THE No._____: ■ Second Coming of Christ; OR, THE IMPENDING APPROACH OF THE “RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS” (ACTS iii. 21.) BY THE “power and coming” THE GOD-MAN, “The LORD Jesus Christ.” (2 PET. i. 16.) SCRIPTURALLY, PHILOSOPHICALLY, AND HISTORICALLY DEMONSTRATED. BY Rev. R. C. SHIMEALL, MEMBER OF THE PBESBTTEBY OF N. Y. AUTHOR OF “ OUR BIBLE CHRONOLOGY “AN ILLUMINATED SCRIPTURAL CHART OF BIST., CHRON., GEOG., AND GENEALOGY;” UA CHART OF UNIVERSAL ECCLESIASTICAL history;” “watts’ scripture history enlarged;” “end of prelacy;’’ “a treatise on prayer;” ‘'THE unseen world,” eto., eto. NEW YORK: HENRY S. GOODSPEED & CO., PUBLISHERS, 37 PARK ROW. Rev. Geo. Lawrence, London, Ont. J. F. Riday 4P^TIJ(jston, Mass, F. Dewtng & Co., San Francisco. Bbadway & ANDRu£,%Ai&f)Pf?g^A. Cleveland Publishing Co., CleyeE^i^^Os Lit*— Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1873, by H. S. GOODSPEED, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 99 THE READER The subject involved in the Great Theological Question of the day in reference to the Second Coming of Christ, from its adaptation to the times we live in, more than any other, appeals to and demands*the serious consideration of every reflecting and unbiassed mind. This Treatise owes its origin to the absence of any work extant adapted to the wants of a numerous class of persons, both of the clergy and the laity, who have solicited of the writer a reference to such helps as were best calculated to aid their inquiries in these premises. Two requisites are indispensable to such a work. First. Freedom from all extraneous matter appertaining to this subject. Second. An exhibit of all the theories that have obtained in iv TO THE READER. the Christian Church from the early post-apostolic age to the present time. These must be carefully examined in the light of Scripture and of history, the readei* being left to decide for himself as to which is entitled—under the guidance of the Holy Spirit—to his adoption and belief. It will be well here to state, for the iDforma-tion of those not generally conversant with this subject, that the expositors who have already occupied this field, may be divided into the three following classes, viz.: I. Those technically called Ami-millenari-ans, who allege that the Millennium of Rev. xx. 1-6 is already Past. From this class of writers have originated three distinct Theories, which will be found explained i?P the Preface. II. The next class are called VosT-millenari-ans, who, though they maintain that the Millennium is still future, yet allege that the Second Personal Coming of Christ is Post -millennial. III. The third class are denominated Pre-millennialists. This class of writers, while they also hold that the Millennium is still future, yet affirm that the Second Personal Coming of Christ takes place before, and in order to the establishment of, the Kingdom of the Son of Man. TO THE READER. V The subjects discussed will be fouud free from all intricacy, even to the plainest mind. While in the “ Sequel to Our Bible Chronology/’ the various Theories which have obtained in the Christian Church are fully and candidly examined in the light of Scripture and of fact on their merits ■ the “ Reply to Rev. Prof. Shedd’s article on Eschatology/’ will be found to furnish a complete history of Millenarianism, Ancient, Mediseval, and Modern. All we ask of the reader is, that he will “ stand in the way, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein,” that he may “find rest for his soul” from the confusion and perplexity so prevalent on this momentous subject. * r. c s. •ADVERTISEMENT. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments speak of two comings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of two only, the first to suffer, and thus to become “ the AUTHOR of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him the second, “ the FINISHER ” of that salvation (Heb. v. 9 ; xii. 2). St. Paul alludes to them thus: “ Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many ; and unto them that look for Him, shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation{Heb. ix. 28.) Accordingly, of the forty-six prophets from “Enoch the Seventh from Adam " to the revelator St. John, who have spoken to us iv the name of the Lord, SIX ONLY, have prophesied of Christ's h "st coming, with allusions also to the second ; while the remaining FORTY predicted explicitly of His second coming. This volume presents to view all the theories that have obtained in the Church from early post-apostolic times, and then sets forth what the author maintains is the teaching of Holy Scripture on this momentous subject, and also furnishes a complete history of the doctrine, ancient, mediceval and modern. As to the time fixed in the purpose of God for Christ's second personal coming, the writer maintains that while that event is everywhere represented as IMMINENT, in the New Testament Scriptures, yet that it is the height of folly and a miserable delusion for any to presume to fix upon a definite period therefor. This pretence, as one of the leading features of Millerism, and which also affirms that time ends and eternity begins AT THE INSTANT^/ Christ's appearing, to be immediately followed by the universal conflagration of the globe we inhabit, the writer totally discards as mere fiction, finding no support therefor in the word of God. {See 2 Pet. iiu 5-8, 13; Rev. xx. 11; xxi. h 5·) These last named stupendous events, he maintains, transpire at the close of the millennial reign of Christ, as St. Paul says: “ Then cometh the end, when Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom {mediatorial) to God, even the Father. . . That He may be ALL in all.” (1 Cor. xv. 24-28Λ For proof, the reader is referred to the sequel. New York, Jan., 1873. CONTENTS. PAGE StrMMABY or Subjects . . . iii-xii Pbefaoe ....... xiii-xx An Appeal, respectfully addressed to the following clergy, selected as the Representatives of the Leading Evangelical Protestant Churches, on the Great Theological Question of the Day, viz.: Is the Second Personal Coming of Christ Pre or Poei-Mil-lennial? The Right Key. Hobatio Potteb, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of New York; the Rev. N. L. Rice, D. D.; the Rev. William Adams, D. D.; the Rev. T. E. Yebmilye, D. D.; the Rev. Edwabd Lathbop, D. D.; the Rev. John McClin-took, D. D.; the Rev. Henby Waed Beechee; the Rev. Chables Hodge, D. D., of the Princeton Theological Seminary ; the Rev. W. G. T. Shedd, D. D., of the Union Theological Seminary, N. Y.; the Rev. J. T. Bebg, D. D., of the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, N. J. . . . xxi-xxxi PART I. INTRODUCTION. Abstbact Testimony op the Holy Scbiptubes, begabding the Second Pebsonal Coming of Chbist. Section I. Doctrinal.—Old Testament.............83-89 New Testament...............................89-48 Section Π. Practical Uses of said Doctrine .... 48-53 viii CONTENTS. PART, II. An Examination of the Question—Is the Second Coming of Christ, and the Setting Up of His Kingdom, Past, Pbes-ent, ob Future? Preliminary Remarks—The most Prominent Theories that have obtained in the Church from Early Apostolic Times on this Subject.............................................. CHAPTER I. FIRST THEORY: MILLERISM. This Theory Alleges, that all the Prophecies which set forth the Restoration, Conversion, and Political Preeminence of the Two Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, or the Ten Tribes, were Verified by the Return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity. Introduction—Derivation of the Theory............... Section I. Alleged Independence of the Jews, after their Return from Babylon.................................... Section ΙΓ. Alleged Reconciliation of do. .... Section III. Alleged Spiritual Revivals which followed do.—Rebuilding of Temple—Restoration of Sacrifices, etc.—Objections—Answered...................................... Section IV. Further Objections—Silence of N. T. on the Future Return of the Jews................................. Section V. Argument drawn from the Alleged Differences of the Two Covenants, Gal. iv. 22-31—Examined and Refuted . CHAPTER II. BECOND THEORY: AS ADVOCATED BY GROTIUS, PRIDEAUX, PROF. GEO. BUSH, ETC. This Theory Alleges, that the Prophecies relating to the * Second Coming of Christ, and the Erection of the Millennial Kingdom, were fully Verified by the Overthrow of Paganism and the Establishment of Christianity in piqii 54-56 57-67 67- 68 68- 71 71-77 77 77-98 VINT CONTENTS. ix PAOB8 the Roman Empire, under Constantine the Great, in a. d. 323, as Founded upon Rev., chap. xx. 1-7. Their Arguments in Defence of, Stated.................99-107 Examined and Refuted...............................107-117 CHAPTER III. THIRD THEORY: AS ADVOCATED BY THE POPULAR WRITERS OF THE DAY. This Theory Alleges all the Prophecies relating to the Second Coming of Christ and the Establishment of His Kingdom in the World, to have been Verified by the Judgments Inflicted upon the Jewish Nation and Polity, at the Destruction of Jerusalem, etc., by the Roman Army under Titus, in a. d. 70, as Founded upon that Portion of Our Lord’s Prophecy contained in Matthew, chap. xxiv. 27-30. Quotations from................................................118-123 Their Arguments, etc., in Support of, Stated .... 123-126 Examined and Refuted, in Three Particulars .... 126-127 L The Figurative and Literal Theories of Interpretation . . 127-130 II. Reply to their Expositions, etc............................131-160 III. Direct Literal Interpretation of this Prophecy, taken in Connection with its Chronological Stand-points, etc. . . 160-182 CHAPTER IV. FOURTH THEORY. This Theory Alleges, that the Prophecies relating to the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Reign of Christ on Earth, Refer to the First Introduction and Establishment of the Christian Church; the Dispensation of which Merges into, Forms a Part of, and Ends with, the Close of the Millennial State; when, it is Affirmed, Christ will Personally Appear at the Judgment Day, and Simultaneously Raise from the Dead both the x CONTENTS. PAGES Righteous and the Wicked, when the One shall be Rewarded and the Other Punished, etc. Introductory Remarks—Difficulties—The Question Stated . . 182-185 First Thesis. Of the Alleged Identity of “ the Times of the Gentiles,” with the Christian Dispensation and the Millennial Era. Proof that these Two Eras are not Identical .... 185-188 Second Thesis. This Thesis Alleges, that the Christian Church, during “ the Times of the Gentiles,” is Identical with “ the Kingdom of Heaven”—“of God”—of “the Son of Man,” etc.; also that, Forming a Part, it is to Run Onward to the Close of the Millennial Era. Proof that the Christian Dispensation and the Millennial Era are Separate and Distinct...................................178-200 os£-millenarian clergyman, recently, “and I will adopt the millenarian view, that the second personal coming of Christ is /►re-millennial.” It results, therefore, First. That the only difference between the theory of Millerism and the current theology of the Church, on the subject of Christ’s XX PBEFACE. second personal coming is, that the latter insists there is to be a millennium before that event takes place. While, Second. True millenarianism maintains, against the Millerites, a future millennium of blessedness to the saved nations in the flesh; and against the popular view, that the second personal coming of Christ is not post, but jtwe-millennial. The writer has no ambition to be thought “ original ” in the production of this treatise, beyond what may be conceded of the method adopted in these discussions. While he acknowledges his obligations to both classes of expositors occupying the extensive field over which he has passed, to avoid encumbering his pages with lengthy quotations, he has preferred to adopt his own phraseology, for the most part, in availing himself of any suggestions or facts necessary to his purpose. May the Holy Spirit guide the inquiring mind into all truth, tor Christ’s sake. « Niw York, Jan., 1873. AN APPEAL, RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED TO THE FOLLOWING CLERGY, The Right Rey. Horatio Potter, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of New York. The Rev. N. L. Rice, D.D., Pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, cor. of 19th Street (Old School). The Rev. T. E. Vermilte, D. D., Associate Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church. The Rev. William Adams, D.D., Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Madison Square (New School). The Rev. John McClintock, D.D., Pastor of the St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church, Fourth Avenue. The Rev. Edward Lathrop, D.D., Pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, Second Avenue. The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn. The Rev. Charles Hodge, D. D., Professor in the Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey. The Rev. W. G. T. Shedd, D.D., Professor in the Union Theological Seminary, University Place, New York. The Rev. J. T. Berg, D. D., Professor in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church, Brunswick, New Jersey. Dear Brethren: The appeal here offered for your consideration, is prompted by no other motive than that of eliciting the truth, as connected with the subject discussed in this treatise. Nor do we feel that any apology is called for, other than what may be found in the nature and importance of the subject itself. As the professed “ ambassa- xxii AN APPEAL. dors ” of the Lord Jesus Christ, appointed to u watch for souls as they that must give account,”1 however diversified our ecclesiastical relations, positions, or circumstances, yet, in the matter of this appeal to you, we must be pardoned, if, for the nonce, we consider you as placed, one and all, on the common platform of that ministerial equality and responsibility, primitively applied to the college of the apostles, when reminded by their divine Lord and Master, “ AU ye are brethren.”3 Especially can no legitimate exception be taken to this at a time like the present, when we are in the midst of a signal movement, in high and responsible quarters, having for its object the expurgation of schism from the Church, under the motto (to use the language of the Rev. Dr. Dix, rector of Trinity Church, in his recent discourse on Church Union, delivered in the Congregational Broadway Tabernacle), “ we must have a union in the Church,” in conformity with “ a tmion of the States.” It is quite superfluous to add, reverend sirs, that the purport of this appeal implies that, on “ the great theological question of the day,” in reference to the second coming of Christ, to wit, “ Is it pre or is it jpostf-millennial ? ” you are the advocates of the latter hypothesis. That is, you all allege that that event is jpostanillen-nial. And hence, your unremitting efforts to head off the influence of the teachings of your jtwe-millennial opponents, in a form and manner somewhat as follows:—Either by your silence on the subject, or through the medium of the pulpit and the press, you labor to inculcate in the minds of your people, first, that to agitate this question of the second coming of Christ, etc., tends to promote sadness and melancholy, and to instigate the worst forms of fanaticism and delusion. Second. By telling them that it is a subject too remote to interest our inquiries. Third. By reminding them that the most learned and pious in the Church disagree among themselves, both as to the events of prophecy, and the time of their fulfilment; and that, therefore, it does not come within the range of legitimate inquiry. And finally, fourth, you are unremitting ip your endeavors, through both your public and private intercourse with your people, to infuse into their minds the idea, that it is a matter of indifference whether the second personal coming of Christ is to be pre or jtwwtf-millennial; and hence your inculcation of the sentiment, that preparation for death, which you allege 1 Heb. xiii. 17. 1 Matt, xxiti. 8. AN APPEAL. XXlll is identical with the second coming of Christ, is the great motive to be employed in urging men to faith, repentance, and a holy life. Hence my appeal to you. And in the first place, while we concede, reverend sirs, that there have sprung up in different ages of the Church, both ancient and modern, some of the worst forms of fanaticism and delusion on this subject, yet I appeal, whether they have not originated from the abuses of God’s prophetic word by ignorant, ambitious, and misguided men, rather than from the study of that word? Why, sirs, you may find a sprinkling of Millenarians in most of the Churches of which you are the distinguished representatives. There are the Right Rev. Bishop Southgate, Bishop Hopkins, of Vermont, Bishop McRvaine, of Ohio, the Rev. S. H. Tyng, D.D., and the Rev. Francis Vinton, D.D., of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. C. K. Imbrie, D.D., the Rev. Dr. McCartee, and others, of the Presbyterian Church; and the Rev. Drs. Gordon and Demar rest, with others, in the Reformed Dutch Church, etc., etc.; all of them in high repute for their learning, position, piety, and zeal. Do you account these as the subjects of fanaticism and delusion ? Then, second. In regard to the alleged remoteness of that event, we appeal. Now, what if it should turn out that, instead, it is “ nigh at hand, even at the doors ? ” On this point, we admit that it savors of the most rampant fanaticism for any to pretend, as did Mr. Wm. Miller, that we can determine the “ day and hour ” of that event, concerning which Jesus declared, that “ no man knoweth, no, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.”1 Yet, we appeal. Has not God, in infinite condescension and mercy, been pleased to make known to the Church, through the combined medium of the chronology of prophecy and the concurrent “ signs of the times,” the period about when it may be expected ? Why, reverend sirs, your own theory claims to do this. As jpostf-millenarians, you tell us that it is to take place at the end of “ the times of the Gentiles,” which, you say, transpires at the “ delivering up ” of the millennial kingdom by the Son to the Father, upon the close of that era. But, we repeat, should it turn out that “ the times of the Gentiles ” close before, instead of at the end of that period: in other yords, that these are two separate and distinct dispensations; then it will follow that, as the second personal coming of Christ is to take place at the end of 1 Matt. xxiv. 3A AN APPEAL. xxiv “ the times of the Gentiles” your alleged theory of the remoteness of that event will prove to be fallacious. We request your special attention to this point, as discussed in this sequel. On one cardinal point, then, reverend sirs, we are agreed, to wit, that at “ the time of the end,” 1 (i. e., the end of “ the times of the Gentiles,”) the previously veiled vision,a though it was to extend over a long and dreary season of moral darkness and desolation, yet at last was destined to “ speak, and not lie.” * And for what, pray ? Why, that the faithful in Christ Jesus who believe in, and are watching and praying for “ the coming of the Lord,” when they shall see “ the things ” spoken of as “ signs ” of the proximate realization of their faith and hope, begin to come to pass in concurrence with the chronology which pointed them out, they might “ look up and lift up their heads ” at their approaching “ redemption.” (Compare Daniel xii. 12,13 with Luke xxi. 25-36.) While on the other hand, of the “ scoffers of the last times,” who, “walking after their own lusts,” shall exclaim, “Where is the promise of His coming f for since the fathers have fallen asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation,” shall cry, “ peace and safety,” then shall sudden destruction come upon them as a woman in travail, and they shall not escape.” 4 Besides, reverend sirs, does not the Apostle say, in addition, “ But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness ? ”6 But this knowledge of the proximate coming of the Lord, I . need not inform you, reverend sirs, involves much of careful, prayerful, diligent, laborious, and persevering “ inquiry and searching of what,” as to the events of prophecy, “ and what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in the old prophets did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”4 Here, reverend sirs, is a door open for «e(/*-appeal. Have we done this ? If not, why ? As those who are appointed to “ watch for souls as they that must give account,” what excuse have we to offer ? And now, Third. As to the alleged disagreement among the most learned and pious expositors of projtfiecy. On this subject, reverend sirs, we appeal, that, even admitting this to be so, does it justify us in * Dan. xii. 0. * lb. vereee 8, 9. · Habak. ii. 1-8. * 2 Pet ILL 4; 1 Theee. T. 3. • 1 Theee. v. 4,6. · 1 Pet L11 AN APPEAL. XXY the neglect to study God’s prophetic word—that “ more sure word of prophecy ” concerning which St. Peter tells us that u we all do well to take heed, as unto a light which shineth in a dark place; ” aye, and to continue to do so, “ until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in our hearts ? ”1 How otherwise can we hope to reap the fruits of that apocalyptic benediction—“ Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein ? ”a How, to “fully preach the Gospel of Christ,”8 bringing out of the exhaustless u treasury of God’s word things both new and old” for the instruction and edification of the Lord’s people, “ that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus ? ”4 But, reverend sirs, we must beg to demur to this averment. True, expositors on both sides of this “ great theological question of the day,” do differ in their interpretations of it. We affirm, however, that, so far as Millenarians are concerned, these differences relate not so much to the detailed events of prophecy, as to the chronology of those events. In regard to the first—the events predicted, we venture to affirm that, within the last half century, and particularly within the last twenty-five years, there has existed greater harmony of views among the learned anc^ pious who have written on this subject, than on any other mooted question in the entire range of the cardinal doctrines of Christianity. And as to the second—the chronology of prophecy, their variations on the whole predestined period of six thousand years from the creation and fall to the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” do not exceed more than about ten years; while the more exact of them—and they are by far the larger number—agree to within from one to four years. The fact is, Millenarians do not pretend to infallibility as interpreters of God’s word. And so, some few of them, at least, either from a partial acquaintance with the subject, or a neglect to properly discriminate between things which differ, have contributed not a little, as we have remarked in the preface, to perplex the minds of inquirers. But, after all, what is the chaff to the wheat f saith the Lord.* And is it not, we submit, a fearful thought, ip, perchance, the very errors which originate in the infirmities of the Lord’s servants, should be designed, in His all-wise providence, as a test of our fidelity in “ searching the Scriptures daily, whether these things be so,”e and, in case of our neg* 12 Pet. L1Θ. 2 Rev. i. 3. 8 Rom. xv. 10. * Compare Matt. xili. 62 with Col L 28. 8 Jer. xxlli 28. 8 Acte xviL 11. xxvi AN APPEAL. Cect to do this, to “ blind the minds ”1 of those who, on the ground of the above pretext, reject the truth? We pass to the next article. Fourth. In regard to the plea, that it is a matter of indifference whether the second coming of the Lord is pre or j?os£-raillennial. On this subject we appeal. Are not the best, the dearest interests of the Church and people of God, dead and living, and the solemn destinies of an impenitent and ungodly world for time and for eternity, involved in, yea, bound up with that momentous event, the judgment-coming of the Lord ? Why, reverend sirs, what saith the Apostle John ? “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know, that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”8 That is, as St. Paul declares, that then, “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.” For what ? Why, to “ change the vile bodies ” of those who “ sleep in Him,” that they “ may be made like unto His own glorious^ body,’” and that “the dead in Christ may rise first” Nor this only. For the Apostle adds: “ Then, we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord”* And, on the other hand, Christ will then “be revealed from heaven in flaming fire with His mighty angels,”—for what ? Why, to “ take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.”4 Now if, reverend sirs, these and the like events are to accompany the second coming of Christ, how can it be said to be a matter of indifference whether that event is to be pyre or joostf-millennial ? For it is certain that, IF, as we have said, that event turns out to be jwe-millennial—and this, mark, depends entirely upon the question whether or not “ the times of the Gentiles ” be a dispensation totally separate and distinct from the millennial era, and to which we have asked your special attention—then it follows, that all those splendidly glorious and awfully terrific events, instead-of being remote from the pres* ent generation, are “nigh at hand? yea, “even at our doors” » 2 Cor. iii. 14; iv. 4; 2 These, ii. 11. * 1 John ill. 2. » Compare 1 These, iv. 13-17 with Philipp, iii. 21. « 2 These. 17-101 AN APPEAL. XXVU You must, therefore, pardon me, reverend sirs, if I affirm on this point, that with me it is an article of faith that your individual salvation and mine, with all others of this day, depends upon our being right in this matter. It is only to those “ who,” in faith and hope, “ look for Him,” that “ He will appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” 1 And finally, in regard to the other plea—the urging of death, as the great motive to faith, repentance, and a holy life, etc. Now, reverend sirs, we appeal, can there be, in the light of Holy Scripture, a fallacy, yea, a delusion, more at variance with the plainest teachings of Christ and His apostles ? This is not the place to argue the point in hand. We therefore respectfully refer you to Part I. of this treatise, under the head of the second thesis—the 'practical tendencies of the scriptural doctrine of the second coming of Christ, in proof that the great motive to repentance, to the love of Christ and of one another, to mortifying of sinful lusts, to general obedience and holiness of heart and of life, to works of mercy, to watchfulness, to moderation and sobriety, to patience and long-suffering under trial, and, though last, not least, to ministerial fidelity and diligence in their vocation—in a word, to the exercise of every Christian virtue, is not death, but a preparation “ to stand before the Son of Man ” at his coming.* And, reverend sirs, we appeal, is not the reason of this most obvious ? The second coming of Christ, in all ages, has constituted the faith and hope of the Church, both on earth and in heaven. Why, reverend sirs, are you not aware—and if not, should you not be aware— that out of the forty-one prophets who have spoken to us in the Old and New Testaments, only six of them foretold of the first coming of Christ, and that these six impliedly, that is, with greater or less distinctness, refer also to that event; while all the others, in almost numberless places, and in every variety of form, predict in the most positive terms the second coming of Christ ? Again. Are you not also aware—and if not, ought you not to be aware—that the scope of prophecy, spanning, as it does, the entire period of the predestined six thousand years from the creation and fall to the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” points the eye of faith to the second personal coming of Christ ? And that hence, while all the Old Testament saints “ died in the faith ” of that event as “ seeing it afar off,”8 those of the New Testament, im« * Heb. ix. 27,28. 2 Luke xxl 86. « Heb. xi. 13. XXV111 AN APPEAL. mediately upon their conversion, being pointed to it as imminent, “ Looked for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, even our Saviour, Jesus Christ?”1 and that, “ loving His appearing,” 31 they hastened unto the coming and kingdom of God,” * prompted by the “ desire to depart and to he with Christ, which is far better.” But, reverend sirs, having said thus much, we must here further add, by the way, that the times we live in are portentous of the most stupendous events, alike in the national, political, civil, social, and ecclesiastical departments of the State and of the Church. “ There are now signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves are now roaring,” while “men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth; for the powers of heaven are now being shaken,” * and that in a manner and to an extent never before known in the history of the world. And what can these earthquake upheavings and revolutions in the Church, and among the nations, kingdoms, empires, and states of “ the wide, wide world ” indicate, if they be not a verification of that prophecy in Ezekiel, chap. xxi. 21—“ I will overturn, overturn, overturn it”—that is, the state or condition of the world as at present constituted—“ and it shall he no more, until He come whose right it is : and I will give it Him.” (See Dan. ii. 35, 44; and vii. 11-14.) Does it not then become those who claim to be the “ambassadors” of the Lord Jesus Christ—the “ watchmen ” placed upon the ramparts of the Church of this day, to “ see ” to it “ that we refuse not Him that speak-eth: for if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the earth: but now, He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made; that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” ‘ * Titueii.13. * 2 Tim. iv. 8. 