Is the 4th generation the last and are we living in the 4th generation? |

God promised Abraham's posterity the land of Canaan; but centuries must pass before they could enter upon their possession, “In the fourth generation, they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” The Amorites inhabiting the land of Canaan, were gradually bringing upon themselves the righteous judgments of God by their iniquity. When it was fully settled that they would not be brought under the control of God's government, and when they gave themselves up to work iniquity, bringing themselves to the most conspicuous idolatry, yet God spared them, for the full measure of guilt marking them for his vengeance, had not been reached. The iniquity of the Amorites must reach its fullness before God would send forth his mandate to destroy utterly. In the fourth generation God dispossessed them to make room for his people. Here we see the long suffering of God; he allows nations a certain probation, but there is a point where their accumulated guilt will meet its punishment. The Signs of the TimesJune 10, 1880