Page 58 - 18 An American Reformer

church; when the marriage bells are chiming,

and all are looking forward to many years of

worldly prosperity—then, suddenly as the

lightning flashes from the heavens, will come

the end of their bright visions and delusive

hopes.

As God sent His servant to warn the world of

the coming Flood, so He sent chosen

messengers to make known the nearness of

the final judgment. And as Noah's

contemporaries laughed to scorn the

predictions of the preacher of righteousness,

so in Miller's day many, even of the professed

people of God, scoffed at the words of

warning.

And why were the doctrine and preaching of

Christ's second coming so unwelcome to the

churches? While to the wicked the advent of

the Lord brings woe and desolation, to the