Appendix 2: “Armageddon” (an early Seventh-day Adventist hymn)

Hymns for Advent Believers Who Observe the Sabbath of the Lord
published by James White
(Rochester, New York, 1852), pp. 23, 24.

BV375 .S3 W481 Songbook_p23 copy

BV375 .S3 W481 Songbook_p24 copy

 Notes

  • This hymn is referred to in Appendix 1: the Battle of Armageddon (an essay) under “Seventh-day Adventist Views”.
  • The early Adventists understood that Armageddon was the climactic struggle between the forces of Christ and those of Satan at the Second Advent. This is in contrast to the oftentimes-held popular view that “Armageddon” is a great international war that will occur prior to the Second Advent. An article published October 18, 2014 in Bermuda’s online The Royal Gazette records this view that was popularized by politicians. Naturally it was adopted by a public, unfamiliar with the context in Revelation 16. It was Winston Churchill who called the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo, “the dread signal of Armageddon.” The young assassin was from Serbia, then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Consequently, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The Great Powers then entered the war, taking different sides. (For a variety of denominational interpretations of the word “Armageddon” and its Biblical context see Wikipedia, art. “Armageddon.”)
  • Although I have identified this hymn as Seventh-day Adventist, I must acknowledge that the denomination was not formally known as such until 1863.
  • The poetical metre is 8.8.8.8.8.8 (The tune recommended by James White is unknown to me, but those interested might experiment by singing it to any hymn tune with that metre. See the Metrical Index of Tunes in any modern hymnal.)