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day. Lo, this is our God. We have waited for him,
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and he will save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for
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him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. And Habacchock wrapt
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in holy vision, beheld his appearing God came from Tiamen, and the Holy
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One from Mount Perrin. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was
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full of his praise, and his brightness was as the light. He stood
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and measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations, and the
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everlasting mountains are scattered. The perpetual hills did bow. His ways are everlasting.
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Thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation. The mountains
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saw thee and they trembled. The deep uttered his voice and lifted up his
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hands on high. The sun and moon stood still in their habitation. At
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the light of Thine arrows they went, And at the shining of thy glittering
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spear, Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation
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with Thine anointed. When the Savior was about to be separated from his disciples,
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he comforted them in their sorrow with the assurance that he would come again.
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Let not your heart be troubled. In my Father's house are many mansions.
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I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
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prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.
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The Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the Holy
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angels with him. Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory,
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and before him shall be gathered all nations. The angels who lingered upon Oliver
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after Christ's ascension repeated to the disciples the promise of his return. This same
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Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in
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like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. And the apostle Paul,
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speaking by the spirit of inspiration, testified the Lord himself shall descend from
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heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
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trump of God, says the Prophet of Patmas. Behold, he cometh with
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clouds, and every eye shall see him about his coming CAUs to the glories
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of that restitution of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all
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his holy prophets since the world began. Then the long continued rule of evil
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shall be broken. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our
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Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. The
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glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
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The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the
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nations. He shall be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of
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beauty unto the residue of his people. It is then that the peaceful and
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long desired kingdom of the Messiah shall be established under the whole heaven. The
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Lord shall comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places, and he
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will make her wilderness thi like Eden, and her desert like the garden of
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the Lord. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the Excellency
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of Carmel and Charon, Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, neither shall
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thy land any more be termed desolate. But thou shalt be called My Delight,
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and thy land Beulah. As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so
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shall thy God rejoice over thee. The coming of the Lord has been in
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all ages the hope of his true followers. The Saviour's parting promise upon alive
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that he would come again again lighted up the future for his disciples, filling
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their hearts with joy and hope that sorrow could not quench, nor trials dim
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amid suffering and persecution. The appearing of the Great God and our Savior,
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Jesus Christ was the blessed hope. When the Thessalonian Christians were filled with grief
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as they buried their loved ones who had hoped to live to witness the coming
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of the Lord, Paul, their teacher pointed them to the resurrection to take
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place at the Saviour's advent. Then the dead in Christ should rise and together
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with the living, be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
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And so he said, shall we ever be with the Lord? Wherefore comfort
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one another with these words On rocky Patmas, the beloved Disciple hears the promise,
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surely I come quickly, and his longing response voices the prayer of the
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Church in all her pilgrimage. Even so, come, Lord Jesus from the
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Dungeon mistake, the scaffold where saints and martyrs witnessed for the truth comes down
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the centuries, the utterance of their faith and hope, being assured of His
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personal resurrection and consequently of their own at his coming for this cause, says
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one of these Christians. They despised death and were found to be above it.
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They were willing to go down to the grave that they might rise free.
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They looked for the Lord to come from heaven in the clouds with the
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glory of his Father, bringing to the just the times of the kingdom.
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The Waldenseys cherished the same faith. Wickliffe looked forward to the Redeemers, appearing
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as the Hope of the Church. Luther declared, I persuade myself verily that
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the day of judgment will not be absent full three hundred years. God will
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not cannot suffer this wicked world much longer. The great day is drawing near,
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in which the kingdom of abominations shall be overthrown. This aged world is
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not far from its end, said Melanchthon. Calvin bids Christians not to hesitate
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ardently, desiring the day of Christ's coming as a all events most auspicious,
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and declares that the whole family of the faithful will keep in view that day.
