THE careless world asks this question; sleeping, sleeping on; arousing itself, it may be, at the cry of warning for a moment, and then sinking back into its dark death slumber. The sea and the waves are roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking for those things that are coming on the earth!
Watchman, what of the night?
Perhaps an answer from the Word at this season of the year may be seasonable, to any that have ears to hear.
The Lord Jesus divided the period between His rejection by the Jews as the Messiah and His coming again to take His Kingdom into four watches as of the night. He said to His disciples before His crucifixion: “For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master corneal, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what say unto you, I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13:34-3734For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:34‑37)). MAR 13:34-3734For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. (Mark 13:34‑37)
He takes the figure of the night, divided by the Jews into four watches (the first the even, from 6 to 9; the second the midnight, from 9 to 12; the third the cock-crowing, from 12 to 3; and the fourth the morning, from 3 to 6 a.m.), to figure the present period.
Jesus was the light of the world; He came into it, but was cast out of it. That was the beginning of the night. The disciples were not to know the hour of the Lord's return, hut were to watch. Reader, if this is so, and they were commanded to watch THEN, how much more should you and I NOW!
But is there any part of the Word of God whereby we may find out what is the present hour of the night? I believe there is. In the parable of the Ten Virgins we find that at midnight there was a cry made: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him" (Matt. 25). MAT 25
Reader, have you heard of late years the cry of the Lord's coming sounding in your ears? Then be sure the midnight watch is past, and there remains but the cock-crowing and the morning watches when the Lord may come? At the beginning of the nineteenth century the cry began, and it has sounded louder and louder ever since. The wise and the foolish virgins, that is, the professors of Christendom, are waking up, to see if they are ready for the approaching Bridegroom!
Reader, when does the morning star arise?
You answer: Before the sun.
We find, by astronomical calculations, that the morning star sometimes rises before the sun as much as 4 hours and 20 minutes, so that say the sun rises at 6 a.m., the end of the morning watch; the star would then rise at 1:40 a.m. If the sun rose at 4 a.m., this hour would only be 2 hours and 20 minutes previous.
Now, my reader, if we have sure proof that the midnight hour is past, oh how close are we to the coming of the Lord! It may be delayed, just like the morning star might rise 3 hours, 2 hours, or I hour before the sun; but come it will; and I ask you, my reader, Are you ready?
Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness, and He will display Himself in that character when He returns to the earth, burning up the wicked like stubble, and rising with healing in His wings to restore the remnant of Israel (Mal. 4). MAL 4 But before that day when He shall judge the world in righteousness, He will rise as the Morning Star, for His Bride, the heavenly Church. He will descend into the air, the dead in Christ will be raised, the living saints changed, and all caught away to meet the Lord in the air Thess. 4:16, 17). THE 4:16-17
Before another year is out, this wonderful event may have taken place! And oh, how wonderful! If it was wonderful for the Lord to rise as Man out from among the dead, whilst the rest of the dead were left behind; how wonderful for all the saints, from Abel downwards, to be raised in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye! “The rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were expired. This is the first resurrection" (Rev. 20:4, 54And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4‑5)). REV 20:4-54And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4‑5)
But if this is so wonderful and blessed for the saved, oh, how dreadful to be left behind unsaved for judgment when the Lord comes!
We read, “They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage; and the door was shut" (Matt. 25: 10). MAT 25:1010And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. (Matthew 25:10) The foolish virgins, the mere professors, were left outside for judgment, to hear the withering words,
“Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
In Egypt, on the Passover night, there was not a house where there was not one of the Egyptians dead. But how dreadful for the unsaved to find, one morning, that some saved husband had been taken away to glory from some unsaved wife or child, and they left behind to a, strong delusion to believe a lie! (2 Thess. 2:1111And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2 Thessalonians 2:11)). 2TH 2:1111And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2 Thessalonians 2:11)
Yes, dear unsaved reader, if you reject: Christ now, and resist the Holy Spirit, when.
Christ comes it will be all over with you!
What is the dark picture after that, during the short interval between the rising of the Morning Star and shining out of the Sun of Righteousness?
Listen! “Then shall that Wicked One be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion to believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:8-108And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:8‑10)). 2TH 2:8-108And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:8‑10)
Thus all hope will be past for the wicked rejecter of Christ in that day; he will be handed over to this strong delusion, to be destroyed with Antichrist, at the time of the rising of the Sun of Righteousness. Oh, my reader, flee to Christ NOW; whilst His blood cries for mercy! for then it will be unmitigated judgment.
A. P. C.
We must come as sinners to God, because we are sinners; and we can only come in virtue of the cross of Christ, which, while it was the fruit of God's love, puts away the sins of which we are guilty, and at the same time satisfies fully the claims of God's holiness.