1 2 Pet. lit. 12. « Philipp, i. 28. AN APPEAL. XXIX Ah yes, reverend sirs. “ Our God ... a consuming fire.” We should not forget this. Surely, if that self-denying, faithful, suffering, inspired, and miracle-working Paul said, “ I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest, by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway,”1 it becomes us to keep this his example before us, if we would escape the “ consuming fire ” of God’s wrath against the act of ministerial unfaithfulness above indicated. Nor can we suggest a more timeous and effective motive to this than that we turn to, and ponder over, that tremendously awful picture of ministerial responsibility for the proper use or abuse of the talents committed to our trust, so graphically depicted in the prophecy of Ezekiel, chap, xxxiii. verses 1-9. “ The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of Man, speak to the children of my people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon the land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman; if, when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then, whosoever heareth the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning: his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity ; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” “ So thou, 0 Son of Man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouthy and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, 0 wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, e/thou warn the wicked from his way, to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” Now, reverend sirs, here is a plain parallel drawn, first, between the exposure of the children of Israel to the danger of the literal “ sword,” in the destruction of their bodies; and the spirit· ualy in destroying their souls. Second. Between the duties and 11 Cor. lx. 27. XXX AN APPEAL. responsibilities of the two classes of “ watchmen,” when they see the swords coming upon them. And third. The equity of the divine procedure, as hypothecated of the faithfulness or unfaithfulness of the “ watchmen,” in their giving or withholding the needful warning. And what a fearful alternative! If warned, and the “ people take the warning, they live: and “ the souls of the watchmen are delivered. If not warned, the people shall die in their iniquity, but their blood will be required at the watchman's hand!" Now, reverend sirs, you will doubtless agree with us, that there is an exact analogy between the above parallel of the children of Israel and their watchmen, and the relations, duties, and responsibilities of the Christian ministry to the people of this day. In regard to the coming of the literal sword, did not Jesus warn the Jews, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains,” 1 etc. But, on the principle that to be forewarned is to be forearmed, we are not only to do this in times of national calamities, but especially in seasons of spiritual decay, abounding iniquity, waxing coldness, and the exposure of the professing people of God to the errors, heresies, schisms, and superstitious delusions thence arising, are we called upon to be “ armed with the whole armor of God"9 and to “ warn every man, and teach every man in all wisdom,” 9 by “earnestly contending for that faith once delivered to the saints,”4 and especially that article of faith which respects the second personal coming of the Lord Jesus, “ that we may present every man perfect in Him.”6 But, reverend sirs, on the subject of this fundamental article of the Christian faith—“ the great theological question of the present day”—we are unhappily at issue. We repeat, you maintain that that event is jpostf-millennial; we, on the other hand, maintain that it is jwe-millennial. The difference between us, therefore—inasmuch as we must both admit, as. I have said, that the best and dearest interests of all men for time and for eternity are involved in the question of the time of the second coming of Christ, whether it be pre or jpostf-millennialthe difference between us involves HERESY on this subject, either on your part, or on mine. There is, reverend sirs, no evading this alternative- 1 Luke XX. 20, 21. a Eph. vi. VL « Col. i. 28. * Jude v. 3. · CoLL 28. AN APPEAL. XXXI Finally, reverend sirs, we can only repeat, that, in tendering to you this appeal, we do it with no feelings of personal disrespect to any of you. So far from it, from your acknowledged eminence in scholarship, in the prominence of your respective positions in the Church of Christ as learned divines, and in view of that unbounded influence which you have long wielded and still continue to wield over the minds of all brought within your reach, personally and throughout the whole Church, we yield to you, as we are in duty bound, all due honor. But our deep conviction is, that the time has fully come when there can be no further evading of this “ great theological question of the present day,” as to whether the second personal coming of the Lord is to be pre or y?o$£-millen-nial. It must be met, and discussed on its own merits. We have fairly opened the way for you to do so in this “ Sequel to Our Bible Chronology, historic and prophetic,” etc. We suppose that all of you, or the most of you, have that work in your libraries. Take the two together. Carefully canvass the several theories, which we have scripturally, historically, and philosophically examined on this subject. If we are wrong, point it out, and we pledge ourself to recant. If we are right, though we know how hard it is to confess that one is in error, yet, for the sake of truth, have the magnanimity to confess it. The whole Church will applaud you for it: while each and all of you will have the pleasure to reflect that you will have thrown the weight of your combined influence in the scale of truth, in preparing the people of this generation “ to stand before the Son of Man at His appearing and kingdom.” I remain, reverend sirs, Yours, in Christ, R. C. Shimeall, Member of the Presbytery of New York. New York, No. 371 West 35th street. EXTRACTS -TESTIMONIES TO CHRIST’S SECOND COMING. “ We affirm that the Redeemer’s second appearing is the vert Polar-star of the Church. That it is 90 held forth in the New Testament, is beyond dispute."—{Christ's Second Coming: by the Key. David Brown, of St. James's Free Church, Glasgow.) This writer is a Γοβτ-mZ- “ As an incentive to repentance and holiness to sinners—as a motive to watchfulness, prayer, zeal, and diligence on the part of Christian ministers and people—more prominence is given to it [the Saviour’s Second Coming] in the pages of the New Testament than to any other. The apostles never failed to give point and pungency to their warnings and exhortations, by solemn reference to the certainty and suddenness of the Lord's coming."— (Bishop Henshaw on the Second Advent.) This writer was a Pee -mil· lenarian. “ This was the great theme on which St. Paul dwelt, to animate the first Christians in their trials, and to console them in their afflictions. ... It [the Second Coming of Christ] is the principal topic of the Apocalypse of St. John; and to this he especially directs the attention of the first Christians." —{VeryBex. J. Baptist Pagani’s End of the World.) A Roman Catholic writer. “ Our looUng at Christ's Second Coming as at a distance,”—the very altitude and sin of the Church generally of this day—“ is the cause of all those irregularities which render the thought of it terrible to us." (Matthew Henry, Com. on Luke xii. 46, 46.). MOSES* ROD TURNED INTO PART 1. INTRODUCTION. , Abstract Testimony of the Holy Scriptures, regarding the Second Personal Coming of Christ * » The great central truth, around which, like the planets around the sun, all the others revolve, is, “ God manifest in the flesh,”1 in both His Humiliation and Exaltation.3 It “ became Him first to suffer, before He could enter into His glory.”* It is the latter subject, with which we are more immediately concerned in the following treatise. We shall, in dependence upon the grace of God, seek to know what is “ the mind of the Spirit,” in relation to the second personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as an abstract scriptural truth, by presenting it to view in its twofold aspect, doctrinal and practical. SECTION I. DOCTRINAL. I. On this part of the subject, our quotations must be limited, for want of space, to the most prominent and pertinent proof-texts, only observing, by the way, that the doctrine of Christ’s 8 11 Tim. ill. 18. »1 Pet. 1.11. 1 Luke xvli. 25; xxiv. 98. u SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. second coming is not confined to any one part of Scripture. We begin with The Old Testament. Sir Isaac Newton, who wrote an elaborate work on the prophecies, has well said, that “ there is scarcely a prophecy of the Old Testament which does not in something or other relate to the second coming of Christ.” Let us apply this remark to the first promise of grace to man—“ And I will put enmity between thee (the serpent-tempter) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed : it (the woman’s seed, Christ) shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”1 Now, on this passage I observe, that Christ’s incarnation of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Ghost, teaches us that He is the woman’s promised “ seed; ” while His crucifixion on the cross was explanatory of the bruising of His heel by satanic power and malice. At the same time the wondrous prodigies attendant upon the tragical scene of Calvary, “ When God the mighty Maker died For man the creature’s sin,” furnished evidence that He triumphed over the serpent-tempter, by “ leading captivity captive, and purchasing gifts for men.” 3 This, however, was but the first blow inflicted upon the “ head ” of the “ strong man armed,” by the hand of “ the stronger than he.” His final bruising is reserved for the future. Satan, as “ the god of this world,” “ the prince of the power of the air,” still “ works in the children of disobedience, leading men,” not only individually but also nationally, “ captive at his will.” The ultimate triumph awaits the incarceration, and the final casting of the serpent in the lake of fire,* both of which acts are future, and are to be consummated at the period of the second coming of Christ. The next prophecy of this event is that of Enoch, as recorded by the apostle Jude. “And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all,” etc. Christ’s first coming was on an errand of mercy. It announced the proffer of “ peace on earth, and of good will to man.” But, at His second coming, though, “ to them who look for him, he will appear the second time without sin unto salvation; ”4 yet, man’s probationary i Gen. iii. 14,15. 9 Pe. lxviii. 18; Eph. iv. 8. * Rev. xx. 10. *4 Heb. ix. 28. ITS DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 35 economy under the gospel dispensation having then closed, He will pour out the libations of His wrath upon the impenitent and incorrigible contemners of His word.1 The fact that His first coming was not attended with “ ten thousand of his saints,” is proof decisive that Enoch’s prophecy refers to His second coming. The same holds true of the “Prophet ” predicted by Moses, to whom the people should “ hearken.” * Also of the “ Shiloh ” of Jacob, unto whom “the gathering of the people should be.”* The same of the “Star” of Balaam, who was to “rise out of Jacob and have dominion.”4 Now, though these several prophecies related primarily to the first coming of Christ, yet neither of them was fully verified by that event. For, of the first, our blessed Lord, as the great prophetic “ Teacher sent from God,”6 complained of the people, “Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life.”· But, a predicted period never yet realized will come, when “neighbor will no more say to neighbor, know ye the Lord; but when all shall know him from the least to the greatest.” 7 So of the second. After all the gatherings to Christ that have taken place out of all the nations of the earth for more than eighteen hundred years, it has been, and still is, true of the church that she remains emphatically a “ little {flock”8 But it is predicted of her that “ in the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills,” and that then“a?Z nations shall flow unto it.”9 No one will pretend that this universal ingathering unto Christ has ever yet been fulfilled. And so of the third. The “Star” Christ, that arose out of Jacob at the first coming, so far from then having the “dominion” predicted of him, was “cast out and killed,” as the rightful “heir,” and his inheritance seized by his murderers.10 But it is predicted of him that he shall reign, and his dominion shall extend from sea to sea,, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth. These latter predictions, therefore, not having been fully verified by the events of the first, must depend upon and await the second, coming of Christ. I pass on to the remarkable prophecy of Job, respecting this event, in the following words:—“I know that my Redeemer liv-eth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and 1 Rev. xvi. etc. a Dent, xviii. 15 ; Acte iii. 22. · (Jen. xlix. 10. 4 Numb. xxiv. 17-19. * John lli. 2. «John v. 40. 7 Jer. xxxi. 34. 6 Luke xii. 32. • lea. ii. 2 ; Micah iv. L >o Matt, xxi. 28. 36 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. though, after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”1 There are not a few in the school of modem biblical critics, who affirm that this passage of Job is to be understood simply of that change in hie experience, from a state of adversity and bodily suffering,9 to that of his restoration to redoubled prosperity and blessing,8 in this life; an hypothesis founded upon the words, “as the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away; so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.” Also, “If a man die, shall he live again?” And again, “When a few years are come, then shall I go the way whence I shall not return.”4 It is hence alleged by these writers, that Job was totally ignorant both of the doctrine of man’s immortality and of a future resurrection; and therefore that this passage can have no reference to the future second coming of Christ, etc. The fallacy of this hypothesis, however, is sufficiently obvious from Job’s words when speaking of the dead, “ He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.”6 That is, all his relations with this life are ended forever, equivalent to the passage, “ if the tree fall towards the south, or towards the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.”* Again. That Job was at least no less acquainted with the doctrine of man’s immortality and of the resurrection of the dead at the last day, as connected with, and dependent upon, the second coming of Christ, than those of Enoch, and Moses, and Jacob, etc., is clear from the sense in which this passage is understood by the Jewish rabbies. Mr. C. W. H. Pauli, in his “ Analecta Hebraiaca,” having rendered the clause in the 25th verse, “And he that is the Last (the Christ) shall stand upon the dust,” i. e., the earth; in opposition to the above perversion of its true meaning, says: “I rendered ·ρηι™, He that is the Las% not only because I am fully convinced from the whole context that Job meant to say to his friends, (I do not look for any deliverance at your hands, but my hopes are fixed upon Him, who is the resurrection and the life; ’ but also the ancient rabbies have taken this word in the sense of God.” He thefl gives “the words of Nachman, whose 1 Job *ix. 25-27. * Job i. passim. » Job xix. 10-15. * See Job vil. Θ; xiv. 14; xvi. 22. 6 Job vil. 10. b Eoolee. xi. 3. ITS DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 37 valuable commentary is found in the Bibl. Magn. Hebraiaca, viz.: [We omit the Hebrew.]— “He (Job) saith, he wishes that his companions would show him compassion and not persecute him, desiring that his words might be written down (verses 23, 24); perhaps others who would hear his arguments would show him pity, although he knew that he could not be redeemed by them; but by that Redeemer who was able to redeem him; He, who is the Living-One from eternity, even He, who is remaining after all created beings, because He endures forever, and that is, the blessed God.” He also quotes R. Peritzol, and Ralbag, as speaking to the same effect.1 We now pass to the Psalms of David, in which this great event is frequently set forth in the most emphatic and glowing terms. The following, as an example, must suffice: “ Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.”8 The next inspired witnesses to this same truth, are the old prophets, whose predictions regarding it are so numerous, and announced on such a variety of occasions, that I must content myself to group together a small portion of them only, with little or no comment. I commenoe with the following from Isaiah. “ And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.... which shall stand as an ensign of the people: to it shall the Gentiles seek; and His rest shall be glorious.”8 It will require but a cursory glance at the context, to perceive that this prophecy relates exclusively to the second coming of Christ, to “ smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips to slay the wicked;”4 “and to fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”6 Jeremiah repeats the same prophecy thus:—“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a right-eous Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby 1 Paulis, Analecta ffebrataoa. Oxford, 1830, p. 190. « Pe. L 3,4 See, aleo, Pb. Ixxii. and xcvi. to cii. inclusive. »lea. xl. 1-10. « lb. verse 4 See also 2 These, ii. 8 • lb. verse 9. Compare a)*© verses 2-9 with chap. liii. 1-12 ; il-xxiv. to xxviil. and xL to the end. 38 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness.” 1 At the first appearing, our blessed Lord, so far from realizing the things here predict (id of Him, was rejected as a king, and was crucified by the Jews, which resulted in the overthrow of their civil and ecclesiastical polity, the destruction of their city and temple, and their dispersion among all nations, where, with the Ten Tribes who are still in exile, they remain captives to this day. This prophecy, therefore, must be pi'ospective of Christ’s return from heaven. Ezekiel refers to the same event in that beautiful passage, “Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and his voice was like the voice of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.”a Totally unlike this, His first coming: such was then the humiliation of the Incarnate Word, that, “as a tender plant, and a root out of a dry ground,” when seen, he'was adjudged to have neither “comeliness nor beauty,” to attract the eye. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” * The sun refused to look upon the deed 1 “ From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth unto the ninth hour.”4 The next testimony is given in the words of Daniel, which, for sublimity of conception and boldness of imagery, well befits the theme. “I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him,”5 etc. Joel prolongs the same theme, as follows: “The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. Thb Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”8 Corresponding with this prophecy of the Lord’s second coming is the following from Haggai, thus:—“Yet once, saith the Lord of hosts, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of aU nations (the Christ) shall come.”7 And to this the prophet 1 Jer. xxlii. 6,0. 9 Ezek. xliii. 2; ch. xxxvi. Compare also Dan. x. 5 and Rev. i. 7. 1 Isa. lill. 4 Matt, xxvii. 45. · Dan. vii. 13,14. 8ee also verses 9-12; compared with Isa. ix. 6, 7 and Ezek. 1. 26-28. · Joel iii. 15,16. Compare 11.10,31 ·, lea. xlii. 10 Matt xxiv. 29; Luke xxi. 25, 26 ; Rev. vi. 12,13. 7 Hag. 11. 6, 7. ITS DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 39 Zechariah thus responds:—“And the Lord my God shall come, and all his saints with him.”,...“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem,”1 etc. Finally, to the above, Malachi adds the last link to this golden chain of prophetic testimony in the Old Testament to this great truth. He says: “For, behold, the day cometh that shall bum as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all the wicked shall be as stubble, etc.But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,” etc. “ For the Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in: Behold He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.”9 Now, in whatever sense this prophecy may be applied to the circumstances of the first coming of Christ, it cannot be maintained that it was verified in all its parts. Christ came not then to “destroy men’s lives,”3 but “to seek and to save them that were lost.”4 Neither did men then “delight” in him. For, being “not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,”5 we read that “He came unto his own, but His own received Him not.”1 Nor did his own followers then “go forth, and grow up, and become as calves of the stall.”7 For they were all “scattered, as sheep having no shepherd.”8 It must, therefore, have an ulterior reference to that day of which the prophet speaks when he says, “But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appearethf For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap:”9 even that day when, with the winnowing “fan in his hand, He will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather the wheat into his garner.”10 Pass we now to The New Testament. Here, the light of prophecy on this momentous subject ie reflected with a greatly augmented brightness. We open this testimony with the angelic announcement respecting the Son of Godf as the Son of Mary, in these memorable words: “He shall be great, and shall be oalled the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father » Zech. ziv. 5, and verse 4. See also chap, xii to xiv. Inclusive. ,J Mai. i'·. 1, 2. * Luke ix. 66. 4 lb. xix. 10. · Matt. xv. 24. · John i. 12. ’ MuL iv. % « Matt. ix. 3ft · MaL iii. 1, 2. ™ Matt ill. 12. 40 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. David: and He shall reign over the house of Israel forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end!”1 It is here to be observed, that, inasmuch as there was nothing connected with our Lord’s humiliation in the flesh, which could possibly meet the terms of this prophecy respecting him, we are compelled to apply it to that of his predicted “glory which was to follow” his “suf ferings,”3 when He should be “ revealed from heaven in flaming fire with His mighty angels, to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel3 and when, “ wearing His many crowns,”4 and seated on His father David’s throne, “ the kingdom, and dominion, and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven should be given to him” and to his “ saints.”* We quote a second angelic prediction of this event. “And while they (L e., the disciples of Galilee) looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye see Him go into heaven.”* But, let us see what Christ Himself said, concerning this doctrine. A little prior to His crucifixion, with a view to console His desponding disciples in the prospect of His separation from them, He said: “Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. “ and I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also.”7 On another occasion Jesus said to the Jews, seeing that they still persevered in rejecting Him as their Messiah, “ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate”—a prediction this, of the overthrow of their polity and the destruction of their city and temple by the Roman legions—to which He adds, “ For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is Be that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Here our blessed Lord refers, though indefinitely, to the time of His “ return ” from heaven, whither He was going to prepare those “many mansions” for His faithful followers, spoken of in the last preceding passage. Again. By way of correcting an error into which His disciples had fallen, as though the Messianic kingdom was then to be 1 Luke 1.31-38. a 1 Pet. 1.11. · 2 These, i. 8,9. « Rev. xix. 12. • Dan. vii. Compare verses 13,14 with 21,22 and verse 27. · Acts L10,11. 7 John xiv 1-3. ITS DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 41 restored to them; Jesus predicts that a long interval would ensue, between His ascension and His coming again. “ He said unto His disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it.” That is, they should not see it according to their expectation of it: not that they should never witness it. For, He proceeds to notify them of a “sign” which should indicate when it was about to take place. He says: “ As the lightning that lighteneth out of one part under heaven, shineth unto another part under heaven, so shall also the Son of Man be in His day.”1 It was on this ground also that, after His resurrection, being asked by His disciples, “ Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ?” He said, “ it is not for you? that is, those of this generation, “ to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”3 Not that these “ times and seasons ” should never be revealed. The veil of obscurity then thrown over them, should be withdrawn at the proper time—“ the time of the end”3 That * time” having come, the celestial “ sign”—the u lightning” in the heavens—should indicate to all the tribes of the earth, the approaching fulfilment of what He had said,—“ They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”4 But, in addition to the above prophecies of Christ respecting His second coming, and especially as we find that event elaborated in the xxivth of Matthew, the xiiith of Mark, and the xxist of Luke, the same great truth is set forth in those parables, which form a continuation of that sublime discourse; for example, the parable of the Chief Servant, Matt. xxiv. 45-51. In the case of his unwatchfulness and improper behavior, if found saying “ in his heart, my lord delayeth his coming,” etc., we are told that “ the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of; and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Yerses 50, 51.) So also the illustrative parable of the ten virgins, Matt. xxv. 1-13. In it is taught the necessity of being in readiness for the coming of the Lord to receive His people into his presence and glory. Hence the enforcement of the admonition, “ Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of i Lake xviii. 22-21 3 Acte i. 6, 7. 8 Dan. xii. 1 « Matt. xxiv. 30. 42 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Han cometh.” Moreover, in this parable, the midnight cry is heard, “ Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!” It is in this character that our Lord is represented as coming at the last day, in the Apocalypse, chap. xix. 7-9. The termination of the day of proffered grace, and the final separation, at the judgment of the living nations, between the just and the unjust, are graphically delineated in the sequel of the parable. To these may be added the parable of the talents delivered to the servants, Matt. xxv. 14-30. In it we have an illustration of the Lord’s personal withdrawal from his servants, after giving them their charge (v. 15); then, “after a long time,” of His return to reclcon with them: i. e., to bring them to judgment; when, to the faithful, there is the reward, by exalting them to dominion (v. 23), and their admission to the joy of their Lord: to the unfaithful, punishment, denoted by the casting of the unprofitable servant into outer darkness (v. 30). The parable of the nobleman who distributes among his servants ten pounds, and takes his “journey into a far country to receive a kingdom and to return1 is of similar import, only that it brings more fully into view than in the other, the design of Christ’s personal absence from the Church during the interval from His ascension to His second coming, namely, to await His full investiture of His kingly prerogatives, as the pre-ordained Prince of the Kings of the Earth.” 2 We shall now conclude this golden chain of testimony to the doctrine of Christ’s second coming by passing on to the epistolary writings, that we may ascertain what the inspired Apostles taught on this subject. It is of the first importance here to observe, that what our blessed Lord, as above, had predicted of this event, “ formed the great text-look from which the Apostles and primitive Christians mainly derived, not only their doctrines, but their illustrations, of the second coming of Christ, and the destinies of men that shall result! ” And thus was fulfilled our Lord’s avowed intention of keeping his words before the Church in all ages: “ And what I say unto you,11 say unto a#, watch ! ” The Apostles Paul and Peter, and James and Jude, and John, as the amanuenses of the Holy Spirit in perpetuating the doctrine of the Lord’s second coming, speak of it in every variety of form that is calculated to arrest the attention, and to keep 1 Luke xix. 11-27. a Rev. i. 5. ITS DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 43 alive in the Church a spirit of prayer, and watchfulness, and patient waiting for that event. And, mark : they all treated of it as the foundation of the hope of “ eternal life,” from the beginning. In expectation of their admission to an “ inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away ” at the Lord’s second appearing, believers are spoken of as “ waiting for the Son of God from heaven,” 1 and as “ loving that appearing.”a Yea, with the eye of faith fixed on Christ the Coming One, not only in His suffering, but in His glorified humanity, they were strengthened to endure “ trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonments ; and also to be stoned, and sawn asunder, and tempted : to be slain with the sword, to wander about in sheep skins and goat skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented: also to wander about in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”8 “ Walking by faith and not by sight as seeing Him who is invisible,”4 they had their “ conversation [πολίτευμα, citizenship] in heaven, whence also they looked for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who,” when He comes, “ shall change our vile body, and fashion it like unto His own glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all things to Himself.”6 Hence St. Paul, having said, 1 These, iv. 16, “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of archangel, and with the trump of God,” continues his discourse on the subject of Christ’s judgment-coming as to its results, first, in the punishment of the wicked, thus : “ And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and tlffet obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power ” (2 Thess. i. 7-9): and second, in the reward of his suffering and faithful followers, by the resurrection of those who sleep in Him, and the rapture of the living saints· His words are: w And the dead in Christ shall rise first: ” to which he adds, u Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thess. iv. 11 Oor. L 7 *, 2These. 111. 6. * 2Tim.lv. 8. * Heb. xi. 86-88. 4 Heb. xi. 27. · Philipp, ill. 20. 4A 6EC0ND COMING OF CHRIST. 16, 17.) And finally, third, in regard to this doctrine of the Lord’s second coming, he tells his Thessalonian brethren, 1 These, y. 1-5, “But, of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they”—i. e., the scoffers of the last days, who, as Peter predicted of them, shall exclaim, “ Where is the promise of His coming ? ” 1 etc.