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We must hunger after Christ, we must seek contemplate. He says,
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till the dawning of that great day, when our Lord will fully manifest the
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glory of his kingdom. Has not our Lord Jesus carried up our flesh into
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heaven, said Knox, the Scotch reformer, And shall he not return?
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We know that he shall return, and that with expedition. Ridley and Latimer,
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who laid down their lives for the truth, looked in faith for the
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Lord's coming. Ridley wrote, the world without doubt. This I do believe,
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and therefore I say it draws to an end. Let Us, with
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John, the Servant of God, cry in our hearts unto our Savior Christ.
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Come, Lord Jesus, Come the thoughts of the coming of the Lord,
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said Baxter are most sweet and joyful to me. It is the work
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of faith and the character of his saints to love his appearing and to look
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for that blessed hope. If death be the last enemy to be destroyed the
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resurrection, we may learn how earnestly believers should long and pray for the second
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coming of Christ. When this full and final conquest shall be made. This
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is the day that all believers should long and hope and wait for, as
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being the accomplishment of all the work of their redemption and all the desires and
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endeavors of their souls. Hasten, o Lord, this blessed day. Such
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was the hope of the Apostolic Church, of the Church in the Wilderness,
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and of the Reformers. Prophecy not only foretells the manner and object of Christ's
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coming, but presents tokens by which men are to know when it is near,
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said Jesus, there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon,
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and in the stars. The sun shall be darkened, and the moon
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shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and
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the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see
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the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. The
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revelator thus describes the first of the sign to precede the Second Advent. There
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was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
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and the moon became as blood. These signs were witnessed before the opening of
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the nineteenth century. In fulfillment of this prophecy, there occurred in the year
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seventeen fifty five the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded. Though commonly
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known as the Earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of Europe,
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Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West
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Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway and Sweden, Great Britain
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and Ireland. It pervaded an extent of not less than four million square miles.
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In Africa, the shock was almost as severe as in Europe. A
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great part of Algiers was destroyed, and a short distance from Morocco, a
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village containing eight or ten thousand inhabitants was swallowed up. A vast wave swept
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over the coast of Spain and Africa, engulfing cities and causing great destruction.
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It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme violence. At
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Cadiz, the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high. Mountains,
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some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were,
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from their very foundations, and some of them opened at their summits, which
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were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being thrown
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down into the adjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains.
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At Lisbon, a sound of thunder was heard underground, and immediately afterward
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a violent shock threw down the greater part of that city. In the course
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of about six minutes, sixty thousand persons perished. The sea first retired and
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laid the bar dry. It then rolled in, rising fifty feet or more
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above its ordinary level. Among other extraordinary events related to have occurred at Lisbon
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during the catastrophe was the subsidence of a new key, built entirely of marble
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at an immense expense. A great concourse of people had collected there for safety
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as a spot where they might be beyond the reach of falling bruins. But
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suddenly the key sank down with all the people on it, and not one
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of the dead bodies ever floated to the surface. The shock of the earthquake
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was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the
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large public buildings, and more than one fourth of the houses in about two
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hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters and raged with such
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violence for the space of nearly three days that the city was completely desolated.
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The earthquake happened on a holy day, when the churches and convents were full
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of people, very few of whom escaped. The terror of the people was
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beyond description. Nobody wept, It was beyond tears. They ran hither and
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thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying
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miserricordia. The world's at an end. Mothers forgot their children and ran about,
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loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many rend the churches for protection.
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But in vain was the sacrament exposed. In vain did the poor creatures embrace
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the altars. Images, Priests and people were buried in one common ruin.
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It has been estimated that ninety thousand persons lost their lives on that fatal day.
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Twenty five years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the prophecy, the
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darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered this more striking was the fact
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that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed out in the Saviour's conversation
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with his disciples upon Oliver, after describing the long period of trial for the
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church, the twelve hundred sixty years of papal persecution, concerning which he had
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promised that the tribulation should be shortened, He thus mentioned certain events to precede
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his coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed.
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In those days after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and
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the moon shall not give her light. The twelve hundred sixty days or years
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terminated in seventeen ninety eight, a quarter of a century earlier. Persecution had
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almost wholly ceased following this persecution. According to the words of Christ, the
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sun was to be darkened on the nineteenth of May seventeen eighty. This prophecy
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was fulfilled almost, if not altogether alone, as the most mysterious and as
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yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind stands, the dark day of May nineteenth,
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seventeen eighty a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New
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England. An eye witness living in Massachusetts describes the event as follows. In
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the morning, the sun rose clear, but was soon overcast. The clouds
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became lowery, and from them black and ominous. As they soon appeared,
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lightning flashed, thunder rolled, and a little rain fell. Toward nine o'clock,
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the clouds became thinner and assumed a brassy or coppery appearance, and earth
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rocks, trees, buildings, water, and persons were changed by this strange,
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unearthly light. A few minutes later, a heavy black cloud spread over
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the entire sky except a narrow rim at the horizon, and it was as
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dark as it usually is at nine o'clock on a summer evening. Fear,
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anxiety, and awe gradually filled the minds of the people. Women stood at
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the door looking out upon the dark landscape. Men returned from their labor in
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the fields. The carpenter left his tools, the blacksmith his forge, the
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tradesman his counter. Schools were dismissed and tremblingly, the children fled homeward travelers
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put up at the nearest farmhouse. What is coming, queried every lippenheart.
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It seemed as if a hurricane was about to dash across the land, or
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as if it was the day of the consummation of all things. Candles were
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used, and hearth fires shone as brightly as on a moonless evening in autumn.
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Fowls retired to their roosts and went to sleep. Cattle gathered at the
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pasture bars, and load frogs peeped, birds sang their evening songs, and
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bats flew about. But the human knew that night had not come. Doctor
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Nathaniel Whittaker, pastor of the Tabernacle Church in Salem, held religious services in
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the meeting house and preached a sermon in which he maintained that the darkness was
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supernatural. Congregations came together in many other places. The texts for the extemporaneous
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sermons were invariably those that seemed to indicate that the darkness was consonant with scriptural
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prophecy. The darkness was most dense shortly after eleven o'clock in most parts of
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the country. It was so great in the daytime that the people could not
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tell the hour by either watch or clock, nor dine, nor manage their
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domestic business without the light of candles. The extent of this darkness was extraordinary.
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It was observed as far east as Falmouth. To the westward, it
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reached to the farthest part of Connecticut, and to Albany to the southward.
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It was observed along the sea coasts and to the north as far as the
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American settlements extend. The intense darkness of the day was succeeded an hour or
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two before evening by a partially clear sky, and the sun appeared, though
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it was still obscured by the black, heavy mist. After sundown, the
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clouds came again overhead, and it grew dark very fast. Nor was the
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darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that of the day. Notwithstanding
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there was almost a full moon. No object was discernible, but by the
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help of some artificial light, which, when seen from the neighboring houses and
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other places at a distance, appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness which seemed
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almost impervious to the rays. Said an eye witness of the scene. I
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could not help conceiving at the time that if every luminous body in the universe
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had been shrouded in impenetrable shades or struck out of existence. The darkness could
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not have been more complete. Though at nine o'clock that night the moon rose
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to the full, it had not the least effect to dispel the deathlike shadows.
