Almost a thousand years before Christ a voice cried to the watchman-prophet “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” The Watchman answered: “The morning cometh and also the night” (Isa. 22:11, 1211Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. 12And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: (Isaiah 22:11‑12)). They wanted to know what time it was. And so today the godly, who believe in the Word of God, Who believe all that the prophets have spoken, want to know what time it is. This question is fully answered in the New Testament.
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:1212The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)). These words were written about nineteen hundred years ago. They were an answer to waiting believers in apostolic days, who asked “what time is it?” The answer is even more true and sure in the twentieth century. Our generation, more than any previous one, can shout triumphantly — “the night is far spent, the day is at hand!” Let us look at the meaning of these words.
The condition of the age in which we live is night. This present age began with night. The Light of the World had come from heaven to earth to give light, and to scatter with His light the darkness of sin. He shone forth into the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:55And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:5)). The Light of the World is the Creator of all, the Son of God. “He was in the world, and the world Was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:10,110He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. (John 1:10)
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)). The Life and the Light was rejected by the world, by Jew and Gentile. Satan, the prince of this world, on account of it became “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:44In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:4)). Satan being the prince and the god of this age, has his throne in this age, the age is controlled by him, and therefore lieth in the wicked one (1 John 5:1919And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)). Under Satan’s dominion the age can be nothing else but night. It began in night; it continues in night, and the age ends in night.
But many voices are raised against such a view. It is not believed in nominal Christendom that this age is night. The common belief is that the age becomes brighter and better every year. They tell us of the better physical conditions. They point to the use of electricity, to the great transformations in communication, the telegraph, the telephone and the wonders of the radio. They speak of the transformations in transportation, the railroads, the steamships and now commercial aerial navigation. They mention the great discoveries and inventions, the better sanitary conditions, the conquest of certain diseases, and other things, as evidences that the age is not night, but is making constantly for a better day. In believing this they reject the plain and simple revelation written in the Word of God. A blind man does not know the difference between noon and midnight. Alas! the mass of professing Christians who are blind and blinded, who think it is day, when it is night!
The question is not about physical progress, but what about the things of God? God is not concerned about what man does with the telescope, the microscope, and how he succeeds in higher education and learning. God is concerned about man’s attitude towards His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Is this age accepting Him as the only Saviour? Is the age giving Him the rightful place by trusting in His blood, accepting His salvation and walking in the light? Is there, as the result of true faith in the Son of God, a constant increase in righteousness and holiness, a turning away from sin, from the world with its pleasures and greed for money? Is there more true, spiritual worship on earth.?
Alas! as God looks upon this world He sees it very dark. He sends forth His angels to walk to and fro in the earth and they come back to heaven and bring the report, “It is night down there,” for He, whom angels worship and obey, as their Lord, is rejected and by the world disowned.
We look to the lands of heathendom. How dense the night there. The “International Missionary Council” held in Jerusalem recently, declared that there is good in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. Oh, ye blind leaders of the blind! The systems you mention are religions, but they are invented religions, as ye modernists try to invent a “new religion.” Behind it all lurks the dark shadow of the prince of this world. Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism may place Christ on the same level with Buddha Gautama, or speak of blind and miserable Gandhi as being like Christ; or put Christ into the same category with Mohammed, Zoroaster and Confucius. But to acknowledge Him as the pre-eminent Lord, this they refuse to do. Look at heathen darkness! Look at vile India with its disgusting and degrading religious customs! Look at Islam with its licentiousness! Look at China with its never decreasing child murder! Yes, a thousand millions of human being are in the night of heathendom. De-Christianized modernism with its vain efforts to bring “Western Civilization(?)” to heathen religions only increase the darkness.
It is night in professedly Christian nations, like the United States, Great Britain, Germany, the Scandinavian countries, Italy, Spain and others. Look at the night of Romanism! Millions are half pagans, for Romanism is pagan-Christianity. Instead of worshipping the Lord, the Son of God, they worship the virgin Mary; instead of praying to the living Christ, they ask dead saints to intercede. Rome is truly the mother of ignorance, and she can only keep her unscriptural pretensions and authority, by keeping the masses in darkness as to the Gospel of our salvation. It is night there.
Still darker is the night when we turn to apostate Protestantism. Thousands upon thousands turn their ears away from the truth, and under the leadership of false prophets, they listen to fables. Modernism with its boasting of new light, is darkness and leads into endless night. With its denials of the Christ of God, His sacrificial work as our sin-bearer, it is in part responsible for the moral conditions of our times. These conditions of professing Christians, those who have the form of godliness, and deny the power thereof, are predicted in 2 Timothy 3:1-51This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1‑5). In spite of reformers and religious leaders, who try to better the age by legislation, there is an increase of law-breaking and lawlessness. Lovers of themselves, lovers of money and lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, is the divine description of the mass of lifeless church-members. Surely morally it is night in eh ilized countries. And in that night you have the dreams and visions of the sleepers. They dream of a war-less world, of a union of all nations, of outlawing certain evils, of banishing ignorance and superstitions. Yes, there are many golden dreams the sleepers have, especially their sleeping leaders. But there is coming a terrible awakening, When they discover — it is night.
Some time ago I had to be out in the night and walk a long distance, several miles. It was a cold walk, a lonely walk, and a dangerous walk. The night-air was chilly; it was penetrating. I had no companion; I had to walk alone, looking up to the star-lit heavens, in silent fellowship with Him, whose watchful eye saw me walking through the night. It was a dangerous walk. I took the middle of the street, avoiding dark places, where some bandit, with a deadly weapon, might lurk, to spring upon me. And such is your walk and mine, fellow-believer. It is cold for us in this night and there is great danger that we become cold and transformed to this age. It is lonely, there is but little fellowship, but this should make our fellowship with Him more real. And it is a dangerous time, this night time. It is for us the time of trial and tribulation, affliction and suffering. As we walk with the Lord in separation, the lonely walk, we shall find out the truth of the prayer-words of our Lord, “the world hath hated them.” We must bear His reproach during the night of this age.