Had you been alive and a mature Christian during the first 20 to 25 years of the 20th Century you would have heard preacher after preacher proclaiming confidently that the Lord’s return was imminent, many exclaiming quite emotionally, “He might well return tonight, brethren!” Billy Sunday, the most famous evangelist of that era, loudly and consistently proclaimed Jesus could return at any moment. In fact, He said the Lord’s return was imminent! (That was a hundred years ago, folks!) And many, perhaps most, would have believed Billy Sunday and his fellow preachers as they would have proclaimed “the signs are all here, brethren!” The signs?
1899-1901 over 9 million people died of famine in India
1918 Spanish flu epidemic 50-100 million dead, 3 to 5% of the world’s population
From 1899 to 1923 a major cholera outbreak originating in India spread to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia and Africa, killing over 800,000
April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake leveled 4 square miles of the city and 28,000 buildings. More than 3,000 died.
The hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas on September 8, 1900 was the worst natural disaster for the United States in the 20th Century. The city of Galveston was completely obliterated. 6,000 to 12,000 dead.
World War I, July 28, 1914 to November 1, 1918, 20 million dead.
Time after time, decade after decade, preachers have ignored many plain and clear scriptures, proclaiming “this is the time of the end.” And now, nearly a quarter of a century of the 21st Century has passed and they are still at it. “The rapture of the church could happen before this service ends this morning, brethren.” But could it?
Brethren, the signs were NOT all there in Billy Sunday’s day, nor were they all there in Billy Graham’s day. And they still aren’t there today! Do YOU know all the signs to look for? Are you sure? To be continued……
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley