SoT1: Walther’s “Signs of the Times”> “The Lord is near!” (1851) Part 1 of 7

      The world was in turmoil in the mid-19th century, largely stirred up by socialists. A notable event during this time was the German government’s success at holding back the socialist instigators, so many of these went abroad, also to America, to start newspapers, for example the Illinois state newspaper, etc. (search “american newspapers started by the forty-eighters”) And during this time C. F. W. Walther did not shy away from addressing not only the anti-Christian nature of their ideology, but also the political fallout. 

      In 1878, Walther gave an extended series of lectures on the topic of this blog. These were assembled into a book, Communism and Socialism. And in 1881, Walther warned against the secular newspapers who were “fierce enemies of the Christian”.

      But decades before those warnings, in 1851, Walther found the perfect vehicle to relate the political side of the socialists from a political newspaper published in Washington D.C. This article is a prelude to the later ones. In fact the bulk of this article is an uninterrupted direct quote from this newspaper, with only a few footnotes added by Walther. The report is rather chilling, and shocks one to think that the turmoil of today, in America, was practically exceeded by the turmoil emanating from Europe, especially Germany, and planted in America. — This 2-part Der Lutheraner article was split across 2 issues. Walther introduces this to his Christian readers, then gives an extensive quote from a political newspaper, the bulk of the article. To give us the proper perspective as Christians, Walther tells us why we should be watching for the “Signs of the Times”… today. — From Der Lutheraner, vol. 7 (1851), pp. 83-85 (Jan. 21), 92-93 (Feb. 4) [EN]:

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Signs of the Times.

[by C. F. W. Walther]

“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red; and in the morning you say: It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and cloudy. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” 

Thus says our Lord, as we read Matt. 16:2-3. From this we see that although the Christian's true fatherland is heaven <page 84> and he wanders through this world as a pilgrim, as through a foreign land, his very calling as a Christian demands that he should not be indifferent to what is going on around him in the world, but should keep his eyes open to the great events of his time as he makes his way to his heavenly home. Holy Scripture, just as it has preserved for the Christian the whole past of the world with its course of development from the first day of its creation, has also opened up for the Christian the whole future of the world with the course of its activity until the Last Day of its existence. The Christian therefore has the sacred duty to observe attentively the state of things in this world and to compare it with the image of the future which is already held before his eyes in the mirror of the divine Word; in a word, it behooves him to seek out the "signs of the times" and to judge them wisely according to God's Word.

But if there has ever been a time that is rich in strange events, by which even the most stupid Christian eye can see in which time one lives according to God's Word, then this is the present time; and indeed rich in such events that call out loudly as with a voice of thunder into the hearts of Christians: “The Lord is near!” For centuries the faithful have been filled with ever more vivid hope that the great glorious day of the Lord is at the door; for centuries, as never before, the longing of Christians that the Lord will soon put a complete and eternal end to the ever increasing and ever more terrible ruin and misery in the world has become ever more burning; for centuries the cry of all God's children: "Yes, come, Lord Jesus!" has become ever more ardent and louder and more powerful. Who among our readers should not have heard words like these from one or the other old, pious member of his family: "If we do not experience it, then you, our children, our grandchildren, will experience it, that the last decisive, terrible battle of the kingdom of Hell and the world will break out against Christ and His own?"

It is true that what our pious fathers already expected to happen in the near future has still not happened; people are still eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting and building, so that it looks as if the world is only just beginning to live and have a good time on earth. Therefore the mocker of the Christian who still hopes and waits for the soon coming of the day of universal and perfect redemption laughs as a fool; yes, even not a few among the Christians have become drowsy since the bridegroom departed, have given room in their hearts to the thought: "Our Lord is not coming for a long time yet," and have not provided themselves with a sufficient supply of oil, so that when it should soon be said: "Behold, the bridegroom cometh," they can go to meet him with decorated lamps. But how? are they not among the foolish virgins? Is it not a cruel delusion to think of the Lord's promised return for the judgment of his enemies and the eternal glorious redemption of his own, because he has been awaited in vain by his own for so long? Must He not be all the closer now, the longer time of waiting for Him has already passed? 

And if all believers have already stretched out their arms to Him with trembling joy when they saw the signs of their time, what are we to do now that these signs are being joined in our days by ever more distinct and ever clearer ones? According to Scripture, one of the most important signs of the last days is complete apostasy in the midst of Christendom, reckless mockery and denial of God, the overthrow of all divine order in the world and the breaking of all holy bonds. The dear reader should only compare the following passages: 2 Pet. 3:3-15; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-4; Jude 17-21. etc. As, however, many of our readers, in their seclusion, may not suspect how dreadfully these prophecies of the Holy Scriptures are now being fulfilled, we may be permitted, in this and the next number, to communicate some of a correspondence contained in the political paper Der Zuschauer am Potomak, [The Spectator on the Potomac], published in Washington, District of Columbia, and edited by Mr. F. [Friedrich] Schmidt, which has already been advertised and recommended by Der Lutheraner. There, among other things, it says the following:

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      The only writing from Walther in the balance of this article comes in a few footnotes and a brief introduction to the second Der Lutheraner installment. Walther gave the floor to this political newspaper. — In the next Part SoT2…

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Part 1: this introduction; Walther’s “Signs of the Times” → “The Lord is near!” (1851)

Part 2: Socialist proposes to blow up entire cities; there is no God! Burn prayerbooks…

Part 3: Christ "the first Democrat”; “Christians now called Communists”

Part 4: Weitling and Marat: 'Peasant war' theology; "the next presidential election"

Part 5: Worker associations…transplants from Germany; “I am an atheist!”

Part 6: Weavers’ Song agitates; God, country, property — exterminate; list of U.S. newspapers

Part 7: Socialists: abolish country, religion, property, marriage