—“ when they shall say, Peace and safety : then sudden destruction shall come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.” And he again adds: “ But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are the children of light, and of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” We ask, therefore, Whence was it that these Thessalonian brethren “ knew perfectly, that the day of the Lord’s ” coming to raise the dead and change the living saints, “ would so come as a thief in the night?” There is no intimation whatever, that they learned it from Paul, or from any of the other apostles. All the epistolary writings, from 1st Corinthians to the Apocalypse inclusive, were written subsequently to our Lord’s repeated and varied declarations and illustrations of this sublime subject. They, therefore, only take up and prolong the theme so largely discoursed of by the old prophets, and also by Him who “ spake as never man spake.” On the general subject of the testimony of the New Testament to this doctrine, it may not be out of place here to observe that, paradoxical as it may appear, it is no less a cause of lamentation than of surprise, that the circumstance of the frequency of its occurrence sqfms but to weaken the impression that it was designed to produce. Such a result, surely, can only be accounted for, on the ground of the ascendency of the sensual or worldly, over the spiritual life, of the Church. Long exemption from being called to suffer for Christ’s sake, has almost totally crushed out that spirit of aspiration after things heavenly,—in other words, of a readiness to be “ crucified to the world with its affections and lusts,”—which characterized the Church of primitive and of later times. Hence the loss, to the Church of this day, for the most part, of a Scriptural view and appreciation of this doctrine, as the foundation of her faith and hope. In the endeavor, there- 1 2 Pet. iii. 4. TTS DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 45 fore, to recover the Church to an acceptance of this fundamental article of “ the faith once delivered to the saints,” we propose to reproduce, in a condensed form, a few of the many expressions under which this doctrine is represented in the Gospels and Epistles. To this end, we shall group them together under the following heads. It is, perhaps, most usually styled, I. “ The presence of Christ,” — Ή παρουσία του Χ/οιστου. 2 Pet. i. 16: “ For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty.” This passage relates to Christ’s transfiguration on the mount, as recorded in Matt. xvii. 2-5 ; Mark ix. 1-7. But, though it transpired during the period of the first coming of Christ, it was but the type and earnest of the glory of the second. Again. To the question of the disciples, “ What shall be the sign of thy coming?” Matt. xxiv. 3, Christ replied, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be ” (verses 37,39). The Apostle James said, “ Be ye also patient, brethren, stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh ” (chap. v. 7-9). So St. Paul: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind,” etc. For, “ that wicked ... the man of sin and son of perdition . . . shall be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy” (L e., after the example of His transfiguration) “with the brightness of His coming.” (2 These, ii. 1-8.) See also 1st Thess. i. and ii. passim. St. Peter also speaks of “ looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved,” etc. (2 Peter iii. 12.) And again St. Paul: “ But every man in his own order; Christ the first fruits: afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” (1 Cor. xv. 23.) H. His “appearance? or “Epiphany?—Ή ίπιφαναα. l Tim. vi. 14: “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebuka-bie, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Tim. iv. 8: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” III. “ Christ'scoming?—Xpwn-oscpxo/ifvos. Matt.xvi.28: “Verily, I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not 46 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. taste of death, till they shall see the Son of Man coming in Hie kingdom.” This “kingdom,” however, in its full manifestation, was not in their day restored to them. But they were to be the eye-witnesses of it in its type and earnest, which occurred about six days after on the mount of transfiguration. (Matt. xvii. 1, 2; Luke xvi. 26.) “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory,” etc. Luke xxi. 27: “And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Acts i. 2: “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” Zech. xiv. 5 : “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” Mai. iii. 1: “And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple,” etc. St. Paul, 1 Cor. xi. 26, connects this doctrine with the solemn commemoration of the sufferings and death of Christ in the Lord’s Supper: “For as oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come? IY. “ The day of Christ—Ή ήμερα τον Χριστοί). ι Cor. i. 8: “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. i. 14: “As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 2 Pet. iii. 10: “But the day of the Lord will so come as a thief in the night,” etc. Philipp, ii. 16 : “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.” Joel ii. 31: “ The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” Y. “ The end”—To re'Xos. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” YI. “The close of the age,” or “Dispensation,”—Ή σνντ^Κίίατον αιωνος. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt, xxviii. 20.) “The harvest is the end of the world: and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world,”1 etc. (Matt, xiil 39, 40, 49.) 1 In tlie passages the Greek is, not κοσμά?, habitable earthy but aium, age or diepenea· Uon. ΓΓΒ DOCTRINAL ASPECT. 47 VII. ‘Η φανερωσις του Xpurrov. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall also appear with him in glory.” (CoL iii. 4.) “And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of gkuy that fadeth not away.” (1 Pet. v. 4.) “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John iii. 2.) VIII. Ή άττοκάλυψις του Xpurrov. 1 Pet. i. 5 : “ Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” (See also verse 7.) 1 Pet. iv. 13: “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” We conclude this presentation of the evidence in support of the doctrine of the Lord’s second coming, with the remark, that an event, thus so extensively and variously exhibited to our view in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, could not but have been designed as a subject of frequent, prayerful, and solemn meditation by the church and people of God in all ages. And especially does this hold true of those who, in the dispensations of God’s providence and grace, shall be found upon the earth at “the time of the end,” when the great “mystery of God,” as involved therein, is about to he “finished” How then, I ask, can any who wilfully close their minds to this truth, avoid incurring the guilt, and its attendant penalty, of those who “ take away from the words of the prophecy of this book,” either by overlooking, or perverting, or denying it ? Surely, God, in retributive justice, “will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book: ” wherein, besides that in every chapter of St. Paul’s two epistles to the Thessalonians, the theme of the Lord’s second coming is at least once introduced, the attentive reader of the Revelation will find that, from its beginning to the end, it is constantly presented to view as the one great hop' and consolar tion of the church, in all her appointed pilgrimage;—like an heavenly beacon, it cheers her on throughvthe impending storm; like a glimpse to the laboring mariner oif the peaceful haven in the distance, she is constantly encouraged through faith “to lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees.” (Hob. xii. 13.) 48 SECOND COMING OF CHKIST. Thus, then, we see, that while a Saviour to come in His glory was held up to the faith and hope of Testament saints, before He personally “ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” on the cross; the same faith ifl%nd hope of His return from heaven in the clouds with power and great glory, both before and after His ascension, were set before the church by Christ and His inspired apostles, with additional lustre and distinctness of utterance. And, with this evidence before us in support of the abstract doctrine of the second coming of Christ, we pass to consider it in its practical aspect. SECTION II PRACTICAL. This is connected with the incentives to faith, repentance, and a holy life. As we have already said, a belief in this doctrine of Christ’s second coming, during the antediluvian, Mosaic, and early Christian age of the Church, operated in keeping in constant exercise a “looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, even our Saviour, Jesus Christ.”1 In other words, the eye of faith centred in that event, as thz polar star of the church’s undying “hope” of her final triumph over sin, the world, and Satan ; and hence operated as the all-inspiring motive, to keep herself “unspotted” from the moral contaminations of earth, that she might be presented as “a chaste virgin to Christ”51 at “His op· pearing.n 8 But, I ask,—and I put the question with deep solemnity—Has this faith and hope in Christ’s second coming been retained by the professing church, in the sense in which it was received, from Abel down to the time of John in the Isle of Patmos? Or, if we except an adherenceto jihis doctrine by the early joosi-apostolic church down to the opening of the IYth century, has it been permitted since to hold a corresponding practical influence over the lives and conduct of those who have professed and called themselves Christians ? We judge no man. Nevertheless, on this subject, we appeal: —if we except a few “burning and shining lights,” who, “like angel visitants, few and far between,” have appeared upon the stage within the last sixteen centuries, the current theology of 1 Titue ii. 13. »2 Cor. xi. 2. »1 Pet. 1. 7. MOSES ON THE TOP OF PISGAH. ITS PRACTICAL ASPECT. 49 the Church has unceasingly taught that meditation on death and judgment, and on the glories of heaTen and the pains of hell, are the great motives to repentance, and the keeping the mind in a proper tone as it regards the future: while it is strenuously objected that, to insist on such a doctrine as the one here presented to view, is of a 'purely theoretical character, and tends only to fanaticism and delusion. On this subject, then, I beg indulgence to remark, 1. That, of the first of these motives—preparation for deaths etc.,—it is not so much an exhibit of the brief and uncertain tenure of life, and the solemnities of the judgment and a future state, as motives to repentance, etc., to which we object; as that they are made pre-eminent, as such, over a much more important, and, as we contend, the only truly Scriptural motive to that end. Of the numerous ^passages that might be given in illustration, take, for example, the following: “ Therefore, be ye also ready, for, in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.”1 Here, evidently, the declared unexpected return of the Son from heaven, and not death, is presented as the motive of preparation to meet, not “ the king of terrors,”2 but “ the Son of Manand not, further, to meet “ the Son of Man,” as though He came to us at death. Rather, the striking of that fatal blow is inflicted by the coming of “ the King of terrors,” * whose work it is, by the judicial permission and command of the God of providence^ to inflict upon us the penalty due to our sins; which penalty, as to the circumstances of the time, place, and manner of its infliction, forms no part of Christ’s mediatorial work. As in the case of the rich worldling in the Gospel, we read that it was, not Christ, but “ God that said unto hin\, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee! ” i. e., at the hand of the rider of the “pale horse,” whose “name was Death”* Nor is there any exemption from this penalty, during the “reign of Death” in and over our world.5 Saint and sinner alike fall victims to his relentless power.6 “ It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that, the judgment.”7 At death, while the body is laid in the grave, the soul “ returns to God who gave it.”8 So far from Christ’s coming even to the saints, at death, their souls, disenthralled from their clay tenement, go to Him l Hence their “ desire to depart, that Matt. xxiv. 44. s Job xvlii. 14. »lb. * Rev. vi. 8. · Epb. ii, 2. • Ecclee. ii. 14,15; viil. 14 ; ix. 11. i neb. ix. 27. · Ecclee. xii. 7. 4 50 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. they may be with Him.”1 Besides, death, in any view we may take of it, is unnatural to us. Death has robbed us of our pristine state, and is therefore our greatest enemy. For this reason it is that we dread death. Accordingly, the blessed “ Gospel,” which “ brings life and immortality to light,”2 instead of preaching up death to us as a motive to repentance, etc., points our eye of faith to Him, who, at His first appearing, “ came to deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their life-time subject to bondage;”3 and who, when He shall “appear the second time,” comes as 44 the judge of the quick and the dead,” seated on His “ white Horse,” wearing His 44 many crowns,” as He whose name is “ Faithful and True,”4 to “ destroy him that has the power of Death, that is, the Devil.” Again: 2. As to the other article—that of urging a meditation of death, etc., as a motive to Christian constancy. In so far as this motive is made to rest upon the expectation of an immediate entrance, at that juncture, into a state of perfect blessedness; we can only now say, that we know not of a single passage of Scripture that warrants any such expectation. That the souls of the faithful departed do, immediately after death, enjoy a state of blessedness which “ passeth all understanding,”5 and that they do visibly behold the Lord, as He is seated upon the throne of “ intercession ” 44 at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens,” we fully believe. But this state, we are not to forget, is that of a separation of the soul from the body. Hence, that that conscious blessedness, that rest, whatever it be, is not and cannot be then consummated, is evident from the opening of the fifth Apocalyptic44 Seal,” respecting which St. John says, “I saw, under the attar, the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, Mow long, 0 Lord, Holy and True, dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the Earth! ”" and of them it is said, that “white robes”—which is interpreted to be “the righteousness of the saints”7—“were given to every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should “ rest yet for a little while, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should he fulfilled.”8 »Philipp, i. 23. * 2 Tim. i. 10. * Heb.it 16. 4 Rev. xix. 11-1& 6 Philipp, iv. 17. · Rev. vi. 10. * lb. xix. a · lb. vl 11. ITS PRACTICAL ASPECT. 51 We cannot now enter into a full exposition of this momentous subject. It must suffice for the present, to refer the reader to the latter part of the prayer, as found in the burial service of the Church of England, as, in our view, presenting the Scriptural idea of the existing beatitude of those who “sleep in Jesus.”1 It is in these words: “ Almighty God ... we give Thee hearty thanks for that it has pleased Thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world; beseeching Thee, that it may please Thee shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom; that we, and all those that are departed in the true faith of Thy holy name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in Thy Eternal Kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We only add, that it is declared of the “souls” of these martyrs now “ under the altar,” that they are destined to “ sit on thrones,” * and wear “ crowns,”8 and bear in their hands the “palms” of celestial triumph,4 and that they “ shall reign on earth?* But this cannot be, until their bodies and souls are reunited, at “ the resurrection of the iust.” * This, however, is dependent upon the second coming of Christ. “Christ the first-fruits: afterward, they that are Christ’s at Sis coming.”7 It follows, therefore, that the second coming of Christ, and not death, is the great, practical, Scriptural motive to Christian constancy. And so of every other motive to practical godliness. Indeed, the more we examine the Scriptures on this point, the more clearly shall we see this. Do you ask what is the Scriptural motive, (1.) To repentance ? I answer, it is the second coming of Christ. “ Repent ye, therefore, and be converted . . . and He shall send Jesus . . . whom the heavens must receive, until the times of restitution of all things.”8 (2.) What, to love Christ? I answer, the same. “If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha:” which, being interpreted, is, “ Let him be accursed. The Lord cometh (3.) What, to love one another? I answer, the same. “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one 11 These, iv. 14. 9 Rev. xx. 4. » lb. iv. 4. < lb. vii. 9. · lb. v. 19c •Lukexiv. 14. 71 Cor. xv. 23. « Acte ill. 19-21. > 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 52 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: to the end He may stablish y6ur hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even the Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all His saints.”1 (4.) What, to mortification of earthly lusts ? I answer, the same. “ When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth,” etc.* (5.) What, to general obedience and holiness ? I answer, the same. “ We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as He is pure.” * (6.) What, to spintuality of mind? I answer, the same. “ For our conversation [πολίτηa, citizenship] is in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile bodies,” etc.4 (7.) What, to works of mercy? I answer, the same. “ When the Son of Man shall comfc in His glory, . . . then shall He say to them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom, etc.; for I was hungry, and ye gave me meat, etc.: for, as much as ye have done it unto one of these little ones, ye have done it unto me.”* (8.) What, to watchfulness ? I answer, the same. “ Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning . . . Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watch■ (9.) What, to moderation and sobriety ? I answer, the same. “ Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”7 (10.) What, ίο ministerial fidelity and diligence? I answer, the same. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming ? ”8 And finally, (11.) What, to palience and long-suffering? I answer, the same. “ Be ye also patient: stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”* 11 These, iil. 13. * CoL ill. 4,5,; Tit. iL 11-13. · 1 John iii. 2,3; ii. 28; Matt. xvi. 27 Rev. xxii. 12. « Philipp, iil. 20, 21. 8 Matt xxv. 31-36. · Luke xii. 35-37; 1 These, v. 4, 6; Rev. xvi. 15. * Philipp, iv. δ; 1 Pet. i. 13. * 1 These, ii. 19 Matt. xxlv. 46; 1 Tim. vi. 13; 2 Tim. iv. 1, 2; 1 Pet. v. 1-4. · James v. 7, 8 ; 2 These, i. 4-7 ; Heb. x. 36,37 ; 1 Pet i. 6,7. ITS PRACTICAL ASPECT. 53 Having thus set before the reader the Scriptural evidence of the doctrine of the Lord’s second coining; and also pointed out its designed tendency in a practical aspect, we can only add the prayer, that we may all have grace to " look ” forward to and “ love his appearing,” as our only hope of preparation to “ stand before the Son of Man” when, “ In pomp and majesty ineffable,” “ He shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.” PART II. An Examination of the Question—Is the Second Coming of Christ, and the Setting up of His Kingdom, past, present, or PRELIMINARY REMARKS. In the discussion of the subject to which the reader’s thoughts are now directed, viz., an examination of the question—Is the Second Coming of Christ, and the Setting up of His Kingdom, past, present, or future ?—let us suppose that, for the first time, he is brought into contact with the Scriptural doctrine, etc., of that event, as set forth in Part I. of this treatise. With a mind entirely unbiassed by previous contact with speculating theories, the query is, What would be the impressions, convictions, and conclusions of his mind in reference to it ? Undeniably, the prophecies of that event as presented by the writers of the Old Testament, and by Christ and His apostles in the New, point to a period in the Divine purpose when “ the Church of God, which He purchased with His own blood,”1 should assume the form and dimensions of a “kingdom” of unrivalled splendor and dominion under the reign of Christ, the Messiah, as “king;” by an extermination of all His and her enemies, and the establishment and perpetuity of a state of universal peace, prosperity, and righteousness in the earth. I now, therefore, submit: Taking into view the prophecies of this event as a whole, would not such a reader, receiving them as 1 Acte xz. 20. VARIOUS THEORIES. 55 a revelation from God, and interpreting the language in which they are given in its natural or grammatical sense, infer that it was still future ? Look at the subjects embraced in them. Taken in connection with the coming of the Lord, they announce, first, that Jesus, in his kingly character, as “ the Son of the Highest, has the promise that He shall sit on the throne of His father David, and reign over the house of Jacob forever,” etc.;1 second, that those who now “sleep in Christ” shall be raised from the dead, while those who are alive at His coming shall be changed, and caught up to meet Him in the air; * and third, that Christ is then to commence, jointly with His risen and glorified saints who are to reign with Him on the earth, to “judge the world in righteousness, and to rule the nations upon earth.” Now, who will venture to affirm that all these prophecies have already been verified ? Strange to tell, there are eminent writers not a few, who, in one form or another, ham taught that the coming of Christ the second time to establish His kingdom among men, either transpired centuries ago, and that it has already run its course; or that it now exists, and is to continue for an indefinite time. It will be indispensable, therefore, to an intelligent understanding of the various theories which have been brought to bear upon this great subject, candidly to examine their respective merits; compare each with the other; and the whole with what the writer deems to have been revealed to both prophets and apostles, by “ the Spirit of Christ which was in them.” The most prominent of these theories are the following. The prophecies referring to this event, it is contended by some, were verified, 1. By the Restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. 2. Another class allege that they received their accomplishment in the overthrow of Paganism and the establishment of Christianity in the Roman empire, under Constantine the Great, in A. D. 323. 3. A third class affirms their fulfilment in the judgments inflicted upon the Jewish nation and polity, at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman legions in A. D. VO. 4. And a fourth class, that the kingdom and reign of Christ on 1 Bee page 39 of this Work. * lb. 43. 56 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. earth are identical with the establishment of the Christian Church, the dispensation of which is to continue until the close of the millennial age, when He will raise the dead, judge the world, and deliver up the kingdom to God, etc. I here remark, that the theology of these various theories is so interwoven with much that is written on this subject of the second coming and reign of Christ by modern interpreters of prophecy, that nothing further need be added by way of apology, for the space appropriated to them in these pages. They will be discussed seriatim, each under a separate chapter. As preliminary thereto, it will be well to premise: First. That the phraseology, the kingdom and reign of Christ, and the millennial era of the Church, is used by all writers interchangeably as denoting the same thing. Second. This being so, I remark that it is reasonable to sup-pose-rindeed it is indispensable—that any theory which advocates the second coming of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom on earth, either as already past or as now existing, should partake of all the characteristics of both, as specified in prophecy respecting them. Third. It is here also specially to be, borne in mind that all these theories, except the first, interpret the second coming of Christ in the sense of either a providential, or of a figurative or spiritual coming. This is done to avoid a dilemma otherwise fatal to them, to wit, that in no sense can it be maintained that a literal or personal coming of Christ has transpired, within the limits assigned by them to that event. It is clear, however, that if such a literal or personal coming of Christ is an event jet future,—which all these writers admit—it will follow, according to their own showing, that there are to be three, instead of two, comings of Christ. Fourth. But if, on examination, the theories to pass under review fail to furnish evidence from Scripture and from fact, of the second coming of Christ, and of the setting up of His kingdom in the world, under either of the forms for which they contend, it will leave the way fairly open for the separate consideration of that subject in a subsequent part of this Treatise. With the way thus prepared before us, we proceed to an examination of those theories which maintain that the second coining of Christ is already past, of which there are three theories. MILLERISM. 57 CHAPTER L FIRST THEORY : MILLERISM.' THIS THEORY ALLEGES THAT ALL THE PROPHCIEES WHICH SET FORTH THE RESTORATION, CONVERSION, AND POLITICAL PREEMINENCE OF THE TWO KINGDOMS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL OR THE TEN TRIBES, WERE VERIFIED BY THE RETURN OF THE JEWS FROM THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. » Ip this be so, it follows that the recovery, by Judah and Israel, of “the first dominion”8 promised to them under their Messiah, in other words, the Millennium of the Scriptures—for there can be no millennium on earth without the Jews—has become a matter of history, in the place of prophecy yet to be fulfilled. The important bearing which this theory has upon the general subject of our present inquiries, calls for a special examination of its merits. We will lay before the reader in the outset as plain a statement as we can of the facts in the case. First, then, I observe: There are many of the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, which speak of the return of the Jews to their own land, in immediate connection with the contemporaneous personal presence of the Messiah as their King. But those mighty men of renown of former days, Beza, Pri-deaux, Pareus, Willet, and Owen, together with those worthies of modern times, Simeon, and Scott, and Faber, of England; and the Rev. Dr. Berg, of our own country, stoutly maintain a future literal restoration of the Jews to Palestine; whilst at the same time they deny, that the second personal coming of Christ is in any way connected with that event; or, in other words, that it is pro-millennial. On the other hand, that class of writers with whom we are now more specially concerned, whilst they admit a second personal coming of Christ as future, do at the same time deny the future restoration of the Jews, affirming that all the prophecies relating to that event were fulfilled by their return from the Baby-lonish captivity. In this theory, therefore, there is a doable purpose, viz., first, to evade the doctrine of the second personal coming 1 The -writers on this subject are Rev. Wm. Miller, Rev. George Stores, Rev. F. G. Fox, Rev. Josiab Litch, Rev. J. Os wold, Λ. M., and others. * Micah iv. 8. 58 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. of Christ as being ^-millennial; and second, to escape the dilemma attendant upon the theory of the other writers above mentioned, all of whom, while they contend for the future literal restoration of the Jews, etc., yet affirm that Christ will reign over them spiritually: at the same time alleging that the personal coming of Christ is jt>os£-millennial. This, we repeat, is to make out three, instead of two, comings of Christ. Now it will, we think, be conceded that, of the two horns of this dilemma, the latter has the decided vantage ground over the former. It will be found, unless we greatly mistake, that writers on this subject must either admit that the second personal coming of Christ is ^>re-millennial, or adopt the theory which denies the restoration of the Jews as being still future. Having thus defined the position of these writers in the prem* ises, we return to the advocates of the theory under consideration. The first thing to be noted in regard to them is, a consciousness of the difficulty which their theory must encounter, from the very terms in which the prophecies relating to the Jewish restoration are couched. We here refer to the obvious disproportion between the glowing language of the prophets in relation to that event, and the circumstances attendant upon the termination of the Babylonish captivity. All this, however, is attempted to be obviated by the objection, that the above argument “is more plausible than solid.” It is said in the first place, that, “by forming our estimate of the character of these events, not by our feelings, but by a reference to those of the persons actually concerned in them, we shall not think that the disproportion” here spoken of “between the prophetic language and those events, is quite so great as might, at first, be supposed.” And second, “ that the prophecies in question have a reference to things, compared with which any events, connected with mere Jewish interests, have no importance,” etc. But to this it may be replied: Are we then to understand that the statements of the old prophets on this subject are exaggerated? that the fulfilment of God’s promises and prophecies is not equal to what the language used might lead us to expect? and, that the substance of the things hoped for is inferior to the shadow of them? If so, does it not follow, that such an assumption savors of a neological leaven ? Surely, if men may thus lower and evade the language of Scripture, there is nothing the force of MILLEB1SM. 59 which may not be got rid of in like manner; and the writings of the prophets—or rather the voice of the Holy Ghost in them— must be looked upon as no better than hyperbolical bombast! And so, also, of the estimate of the events pointed at in the prophecies by our feelings, instead of the feelings of those actually concerned in them. Has it then come to this, that “ the character of the events” which God predicted by His prophets, is to be affected either by our feelings, or theirs, or by those of any other class of persons? Is the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to be tested, after all, by the various and opposite expectations of men? —is it to be resolved into our natural or religious enthusiasm ? And are the images of future events exhibited to the Church through the medium sometimes of an excited, sometimes of a depressed, and often of a distorted imagination? And, in conclusion on this subject: If God so please, who, or what is man, that he should presume to decide as to what “events, connected with the Jewish interests,” should or should not be of “importance?” Let us suppose an allusion here made to the personal manifestation of Messiah to the Jews on their restoration. We might ask, not only on the score of the probability, but the possibility of such an event,“Is anything too hard for the Lord?”1 Is our unbelief to be the measure of His truth? If a Jew had objected, before the events, the improbability, approaching not only to moral, but to physical impossibility, that Messiah could ever be born of a virgin: suppose, further, he had objected the improbability of such a religion as that of Christ, with such apparently inadequate support, and so contrary to men’s prejudices and passions, ever so prevailing in the world, as that one day all nations should bow to Him:—how would such an objector meet this antagonist, but by arguments that would equally refute his own? namely, faith in the truth and power of God! But enough of this. Let us now, as briefly as may be, proceed to the proofs and arguments alleged in support of this theory. Assuming that no such an event is in the womb of the future, it is affirmed, I. That the predicted reconciliation to take place between Judah and Israel has already been verified in the restoration from the Babylonish captivity. In proof, we are referred, as the foundation on which this theory rests, to the following passage, Jer. L Jer. xxxii. 27. 60 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 4,17, and 33, 34, as an express prophecy of the return of “the children of Israel and the children of Judah together from Babylon under Cyrus. It is hence argued that, to expect their return as yet future, is to expect a new schism in the nation, for which no plausible reason can be assigned; and a mutual reconciliation, for which no cause, without such a schism, could exist. In a word, it is insisted, 1st, that the nation was then restored, and assumed ran independent character; 2d, that this restoration was attended by an extinction of the national schism; and 3d, that it was accompanied with a spiritual revival: all of which, if founded in truth, as they involve the cessation of the old feud which divided the two kingdoms, and they became merged into one under the common denomination of Jews, demonstrate the moral impossibility of any return in the future. From a desire to give the advocates of this theory the full benefit of all that can be adduced in its support, as claimed to be derived from the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and from profane writers, we herewith lay before the reader the materiel out of which their alleged evidence to that end is derived. 1. In defence of the first of the three above-named postulates, to wit, that at the time of the nation’s return from Babylon, it assumed an independent character, we are referred to the following from Josephus, lib. xi. chap. v. 7, where he says:—“So the Jews prepared for the work. This is the name they are called by, from the day that they came up from Babylon: which is taken from the tribe of Judah, which came first to these places: and thence both they and the country gained that appellation.” Now, inasmuch as the passage quoted from Jer. 1., as the foundation on which the superstructure of this theory is built, includes the restoration of all the children of Judah and of Israel, or the ten tribes; so, in order to the complete establishment of their joint national independence at that time, the restoration here contended for must embrace the two kingdoms as a whole. Accordingly, these writers infer such to have been the case, 1st, on the ground that the Jews are spoken of by Josephus as having “first” returned, etc., which of course implies, that those of the children of Israel followed afterward; and 2d, from the alleged failure to find the lodging place of the ten tribes, on the part of those who are looking for their future literal restoration to the land of their fathers. And, in confirmation of this, we are referred to the writer MILLERISM. 61 of the Maccabees, (chap. iv. 59; and v. 3, etc.), who gives to the united population the name of Israel. Let us, however, enter a little more into the historic evidence, adduced by the advocates of this theory, in support of the point under discussion. One of the ablest writers in its defence, having traced the history of Jewish affairs from the period of their restoration by Cyrus, and then through the fortunes which followed them by the overthrow of Medo-Persia at the hand of Alexander the Great, the division of his empire after his death into four kingdoms, and the important bearing with which the friendship or hostility of the Jews in Judea were regarded by their contending rivals, down to the time when their national independence was recognized under the sway of the Asmonaean princes, says “ In the year b. c. 143, Simon, brother of Judas Maccabasus, was acknowledged by Demetrius, king of Syria, as high-priest and prince of the Jews; and so remarkable was this transition from a provincial to a national state, that it became an epoch in the history of the Jews, and an era from which subsequent events were dated; ” and, that “ the nation continued absolutely independent till the year b. c. 63, that is, during a period of eighty years, until Pompey took the city of Jerusalem.” Again: In meeting an objection “that the condition of the Jews” during this interval “was very contemptible compared with their condition under the former race of kings,” this writer draws a comparison between their state when, in the reign of Jehosha-phat, Judea being invaded by the Moabites and Ammonites, they were unable to repel their foes;1 and that “under the Maccabaean kings, when Moab and Ammon were completely extinguished as nations, and the Edomites were compelled by Hyrcanus, the son of Simon, to adopt the rite of circumcision, from which time they ceased to have a national existence.” Once more: In further proof of the national independence, unity of interest and purpose, and numerical power of the restored Jewish nation, we are transferred to the time of the Roman Emperor Caligula, who, being “ intoxicated with power, resolved that he must be honored as a god.” To this end, he “ gave orders that his image should be set up in all the temples dedicated to religious worship throughout the empire.” In this “ he found no difficulty till the question came to be about the desecration of Jehovah’s 1 2 Chron. xx. 8. 62 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. temple in Jerusalem. Here,” however,“ he found a resistance not to be overcome.” “ Petronius, the governor, upon receiving the imperial mandate,” aware of “the power of the Jews who inhabited the countries beyond the Euphrates,” according to the statement of Philo, became greatly alarmed. “For he knew,” says Philo, “not by report, but by experience, that Babylon, and many other of the provinces, were in the possession (κατεχομενα?) of the Jews.” So Josephus, also, “ speaking of the Jews living beyond the Euphrates,” says,—“ While the ten tribes are beyond the Euphrates until now, and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers,” etc. And finally, .we are referred to “ Agrippa’s letter to Caligula, in which he endeavors to dissuade him from desecrating the temple in Jerusalem.”—“ But concerning the Holy City, I must speak what is fitting. This, as I said before, is my country, and the metropolis, not of one territory, but of very many, on account of the colonies that she has sent out to various places,” etc. “ Then follows an enumeration of the different parts of the world in which the Jews are to be found,” exclusive of “ those beyond the Euphrates ” alluded to by Philo and Josephus, of whom, he adds, “ I say nothing,” etc. 2. Further, on this subject. In reference to the evidence of the reconciliation of Judah and Israel, or of the unity of interest and purpose of the nation, etc., during this period, Philo is quoted as saying,—“ For every year deputations are sent, bringing much gold and silver to the temple, collected from the first-fruits; and they travel by ways hard to be passed over, but which seem to them, from their religious zeal, like the best roads,” etc. Now, these “ deputations,” it is said, “ were the representatives of the ten tribes living beyond the Euphrates, who, being descended of those who departed from Judah, bring their annual offerings to Jerusalem; by which act they acknowledge it as the centre, both of civil and religious unity of the whole nation. Also, that the persons whom Judas went to assist, as spoken of in the 1st Book of Maccabees, being residents in Galilee, must have belonged to the ten tribes. And it is hence demanded: “ Is this no proof of the heeding of the national breach ? It was not to Dan, nor to Bethel, that they went. But to Jerusalem? Aye, and in bearing their precious offerings to the Holy City, their “ joy was of so intense a kind as to make them overlook inconveniences and dangers of every kind attending their long and tedious journey.” MILLERISM. 63 3. And now, as to the last point—the spiritual revivals. It is contended by these writers “ that such revivals might be fairly expected from the language of the prophets, when speaking of the return οϊthe Jews to their land:” and that they “do not consider any events that did not involve them, a fulfilment of those prophecies.” But they insist, “ that such revivals did take place, appears from the testimony both of Ezra and Nehemiah. See Ezra, iii and x.; and Nehemiah, viii. and xi.; also, 2 Maccab., x., etc. So much, then, according to this theory, for the historical facts and evidences of the millennium of the Scriptures, as alleged to have been verified in the complete restoration, reconciliation, and conversion of the children of Judah and Israel, or the ten tribes, to and in their own land, on their return from Babylon. II. We pass now to a series of arguments adduced by these writers, in addition to the above, against a future literal return of the Jews to Canaan: of which, 1. The first “ is founded on the necessity,” upon that hypothesis, “ of connecting with the literal return, the literal rebuilding of the temple; and with it, of course, the literal restoration of sacrifice,” etc. It is hence argued, that if the return of the Jews at jsome future period is to be followed by such consequences, “ there is such an evident reductio in absurdum as involves falsity in the assumption; ” there being no prophecy which points either to the rebuilding of the temple, or the restoration of sacrifice, after the destruction of the Holy City, etc. 2. A second argument to the same end, is founded upon the alleged fact “ that the New Testament is silent about the restoration of the Jews to their land. The destruction of the temple, and the desolation of the Holy City,” it is said, “ are foretold, with their 'consequences: but, not a word of comfort, as was the case previous to the Babylonish captivity. The ejectment from the forfeited inheritance is final. The kingdom is taken away from the “wicked men, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” “God,” it is declared, “will remember His covenant with literal Judah no more for ever, neither shall it come into mind.” “ And when Paul, in the xi.th of Romans, denies that God has cast away His people, the benefit from which they are not excluded is spiritual and personal, having respect, at that time, to “the election of grace,” and ultimately, to “turning away ungodliness from Jacob.” And, SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 64 3. A third, and the last and principal argument against the future literal restoration of the Jews to their land, “ is founded upon the respective characters of the two covenants. Many strange things,” these writers tell us, “ have been written in our strange times on the subject of the covenants. But the matter stands clearly unfolded by the apostle in Galatians, chap, iv., 22-31. The one covenant is entirely confined to temporal things, and the other to spiritual things. The former passed away on the death of Christ, with all its provisions and its promises. To talk now of the Jews as a peculiar people, and as having any temporal promises,” it is affirmed, “is to revive the covenant that God has superseded.” Thus have we laid before the reader, so far as we are aware, the entire strength of the proof-texts, historical facts, and other arguments, adduced in support of the theoiy, that the return of the Jews from Babylon verified all that the. prophecies point out, in reference to the destiny of Judah and the ten tribes. We have also purposely abstained from remarks in reply, with a view to avoid a break in the chain of evidence furnished in advocacy of it. But, as “he that is first in his own cause seemeth just”—and we readily concede the apparent force of the reasoning employed in its defence—“ but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him: ”1 So, having sundry serious objections to advance against both the foundation on which it rests, and the superstructure built upon it, we submit the following to the consideration of all candid and impartial minds. Let us, then, examine, L Thq foundation^ on which this theory rests. 1. I remark in the first place, as I have already said, that this theory involves the necessity of demonstrating the entire restora-* tion, not only of the children of Judah, but those also of the Ten Tribes, from the Babylonish captivity by the edict of Cyrus, in order to sustain the alleged prophecy of it in the l.th chap, of Jeremiah in its integrity. If it fails to do that, the whole is swept away. That it does not and cannot do that, will, we submit, appear evident from what follows:— (1.) There is no proof in Scripture of a single family having returned from each of the ten tribes. It can only be shown that a few from several of them, did so. This, however, it is to be borne » Prov. xvili. 17. JACOB BLESSING EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH. MILLERISM. 65 in mind, can only be accounted for from the fact, that there always was in Ephraim a remnant, who had their hearts toward Jerusalem, and who did not fall into the idolatrous practices of the nation in general. It was to prevent their example from drawing back the whole nation, that the calves were first set up in Dan and Bethel:1 And, when Hezekiah kept a solemn passover in Jerusalem, and invited Ephraim and Manasseh to attend, though the great body of Israel “ laughed [the messengers] to scorn and mocked them; nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and Zehulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem.”9 Of these, then, it was, who, never having left Judah, returned with them from the Babylonish captivity. Of those of the Ten Tribes carried captive into Assyria by Shalmanezer,3 there is not the least evidence that one of them availed himself of the proclamation of Cyrus to return with Judah. Then further, (2.) So far as the inhabitants of Samana were concerned, between whom and the Jews there existed the greatest enmity after the return from Babylon; so we know that the Jews in the time of Christ regarded them with great antipathy f which is anything but evidence that the ancient quarrel and ground of jealousy were removed. At the time of the return from the Babylonish captivity, therefore, these Israelites held to Judah, a relation analogous to that of the mixed multitude of Egyptians, who accompanied them at the former exodus.5 But surely, no one w< lid say on that account, that Egypt went up 1 Once more, (3.) What is decisive of this point is the fact, that this very case is contemplated in prophecy, distinct from and independent of the restoration from Babylon. In Ezek. xxxvii. 16, 17, the prophet is directed to “take one stick and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions. Here we have Judah and his companions of the house of Israel, as they attached themselves to him before and during the captivity; and, as we admit, came up with him from Babylon. But is this all? “ Then take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for aU the house of Israel his companions: and join them one to another in one stick.”6 The advocates of this theory, therefore, are hound to show us the complete fulfil- 1 Compare 1 Kings xii. 32 with 2 Chron. xi. 14-17. * 2 Chron. xxx. 10-12. * 2 Kings xviL 1-5 and verse 23. « John iv. 9. · Exod. xli. 38; Numb. xL 4. • Ezek. xxxvii. 19. 5 66 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. ment of both features of this prophecy, in the alleged return from Babylon: not only the union of Judah with some of the children of Israel his companions; but also with “ Ephraim and the tribes of Israel, his fellows” (ver. 19), even “ all the house of Israel, his companions.” And this, we conceive, it is utterly out of their power to do, there being no recorded events at all to correspond with both the circumstances so precisely described and distinguished in this place. Finally, (4.) It remains to be proved, that Jer. L 3, 17, 33, selected as the foundation of this theory, refer to a restoration of Israel, or the Ten Tribes, at the time of the taking of Babylon by the Medes; nor do they in all the instances, obviously relate to any restoration of Israel at all. The error of these writers on this subject, arises from their overlooking an important principle of prophetic interpretation; viz., that the spirit which spake by the prophets frequently contemplates two events; the one being either a type or earnest of the other. The latter and greater is the one kept chiefly in view, and the description of it is consequently in many respects unsuitable to the minor event, and altogether overcharged, if it be limited to it. On the other hand, there are occasional allusions which must be limited to the minor event. Thus we admit in Jer. 1. and li. a plain and obvious reference to the taking of Babylon by the Medes; but we equally insist upon a reference in it te the destruction of the mystic Babylon, or, at least, to some event of far greater extent and scope, and accompanied by circumstances which have as yet had no fulfilment. For example, we ask the abettors of this theory,—Is there not a reference in Jer. li. 19-24 to Israel as “ the Lord’s battle-axe,” etc., which is made instrumental in the vengeance on Babylon?—was Israel made “ a weapon of war in the Lord’s hand” in the time of Cyrus, or in any way instrumental in inflicting that vengeance ? We would further ask, Were the Lord’s people called out of Babylon (verse 45), and afforded an opportunity of escape, previous to the taking of Babylon by the Medes ? Is not this verse, therefore, plainly parallel with Rev. xviii. 4, and a mark that mystical Babylon is intended ? And once more, was Babylon destroyed by Cyrus in the manner stated in verses 13 and 26? Was the conquest and change of dynasty which then took place an end of that city? The foundation of this theory being thus disposed of, we might ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 67 well spare ourself the labor and the reader the time of pursuing the subject farther. There is, however, a need-be, to take a survey of the imposing proportions of, IL The superstructure, which not a few of the wise and good of our day have erected upon it. Permit me here to say, that I think I am not very wide the mark when I affirm, that there is no other point connected with a solution of the great theological question of the day now under discussion, viz., the second coming of Christ, that forms an equal obstacle to a right determination of it. I hold, that the numerous prophecies which set forth the restoration, reconciliation, and national preeminence of Judah and Israel in their own land, form the hey to a correct interpretation and application of all the other unfulfilled prophecies of God’s Word, and especially that relating to the question, whether Christ’s second coming is to be pre, or jPostf-millenniaL Keeping this in view, let me indulge the hope, that adherence to a long-cherished theory will give way to the force of evidence, if, in the end, it is found to vanish, u Like the baseless fabric of a vision, Which leaves not a wreck behind.” To save the labor of transcribing from the articles replied to, the reader will please refer to them as numbered 1, 2, 3, etc., with which ours in brackets will correspond. With these remarks premised, we pass to a notice, first, of the alleged facts and arguments, with their inferences, as contained in the histone allusions adduced in support of this theory. We shall divide it into sections. SECTION I. OF THE ALLEGED INDEPENDENCE OF THE JEWS, AFTER THEIR RETURN FROM BABYLON.1 [1.] On this subject, we have to object, First, that these writers do not fairly meet the argument from Scripture, their expositions being confined to a part only of the prophecy. Supposing that they make out something like a fulfilment of this portion, they take for granted that the whole was fulfilled. * Second, as it respects the testimony cited from Josephus,8 all * See pages 60-62. * See pages 60-62. · See page 60. 68 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. that can be said of it is, that those families out of a few of the Ten Tribes, who adhered to Judah after the dismemberment of the kingdom, instead of accompanying, they followed those of Judah, who were the “first” to return to Babylon. Third, we have already shown, that Jer. 1. 3,17,33, and chap, li., can have no reference to the restoration from Babylon.1 We now pass to the argument drawn from the statements of Philo, Agrippa, etc.8 Now, even admitting that it were in other respects complete, it is faulty in this particular: that the promises to Judah and Israel intimate that the restoration of the two nations shall be under a prince of the house of David:* whereas the Asmonaean princes, besides that they were never independent, but tributary, the Maccabees ruled to the exclusion of the house of David. Nor can this theory ever be reconciled with those promises to Israel when restored and united under her Davidic head, that she shall be mistress over all other nations, and that they shall all be tributary to her,4 an event which none can pretend has ever yet been realized. Again, Fourth, the passage in Josephus which speaks of u the ten tribes ” who, in his time, were “ beyond the Euphrates,” and which he represents as “ an immense multitude,” etc., only shows that he considered them as yet unrestored. Now, we do not deny that there were large numbers of Jews scattered over various parts of Europe after the Babylonish captivity. But this is no proof that they were of the ten tribes, or that the “ colonies ” sent forth by the Jews into territories under Jewish dominion, were independent. SECTION II. OF THE ALLEGED BECONCILIATION OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL, AFTEB THEIR RETURN FROM BABYLON,6 [2.] As it regards the deputations sent to Jerusalem, we remark, First, that we do not see, in this circumstance, any clear and satisfactory evidence, that the national breach between the two kingdoms was healed. If these persons had been deputed from 1 See pages 69,60, 66. 3 See page 62 of this Work. 1 Be* Jer. xxx. 1-9; Hosea ill 4, 6 ; Zech. xii. 10 ; Ezek. xxxiv., xxxviL etc. 4 See lea. lx. 1-7. * See pages 62,63. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. the ten tribes in their collective capacity, it would imply that they had nationally renounced their idolatrous practices; which, ■ as regards the bulk of the nation, is contrary to the predictions respecting them whilst in their scattered state,1 and also to histone testimony. It is clear, therefore, that they could have been none other than representatives from those Jewish colonies scattered in various parts of Europe, among whom, doubtless, were those of the “ divers from the tribes of Asher and Manasseh, and of Zebulun,” who had united themselves to Judah previous to the captivity of Israel; * and this number must have been considerable, since even in the worst of times, during the tyranny and abominations of Ahab and Jezebel, there were 7,000 who did not bow the knee to Baal.8 Nor was it so much the civil and political, as the religious character of Jerusalem, that attracted them thither. Jerusalem was “the city which the Lord had . chosen, whither the tribes should go up.”4 Again, Second, how, we ask, is it to be accounted for, if the two nations of Judah and Israel had become one at the return from Babylon, that there should be no living traces of that union f It is remarkable, that whilst there are thousands who can trace themselves to be of Judah and Benjamin, and also of Levi (who was oommon to both nations), we believe none can be found to trace themselves to the ten tribes. And as to the inhabitants of Galilee being of the ten tribes, the best test would be to prove it by an appeal to the genealogy of the families or persons mentioned as resident there. But on this subject silence reigns supreme. The fair inference therefore is, that the mixed Israelitish multitude who followed Judah at the return from Babylon, though of the ten tribes, yet (having separated from them before their captivity under Shalmanezer) could not have formed any part of them. The circumstance that all efforts to ascertain the present whereabouts of the ten tribes have proved unavailing, is no evidence that they have not now a separate and independent existence. And, third, as to the alleged revival of the old quarrel in the event of their restoration being future, it is sufficient, according to our view of the matter, amply to* fulfil the prophecy, that the ten tribes went into captivity in a state of alienation from Judah; and that when they, with Judah, shall be restored, the very 1 See Dent, xxviii. 64. *2 Cbron. xxx. 10-12. * 1 Kings xix. 18. * Ps. exxli. 4. 70 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. agency employed in effecting their national union, will effectually eradicate their national (Animosity. And so, fourth, in reference to the argument founded upon the alleged improbabilities of the future restoration of the ten tribes. We oppose to it the following positive “ Thus saith the Lord.” We find it written of Israel: “ If any of thine he driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence wTill he fetch thee: and the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it.”1 Here please mark: the expression, “ if any of thine,” implies that the return will he, not of a part of Israel, hut of all: not one will he left behind. For, “ it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall heat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt ” (nothing like which occurred at the alleged return of the ten tribes from Babylon. Compare also Isa. xi. 15), “and ye shall be gathered one by one, 0 ye children of Israel.” * Nor this only. As if to anticipate this very objection to such an event, the prophet describes Zion as thus exclaiming on the return of her children: “Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone: these, where had they been f ”3 Ah, “ is anything too hard for the Lord ? ” The advocates of this theory say that such a restoration is abstractly possible. We say, wTe believe that it will come to pass. One word, in conclusion, as to the ground of this argument. It is made to rest upon the alleged utter extinction of the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, at the hand of Israel, at the time of their return from Babylon. These writers demand, “ Where are these nations now ? ” And they hence argue, “ Unless they are supposed to revive, they cannot be overthrown. Their revival, they say, is not very probable ; and, in the same proposition, they infer the improbability of the return of the Jews, seeing that return was to be followed by the destruction of these nations,” etc. But it is particularly unfortunate for this argument, that a “ thus saith the Lord ” declares, “Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the Lord.” (Jer. xlviii. 47.) And 1 Deut xxx. 4, 5. a Isa. xxvii. 12. s lb. chap. xlix. 21. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 71 again: “ I will bring again the captivity of the children of Am mon, saith the Lord.” (Jer. xlix. 6.) SECTION III. OF THE ALLEGED SPIRITUAL REVIVALS WHICH FOLLOWED THE SO· CALLED RETURN OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL FROM BABYLON. 3. [3j We admit that there was a work of grace among the Jews in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah: but we cannot allow Acts ii. 16,17, and xv. 14, to have anything to do with the revival which is foretold as accompanying the restoration of Israel, seeing that it was a work which was contemporaneous with the casting off of the Jews, instead of their return from captivity. Matt. xxfii. 38, 39; see also Rom. xl 15. Moreover, we have a particular description of the manner in which the national conversion of the Jews will be brought about, in Zech. xiv. 4, 5, and chap, xfi. 9-14, which see. Was there any such a revival at the return from Babylon ? We now proceed to the other arguments adduced by the3e writers against the future literal return of Judah and Israel to their own land. First Those relating to the temple, and the restoration of sacri* fees, etc. Suppose we admit, for the sake of argument, that no satisfactory solution has been or can be given, of the rebuilding of the temple, etc., as described in the xliid and xliiid chapters of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Of one thing we are certain: that at the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, they did not set about the erection of their new temple on the plan revealed to that prophet during the captivity. And no one, we are persuaded, taking the prophecy as it stands, will affirm its literal fulfilment before Christ, or that it has been fulfilled, or is now fulfilling, under the Christian dispensation, in a mystical sense. That remarkable prophecy of Haggai, chap. ii. 2, 9, respecting the second temple, has an important bearing on this subject. The prophet having asked, “ Who is there left among you that saw this house in her first glory ? And how do ye see it now ? Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?” adds—“the 72 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Now, it is here to be noted, in the first place, that the “house,” on which the Jews then looked, was little better than a heap of ruins (see verses 1-4). But even when rebuilt, its magnificence was “ as nothing ” compared with that erected by Solomon.1 The question, therefore, is, In what was to consist the predicted greater glory of this latter house over the first ? If we are to rely upon the current interpretation, it was verified by the appearance of Messiah in the temple, during His first coming. But, besides that Christ appeared, not in that second, but a third house—that called the temple of Herod, we may, I submit, without the fear of derogating aught from His claims to true and proper divinity as “God manifest in the flesh,” call in question the consistency of such an application of the above prophecy to that event. Had the transfiguration of our blessed Lord occurred in the temple instead of on the mount,3 there had been some color of a pretext for its support. The circumstance, however, of the place of manifestation of this glorified humanity of Jesus, taken in connection with His positive command to His disciples after they descended from the mount, viz., “ tell the vision to no man until the Son of man be risen again from the dead,”3 show clearly that, from the manger to the cross, the “glory” of the God-man Mediator—if we except the miraculous attestations of it during His ministry—was veiled beneath the mantle of His humiliation. During His first appearance in the flesh, Jesus was accounted as “a root out of a dry ground”—as one “having neither form nor comeliness whereby we might desire him”—as “aman of sorrows and acquainted with grief”—yea, as one who was “ despised and rejected of men.”4 Nor did all the concentrated displays of the wisdom and power of Christ, whether in the temple or out of it, prevail with those to whom as a nation He was sent, to accept Him as their1 Messiah. “ The veil still remained on their hearts.”6 He came to His own, but His own received Him not.”6 In a word, Christ came first to “suffer:” “the glory was to follow.”7 1 The amount of gold and silver said to have been expended in building the temple of Solomon was one hundred thousand talents of gold and a thousand thousand talents of silver (2 Chron. xxii. 14), amounting to upwards of jE800,000,000 sterling ; which, says Dr. Pri-deaux, was sufficient to have built the whole temple of solid silver, and greatly exceeds all the treasures of all the monarchs of Christendom.—Pain. Connec. vol. I., p. 5. * Compare Matt. xviiL 1-5 with Mark ix. 1, 2 and 3-7. 8 Matt. xvii. 9; Mark ix. 9. * See Iso. liii. ® 2 Cor. ill. 14. · John L11. 11 Pet. L 11. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 73 We think, then, we are safe in the inference, that the “ greater glory ” of which the prophet Haggai speaks, relates, not to Christ’s appearance in the temple of Herod, hut to that of a temple future to any which had preceded it. The comparison instituted by Haggai above, is that between the glory of one “ house ” and that of another “ house ”—of the temple of Ezekiel with those erected by Solomon, Zerubbabel, and Herod. This, we submit, will appear obvious to any one who will take the trouble to compare the ground-plan of Solomon’s temple, as given by Calmet and Pri-deaux, with that of Ezekiel, as delineated by Poole. The difference is so great as scarcely to bear a resemblance. Solomon’s temple was 60 cubits long, 30 broad and 30 high.1 Zerubbabel’s was ordered to be 60 cubits long, and 60 broad.3 And Herod’s was 100 cubits long.8 Solomon’s temple was in a square of 60 cubits. Ezekiel’s is to be in a square of 500 cubits.4 The proportion of Ezekiel’s temple, therefore, to that of Solomon will be as 500 to 60, or as the glory of King Messiah will surpass the glory of king Solomon. In this sense, then, the “ glory of this latter house” will exceed that of the former. Again: Second. As to the Restoration of Sacrifices. The prophet was specially ordered to show to the house of Israel, provided they were ashamed of their iniquities, the whole pattern, and forms, and ordinances, and laws, of this house, with a charge to keep one and all of them. (Chap, xliii. 10,11.) Now, that the Jews who returned with Zerubbabel [Nehemiah] were ashamed, appears from Neh. ix. 1-3; yet no reference or allusion seems to have been made to this revelation of Ezekiel, either in a literal or spiritual sense. So far from it, though Ezekiel himself was commanded to take of the seed of Zadok, and with them to officiate in the ordinances and sacrifices, yet we are nowhere informed that he did so. The conclusion, therefore, is, that the reason of their omission was that their observance was to be reserved for the future. To this, however, it is objected that the offering of sacrifices appears incongruous with the deliverance of the animals from bondage during the millennial dispensation, etc. But to this it may be replied, that the law in regard to the brute creation, “ the spirit of the beast goeth downward,”8 is applicable alike to all 11 Kings vi. 3,4; 2 Chron. ill. 3,4. 9 Ezra vi. 3. 9 Josephus, book xv. Matt, xxili. 1& * Acte xiii. 46. • Matt. xxi. 43. · Gen. iii. 14,15. 7 Rom. iv. 13. * Heb. i. 2. THE ARK AND MERCY-SKAT. ALLEGED FACT9 AND ARGUMENTS. 81 It will be perceived at a glance that these two theories are as divergent as the opposite poles. This latter, clearly distinguishing the Abrahamic, as the new covenant of grace, from the Sinaic covenant of works, asserts its perpetuity, and the identity of the Church of God, under successive dispensations. It shows that that covenant, as it respects the subjects embraced within its capacious grasp, whether Jews or Gentiles, has to do with both spiritual and temporal things, the latter, as it respects the literal Israel, being dependent upon, and held in subservience to, the former. If it be asked, Wherefore, then, the failure of Israel to obtain the inheritance promised to them ? we reply by a reference to the Pauline declaration, “ because they sought it, not by faith, but as it were by the deeds of the law.” 1 Yes, this was the “ stumbling· stone ” on which they fell.5 Instead of securing their title to the promised inheritance by faith in the mediatorial work of Abraham’s “ seed,” which is Christ,3 as the surety and pledge for ti e fulfilment to them of all its stipulations, like the young ruler vn the Gospel,4 they sought it by placing themselves under the “ Hagar,” or Sinai covenant of works.5 And, as it forms no part of the moral government of God to interfere with the free, voluntary choice of his creatures, he left them under that covenant, as a test of their fidelity to him. Their history is the record of their failure to comply with il s rigorous but righteous demands. Hence their almost total, long-protracted alienation from the promised land, as depicted in the nation’s lamentation as given in the words of Isaiah, chap, lxiii. 17,18: “0 Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our hearts from thy fear ? Return, for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance. The people of thy holiness have possessed it ”—i. e. the land—“ but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary,”6 etc. Alas, how true this! If we except Israel’s temporary possession of the land of Canaan after its division by Moses and Joshua, and subsequently under David, etc., down to the captivities, first, of the ten tribes, and then of Judah, they have verily been a people scattered and peeled, a hiss and a by-word to all nations.7 Their national sins—their unbelief, idolatries, and incorrigible wickedness-show wherefore it was that “ the Lord made them to err 1 Rom. lx. 32. * lb. « Gal. iii. Ιβ. « Matt lx. 18. · Gal. iv. 24. • lea. lxiii. 18. 7 Zeph. 1L 15 ; Joel 1117. 82 SECOND COMING OF C HEIST. from bis way s, and hardened their hearts from his fear, and delivered their land into the hands of their adversaries to be trodden under foot,*1 while they have been dispersed as captives among all nations, even to this day. There was, however, a “ mystery of the Divine Will,” which underlay all this, that is not discernible on the surface. It stands connected with the purposes of the author of the Abrahamic covenant, viewed as a whole. In the accomplishment of all the stipulations of that covenant, we are specially to bear in mind that it respected the lineal multitudinous seed of Abraham not only, but also the Gentile nations who were to be blessed through them. Now, it was from a view of the stupendously mysterious method of the Divine procedure in the accomplishment of this latter purpose which led the Apostle to exclaim, “ 0 the depth of the riches, both of the knowledge and wisdom of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! ” * This deep “ wisdom of God in a mystery,” involved the “ fall ” of Israel by “ unbelief,” as the medium of securing “ the riches of the world; ” and the “ diminishing of them,” as the medium of “the riches of the Gentiles.” (Rom. xi. 12.) “The casting away of them was the reconciling of the world” (v. 15). “ Because of unbelief (v. 20) they, as the natural branches (v. 21), were broken off (v. IV) from the good olive-tree” (v. 24), that the believing Gentiles might be grafted in among them,” and thus, "with them, be made to partake of the root and fatness of the olive-tree” (v. 17). Thus it was, that in the purpose of Him that “ worketh all things after the counsel of His own will,” the apostasy of the literal Israel as a nation under the law of works, was made the occasion of the fulfilment of that part of the Abrahamic compact which stipulated, “ In thee and in thy seed shall all the families, kindreds, and nations of the earth be blessed.”3 And thus it is that “Salvation is of the Jews.”4 We hence reach the momentous inquiry,—Was the exscinding of Israel as a-nation from the good olive-tree on account of their unbelief, final? Did Israel thereby lose all further interest, as a nation, in the covenanted stipulations entered into with their fathers respecting them? Was their ejectment from the promised inheritance of Canaan to be perpetual? Let St. Paul an· 1 Isa. lilil 18. 9 Rom. xl. 33. * Gen. xiL 3 ; Acte iii. 25. 4 Compare Gen. xiL 3 and ixii. 18 with John iv. 82. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 83 swer. Still treating of Israel as a nation, he says: “If the fall of them he the riches of the world,” etc., “ how much more their fulness?” (v. 12.) And again: “If the casting away of them he the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them he hut life from the dead?” (y. 15.) Hence the declaration, “And they, also,” i. e., the nation of Israel, “if they abide not still in unbelief, shall he grafted in: ” L e., shall he restored to their place in the good olive-tree from which they were broken off; “ for,” says the Apostle, “ God is able to graff them in again” (v. 28). Now, nothing can he more distinctly marked and defined, than the positions of the parties here treated of, in respect to their relations to the “good olive-tree” or Church of God under the Christian dispensation. Undeniably, the apostle speaks of a f uture destiny of Israel as a nation, totally independent of whatever may be their individual relation to the Christian Church, during the present economy, in common with the Gentiles. The argument throughout this entire chapter is, to show that “ God hath not cast away his people,” i. e., Israel, “whom he foreknew” (ver. 2); that, “as concerning the gospel,” they were enemies for the Gentiles’ sakes: but that, “ as touching the election, they were beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (ver. 28). “ For as the Gentiles in times past had not believed God, yet now have obtained mercy through their unbelief: even so have Israel now not believed, that through the mercy of the Gentiles, they also might [hereafter] obtain mercy” (vv. 30, 31). I repeat, might hereafter obtain mercy. This is evident from St. Paul’s statement, that “ blindness in part—mark, not total, but—“ blindness in part has happened to Israel.” . . . How long? Forever? Nay, verily, but “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (v. 25). Hence his argument, that although “ their minds were blinded,” so that “ even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their hearts in the reading of the Old Testament; nevertheless,” says the apostle, “when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away” (2 Cor. iii. 14-16). That notable prophecy of our Lord respecting Israel as a nation (Luke xxi. 24), points to the same time with that of St. Paul as above, for the removal of this “ veil from their hearts.” “And ye shall be led captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” In both passages, reference is made to the 84 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. close of “ the times of the Gentiles.” The fulness of the evidence, therefore, that Israel’s inheritance of the promise regarding the land depended, not on their obedience to the law, but on “ the righteousness of faith, must await the completion of that period. The security to them of the temporal behests of that covenant as Abraham’s lineal multitudinous seed, by virtue of their interest in its spiritual engagements in their behalf, will then stand out in bold relief. The declaration of the Holy Ghost,—“ For this is my covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins” (Rom. xi. 27), will then, and not “ until” then, be fully verified unto them. We shall then understand whj it was that “ God hath concluded them all,” i. e., the nation of Israel, “ in unbelief,” namely, “ that he might have mercy upon all” (v. 32). In a word, then it shall be seen, that “ the gifts and callings of God” in respect to the national Israelite “remnant according to the election of grace” (v. 5), “ are without repentance ” (v. 29); for then “ there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,” that is Jesus, who, “ as the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto their fathers,” “shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (v. 26). It results, therefore, that, to affirm that the Abrahamic covenant is identical with the old Sinai covenant of works—that it was a mere ecclesiastico-political constitution, with the outward badge of circumcision as a mark of national descent—that its promises in regard to literal Israel had respect only to temporal things—that it was abrogated by the obedience and death of Christ, and that therefore God will remember his covenant with them no more forever—and that, consequently, they are now entirely lost, only as they are merged, as individuals, into the spirit* ual Israel in common with the believing Gentiles,—we repeat, to affirm all this, is to involve the entire statements and reasonings of St. Paul, as set forth in reference to them as contradistinguished from the Gentiles, into a mass of the most unaccountable and unsurpassed absurdities and contradictions! So far from this, the entire line of the apostle’s argument demonstrates, firsty that, consequent of the national apostasy of Israel under the law of works, they were/or a time set aside, as a punishment for their sins, by a long-protracted captivity. “ Their house was left unto them desolate.”1 And this to the end that, meanwhile, second, the door of grace and salvation, according to 1 Matt, xxiii. 88. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 85 the provisions of the Abrahamic compact, might be opened to the Gentiles of all nations. In other words, “ that the blessing of Abraham,” as the preordained “ heir of the world,” “ might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ” as “the Heir of all things,” “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (GaL iii. 14). The “fall” of literal Israel, and their consequent excision from the good olive-tree, as we have seen, was necessary, in order to give scope to the “ taking out of (or from among) the Gentiles, a people for Christ's name'' (Acts xv. 14.) But that, so far from this resulting in the literal Israel’s final ejectment from all interest in that covenant as a nation, the apostle shows, thirds that when the above ingathering of the Gentiles during the period allotted to them shall have been accomplished, they (i. e., the nation of Israel) should be re-engrafted into their own olive-tree, by and through the direct agency of their Messianic Deliverer. We defy the utmost ingenuity of the most astute casuist, by any fair interpretation of the apostle’s language, to escape these deductions. In order, however, to place this matter in a succinct and definite form before the mind of the reader, we submit the following additional considerations, as decisive of the points at issue. First, In regard to Gal. iv. 22-31, we observe, that it cannot be from the circumstance that the apostle sets forth the subject in an allegory, “ that the one covenant is entirely confined to temporal things, and the other to spintual things; ” for this would apply to both covenants. And if it be from the mere circumstance that Jerusalem is spoken of as “ Jerusalem which is above,” let it be remembered, that this same Jerusalem is destined to “ come down from God out of heaven” in the regenerated earth, where “ the tabernacle of God is to be with men.” (Rev. xxi. 2, 3.) Again, Second, It is very plain from Gal. iii. 15-18, that what St. Paul means by the new covenant, or covenant of promise, is that which was first begun with Abraham, and reiterated and amplified with Isaac and Jacob, and is hence spoken of in Ephes. ii. 12 in the plural, “ as covenants of promise.” And here it is to be specially borne in mind that the land of Canaan is repeatedly promised to these three patriarchs personally and respectively, as well as to their seed. The promise to each of the three patriarchs is, —“ to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.” But, as we have already stated, while the posterity of Abraham have had a temporary SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. possession of the land,1 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have not, but were strangers in it. (See Gen. xiii. 15; xvii. 8; xxvi. 3; xxviii. 13 ; Exod. vi. 3,4). There must, therefore, be a special fulfilment of the promise to them, as well as to their posterity. Nor, in regard to Abraham’s seed, has the promise been fully accomplished, even in its literal sense. Their occupancy of it, after its conquest under Moses and Joshua, and its division amongst the twelve tribes, and subsequently under David, etc., was but an earnest of a more extensive and complete fulfilment to them of the original promise. This promise has never yet been verified to them. (See Acts vii. 4, 5; and Heb. xi. 13-16, 39). Nor will it be, until the time comes for the removal of the “ veil from the heart” of “the remnant” seed “according to the election of grace.” Then, in virtue of the faithfulness of Abraham’s “ seed,” which is primarily Christ (Gal. iii. 16); when He as their “Deliverer” shall appear to “turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” all “ the children of promise,” or the multitudinous seed, shall be restored to their long alienated inheritance, the land which, in Isaiah viii. 8, is especially called “ Immanuel’s land ; ” and under such circumstances, if the context be regarded, as to show that a “ material locality is designed.” Finally, Third. In reference to the nature and design of the Abrahamic covenant, the following Scriptural view of it will, we think, place both beyond the reach of further cavil. Let it be observed, then, 1. That the Old covenant, or law of works, which the apostle tells us was to be “ done away in Christ,” is totally separate and distinct from the Abrahamic, will appear from the following comparison of the two: Abraham was called from Ur of (he Chaldees. The covenant transaction with Abraham took place in Canaan. The covenant with Abraham was imprinted in the flesh. The covenant with Abraham was instituted, ▲. m. 2083. Finally, the covenant with Abraham was founded on faith. Moses was born and reared in Egypt. That with Moses on the Mount Sinai, in Arabia. That with Moses was engraven on two tables of stone. That with Moses, 430 years after, a. m. 2513. That with Moses was founded on works. This last-named fact leads to a second remark, viz.: 1 See page 81. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 87 2. That the Abrahamic covenant is an absolutely spiritual compact The design of this covenant was, the preservation of the knowledge and worship of the One True God and of religion in the world. At the time of its institution, Polytheism, or the worship of false deities, had almost totally eradicated the last vestige of a knowledge of the true God and his worship in the earth. “ Even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor, who dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, served other gods”1 Hence the necessity for the calling out from the idolatrous mass, of an elect nation to serve God. This was effected by the institution of the covenant under consideration. And that this covenant, as we have said, was an absolutely spiritual compact, will appear, (1.) From the personal character of the individual with whom that covenant was made. He was not a worldly and ambitious prince, but a pious patriarch. God had “redeemed”2 him from the idolatry of his father’s house, ere he left “Ur of the Chaldees.” When, therefore, he received the divine mandate to repair to Canaan, we read of him that he “ believed God ” concerning all that He had said, and that that faith “ was counted unto him for righteousness.”3 See now, in further evidence of this, (2.) The solemnity which marked the inauguration of this covenant with Abraham, together with the Divine pledge therein given. The descended Deity appears to Abraham, and says: “ I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”4 And again: “ I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be thou perfect: and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. Thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee. Kings shall come out of thee.” And, “ I will be a God unto thee.”6 But, we remark in this connection, what is very important to bear in mind, that this covenant included both Sarah and the lineal descendants of Abraham as well as himself. “ Thou shalt call thy wife Sarah” saith God to Abraham, “and I will bless her and give thee a son of her: she shall be a mother of nations: kings of people shall be of her;”6 and, “I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant—and I will be their God.”’ 1 Josh. xxiv. 2. a Isa. xxix. 22. » Compare Gen. xii. 4 with Rom. iv. 4, 5. 4 Gen. xv. L · See Gen. xvii. 1-6 and verse 7. · Gen. xvii. 16,16. »IU. ver. 7, 8. 88 • 6EC0ND COMING OF CHRIST.. Nor these only. For Jehovah adds, “ And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families and nations of the earth be blessed.” (Compare Gen. xii. 3 with xxii. 18.) To this we add, · (3.) That circumcision, which was the outward badge or seal of this covenant, like baptism, the external seal of the gospel covenant, was a spiritual ordinance. That is, it denoted the necessity of the same internal spiritual change on the part of its recipient, as a security to him of the benefits of the covenant, as that denoted by the rite of Christian baptism. Is it declared of the latter, “ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ? ”1 Of the former it is said, “Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith.”3 Hence, (4.) The condition of the blessings conferred by the Abra-hamic covenant was true religion, as well as external obedience. The apostle, speaking of “ the promise that Abraham should be the heir of the world,” says that “ it was not to him or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith”3 But this constitutes the distinguishing feature of Christianity, as contradistinguished from the law of works. Accordingly, to show the exact correspondence of the nature of both, the apostle says : “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel to Abraham.”4 Therefore it is that, while “ Jesus Christ ” (the author of the gospel, and the surety and pledge for the execution of the stipulations in the covenant ♦ in behalf of all the parties interested) “is the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God ”—not, mark, to destroy, annul, and abrogate, but—“to confirm the promises made unto the fathers,”5 in reference to their lineal multitudinous “ seed,” He secures salvation, also, to all the Gentile nations of the earth. The apostle, therefore, arguing from the spiritual nature Of the Abrahamic compact, and the spiritual condition on which is suspended an interest in its behests, says: “Now this I say, that the covenant (Abrahamic) which was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law (or covenant Mosaic), which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise (i. e., the covenant Abrahamic) of none effect.”8 It hence follows, that the Abrahamic covenant was not superseded, but confirmed, by the introduction of Christianity. Noth- » Mark xvi. 16. * Rom. iv. 11. » Ib..lv. 13. «GaLUi.8. 8 Rom. xv. 8. eGal.lU.17. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 89 ing can be more evident than the fact of its perpetuation under the two dispensations, Jewish and Christian. This involves another fact—that of the twofold relation of the parties embraced in the covenant compact, to St. Paul’s “ good olive-tree.” This symbol, denotive of the Church-state, as more formally organized at the institution of the covenant with Abraham, first encircled within its spiritual pale the believing patriarch and his lineal seed. But, as a visible body on earth, in order to carry out its graciously benevolent designs, it became necessary not only to form this covenant relation with one who had retained the knowledge and worship of the true God, but also to select a new territory as the theatre of its development. Hence the connection of that covenant 3. With temporal things. No sooner, therefore, than the believing patriarch, obedient to God’s command while yet in “ Ur )f the Chaldees,” had set his foot on the land which “ God had showed him,”1 having given him reiterated assurances of the Divine favor and protection, He appeared to him on the plain of Mamre, and said: “ Unto thy seed will I give this land?2 even “ all which thou seest, from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.3 To thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever, for an everlasting possession.”4 Canaan, at this time, was occupied by those idolatrous nations, the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites,5 etc., all of whose religious systems were so many rivals to that of Him -who has declared, “ I will not give mine honor to another, nor my praise to graven images.”6 As these nations occupied this “ goodly land ”7 only as invaders, as a matter of right they could not retain it. Consequently, the bequeathment of it to others, by its only lawful Proprietary— for it is described as “ a land which the Lord God careth for: that the eyes of the Lord God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year ”8—violated no principle either of equity or of justice toward them. But Israel, as we have seen, seeking to retain possession of it under the Sinai covenant of works, and failing to comply with its 1 Gen. xii. 1. * lb. xii. 5-7. * lb. xiii. 15. * Gen. xviL 8. * lb. xv. 19-21. • lea. xlil. 8 ; xlviii. 11. 7 Dent. viii. 7-9; 2 Kings xviii. 32. Ib. xL 12. 90 SECOND COMING OF CHKIST. demands of perfect obedience, were driven into captivity; while, on the one hand, the land has remained in the hands of those who have “ spoiled them; ”1 and, on the other, the door of the covenant, during the period of their excision from the “ good olive-tree ” under the Christian dispensation, is thrown open for the engrafting, in their place, of the Gentile scions, as those who are to constitute, in a peculiar sense, “a people for his name” We repeat: on account of the spiritual whoredom of “ Israel,” and of her more “ treacherous sister, Judah,” God had issued against both “ a MU of divorce”2 And, persisting in their united refusal to u return from their back-slidings ”—to “ circumcise themselves before the Lord,” by “ taking away the foreskins of their hearts” and to “ wash their hearts from wickedness, that they might be saved;” 3—therefore saith their covenant God by the mouth of Isaiah, “ ye shall leave your name for a curse among my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.”4 Now, this was fully verified when, Israel having been “cut off” from “the good olive-tree,” on account of their continuance in “unbelief,” and the Gentiles by faith in Christ were graded into their place, “the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”6 Thus, in accordance with that part of the covenant pledge of God with Abraham, “In thee, and in thy seed, shall all the nations, families, and kindreds of the earth be blessed,” under the Christian economy, “ in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted of Him.”" Aye, “accepted of Him:” and that, in a way and manner essentially different from the relation to him of the literal Israel. For, while Jesus the Messiah, as “the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God,” was the divinely appointed surety and pledge to “confirm the promises” made to them concerning the restoration of the land; God the Father, as the author and rectoral Head of that covenant, united Himself to Israel as her husband. “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.”7 For, saith he, “I am married unto you.”8 1 lea. xliL 22; Ezek. xxxix. 10. * Jer. iii. 6-11. * Jer. ill. 12; and iv. .4,14. 4 Isa. Ixvi. 15. * Acts xi. 26. · Acts x. 35. 7 Jer. iL 2. 8 lb. iii. 14. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 91 But, the “King’s Son” must have his bride also. And, as the literal Israel, to whom the invitation to the marriage feast was first given, “ all with one consent began to make excuse ” and finally-refused to come,1 “lo,” He “turned to the Gentiles,” “ίο take out of (or from among) them” that “holy nation and royal priesthood, and peculiar people,”9 who should constitute His bride—“the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”3 What, then, is “the bill of divorcement” against Israel never to be revoked f Is her ejectment from the promised inheritance of the land as its rightful heir, final? Will God remember His covenant engagements with Abraham and his lineal multitudinous seed no more forever? Let the old prophets answer. In regard, first, to the bill of divorcement against Israel, it is written, “Turn, 0 backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you; and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.” “And I will betroth thee unto me forever: yea, I will betroth thee in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thpu shalt know the Lord.”4 Second. Israel is still in captivity. Judah is still dispersed among all nations. The whole land still remains desolate. “Yet, saith the Lord, will I not make a full end.”6 And so, when “ the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in,” and their Messiah, “the Deliverer, shall come to Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” by removing “the veil” of unbelief which yet remains over “ their hearts,” the prophet Isaiah assures us of the universality of their promised restoration. “He shall gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth: and He shall gather together the outcasts of Israel.”6 And, finally, Third. The prophet Moses, having alluded to the circumstances of Israel’s sin and guilt in “despising God’s judgments and abhorring his statutes,” adds these remarkable words: “ Yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt, that I might be their God: I am the Lord. I will remember my covenant with 1 Luke xiv. 18. 3 Titue ii. 14. 3 John iii. 29; Rev. xxL 9. ♦ Jer. iil. 14; Hoeea iii. 19, 20. · Jer. iv. 27. 3 lea. xi. 12. 92 SECOND COMING OF CHRI8T. Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.” Then, further, when the ingathering of that “consecrated host of God’s elect” from among the Gentiles (during the period of Israel’s continued dispersion and the treading down of the holy city), who are to constitute “the bride of the Lamb,” shall have been consummated, the prophet Isaiah, having an eye to the predicted conversion of all nations which is to immediately follow the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” and the accomplishment of which is made to depend upon Judah’s and Israel’s restoration to and national conversion in their own land, says: “The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel, saith, Yet will I gather others unto Rim besides those—i. e., the Jews—that are gathered unto him.”2 Now, that these can be none other than the Gentile nations which, having escaped those terrific “judgments” that shall fall upon the last great anti-christian confederacy in their invasion of Jerusalem as described by Zechariah, chap. xiv. l-3? “shall learn righteousness,” may be seen from the following: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set my standard to the people.”8 “Behold, these shall come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”4 “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”5 “Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thy heart shall fear, and be enlarged : because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee/ the forces ol the Gentiles shall come unto thee”6 But it is of special importance to understand the order of the Divine procedure in the accomplishment of these events, and also the agencies through whom, and the means by which they are to be brought about. On these subjects, the prophets are very explicit. L Of the Jewish nation. The priority of the restoration of the house of Judah to that of Israel, may be gathered from the circumstances and instrumentalities connected with each. For instance: the exhaustion of the Turkish power, the only political impediment to the restoration of the house of Judah to Palestine, is set forth under the symbol of the “drying up of the mystical Euphrates.” 7 This effected, and their conversion follows, as describ- 1 Lev. xxvi. 44, 45 and v. 42. * See Gen. xlix. 10 ; lea. lvi. 8 ; John x. 16; xi. 62; Eph. 1.10; ii. 14-16. 8 lea. xlix. 22. * lb. ver. 12. 8 lb. lx. 3. · lb. ver. 5. T Rev. xvl. 12- 14. That “ the great river Euphratesmentioned Rev. lx. 14, ae interpreted to elgnify the ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 93 ed by Zechariah,—“ And His (Christ’s) feet snail stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem.”1 The “day” here spoken of, is the same with the time when the person* ally manifested Christ “shall fight against” the anti-Christian invaders of the holy city, as described in this chapter. For, says the prophet, “ The Lord my God shall come, and all His [resurrected and glorified] saints with Him?* It is then shall be verified the promise, “And I will pour upon the house of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.” 3 And thus, after the example and pattern of the conversion of St. Paul, as “one born out of due time,” his brethren are as “ a nation born at once.”4 Then further. “The house of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem” having thus repented of their sins and received their Messiah, this work of the conversion of the nations miraculously commenced by Christ personally, will be continued in exact analogy to the first propagation of the gospel among the Gentile Mahometan or Turkish power, (the same with the “little horn” of Daniel's second vision, chap, viil.,) Is not founded in fancy, we here quote the opinions of several of the most distinguished expositors of prophecy for the last two centuries. Brightman, a Feljow in Queen'S College in Cambridge, in Elizabeth's time, speaking of this subject in 1636, says, “ It is not to he doubted but that these angels (referring ty> the four angels hound on the hanks of this great river, or the four Sulianies of Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, and Iconium) he the Turks ; and to this opinion do most interpreters consent.” So also the profoundly learned Joseph Mede, who, a. d. 1650, “interprets the four angels to signify so many Sul· tanies or kingdoms, into which the Turks were divided ; ” and he quotes them from Richerius to be, “ the first Asia Minor, the second Aleppo, the third Damascus, and the fourth Antioch.” And Sir Isaao Newton, in his observations on the Apocalypse, adopts and applies this view. Tillinghast also says,—“ By the general consent of expositors, it hath reference to the Turkish power.” Mr. Durham, in 1660, gives an explanation harmonizing, on the whole, with the preceding extracts: so does Mr. Petto in 1693; and Fleming, in his work on the Apocalypse in 1700. So, the fats of this power, and the time of its destruction, as described Rev. xvi. 12-14· Daniel says it “ shall be "broken without hand” (Chap. viii. 25.) St. John, that it shall be “ dried up.” And this, to the end “ that the way of the kings of the East might bi prepared.” On this passage, says Brightman, “ that people is here signified by these kings, lor whose sake alone the Scriptures declare that the waters were dried up of old ; viz.: the Jews.” So of the distinguished Joseph Mede. “ The kings of the East,” says he, “ are the Jews.” The same of Tillinghast. He says, “ By the kings of the East we are to understand the Jews, who, upon the pouring out of this vial, (the sixth,) shall return to their own land, and be converted unto Christ; and I take it,” he adds, “ that tho pouring out of this via] prepareth the way for both: ” i. e., the destruction of the Turkish power or Mahometan little horn of Daniel's he-goat, and the restoration to Palestine, and conversion of God's covenant people, the Jews. At the same time, of course, falls the Mahometan power as the ■courge of the apostate Eastern or Greek Church. 1 Zech. xiv. 4. a lb. ver. 5. 8 lb. xii. 10. * Isa. lxvi. 8. 94 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. nations, until the whole earth is subdued to His authority. The next in order, therefore, comes, Π. Those of the Gentile nations of Christendom. Of these the prophet thus speaks, chap. lvi. 8: “The Lord God, which gathereth the outcasts of Israel,” (used in this place to denote the house of Judah,) “saith, Yet will I gather others to him, besides those that are gathered to him.” That is, those “ Gentiles that shall come to his light, and kings to the brightness of his rising.” (Isa. lx. 3.) Who these Gentiles are, may be gathered from what the prophet Zechariah says of those that are “ left of the nations which came against Jerusalem ” at the time of its last invasion, as described, chap. xiv. verses 1, 2, and 16, namely, the last anti-Christian confederacy, against whom the Lord Jesus “fights as in the day of battle,” verse 3. For, it is in the midst of “the judgments ” that will be inflicted upon them, that prophecy declares “ the people will learn righteousness.” 1 Now, that these unconverted Gentile nations lay within the bounds of Christendom, appears from the following, Isa. lxvi. 18: “It shall come, that I will gather all nations, and they shall come, and see my glory.” That is, when the Lord shall “ arise and shine upon Judah, and when His glory shall be risen upon him.” (Verse 1.) And this “glory” shall consist of a miraculous display of the Divine Power in their behalf; for, says the prophet, “And I will set my sign among them.”8 And again: “ Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set my standard to the people.” * Thus their conversion. This done, and these newly-converted Gentiles of Christendom shall be sent, HI. To the idolatrous Heathen. For of those it is also predicted that the time will come when they “shall cast their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.”4 And this will be, “ when God arises to shake terribly the earth,”6 the very time this, of which we now speak. For, says the prophet, they shall be sent “ unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow; to Tubal and Javan, and to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory: and they,” i. e., the converted Gentiles of Christendom, “ shall declare my glory among the Gentiles” of Heathendom. Aye, like the Apocalyptic “angel 1 lea. xxvi. 9. « lb. ii. 18-22. aIb. lxvi. 10,21. 8 lb. xllx. 22, and verse 12. *Ib. lxvi. 19,21. ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 95 flying through mid-heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, and people,”1 they shall neither tire nor faint, until the universal world of man kind shall be converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then shall be verified the promise, “ the heathen shall be given to Him for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.” a And now, in reference to, IV. The Some of Israel, or the Ten Lost Tribes. It would be irrelevant to the subject in hand to enter into the question of the whereabouts of the lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Speculation here is of little worth. Suffice it to say, that however lost to the eye of man, they are known to God. Of this we may be assured, that they are still inhabiting those remote regions in Assyria, whither all the Ten Tribes were carried captive by Ezarhaddan, or Shalmanezer, in a. μ. 3307.3 What principally concerns us now, is the fact that prophecy makes their conversion, unlike that of the house of Judah, to precede their restoration to Palestine. He that hath said, “Fear not thou, 0 Jacob my servant, and be not dismayed, 0 Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity, and Jacob shall return and be at rest,”4 etc., also declares, “Therefore they shall come and sing in the heights of Zion,”6 etc., “ when God has executed judgments upon all those that despised them round about.”8 Yes: it is “ when they are at hand to come”7 that is, are ready to return to their own land, that “the Lord Himself shall go before them.” Accordingly, their covenant-God having declared of Israel, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee: ”8 by the secret workings of the Holy Spirit’s influences, as in the case of “ the house of Judah,” etc., their souls are stirred up within them to receive and to believe in their Messiah, and to repent of their sins, as preparatory to their return “ with weeping and with supplications,” * etc. Hence, when this event transpires, the words, “ I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins,” 10 etc., show that their conversion has taken place prior to their return. In further confirmation of the above, I now add, that what is said of them when they shall have been restored to their own 1 Rev. xiv. 6. a Pe. i. 8. * Compare 2 Kings xv. 29 and xvi. 9 with 2 Kings xvii. 20, 8 Jer. xlvi. 27,28. 8 Jer. xxxi. 1-14. · Ezek. xxviil. 24-26. τ Λ xxxvi. 1-6, and 7-15. 8 Jer. xxxL 3. 8 lb. ver. 9. 10 Isa. xliv.. 1, 2. 9(5 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. land, is decisive of this point. Read the following prophecy, “And in that day ”—that is, the day of their lational conversion as above—“ the Lord shall set His hand again the second time ”— that of Judah having been the first—“to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from the islands of the sea,” etc. “ And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people which shall be left of Assyria, like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.” And so, as they advance along the track of their “ highway,” the prophet tells us that “ the Lord with His mighty wind shall shake His hand over the river,” (i. e. the Nile,) “ and shall smite it in the seven streams thereof, and make men go over dry shod.” The meaning here is, that as their ‘course will lay across “ the tongue ” (or bay, margin) “ of the Egyptian sea,” it will, like that of the Red sea some 3,500 years before, be divided at the approaching footsteps of the returning Ten Tribes; and thus, as in the instance of their former deliverance out of Egypt, furnish them with a miraculous passage to the opposite shore. And, this point attained, the prophet informs us that the newly-converted Gentiles described above, “ shall bring ” all these Israel-itish “brethren” of the Jews “for an offering unto the Lord out ot all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beaste, to, my holy mountain, Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring a clean vessel in the house of the Lord. And I will also take them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.”8 But, V. On this subject of the universal conversion of the world of mankind to Christ, there is in I*saiah, chap, xix., a prophecy which relates especially to ancient Egypt and Assyria, which must not be passed over. In the first seventeen verses, the prophet, having denounced a series of the most terrible judgments against Egypt, follows them up by a prediction offinal mercy to her, and also to Assyria, and of their connection with restored Judah and Israel in Palestine. Though the Lord declares that He would “ smite Egypt ” for her past persecution of His chosen people Israel, by giving her up for a time into the hands of the last Antichrist, etc., yet it would be only that He might heal it / for, “ in that day, they shall even turn to the Lord, and He shall be entreated of 1 lea. xi. 11-16, and Zech. x. 10,11. 1 lea. xi. 11-16 RIVER CILKBAJt, SCENE OF EZEKIEL'S VISION ALLEGED FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 97 them, and head them. In that day, there shall he an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign, and for a witness unto the Lord of Hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the Lord, because of their oppressors; ” that is, Antichrist and his confederate hosts who have invaded their land. And then the prophet adds, “ And He shall send them a Saviour and a Great One, and He shall deliver them. And the Lord shall be known in Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation: yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and shall perform it. . . . In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear by the Lord of Hosts,” etc. And, finally: “ In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the Lord shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.” (Verses 18-25.)1 And moreover, we are assured that, when the time for the accomplishment of this mighty moral revolution in the world shall have come, contrary to the popular expectation, “ the Lord,” by those combined human and supernatural or miraculous agencies which He will employ to that end, “ will cut short His work in righteousness; for a short work will the Lord make in the earth.”1 And now, see the result of this work. First. The “ two sticks,” that is, Judah and Ephraim, or the Ten Tribes of Israel, having been restored to that land from which they had been separated during the prolonged period (as will be shown in the sequel) of the mystical “seven times,” or 2,520 years of chastisement for their sins, as predicted by Moses, (Numb. xxvi. 18, 21, 24, 28,)— “the times of the Gentiles” mentioned Luke xxi. 24, and Rom. xi, 25—and again united in that land, and in their converted state, shall become “ one stick in the hand of the Lord upon the mountains of Israel.”a Nor this only. For, the nations of the Gentiles, both nominally Christian and Heathen, together with Egypt and Assyria, shall be converted, and thus “flow unto 1 Conenlt also lea, xl. 10; xlil. 1-17; llv. 1-17; lv., IxL, lxvi.; Jer. xvi. 10-21; Mic. lv. 1-6; Zech. viii. 20-23, and chap. x. * Rom. lx. 28; Matt. xxlv. 22. 1 Ezek. xxxyU. 16-]£ 98 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. them”1 And thus will be verified God’s covenant faithfulness, first, to the line·*} multitudinous seed of Abraham, and second, the promised blessing, through them, to the nations, kindreds, and tongues of the Gentiles. In conclusion, then, we submit that we have demonstrated the utter fallacy of the theory of Millerism at the head of this chapter, which alleges the fulfilment of all the prophecies that set forth the restoration, union, and conversion of Judah and Israel, or the Ten Tribes, to and in the Holy Land, by the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Not to go into a recapitulation of the ground over which we have passed, suffice it to say, that we have carefully and candidly weighed, and, we hold, successfully re· fated every argument and fact, as based either on Scripture or history, brought against the predicted future restoration, union, and conversion of the literal seed of Abraham to Palestine; and have shown that, when that event does take place, their national conversion is dependent upon, and can only be effected by, the personal manifestation to them of the Lord Jesus Christ; the ingathering of the Gentiles to them; apd the establishment of Christ’s kingdom and reign over them as their Messiah. I will only add, by the way, that as all expositors, except the Millerites, admit that the Jewish nation is to remain in captivity, and Jerusalem is to be trodden down of the Gentiles, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke xxi. 24; Rom. xi. 25); it will follow, unless that period can be shown to be identical with the millennial era and to end with it, that “the Deliverer’s coming to Zion to turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” must be pee not posT-millennial. 1 lea. lx. 6. THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 99 CHAPTER Π. SECOND theory: as advocated by grotius, prideaux, VINT, PROF. GEO. BUSH, ETC. THIS THEORY ALLEGES, THAT THE PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE SECOND COMING OP CHRIST AND THE ERECTION OP HIS MILLENNIAL KINGDOM, WERE FULLY VERIFIED BY THE OVEBr THROW OF PAGANISM AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE, UNDER CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, IN A. D. 823. The most modern and popular advocate of this theory is the late Professor George Bush. He borrowed it from the writings of Grotius, Prideaux, Vint, etc. It is founded upon their exegesis of Rev. xx. 1-7. The nature and character of the Millennial state of the Church, according to these writers, is made to consist “in the cessation of the pagan persecutions, and the extirpation of idolatry and polytheism” in the Roman empire under Constantine the Great; is to continue until “the appearance of the Antichrist” predicted by St. Paul, 2 These, ii 3-12, whose “reign is to last three and a half literal years; and is shortly to precede the second coming of our blessed Lord to judgment,” etc. The interval between these two extreme points, i. e., “ the Millennium, or the thousand years mentioned by St. John,” is regarded by them as the period “ during which Satan was bound and the saints reigned with Christ” in a state of “general peace and prosperity to the Christian Church,” etc.; hut whether this interval of blessedness has already expired, or is still running on, they are not agreed. In what we have to offer on the subject of this theory, we shall confine ourself, for the most part, to a review of Prof. Bush’s “Treatise on the Millennium;” which will involve an examination of the symbolical imagery employed by the Holy Spirit in the passage under consideration, as interpreted and applied by him in its defence. Speaking of “ the doctrine of the Millennium,” as founded on Rev. xx. 1-7, this writer affirms, First That it “is the only express passage in the Scriptures, in which mention is made of 3. period of a thousand yearsy in connection with the prospective lot of the Church,”1 and, 100 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Second. That its only key of interpretation is made to consist ©f “ what is to he understood by the dragon, or the Satan (the adversary) who is to be bound; what by his binding; and what by the bottomless pit in which he is represented as being shut up.”a 1. In reference to the “dragon” (verse 2), he enters upon a long, labored, and learned disquisition, to prove, firsts that, according to the symbolic language of the Apocalypse, he denotes “a standing symbol of Paganism, including in that term the twofold idea of despotic government and false religion ” *—or in other words, that he is “Paganism personified;”* and second, “the identity of the dragon which is bound [verses 1, 2], with the dragon which was cast out of heaven.”6 [Chap. xii. 3-8.] The Professor then argues, that “if this be the true meaning of the dragon, his being seized, bound, and incarcerated for a thousand years, must necessarily sigiiify some powerful restraint laid upon this baleful system of error,”—i. e., Paganism—“by which its prevalence, through the above-mentioned period, is vastly weakened, though not utterly destroyed.”6 And he continues, “if this be the true meaning of the binding of the dragon, then, his being ‘ cast into the bottomless pit,’ etc., if we mistake not, is intended by the spirit of prophecy to signify the unknown world, comprising the immense, unexplored, undefined, boundless regions which stretched beyond the limits of the Roman empire, particularly to the north and east;”—i. e., the territory which embraced the more obdurate Pagan subjects of Constantine’s bitter and implacable rival, Licinius, etc., in the eastern branch of the empire—“where,” says he, “Satan had long established his throne, where he ruled*with undivided sway, and where idolatry, in its most frightful and horrid forms, has ever held a disastrous dominion.”1 But this is not all. During this alleged absence of the “dragon,” thus “cast down,” “bound,” “shut up,” and “sealed” in “the bottomless pit” or abyss; that is, during this season “of general peace and prosperity of the Christian Church” for a thousand years; and “commencing about the time of the suppression of Paganism,” or binding of Satan, or the dragon; he affirms W&s “the rise of the beast ” of Rev. xiil 1, “having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns,” etc. But for what * Treatise on the Millennium, pref. p. x. * lb. pref. p. x. * lb. p. 93. * See p. 146. »lb. p. 142. · lb. p. 146. ’ lb. p. 169. THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 101 purpose ? Let the learned author answer. The dragon, he says, “conscious of his being forced to withdraw in his own proper person,.... resolves on thrusting upon the vacated stage another agent, who should act as his Vicegerent, and into whom he determines to transfuse the full measure of his own Satanic spirit and genius. This was no other,” adds he, “than the seven-headed and ten-homed beast that arose out of the seal” etc. The Millennial Church, then, we conclude, must have been vastly benefited by this important exchange of the “dragon” for the “beast.” Indeed, the Professor himself seems to have been considerably startled at this idea, arid therefore says, “This may strike the reader as a very revolting conclusion; but this conclusion,” he adds, “ we know not how to avoid, nor can we see how any one can avoid it, who admits the premises on which it rests.”1 Now to all this we readily reply, neither do we. Indeed, who does not know that the right interpretation of any subject de pends upon a correct understanding of the premises on which it rests? But in this, we must insist, lay all the difficulty in the Professor’s ingeniously wrought theory. For, to say nothing of his violation of the laws of interpretation of the symbolic imagery of prophecy, by an indiscriminate jumbling together of the dragon with the beast, whether with one head or seven, or whether with horns and crowns, or no horns or crowns at all, the Professor, as the expositor of the Apocalypse, furnished himself with the amazing facility which marks his application of them en masse, as denotive of “the extirpation of idolatry and Paganism” from the Roman empire; and to confine the golden period of peace and prosperity of the Millennial Church under the reign of Constantine, and that of his successors, to the space of what he calls one thousand years 1 Now, the readiest mode of exposing the fallacy of all this, will be to place before the eye the several descriptions given of these objects, thus: The first, Rev. xil 3, etc. “ And there appeared another wonder in heaven: and behold, a great red drag-on, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” The second, Rev. xiii. 1. “ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon hia heads the name of blasphemy.” 1 Treatise on the Millennium, p. 147. 102 SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. The third, Rev. xx. 1-3. “ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, whion is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed for a little season,” etc. Now, the plainest-minded Christian cannot but perceive at a glance the marked distinction between these various objects re vealed to the Apostle John. Take, for example, the first and second. While the points of resemblance consist only in this, that both have seven heads and ten horns, yet they differ in the following particulars: 1. In name. The one is called a “dragon;” the other a “least” 2. In origin. The “dragon” is “cast out of heaven;” the “beast” rises “up out of the sea” and receives his power from the dragon; for, although the dragon is represented as “having seven heads and ten horns,” yet, as we shall see, the latter is only his subordinate agent in the execution of his purposes. Hence, 3. The mutation to which the “ beast from the sea” is subjected. First, he appears with “seven crowns upon his heads;” which crowns are subsequently transferred to his ten horns, and upon his heads is written “ the name of blasphemy,” 4. That the dragon and the beast are not identical, will appear from the following: In the first place it is to be observed, that so far from the dragon being a symbol of “ paganism personified,” the Holy Spirit says that he is “ that old serpent called the Devil and Satan” On the other hand we read that “the dragon gave his power, and seat, and great authority to the beast,” (Rev. xiii. 2.) Again: the “beast,” with his seven crowned heads, as the agent of the “ dragon,” is symbolical of the Pagan “ despotic government,” under which form, having accomplished his mission and received his fate, the draconic Devil, or Satan, changes his tactics, by transferring the crowns from the seven heads to the ten horns of the beast, while on his seven heads are inscribed the name of blasphemy, under which new form he becomes the symbol of “false religion” or Papal anti-Christianism, to which power it was given to “make war with the saints, and to overcome THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 103 them ;,M and that power was given him also over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, and people.” * Then again. Take the first and third of the above representations. Here, we admit, that the dragon of Rev. xii. 3, is identical with that of chap. xx. 2; for, of this last, as of the first, the Holy Spirit says that he is “ that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan.” But, mark the difference in the account given of the dragon in these two places. In chapter xii. 9, it is said of him that “ he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Where? Into the “bottomless pit” or abyss? Nay. For though “the heavens rejoice, and they that dwell in them” (v. 12), “because the accuser of the brethren is cast down,” etc. (v. 10); yet the prophetic voice proclaims, “ Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea I for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (v. 12). On the other hand, the account given of this same dragon in chap. xx. is, that he is “ cast into the bottomless pit, and is shut up, and a seal set upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled,” etc. Now then, to show the fallacy, first, of confounding the dragon and the beast with the symbolic agents employed by him; and second, of insisting on the identity of the dragon and the beast; and third, of representing that the circumstances of the agencies, time, place, etc., connected with the dragon of chap, xii and xx. are the same; it is only necessary to remark, (1.) If the dragon of chap, xii and xx., and the beast of chap, xiii. are identical, and denote “a standing^ymbol of Paganism;” and the seizing, binding, and incarceration for a thousand years, etc., of the dragon in the bottomless pit or abyss, signify the “extirpation of paganism from the Roman empire” under Constantine ; how are we to reconcile the presence of the dragon with the beast, at the time of the transference of the power of the former to the latter ? And, mark, this fact is admitted by Prof Bush; for, how otherwise could the dragon, as he says, “ transfuse the full measure of his own satanic spirit and genius ” into the beast ? But again. (2.) The “beast” of chap, xiii was worshipped—" all the world wondered after him” (verses 3, 4, 8). But, the “dragon” 1 Dan. vil a, 22. * Rev. xiii. 7. 