The Second Coming, Imminent in 1944

I wonder if Ted Wilson, in his inaugural sermon, might have been less inclined to proclaim the imminent Second Coming if he had reviewed the following article by W. H. Branson.

from THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

by W. H. Branson

Vice-President of the General Conference

The leaders [of nations] denied God and the masses forgot Him That is how we have come to the present state of affairs...(Pilinakoff, Europe in the Fourth Dimension, p. 57)

Thus the apostasy is here in full bloom. And it serves as a clarion call to those who still fear God to prepare to meet Christ Jesus at His second coming. That great event is now at hand.

Other Great Signs

As the various Bible prophets were shown the conditions that were to exist in the world just prior to the return of Jesus, they recorded these in order that those who would be living at the time would recognize them as science of the end. Our space will permit only a brief and passing mention of these.

1. There would be signs and the heavens. Matthew 24: 29 These predictions were fulfilled in the dark day of 1780 and the falling of the stars in 1833.
2. There would be changes in the physical world. Hebrews 1:10-12, Luke 21:23-27.
3. Men would beget up to revelry and drunkenness, and would ignore the call to repentance. Luke 17: 26-30.
4. Many would amass great riches while others would be poor and hungry. James 5:1-8; Isaiah 8: 21, 22, R. V.
5. Knowledge would be increased. Daniel 12:4.
6. Spiritualism would lead man to depart from the true faith. 1 Timothy 4:1-3; Revelation 13:13-16.
7. A terrible fear would fill the hearts of men. Luke 21:25-27.
8. A great wave of crime would sweep over the earth, and the courts of justice would be impotent to deal with the situation. Isaiah 59:4-8, 14, 15; 2 Timothy 3:13.
9. Influenced by apostasy, men would scoff at those who declared these conditions to be signs of the coming Jesus. 2 Peter 3:3, 4.
10. The Papacy would be revived and would again persecute those who keep the commandments and have the faith of Jesus. Revelation 13:11-18.

Today these things are no longer matters of prophecy only. They stand revealed before our astonished eyes in all their completeness. They constitute the signs of the coming of the Son of man, and they speak to the world in clarion tones that His coming is now even at the door. The zero hour is at hand.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Centennial Special, 1844 - 1944, p. 35.