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After midnight, the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible,
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had the appearance of blood. May nineteen, seventeen eighty stands in history
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as the dark Day. Since the time of Moses, no period of darkness
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of equal density, extent, and duration has ever been recorded. The description
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of this event, as given by eye witnesses is but an echo of the
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words of the Lord recorded by the prophet Jewel twenty five hundred years previous to
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their fulfillment. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood
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before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. Christ had bidden
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his people to watch for the signs of his advent and rejoice, as they
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should behold the tokens of their coming king. When these things begin to come
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to pass, he said, then look up and lift up your heads,
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for your redemption. Draweth nigh. He pointed his followers to the budding trees
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of spring, and said, when they now shoot forth, ye see and
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know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise,
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ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that
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the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. But as the spirit of humility
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and devotion in the Church had given place to pride and formalism, love for
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Christ and faith in his coming had grown cold. Absorbed in worldliness and pleasure
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seeking, the professed people of God were blinded to the Saviour's instructions concerning the
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signs of his appearing. The doctrine of the Second Advent had been neglected,
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the scriptures relating to it were obscured by misinterpretation, until it was to a
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great extent ignored and forgotten. Especially was this the case in the churches of
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America. The freedom and comfort enjoyed by all classes of society, the ambitious
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desire for wealth and luxury begetting an absorbing devotion to money making. The eager
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rush for popularity and power, which seemed to be within the reach of all,
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led men to sen to their interests and hopes on the things of this
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life, and to put far in the future, that solemn day when the
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present order of things should pass away. When the Savior pointed out to his
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followers the signs of his return, he foretold the state of backsliding that would
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exist just prior to his second advent. There would be, as in the
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days of Noah, the activity and stir of worldly business and pleasure seeking,
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buying, selling, planting, building, marrying and giving in marriage, with
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forgetfulness of God and the future life. For those living at this time,
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Christ's admonition is take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be
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overcharged with servanting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day
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come upon you unawares. Watch ye therefore, and pray always that ye may
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be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and
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to stand before the Son of Man. The condition of the Church at this
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time is pointed out in the Saviour's words in the Revelation, Thou hast to
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name that thou livest and art dead. And to those who refuse to arouse
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from their careless security, the solemn morning is addressed, if therefore thou shalt
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not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt
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not know what hour I will come upon thee. It was needful that men
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should be awakened to their danger, that they should be roused to prepare for
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the solemn events connected with the close of probation. The Prophet of God declares,
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the day of the Lord is great and very terrible. And who can
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abide it? Who shall stand when he appeareth, Who is of purer eyes
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than to behold evil and cannot look on iniquity? To them that cry,
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my God, we know thee yet have transgressed his covenant and hastened after another
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God, hiding iniquity in their hearts and loving the paths of unrighteousness. To
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these, the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light, even
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very dark, and no brightness in it. It shall come to pass at
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that time, saith the Lord that I will search Jerusalem with candles and punish
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the men that are settled on their leaves that say in their heart the Lord
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will not do good, neither will he do evil. I will punish the
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world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. And I will
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cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness
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of the terrible. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver
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them. Their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation.
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The prophet Jeremiah, looking forward to this fearful time, exclaimed, I am
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pained at my very heart. I cannot hold my peace because thou hast heard
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O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war,
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destruction upon destruction is cried. That day is a day of wrath, a
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day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day
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of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day
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of the trumpet and alarm. Behold the day of the Lord cometh to lay
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the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
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In view of that great day, the Word of God, in the most
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solemn and impressive language, calls upon his people to arouse from their spiritual lethargy,
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and to seek His face with repentance and humiliation. Blow ye the trumpet
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in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the
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inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh, for
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it is nigh at hand. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly.
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Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation. Assemble the elders, gather the children.
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Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of
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her closet. Let the priests the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch
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and the altar. Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and
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with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your heart,
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and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. For
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he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.
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To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work
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of reform was to be accomplished. God saw that many of his professed people
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were not building for eternity, and in his mercy, he was about to
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send a message of warning to arouse them from their stupor and lead them to
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make ready for the coming of the Lord. This warning is brought to view
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in Revelation fourteen. Here is a threefold message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings,
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and immediately followed by the coming of the Son of Man to reap the
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harvest of the earth. The first of these warnings announces the approaching judgment.
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The prophet beheld an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the Everlasting
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Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation
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enkindred and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God and
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give glory to Him, for the hour of his judgment is come. And
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worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountains of
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waters. This message is declared to be a part of the Everlasting Gospel.
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The work of preaching the Gospel has not been committed to angels, but has
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been entrusted to men. Holy angels have been employed in directing this work.
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They have in charge the great movements for the salvation of men. But the
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actual proclamation of the Gospel is performed by the servants of Christ upon the earth.
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Faithful men who were obedient to the promptings of God's Spirit and the teachings
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of his Word were to proclaim this warning to the world. They were those
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who had taken heed to the sure word of prophecy the light that shineth in
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a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise. They had
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been seeking the knowledge of God more than all his treasures, counting it better
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than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. And
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the Lord revealed to them the great things of the kingdom. The secret of
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the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his
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covenant. Yet was not the scholarly theologians who had an understanding of this truth
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and engaged in its proclamation. Had these been faithful watchmen, diligently and prayerfully
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searching the scriptures, they would have known the time of night, the prophecies
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would have opened to them the events about to take place. But they did
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not occupy this position, and the message was given by humblermen. Said Jesus,
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walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. Those
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who turn away from the light which God has given, or who neglect to
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seek it when it is within their reach, are left in darkness. But
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the Savior declares, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
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shall have the light of life. Whoever is with singleness of purpose seeking to
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do God's will earnestly, heeding the light already given, will receive greater light.
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To that soul, some star of heavenly radiance will be sent to guide
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him into all truth. At the time of Christ's First Advent, the priests
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and scribes of the Holy City, to whom are entrusted the oracles of God,
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might have deserved the signs of the times and proclaimed the coming of the
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Promised One. The prophecy of Micah designated his birthplace Daniel specified the time of
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his advent. God committed these prophecies to the Jewish leaders. They were without
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excuse if they did not know and declare to the people that the Messiah's coming
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was at hand. Their ignorance was the result of sinful neglect. The Jews
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were building monuments the slain prophets of God, while by their deference to the
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great men of Earth, they were paying homage to the servants of Satan.
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Absorbed in their ambitious strife for place and power among men, they lost sight
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of the divine honors proffered them by the King of Heaven. With profound and
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reverent interest, the elders of Israel should have been studying the place, the
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time, the circumstances of the greatest event in the world's history, the coming
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of the Son of God to accomplish the redemption of man. All the people
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should have been watching and waiting that they might be among the first to welcome
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the world's redeemer. But lo at Bethlehem. Two weary travelers from the hills
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of Nazareth traversed the whole length of the narrow street to the eastern extremity of
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the town, vainly seeking a place of rest and shelter for the night.
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No doors are open to receive them. In a wretched hovel prepared for cattle,
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they at last find refuge, and there the Savior of the world is
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born. Heavenly angels had seen the glory which the Son of God shared with
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the Father before the world was and they had looked forward with intense interest to
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his appearing on earth as an event fraught with the greatest joy to all people.
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Angels were appointed to carry the glad tidings to those who were prepared to
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receive it and who would joyfully make it known to the inhabitants of the earth.
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Christ had stooped to take upon himself man's nature. He was to bear
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an infinite weight of woe, as he should make his soul an offering for
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sin. Yet angels desired that, even in his humiliation, the Son of
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the Highest might appear before men with a dignity and glows befitting his character.
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Would the great men of earth assemble at Israel's capital to greet his coming?
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Would legions of angels present him to the expectant company. An angel visits the
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earth to see who are prepared to welcome Jesus, But he can deserve no
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tokens of expectancy. He hears no voice of praise and triumph that the period
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of Messiah's coming is at hand. The angel hovers for a time over the
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Chosen City and the temple, where the divine presence has been manifested for ages.