104 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. also was worshipped (v. 4). The question therefore is, if the dragon and beast are identical, where was the dragon at this time f Was he “ bound with a great chain,” and “ cast into the bottomless pit and sealed ?” If so, how are we to reconcile this with the declaration of Holy Writ, that, during his incarceration for “ a thousand years,” he was to deceive the nations no more ? while here is an existing deception of “ all who dwell upon the earth,” of which he is the author, and so great as to secure to himself the homage of “ all the world!” Nor is this all. For, (3.) If we admit the above interpretation of these symbols, then the “great red dragon,” being “Paganism personified” when “ cast into the bottomless pit,” which, according to his interpretation is Paganism in “ the unexplored regions of the north and east,”—and which, by the way, must have included the eastern branch of the Roman empire under Licinius—it follows, that Paganism must have been cast into Paganism! In other words, that the “ great red dragon ” must have been cast into himself! It is almost superfluous to add further on this subject, that the very circumstance of finding the “ dragon,” when we come to chap, xx., introduced to our notice without any mention of his having “ seven crowned heads and ten horns,” is demonstrative that they were intended to denote his subordinate agents, as distinct from himself. He, symbolic of “ that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan? they, “his angels” The same holds true of all the symbols of Daniel, e. g., like the ten-horned fourth beast of chap. vii. 7, 8, from among which there came up another “ little horn;” and like the “ h%goat ” of chap. viii. 1-12, out of the “notable horn” of which, being broken, four horns came up in its stead, and from one of which there sprung up another “little horn;” and all of which occupy their respective spheres according to their relative symbolic import, so with this great red dragon of the Apocalypse: his being represented as invested with the appendages of “ seven crowned heads and ten horns,” all have their appropriate symbolic meaning as his agents. And, like as with the body of the “ little horn” or beast, which arose up from among the ten horns of Daniel’s fourth beast, which, though “ slain, de stroyed, and given to the burning flame,” left the life of the beast himself to be “ prolonged for a season and a time: ” so with the “great red dragon” under review. Whatever was the fate of THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 105 the seven crowned heads and ten horns of the beast, or the same, when transferred to his ten horns as his agents, acting under his authority, and inspired with “the full measure of his satanic spirit and genius” in upholding paganism or in persecuting the saints of God; yet he still lives, to transfuse the same “spirit and genius ” into the same or future agents, and with them to receive the homage of the world!1 Having thus, we submit, sufficiently exposed the misconstruction and consequent misapplication of the symbolic imagery of the Apocalypse adduced by Prof. Bush in support of the theory before us, we now propose to vindicate the nature, character, and duration of the millennial state of the Church as still future, against other arguments alleged in proof that it is either already past, or that it is stiU running its course. First. In regard to this writer’s assertion, that Key. xx. 1-7 “is the only express passage in the whole compass of the Scriptures, in which mention is made of a period of a thousand years in connection with the prospective lot of the Church,” etc., we observe, that even admitting this to be so, yet of one tiling we are certain,—it by no means diminishes the sufficiency of the proof respecting it; and especially so, when we consider, that ninety-nine hundredths of the Christian world receive as scriptural doctrines, the change in the observance of the Christian Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, and the right of both sexes of admission to the holy communion, without any express passage whatever for either! But this is not all. We deny the truth of the above statement respecting this passage, except in the single article of its mention of one thousand years, which, by the way, is reiterated in one form or other no less than six times in the seven verses! Of the other parts of the passage relating to the Millennium, there are scores of passages both in the Old and New Testaments, which teach the same great truth in the most “ express ” terms. Indeed, Prof. Bush himself, when speaking of the “latter-day glory” of the Church, says, that it “ is abundantly testified by the predictions of the former and the latter prophets.” But then he denies that the announcements of Isaiah and other ancient prophets regarding the “ sublime visions of ultimate glory to the Church,” x Compare Rev. xii. 11-18 and xvii. 12-18 with 2 These, it 3-6; 6-12. 106 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. are “parallel” with, or point to, “precisely the same epoch with the Millennium of the Apocalypse, chap. xx. 1-7.” One thing, however, is certain. There can he but one millennial state of the Church on earth. That ended, and the Son of God “shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father,” when “ the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him,that God may be all in all;”1 when “ the general assembly and church of the first-born ” shall enter upon the eternal blessedness of “ the new heavens and earth,” or supernal state. It follows, therefore, either that the millennium, or the thousand years mentioned by St. John during which Satan was bound and the saints reigned with Christ, commenced with the cessation of the Pagan persecutions and the extirpation of idolatry and polytheism, at the accession of Constantine to the supreme sovereignty of the Roman empire, a. d. 323, and that it has either expired or is still running on; or, that that event is still future. Now, the former is the theory of the Millennium advocated by the learned Grotius, Prideaux, and Prof. Bush. This latter writer, speaking of “ the prevailing impressions ”—“ for,” says he, “ opinions they can scarcely be called—respecting the millennium; a term,” he adds, “denoting, in its popular sense, a future felicitous state of the Church and the world of a thousand years’ duration,” etc.; and that this popular impression is indicated by the frequent use of the “phraseology,—millennial state, millennial reign, millennial purity, millennial glory,” etc.—these “prevailing impressions,” he says, “ are to be traced to the influence of a mere traditionary tenet, which, having been received from our forefathers in childhood, have become with us a matter of mechanical repetition in after life, when “ * The priest hath finished what the nurse began.* ” * And yet, superadded to his theory of a past or continued millennium as represented above, he insists that, in comparison with it, “ a brighter and benigner period is yet to dawn upon our world —an era of preeminent peace, purity, and prosperity, constituting what is frequently called ‘ the latter day glory,’ is yet destined to bless our globe, succeeding and compensating ‘the years wherein we have seen trouble; ’ for this is abundantly testified by *1 Cor. zv. 24,28. 8 Treatise on the Millennium, pref. p. vii. THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 107 the predictions of the former and the latter prophets, and shadowed forth under many a significant parable, type, and allegory.”1 We now ask, In what consists the difference between the Professor’s views of the millennial or “latter day glory” of the Church, and the “prevailing impressions” respecting it, according to his own showing ? Both are to take place in “ our world,” on “our globe.” Both assert of it, that it is to be “a brighter and benigner period,” infinitely transcending, in peace, purity, and blessedness, “ the most favored epochs which have yet marked its annals.” Both affirm that it is “ a coming condition in the affairs of the Church,” etc.; L e., that it is still future; and, both declare that all this “is abundantly testified by the predictions of the former and the latter prophets.” It becomes, therefore, an inquiry of grave and serious import, as to th & grounds upon which this writer speaks of “the vast multitude” who are guided by the “prevailing impressions” respecting the millennium, as unable “to give a reason of the hope that is in them;” and to speak of them as “ ‘knowing not what they say, nor wherefore they affirm ; ’ ” and to demand of them “ upon what this, their expectation, is founded,” and whether it has “unequivocally the warrant of any express declaration of Holy Writ.”* To test this matter, we yield to the demand here made, and join issue with the advocate of the theory here laid down. Let it be assumed, then, that the millennial state of the Church Commenced with “the cessation of the pagan persecutions and the extirpation of idolatry and paganism under Constantine the Great: it will follow, that, as the Scriptures make provision for but one such a state of the Church on earth, the learned Professor’s idea, in comparison with, and addition to it, of “ a brighter and benigner period as yet to dawn upon our world,” is a pure fiction l Then, in the next place, should it result, that the millennial state of the Church, as alleged to have commenced from the time of Constantine the Great, is a falsification both of Scripture and of historic fact, it will of course follow, that What the Professor represents in such glowing terms of the state of the Church “yet to dawn upon our world,” is precisely that future millennium which, as he says, we have received “ by tradition from our forefathers in childhood,” and “ mechanically repeat in after life.” 1 Treatise on the Millennium, preface, p. viii. 9 lb. ib. 108 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Our first business will be to give a brief Scriptural view of the millennial state of the Church as described in Rev. xx. 1-7, taken in connection with “the abundant testimony of the former and the latter prophets ” in relation to it. And second, examine, historically, the millennium as alleged by the theory under review to have commenced under Constantine the Great, in proof that it is destitute of every characteristic of that state. I. First then. The Scriptural view of the Millennial state of the Church. We shall here, 1. Give an analysis of the first seven verses of Rev. xx., with a view to determine what it teaches respecting the millennium, during the six times repeated one thousand years mentioned therein. (1.) The first fact is, the one thousand years’ binding of the dragon, which, as a symbol, the Holy Spirit interprets to signify “ that old Serpent, which is the devil and Satan.” (Verse 2.) (2.) The second fact is, the consequent one thousand years' exemption of the nations from his deceptive devices. (Verse 3.) (3.) The third fact is, that during this one thousand years, some of the dead lived, sat on thrones, and reigned with Chnst on the earth. (Compare verse 4, with chap. v. 10; see, also, chap, xx. 6, and xxii. 5.) This is interpreted by the Holy Spirit to mean “the first resurrection.” (Versestf, 6.) (4.) The fourth fact is, that “ the rest of the dead" i. e., those who are to suffer the penalty of “ the perdition of ungodly men,” (2 Pet. iii 7,) “ lived not again, until this thousand years were finished" (verse 5. See, also, verses 11-15); and, (5.) The fifth fact is, that, at the expiration of this one thousand years, “ Satan shall be loosed out of his prison for a little season,” etc. (verses 3, 7, and 8, etc.) Here, then, we have described to us “ Solan" as the great ad versary of God and man, and the disturber of the peace and prosperity of the Church, and the deceiver of the nations, bound with a great chain, cast into the bottomless pit, shut up, and a seal put upon him, etc., and all for what purpose ? Why, “ that he should deceive the nations no more" at least “for a thousand years.” Accordingly, in exact harmony with these representations, that same “ Spirit of Christ ” who revealed these things to the revela· tor, John, in the Isle of Patmos, inspired the old prophets, also. THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 109 to speak of this glorious period of the Church, as, in the purpose of trod, ultimately set free alike from the distractions of “error, heresy, and schism,” and the cruel hand of the persecutor. Yes. Wrapped in prophetic vision, they were “moved by the Holy Ghost” to predict that the time would come, when, in the sense of “ the unity of the faith once delivered to the saints,”1 “ AU shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest.” 3 Also, that then, in the sense of .the peaceable kingdom of the “ Branch,” 3 it is said of Messiah, so glowingly set forth by Isaiah, that “ Righteousness shall be the girdle of the loins, and faithfulness the girdle of the reins,”4 of the King of Zion. Then, men “ shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and the spears into pruning-hooks;” * for they “ shall learn war no more.” Then the ferocity of the animal creation shall be subdued. “ The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the failing together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”3 And we now repeat, that it was in this state of the millennial Church, that St. John, the divine, “ saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; ” not now, mark, as “ under the altar, crying, How long, 0 Lord God, holy and true, dost thou not avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth; ” but, as “ living and reigning with Christ a thousand years,(Rev. xx. 4.) This very limited glance of the Scriptural representations of the millennial period of the Church, must suffice. We now pass, II. To an histoncal examination of the alleged theory of the Millennium, as advocated by Grotius, Prideaux, Yint, and also Prof. Bush. We have seen in what consists the alleged 1 Eph. iv. a a lea. xxxi. 34. * Zech. vi 12. « lea. xL ft, • lea. ii. 4. · lea. xL 6-9. 110 BECOlxD COMING OF CHRIST. nature and character of the millennial state of the Church, accord· ing to the theory of the writer under review, viz.: “ in the cessation of the Pagan persecutions, and the extirpation of idolatry and polytheism,” as the results of what is claimed to be the conversion of Constantine the Great to Christianity. Now, that this event, together with its accompanying circumstances, should have been regarded as a most brilliant triumph of the cross of the Nazarene over the molten image, awakens no surprise. It was the disenthralment of a long-suffering and bleeding Church from an ordeal of persecution, which had well-nigh exterminated her from the earth. But, that this event should have been construed into the commencement of St. John’s predicted one thousand years’ millennial peace, purity, and prosperity of the Christian Church, we must confess, both astonishes and confounds us. To show its utter fallacy, we ask the reado< to accompany us, 1. To a view of the circumstances connected with the so-called conversion, life, and acts of Constantine the Great, under. whose imperial sway this alleged millennium is declared to have commenced. Constantine ascended the throne of the Caesars in a. d. 306, soon after which he professed himself a convert to the Christian faith. The fact that his father Constantins had been favorably inclined toward Christianity, and that his mother Helena had adopted it, added to the declared miraculous appearance of the cross to him in the heavens when about tp engage in conflict with his rival, Maxentius, all contributed to his renunciation of the pagan religion. His conversion, however, was gradual, and was only partially avowed in the eighth year of his reign; nor, according to the best authorities, did he receive Christian baptism, until a little before his death, a. d. 337, making in all, between his public avowal of Christianity and his baptism, an interval of about twenty four years ! Then consider, that among the acts of his life, is registered that of homicide! His son Crispus, and afterward his wife Fausta, both suffered death at his hand. In law there are three species of homicide—rjustifiable, excusable, and felonious. Which of these will apply to his case, we submit to the decision of others. Again. It is to be specially noted, that, under Constantine, Church and State were united,, than which no other circumstance so effectually contributed to the erection and establishment, as THEOBY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. Ill we shall presently show, of the great anti-Christian Papal power This leads us, 2. To another consideration, to wit, that the peace and prosperity of the Church which followed Constantine’s reign, by no means comports either with the Scriptural character of the millennium, nor with what is affirmed of its great but indefinite length, as described by the thousand years of St. John. Indeed, it is to avoid the dilemma here indicated, that the advocates of the theory that the millennium is either already past, or that it is now running its course, unite in their eulogiums of this golden Constantinian age, as th& era of its commencement. On this subject our author in his “Treatise” says, “No facts in the chronicles of the past are more notorious, than that paganism under Constantine and his successors did, after a desperate straggle, succumb to Christianity in its triumphant progress.”1 And he quotes the following from Gibbon, who, speaking of the reign of Constantine, remarks, “ Every motive of authority and fashion, of interest and reason, now militated on the side of Christianity.” a But, he adds, “ two or three generations elapsed before their victorious influence was universally felt. . . .” “ The pious labor which had been suspended near twenty years since the death of Constantine, was vigorously resumed and finally accomplished, by the zeal of Theodosius.” * “ The gods of antiquity,” says he, “ were dragged in triumph at his chariot wheels. In a full meeting of the Senate, the Emperor proposed, according to the forms of the republic, the important question, Whether the worship of Jupiter or that of Christ should be the religion of the Romans. On a regular division of the Senate, Jupiter was condemned and degraded by a very large majority.”4 And, finally, this historian is quoted as saying, that “ so rapid, yet so gentle, was the fall of paganism, that only twenty-eight years after the death of Theodosius, the faint and minute vestiges were no longer visible to the eye of the legislator.”6 Now this, especially when viewed as emanating from the pen of an infidel historian, is all very fine; and, in order to inspire us with the same confidence in his authority as our author himself felt, he speaks of his “ pen ” in a certain instance of accom- 1 Treatise on the Millennium, p. 146. * lb. p. 148; Gibbon's Decline and Fall, etc., p. 882. * lb. p. 161; Decline and Fall, p. 464. 4 lb. p. 161; Decline and Fall, p. 464. • lb. p. 149; Decline and Fall, p. 46Θ. 112 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. plished prophecy, as seeming “ to have been guided by tty spirit of inspiration ; ” 1 and that the reader of his works “ will find in the concluding part of the twentieth chapter of the Decline and Fall, a more valuable commentary on this part of the xxth chap* ter of the Apocalypse, than is furnished by all the professed expositors who ‘ have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of the things contained in it? ”9 But, let us examine the phraseology of Gibbon on this subject. He makes the “every motive” of Constantine in “ the extirpation of idolatry and polytheism” to consist of the following elements— H authority,” “ fashion,” “ interest,” “ reason: ” than which, there can be none other more directly opposed to the unearthly nature of the gospel of Christ. And when he comes to the time of Theodosius, the triumphs of Christianity are suspended upon the capricious vote of a majority in “ a full meeting of the Senate,” to be decided “ according to the forms of the Republic t ” A splendid specimen, this, of the primitively ordained mode of propagating Christianity! And, withal: what a glorious, brilliant commence· ment of the millennial peace, purity, and prosperity of the Church 1 Rather may it be said that “ the Church,” being thus placed by Constantine under the protective wing of “the State” was seduced into that somewhat protracted courtship, so to speak, “ with the kings of the earth,” as finally ultimated in the birth of that stupendous power, the Papal apostasy;”8 a power symbolized by the “ little horn ” of Dan. vil 8, 11, 20, 21, 24, 25, and with which synchronizes that “beast that rose up out of the sea” to whom the “ dragon ” delegated his power. (Compare Rev. xii 8 with xiii. 2, 4, and verses 5-8.) This same power is also symbolized by “ the great whore of Babylon that sitteth upon many waters,” “with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,” while the “inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” (Rev. xvil 1, 2.) Eusebius, Socrates, and Theodosius, all unite in the affirmation that with Constantine the Great commenced the exercise of a vast power in the Church, which was retained and wielded by many of his successors. “ They convoked councils, and presided over them. They elevated bishops, composed contentions, reformed abuses, admitted appeals, constituted judges in ecclesiastical cases, deposed the clergy, and made laws in religious rites,” etc. 1 Treatise on the Millennium, p. 139. * lb. p. 160. * See 2 These, ii. ver. 3 and 7 compared. DESOLATION OP BABYLON THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHER8. 113 It is scarcely necessary to repeat that we are now speaking of the acts, not of Roman bishops, but of Romon emperors. Was it, then, with these latter that the Lord Jesus Christ, as the great Head of the Church, said, “ Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world ? ” No! The Church of Christ, thz faithful of whom had almost totally perished by persecution, as a test of her fidelity to Him under a change of circumstances, was now translated from the fiery ordeal of the stake to courtly favor. The same national arm that for the three preceding centuries had been raised to crush, was now turned to the protection of the Church. Constantine the Great, both in character and design, became in some sort to the Christian what Cyrus was to the Jewish Church. But we are compelled to say, unlike the liberated captives of Babylon at the hand of the Persian monarch, the Christian, while engaged with one hand in repairing the ravages of ten severe storms of persecution, overlooked the necessity of retaining in the other those weapons of defence indispensable in warding off the insidious and seductive influences of worldly princes, whose “ every motive ” was prompted by “ authority,” “ fashion,” “ interest,” and “ reason.” In other words, the Church succumbs to the world! “ Reason,” or the expediency of things, takes the place of Scripture; “interest,” or worldliness, that of spirituality of heart and of life; “ fashion,” or the pomps and vanities of the present state, that of self-denial for Christ’s sake; and “ authority,” political, that of the primitively legitimate exercise of authority ecclesiastical. In conclusion, on this subject, tlo Church was now enabled—comparatively, we mean—to bask for a time in the sunshine of prosperity. She walked, so to speak, in a garden of roses. She reclined upon a bed of down. Arrayed in gorgeous attire, “ she fared sumptuously every day.” She was wafted along by the chariot of the State ! But, we now ask: Was the Church, in her internal and external condition during the IVth century and onward, possessed of any one feature of her predicted millennial peace, purity, and blessedness ? We unhesitatingly affirm that she was not To say nothing of the prevalent opposition to Christianity down to the time of Constantine, despite all the eulogized peace and glory of the confederated Church and State; as early as in a. d. 325, being the twentieth year of that emperor’s reign, he was compelled to convoke a council, over which he himself presided, composed of. 8 114 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 818 bishops, for the express purpose of suppressing one of the most extensive and fatal heresies that ever infested the Church: we mean that of Arianism. But, was that heresy suppressed ? So far from it, between the constant vacillations of the emperor himself in regard to the orthodox and heterodox parties; and the perfidy, inconstancy, and rage of the Arian sectarists against the Trinitarian; the heresiarch Arius procured from Constantine the expulsion from his see of Eustathius of Antioch, and also the deposition from his bishopric of Alexandria, and his repeated exile of the good Athanasius. Nor was this all. By the connivance of this Christian, this orthodox emperor, several Arian or heretical councils were held,—as those at Tyre, at Antioch, at Sardica, at Nice, in Thrace, etc.; and, as every scholar of ecclesiastical history knows, this very Arian heresy, during this same IVth century of alleged millennial happiness of the Church, had nearly overspread the entire Christian world/ Then again. To the Arian heresy of this century may be added that of Photinus, Apollinaris, Macedonius, Donatus, etc.; all of whom, in one form or other, denied the Divinity of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, or distracted the Church by schism. And so far from the Church being exempt from persecution during this century, though the last and most cruel of the ten inflicted by the Pagans under Diocletian and Maximian,— and which commenced a. d. 303,—was finally suppressed as far as the influence of Constantine extended in the west; yet in the east Licinius continued it with unabated fury; and, after the death of Constantine, by Constantius and Valens against the orthodox, with the intermediate and bloody reign of the apostate Julian. Again. In the IYth century the Roman empire was divided. In the Vth it was vent into ten kingdoms. And under Justinian, Δ. d. 533, the construction of a model for the spiritual hierarchy of the Papal dominion was laid, by an edict of Justinian, in constituting John II., the Patriarch of Rome, the head of the universal Church,—alias, the vicegerent of Jesus Christ upon earth! Hence another consideration, proving the misapplication of the prophecy in Rev. xx. 1-7, to the interval from Constantine onward; it is this: 3. That the subsequent state of the Church from the close of the βο-called golden period down to the present time, shows it to have been any other than one of general peace, purity, and prosperity. THEOEY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 115 It may be as well to premise in this place, in regard to what these writers affirm of the “thousand years” in this passage as denotii g an indefinite length of time, that a comparison of St. Peter’s 2d Epistle, chap, iii. 7, will show its fallacy. In proof that the “ thousand years ” in both passages refer to the same period, viz., the judgment-coming of the Lord, St. Peter says, “But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men;” which “day of judgment,” etc., he explains in the 8th verse, thus: “ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord [as] a thousand years, and a thousand years [as] one day” i. e., “the day (ήμΐρα) of judgment” is as a thousand years—one judgment-day. St. Peter’s reservation of “the heavens and the earth that now are,” therefore, extends from the commencement of the thousand years’ judgment-day to the period of the “ perdition ” awarded to “ ungodly men ” at its close, which exactly harmonizes with “ the rest of the dead,” who, according to St. John, lived not again, “until the thousand years were finished.” (Rev. xx. 5.) But, as we have said, the greatest confusion prevails among the advocates of this theory as to the period in question. Prof. Bush applies it, as we have seen, to “the extirpation of idolatry and paganism from the Roman empire under Constantine, which, if we are to understand it to reach down to the appearance of the Antichrist, as that personage has not yet shown himself upon the stage, according to this hypothesis, it has already been running on no less than 1537 years! On the other hand, if we take the Professor’s theory, viz., that the millennium is already past, when we come to his golden period of peace and prosperity to the Church under Constantine and his successors, and which he confines to the space of what he calls a thousand years, we are straightway informed that it means “ one στ two centunes /” (!) for, on page 128 of his “Treatise,” he makes the suppression of paganism in the Roman empire to extend only “ one or two centuries beyond its public and incipient suppression by Constantine in a. d. 323 ! To return now to the subject in hand. From the edict of Justinian in a. d. 533, commenced the reign of that period which enveloped the Church throughout Christendom in the deepest spiritual darkness for more than nine succeeding centuries. And, during this period, what a tissue of outrages were perpetrated lie 6EC0ND COMING OF CHBI8T. against all law, Divine and human ? of acts of inhumanity the most barbarous ? of superstitions the most debasing ? of heresies the most alarming and dangerous? Indeed, the minds of men throughout this entire period were brought under the most servile bondage to those master-spirits who had dethroned reason, and usurped universal dictation over the consciences of men. Ignorance, ambition, avarice, superstition, a Christianized idolatry, cruelty, and bloodshed, followed everywhere in their train, and spread around them a moral desolation, to which history was before a stranger. “Mercy and truth,” and “righteousness and peace,” seemed to have bid the Church an eternal adieu. The darkness into which she had been so long enveloped; the pelting storms of adversity which had 60 long directed their fury against her; and the gross ignorance, superstition, and corruption in doctrine and morals, both among priests and people, which abounded within her; all seemed to indicate that God, though He had purchased the redemption of the Church with His own blood, had nevertheless surrendered her up as a prey, to be torn piecemeal by the pitiless hands of a race of ecclesiastical demagogues and secular tyrants. In conclusion, let me now ask the reader to compare the scriptural description given of the nature and character of the millennial state of the Church in a previous page,1 with the historic character of the period assigned to it by this theory; and I ask: Would it have ever entered his mind that the state of the Church from the time of Constantine the Great down to the present, o.* any portion of that interval, had constituted the predicted exemption of the Church from all physical and moral evil ? Above all, would he, from the present aspect of the times, as viewed in its relation to the existing character and influence of religious truth and morals, infer that she is now enjoying that state ? This would be to suppose the existence and prevalence in the world of the predicted millennium of the Bible, in the very absence of that peace, purity, prosperity, and glory, which is indispensable to that state, than which, we can conceive of no greater absurdity. We leave this theory, therefore, with the remark, first, that in the application of the symbolic imagery of Rev. xx. 1 -1 to the state and condition of the Church between the time of Constantine and the present day, as denotive of the Millennium promised 1 Bee pages 108,109. THEORY OF BUSH AND OTHERS. 117 as the object of her faith, and hope, and prayers, may be looked upon as a specimen of figurative interpretation run mad. We add, Second, That the various heresiarchs of the present day—e. g., Unitarians, Universalists, etc.,—have made and still make vast capital out of the theology of those of the orthodox, who interpret the “ dragon ” referred to in Rev. xii. 3, and xx. 2, as signifying “ Paganism personified.” This is to ignore the scriptural doctrine of the actual personality of that being whom the Holy Spirit declares to be represented by that symbol, viz.: “that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan.” And finally, Third, The Papal Church is brought under vast obligations to the Protestant advocates of this theory, for their zealous defence of her claims, as free from the imputation of constituting one of the Antichrists of the New Testament scriptures. For, if their interpretation of Rev. xx. 1-7, etc., be in accordance with “the mind of the spirit,” the Church of all nations, under her enlightened, benign, and gentle reign, has been basking for centuries in the full sunshine of her Millennial or latter day glory! ” With the prayer, therefore, that the reader may reap the benefit of this much-needed exposure of the fallacy of the above theory, we call upon him to reject, at every sacrifice, the mere “doctrines and commandments of men,”1 who “concerning the truth have erred,”8 and that henceforth, “speaking the truth in love,”3 he “may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ,”4—we pass to an examination of the next theory connected with the subject in hand. 1 Ool. It 22. 