Date: May 19, 1780 - The Dark Day
Quotations from the writings of Ellen G. White with the phrase . . .
| May 19, 1780 - the Dark Day |
| Twenty-five years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the prophecy -- the darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed out. In the Saviour's conversation with His disciples upon Olivet, after describing the long period of trial for the church,-- the 1260 years of papal persecution, concerning which He had promised that the tribulation should be shortened,-- He thus mentioned certain events to precede His coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed: "In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light."Mark 13:24. The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased. Following this persecution, according to the words of Christ, the sun was to be darkened. On the 19th of May, 1780, this prophecy was fulfilled. Great Controversy, page 306.1 |
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| "Almost, if not altogether alone, as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind, . . . stands the dark day of May 19, 1780, -- a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England."-- R. M. Devens, Our First Century, page 89. {GC 306.2} |
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| May 19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the time of Moses no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration, has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as given by eyewitnesses, is but an echo of the words of the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to their fulfillment: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31. Great Controversy, page 308.1 |
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| These signs have appeared. On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened. That day is known in history as "the dark day." In the eastern part of North America, so great was the darkness that in many places the people had to light candles at noonday. And until after midnight the moon, though at its full, gave no light. Many believed that the day of judgment had come. No satisfactory reason for the unnatural darkness has ever been given, except the reason found in the words of Christ. The darkening of the sun and the moon was a sign of His coming. {SJ 176.3} |
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| "Almost if not altogether alone as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind, . . . stands the dark day of May 19, 1780, -- a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England." That the darkness was not due to an eclipse is evident from the fact that the moon was then nearly full. It was not caused by clouds, or the thickness of the atmosphere, for in some localities where the darkness extended, the sky was so clear that the stars could be seen. Concerning the inability of science to assign a satisfactory cause for this manifestation, Herschel the astronomer declares: "The dark day in North America was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which philosophy is at a loss to explain." {GC88 306.1} |
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| May 19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the time of Moses, no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as given by the poet and the historian, is but an echo of the words of the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to their fulfillment: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." [JOEL 2:31.] {GC88 308.2} |
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