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But even here is the same indifference. The priests and their pomp and
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pride are offering polluted sacrifices in the temple. The pharisees are with loud voices
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addressing the people or making boastful prayers at the corners of the streets, in
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the palaces of kings, in the assemblies of philosophers, in the schools of
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the rabbis. All are alike, unmindful of the wondrous fact which has filled
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all heaven with joy and praise, that the Redeemer of men is about to
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upon the earth. There is no evidence that Christ is expected, and no
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preparation for the Prince of life. In amazement, the celestial messenger is about
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to return to heaven with the shameful tidings when he discovers a group of shepherds
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who are watching their flocks by night, and as they gaze into the starry
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heavens, are contemplating the prophecy of a messiah to come to earth and longing
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for the advent of the world's redeemer. Here is a company that is prepared
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to receive the heavenly message, and suddenly the Angel of the Lord appears,
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declaring the good tidings of great joy. Celestial glory floods all the plain.
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An innumerable company of angels is revealed, and as if the joy were too
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great for one messenger to bring from heaven, a multitude of voices break forth
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in the anthem which all the nations of the saved shall one day sing glory
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to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men. Oh,
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what a lesson is this wonderful story of Bethlehem. How it rebukes our
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unbelief, our pride and self sufficiency. How it warns us to beware,
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lest by our criminal indifference we also failed to discern the signs of the times,
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and therefore know not the day of our visitation. It was not alone
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upon the hills of Judea, not among the lowly shepherds, only that the
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angels found the watchers for Messiah's coming. In the land of the Heathen,
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also were those that looked for him. They were wise men, rich and
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noble, The philosophers of the East, students of nature, the magi had
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seen God in his handiwork from the Hebrew scriptures. They had learned of the
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star to arise out of Jacob, and with eager desire they awaited his coming,
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who should be not only the consolation of Israel, but alight to lighten
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the gentiles and for salvation unto the ends of the earth. They were seekers
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for light, and light from the throne of God illumined the path for their
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feet. While the priests and rabbis of Jerusalem, the appointed guardians and expounders
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of the truth shrouded in darkness. The heaven sent star guided these gentile strangers
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to the birthplace of the new born King. It is unto them that look
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for him, that Christ is to appear the second time without sin, unto
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salvation. Like the tidings of the Saviour's birth, the message of the Second
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Advent was not committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed
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to preserve their connection with God and had refused light from heaven. Therefore they
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were not of the number described by the apostle Paul. But ye, brethren,
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are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.
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Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We
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are not of the night nor of darkness. The watchmen upon the walls of
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Zion should have been the first to catch the tidings of the Saviour's advent,
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the first to lift their voices to proclaim him near, the first to warn
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the people to prepare for his coming. But they were at ease, dreaming
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of peace and safety, while the people were asleep in their sins. Jesus
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saw his church like the barren fig tree, covered with pretentious leaves, yet
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destitute of precious fruit. There was a boastful observance of the forms of religion,
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while the spirit of true humility, penitence, and faith, which alone
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could render the service acceptable to God, was lacking. Instead of the graces
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of the spirit, there were manifested pride, formalism, vainglory, selfishness,
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oppression. A backsliding church closed their eyes to the signs of the times.
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God did not forsake them or suffer his faithfulness to fail, but they departed
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from Him and separated themselves from His love. As they refused to comply with
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the conditions, his promises were not fulfilled to them. Such is the sure
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result of neglect to appreciate and improve the light and privileges which God bestows.
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Unless the church will follow on in his opening providence, accepting every ray of
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light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into
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the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will disappear. This
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truth has been repeatedly illustrated in the history of the Church. God requires of
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his people works of faith and obedience corresponding to the blessings and privileges bestowed.
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Obedience requires a sacrifice and involves a cross. And this is why so many
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of the professed followers of Christ refuse to receive the light from heaven, And
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like the Jews of old, knew not the time of their visitation, because
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of their pride and unbelief. The Lord passed them by and revealed his truth
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to those who, like the Shepherds of Bethlehem and the Eastern Magi, had
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given heed to all the light they had received. End of Chapter seventeen.