id seem to totter on the brink of time!'

"... There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not
filled at every instant with these falling stars, nor on it
could you in general perceive any particular difference in
appearance; still at times they seemed to shower down in
groups--calling to mind the fig tree, casting her untimely figs
when shaken by a mighty wind."--_Volume XXV (1834), p. 382._

[Illustration: THE SIGN OF FIRE

"As this sign of fire in the watchtower was a signal to God's people
anciently to flee from the coming danger (see Jer. 6:1), so the signs
appearing now in the heavens and in the earth are God's signals of
warning to the people of our day."]

A Sign to All the World

It was not in North America alone, but in all the civilized world, that
the attention of men was called to the prophetic word by the discussions
of this event. Thus the English scientific writer, Thomas Milner,
writing for the British public, spoke as follows of the profound
impression made:

"In many districts, the mass of the population were
terror-struck, and the more enlightened were awed at
contemplating so vivid a picture of the apocalyptic image--that
of the stars of heaven falling to the earth, even as a fig tree
casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
wind."--_"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 140._

So the sign in the heavens made its solemn appeal to all the world. It
brought to the multitudes who saw it, thoughts of God and the last great
day. An observer living at the time in Georgia, wrote, "Everybody felt
that it was the judgment, and that the end of the world had come."
Another, in Kentucky, wrote, "In every direction I could hear men,
women, and children screaming, 'The judgment day is come!'"

Rather, it was a signal that the hour of God's judgment was drawing
near. The signs so long foretold were appearing, one by one, to register
their enduring mark on the record of fulfilling prophecy.

Immediately following these times, there began an awakening concerning
the vital Bible doctrine of the second coming of Christ, which has grown
into the definite advent movement that is carrying the gospel message of
preparation for the coming of the Lord to every nation and tongue and
people.

The Sign of 1833 Emphasized by Other Displays

We have mentioned the fact that Humboldt had observed an extraordinary
fall of m