12 Tim. ii. 18. «Eph.iv.15. « lb. 118 SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. CHAPTER IIL THIRD THEORY: AS ADVOCATED BY THE POPULAR WRITERS OF THE DAY. THIS THEORY ALLEGES, ALL THE PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE SECOND COMING OP CHRIST AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OP HIS KINGDOM IN THE WORLD, TO HAVE BEEN VERIFIED BY THE JUDGMENTS INFLICTED UPON THE JEWISH NATION AND POLITY, AT THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM, ETC., BY THE ROMAN ARMY UNDER TITUS, IN A. D. 70. This theory, like the two preceding, though on different grounds, repudiates the coming and reign of Christ on earth in His glorified humanity, as future. It is founded on that portion of our Lord’s prophecy, contained in the xxivth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, from the 27th to the 30th verses inclusive: 27. “ For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coining of the Son of Man be. 28. “ For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29. “ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30. “ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” The advocates of this theory, in their interpretations of the above prophecy, affirm, 1. That the “lightning shining from east to west,” figuratively denotes the coming of the Son of Man by the Roman army, to invade and conquer Judea; its sudden flashes indicating the unexpected, rapid, and universal desolation that would follow. 2. That the “eagles” gathered around the “carcass” signify, that wheresoever the Jews are, thither shall the Roman army be gathered. 3. That the words, “immediately after the tribulation of those days,” show that our Lord was not speaking of any distant event, but of something immediately consequent on the calamities predicted; and that must be, the destruction of Jerusalem. This was to consist of an utter desolation, and terrible destruction brought upon the nation, and upon the capital cities, analogous to the obscuration of the heavenly luminaries; or, that there should be POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 119 a destruction of their ecclesiastical and civil state, and of the rulers of both; these latter, for or on account of their state and dignity, being represented by the sun, moon, and stars, shorn of their brilliancy, fallen from their spheres, and involved in ruin. And finally, 4. That our Saviour proceeded to speak in the same figurative style, and in connection with the 27th verse, of the “appearance of the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,” etc. (verse 30); the plain meaning of which, it is affirmed, is, that the destruction of Jerusalem should be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance—such a signal manifestation of Christ “coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” that all the Jewish tribes shall “mourn” and many would be led from thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion, etc. In a word, this theory, based throughout upon what is technically called the figurative interpretation of the words of the prophecy, alleges that it teaches, not a personal, but a providential coming of Christ “by the Roman army,” judicially to punish the Jews for their sins; which, however, is to result in their acknowledgment of and conversion to Him, as their Messiah. But, unlike the first theory, though it affirms the restoration of the Jews, yet it denies all connection between it and the second personal coming of Christ, which that theory admits. That the above is a fair and candid synopsis of their views, will appear, first, from the following interpretations given by them of its several parts; and second, from the arguments adduced in their support. L The figurative interpretations of this theory: Verse 27. Bishop Pearce. “ The Roman army entered into Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward, as if not only the extensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, was intended in the comparison of the lightning coming out of the east and shining even unto the west.” Other writers on this subject are the mere echoes of this learned prelate. As, for example, Bishop Newton. “ The Roman army entered Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward, as if not only the extensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, was intended in the comparison of the lightning coming out of the east, and shining even unto the west.”1 Db. Adam Clarke. “ It is worthy of remark that our Lord, in the most par· ticdar manner, points out the very march of the Roman army; they entered into 1 Newton on the Prophecies, London edition, p. 364. 120 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Judea on the east, and carried on their conquests westward, as if not only the exten. eiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, were intended in the comparison of the lightning issuing from the east, and shining to the west.” Dr. Coke. “ His coming will not be in this or that particular place, but like tho lightning, sudden and universal. The appearance of the true Christ will be as distinguishable from that of the false Christs, as lightning, which shineth all round the hemisphere, is from a blaze of straw; it is very remarkable, ‘ that the Roman army entered into Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward.’ ” Dr. Scott. “ The Christians, if they had not been forewarned, might have been deceived on another ground; for they expected their Lord to come, not to deliver, but to destroy Jerusalem; they were therefore reminded that his coming for this purpose would not be secret, or local; but like the 4 lightning, which shineth ’ at once from east to west; for in his righteous providence, he would, with conspicuous »id irresistible energy, desolate the whole land. The Roman armies entered Judea from the east, and carried their victorious ravages to the west, in a very rapid and tremendous manner.” Cottage Bible. “ The meaning appears to be, that, as this surprising meteor shoots in the same instant from east to west, and pervades the whole horizon; so should the Roman armies, which attend the coining of the Son of Man, like a mighty tempest, at once cover the whole land of Israel.” Dr. Benson. “ The coming of the Son of Man shall be in a very different manner, and for very different ends, from what you are imagining. It shall be like lightning, swift, unexpected, and destructive. His appearance will be as distinguishable from that of every false Christ, as lightning, which shines all around the hemisphere, is from a blaze of straw.” Rkv. Albert Barnes. “ This is not designed to denote the quarter from which he would come, but the manner. He does not mean to affirm that the Son of Man will come from the east, but that he will come in a rapid and unexpected manner, like lightning. Many would be looking for him in the desert; many in secret places. But he said, it would be useless to be looking in that manner, . . . to any particular part of the heavens, to know where the lightning would next flash. In a moment it would blaze in an unexpected part of the heavens, and shine at once to the other part. So rapidly, so unexpectedly, in so unlooked-for a quarter, would be his coming.” To this he adds—“ The meaning is, he would come by means of the Romm armies.” “ The words, therefore, had doubtless a primary reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, but such an amplitude of meaning as also to express his coming to judgment.” . . . Dr. Whitby. “You will then need none to instruct you where Christ is, or to say to you, He is here, or there; for, by the Roman army, which shall pass through the territories of the Jews like lightning, his coming to take vengeance on that nation shall be manifest,” etc. In harmony with the interpretation of the “lightning” in the 27th verse, as denoting “the coming of the Son of Man” to destroy TOPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 12Ϊ Jerusalem by the Romans, the following will represent the view given by these writers of— Verse 28. Rev. Albert Barnes. “This verse is connected with the preceding by the word ‘ for,’ implying that this is a reason for what is said there, that the Son of Man would certainly come to destroy the city, and that he would come suddenly. The meaning is, he would come by means of the Roman armies ; ” i. e., as eagles to devour their prey. Dr. Whitbt. His interpretation is more direct and explicit. He says, “ Wherever the Jews, who, like dead carcasses, should be devoured by the Roman eagles, aro, thither shall he [the Son of Man] fly with them, to tear and to devour them.” We pass to, Verse 29. Dr. Whitby. This writer’s comment may be selected as embodying the substance of this theory, though, in relation to the time intended by “ the tribulation of those days,” he differs, not only with himself but from most others. Ho. says: “ It being foretold that this should happen immediately after the wasting of the Jews by Vespasian’s army flying quickly through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea this cannot be taken literally, because no such thing then happened to the sun moon, or stars. It must be, therefore, a metaphorical expression, to signify, as il doth frequently in the Old Testament, and other writers, an utter desolation, and ' terrible destruction, brought upon a nation, and upon the capital cities, compared tc, the sun and moon; for in this language the prophet Isaiah speaks of the destruction of Babylon, chap. xiii. 9-10 (which see). The indignation of God against thf Idumeans is represented in like dreadful words, Isa. xxxiv. 8,4; so is the destruc tion of Sennacherib and his people, Isa. li. 6; so the destruction of Egypt, Ezek, xxxii. 7. And in these words this very remarkable destruction is foretold by Joel, “ The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall not give their light ’ ” (Joel ii. 31; iii. IB). “This, therefore, saith Maimonides, ‘is a proverbial expression, importing the destruction and utter ruin of a nation.’ Artemidorus also saith, that, ‘ the sun darkened or turned into blood, and the stars falling, or disappearing, import the destruction of many people.’ And in this sense it is almost incredible, which Josephus saith, viz.: that eleven hundred thousand perished in that siege.” Whitby continues: “Another exposition of these words is this, that then there shall be a destruction of their ecclesiastical and civil state, and of the rulers of them both; according to these words of Maimonides, ‘ this metaphor imports, that men who for their state and dignity might be compared to the sun, moon, and stars, shall suddenly fall down as a leaf from the vine and from the fig-tree.’ ” Then, as to the time, etc. “And this happened,” says Whitby, “ a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem, when the thieves and zealots, saith Josephus, 1 kept all the nobles and rulers of the country in close custody; ’ when the zealots ‘ slew and consumed the nobility, and made it their business to leave none of the men of power alive,’ etc. This was to happen,” he adds, “ before 4 the great and terrible day 122 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. of the Lord,’ or at that time: ” for, “ we learn this from the prophet Joel, that ‘ then shall the sun be darkened,’ etc. This, therefore, cannot be referred to any time after the destruction of Jerusalem.” Here it may be observed, by the way, that, according to Dr. Whitby’s own showing, the first theory here spoken of supposes that “the great and terrible day of the Lord” was that identical time when the Jewish nation met with its utter desolation at the siege and destruction of their capital during the war under Vespasian. And the prophecy of Joel was brought forward to sustain that position. Whereas the second theory, the destruction of their ecclesiastical and civil state, supposes that the day alluded to by Joel, when the sun, moon, and stars should be darkened, was “a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem!” And the prophecy of Joel is made to sustain that position also. The question therefore is, since these two theories depend upon a different application of the prophecy of Joel, differing essentially in regard to not only the time, but the nature of the darkening of the luminaries, inasmuch as the one must be erroneous if the other is true, how are we to decide between them ? Thus much for the learned Whitby. Dr. Lightfoot, aud Dr. Clarke after him, adopt the same general principles of exegesis. But Dr. Clarke, it will be seen, places the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars after the fall of Jerusalem. He says: 44 The word ‘ immediately,’ shows that our Lord was not speaking of any distant event, but of something immediately consequent on calamities already predicted; and that must be, the destruction of Jerusalem.” Quoting Lightfoot, he continues: 44 The Jewish heaven shall perish, and the sun and moon of its glory and happiness shall bo darkened—brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of the Church; the moon is the government of the state; and the stars the judges and doctors of both.” To the above we add the following from Dr. Robinson. His explanation of this passage differs materially from the pro· ceding writers, as to the time of the obscuration of the celestial luminaries. He says: 44 The subsequent desolation and calamity spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 29, 30, and the parallel passages, I refer to the overthrow and complete extirpation of the Jewish people fifty years later under Adrian; when they were sold as slaves, and utterly driven out from the land of their fathers.” (Harmony of the Gospels.) We now come to the expositions given of Verse 30. These commentators understand this verse, taken in connection with the 29th, to refer either to the coming of the Romans, or to the coming (metaphorically) of Christ with the POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 123 Romans, and effecting the destruction and desolation described in verse 27, under the similitude of the darkening and falling of the luminaries of heaven. But whichever way it is modified, they do not understand Christ to have come in any other way than judicially, by the Romans, to inflict these terrible judgments on the Jewish nation. Dr. Whitby remarks on verse 30, “ Our Saviour’s coming here, seems to import his coming by the Roman army, to besiege and to destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews, for so Christ seemeth plainly to interpret this ‘ coming of the Son of Man,’ verse 27,” etc. Dr. Clarke. 44 Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man. The plain meaning of this is, that the destruction of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance* such a signal manifestation of Christ’s power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will, in consequence of this manifestation of God, be led to acknowledge the Christian religion.” Mr. Burkitt. “ Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn ; that is, then shall the Jews be convinced that their destruction was the punishment of their sins, in rejecting and crucifying Christ; and accordingly they that had pierced him shall behold him, and mourn over him,” etc. Mr. Watson. 44 The sign of the Son of Man is that demonstration of the supernatural character of the judicial visitation of the Jews, that to the Christians it should be as a sure sign that it was Christ who was then inflicting his vengeance upon his enemies, as though there should be a visible personal appearance of him. Even Josephus, a Jew, acknowledged in these events the special displays of the more immediate agency of an angry God; and much more, to Christians, would they he the sign of his majesty to whom 4 all power in heaven and earth ’ had been committed, and thus prove a mighty confirmation of their faith.” Mr. Burkitt. “ There is a threefold coming of Christ spoken of in the New Testament. 1. Fis coming in his Spiritual kingdom by the preaching of the gospel among the Gentiles. 2. His coming to destroy Jerusalem forty years after his ascension. 8. His final coming to judgment at the great day. All these comings of the Son of Man, for their suddenness and unexpectedness, are compared unto lightning,” etc. We might easily extend these quotations, in illustration of the figurative expositions of the prophecy under consideration. The above, however, all of which are culled from the writings of those whom the church delights to honor as “Masters in Israel,” are deemed sufficient for our present purpose. Our next business is to lay before the reader, Π. The arguments adduced by these writers in their support. 1. Assuming that “ the days of tribulation,” verse 29, refers to the calamities which befel the Jewish nation during the Roman 124 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. war; as the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars was to transpire “ immediately after ” that time, and as no such event occurred literally, therefore, it is contended, the passage is meta phorical, and must be understood in the sense above given of it. This is also alleged to be sustained by the use of similar prophetic imagery in reference to the destruction of Babylon, Idumea, Sennacherib and his army, Egypt, etc.; but especially of Jerusalem, by the prophet Joel, chap. ii. 30,31, and iiu 15, and which, it is affirmed, is applied by the apostle Peter (Acts ii. 16-20) to the Jews of that age. Hence the plea both of necessity and of precedent for expounding the passage figuratively. Again, 2. The coming of the Son of Man was to follow the darkening of the celestial luminaries. And yet our Lord, in Matt. xvi. 27, 28, speaking of the “ coming of the Son of Man in the glory of his Father,” etc., adds, “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see him coming in his kingdom.” And again, Matt. xxiv. 34, he declares that—“ η ywta aΖτη—this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled.” Therefore, it is argued, as Christ’s coming was to follow the above signs in the heavens, and yet was to transpire before all these men died, it is certain that that coming of Christ cannot be future. Dr. Clarke, in his comment on Matt. xvi. 27,says: “Thisseems to refer to Dan. vii. 13,14, ‘Behold, one like the Son of Man came to the ancient of days, and there was given to him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages, should serve him.’ This was the glorious mediatorial "kingdom which Jesus Christ was now about to set up, by the destruction of the Jewish nation and polity, and the diffusion of the gospel through the whole world........It is very likely that the words do not apply to the final judgment, to which they are generally referred, but to the wonderful display of God’s grace and power after the day of Pentecost.” And on verse 28, he adds: “ This seems to confirm the above explanation, as our Lord evidently speaks of the establishment of the Christian Church after the day of Pentecost; as if he had said, ‘ Some of yow, my disciples, shall continue to live until these things take place.’ The destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish economy, which our Lord here predicts, took place about forty-three years after this; and some of the persons now with him, doubtless survived that period, and witnessed the extension of the Messiah’s kingdom.” POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 125 Another passage, viz., Jdhn xxi. 22, is quoted to the same enl. By an eminent divine it is thus stated: And Jesus said, If I will that he [John] tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? ’ John’s fellow-disciples spread abroad a report from this, that the Saviour had said to him that he should not die. But John himself remarks, that 4 Jesus did not say, he shall not die? but, 4 if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? ’ In other words,” continues this writer, “John understood Jesus, not as promising exemption from death, but only that he should live until his coming.. And when, now, wTas that to be ? If his coming meant the general judgment, then John would not have to die at all/ for saints then alive are not to die, but to be immediately ‘caught up to meet the Lord in the air,’ doubtless with an appropriate metamorphosis. The coming in question, then, after which John was to die, and not before, must have been some coming during that generation. And what else could it be referred to, except to his coming to punish the unbelieving Jews?” W e add one more passage, adduced in support of the above figurative interpretation of Christ’s coming. It is our Lord’s dec-laration to the high priest, Caiaphas, Matt. xxvi. 64, “ Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man, sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” The argument here is, as it is certain that the high priest could not live until the day of judgment, and as the second coming of Christ will be prior to the resurrection of the dead, and as it is not possible that the high priest could have lived to witness that event, therefore, it is coi> eluded that the coming spoken of must be a figurative coming to destroy Jerusalem. Finally. On this subject it is argued, 3. That there are many passages in the poetical imagery of the Old Testament which justify the figurative interpretation of the one before us. For example, Isa. lxiv. 1: “ Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down l ” Hab. iii 3 : 44 God came from Teman.” Gen. xi. 5: “ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower.” Exod. iii. 8: “I am come down to deliver thee out of the hand of the Egyptians,” etc. The same is true of those passages which speak of God as coming in a cloud, riding on a cloud, etc. Thus much, then, of this theory, which, by * figurative interpretation of our Lord’s prophecy, Matt. xxiv. 27-30, alleges the 126 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. fulfilment of all the prophecies which relate to His second coin· ing, and the establishment of His kingdom in the world, by the judgments inflicted upon the Jewish nation and polity, at the destruction of Jerusalem by the hand of the Roman legions, in a. d. 70. It is almost superfluous to remark, that the learning, talents, and acknowledged piety and exalted position of those from whose writings we have quoted in illustration of their theory, and in the arguments adduced in its support, have secured to them an unbounded influence in moulding the theology of the modem church. Their theory of interpretation of the subject in hand, has become almost universally and permanently incorporated with the standard biblical literature of the day. Their commentaries and other writings have formed, and still form, the text-books of all our theological schools, and their opinions are endorsed and promulgated by the ministry, and received by the membership of nearly the entire church. And, so deeply rooted is this theory in the minds of nearly all who in this day “profess and call themselves Christians,” that an attempt to change the current of thought on this momentous subject, is about as hopeless a task as would be that of altering the deep-worn courses of our rivers. And yet, it will be admitted by all, that these men, however lenowned, were but mortal. Why then, it may be asked, account them infallible ? which men do, by yielding implicitly to their dogmas. In regard to all other matters of investigation, men choose to think for themselves. Why not in matters of theology as well ? We choose to do so. While we yield to none in paying that deference to the authority of great names which is their due, yet we can, in the matter of the inspired verities, “ call no man master ; ” for “ one is our Master, even Christ.” 1 And our conviction is, that it is now too late in the day of our probation to pin our faith either upon the teachings of uninspired men, or of like stereotyped creeds. " To the law and to the testimony: if we speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in u&.” * They have written on this subject. Their ponderous tomes, or octavos, or duodecimos, find a place, in larger or smaller numbers, in almost every Christian hamlet throughout the land. And now, while we would “ magnify our office,” * yet with no pretensions »Matt, xxiii. 8. * Isa. viii. 16. * Rom. xi. 18. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 127 beyond that of being “less than the least of God’s servants,”1 we also come forward with our Reply. In doing this, we propose, without further delay, I. To examine the theory of figurative interpretation, applied by these writers to the prophecy under review. II. To reply to the expositions given in support of their interpretations of this prophecy, and III. Give a direct literal interpretation of this prophecy, taken in connection with its chronological stand-points. The importance of this subject to the cause of truth, as we view it, is our only apology for the space given to it in these pages. The Figurative Theory, etc. L First, then. We are to examine the theory of figurative in* terpretation applied by these writers to the prophecy under review. We remark then, 1. That it is a violation of all the laws of prophetic interpretation, to confound a figure of speech with a symbol. Figures are used for the simple purpose of illustration or ornament Hence, the agents or objects to which they are applied, relate to the subjects of the acts or qualities which they ascribe to them. On the other hand, symbols are the representatives of the agents, objects, qualities, acts, conditions, or effects of others of a different and resembling class. In the next place, we observe, 2. That the use of metaphorical or figurative language, implies a knowledge or idea of what would be understood, if such language were used literally. In other words, figures are to the literal agents or objects illustrated, what shadows are to the substance. We cannot use a figure without having in view the literal thing from which the figure is derived. For example: If we speak of a man as the pillar of the state, we have in view the nature of a literal column at the same time. If we say Christianity is the sun of the world, it implies that we have a previous understanding of the nature of the sun as the source of light, etc. Thus the one illustrates the other. The use of symbolical language, on the other hand, is employed as prophetical representatives of the objects, acts, etc., of men bearing a resemblance to them. Thus, in Daniel’s vision (chap. 11 Cor. XV. 9 ; Eph. iii. 8. 128 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. vii.), wild beasts are employed by the Holy Spirit to represent cruel, bloody, and destroying men: powerful creatures in the animal world that prey on inferior beasts, being put in the place of men in the political and religious world, of a corresponding character toward mankind; and the destructive acts of the one, are employed to represent the resembling destructive acts of the other. In like manner, in the Apocalypse, candlesticks are used to represent churches, and stars, the teachers of religion, etc., the former to support the latter, whose work it is to spread the light of the gospel in the world. But, we now add, 3. That the advocates of the figurative theory of interpretation, overlooking entirely the above distinction, convert figures into symbols, and thus employ the agents, acts, and events of which they treat, as though they were the representatives of those of another class: in other words, that their literal meaning is but the shell, under which a spiritual or mystical sense, which it is alleged is their only true sense, is veiled. For instance, take the prophecy of Isa. ii. 1-5: the subjects of which the affirmation is made, viz., “the mountain of the Lord’s house”—“all nations shall flow into it”—“many peoples”—“Jehovah’s house,” etc., are all interpreted and applied in a spiritual or mystical sense, to denote the conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian faith, and their ingathering into the Christian Church, etc. To show the error, however, of thus changing the above and uimilar figures of speech into symbols, it only need to be asked: How can all nations be supposed to stand for other nations, wheii there are no other nations in the world ? And again: to transform these figures into symbolical representatives of other things, would necessarily involve, in the application of the symbol, a reference to nations of some other orb, which is impossible. 4. This, then, is the origin of the figurative interpretation of the prophetical scriptures. Suffice it to say, that it was totally unknown to the fathers of the first two centuries of the Christian age. Origen, who flourished in the early part of the third century (from a. d. 204), is the father of it. It has been adopted, for the most part, by the Church from his time to the present. This system of interpretation, as applied to the prophecy of Christ, Matt. xxiv. 27-30, however, seems to be traceable to Bp. Pearce, from whom Bp. Newton, Whitby, and the others have copied it. 5. We now proceed to adduce the following admitted use of POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 129 the figurative language of prophecy, in proof that these figures of speech are, as we have said, literal illustrations, and not symbolical representatives of the objects and acts to which they refer. Such passages are always found in the evidently and confessedly poetic portions of the prophecies. Take the following, as a few of the many examples which might be given:1 (1.) Isa. xiiL 1. This is a clear example offigurative prophecy, illustrating the literal overthrow of Babylon. (2.) Isa. xiii. 9. After this figurative description, follows the literal explanation, which, in so many words, tells us that it refers to the overthrow of Babylon by the Medes. (3.) Ezek. xxxiL The same, and is applied to the literal destruction of Egypt. (4.) Jer. xv. 9. The context gives a clearly literal application of the language to the judgments of God upon Jerusalem and the Jews, on account of the sin of Manasseh, the king. (5.) Ezek. xxxiL 7, 8. The inspired writer goes right on to say, expressly, that it refers to the literal desolation of Egypt by the king of Babylon. (6.) Amos viiL 9. This is both preceded and followed by clear and literal applications to the judgments of God upon the Jews, for their oppressions and idolatry. (7.) Joelfi. 10,11. This is preceded by a description of a visitation of the locusts, under the idea of an army; and it is followed by a plain statement (verses 20,25) of the fact that it means a literal visitation of locusts and other destroying insects; and, (8.) Of those passages which speak of God as coming in a cloud, riding upon a cloud, etc., they either state, or refer to the fact, so prominent in the early history of the Jews, that God did literally come down in a cloud, that he dwelt in a thick cloud, that he literally made clouds and darkness his pavilion, and that he literally marched forth “in the pillar of a cloud,” etc. Another point which it is of importance to observe in this connection, is, ' 6. The evidence, that our leading divines have been led, unconsciously, and therefore without doubt honestly, to adopt an erroneous theory of prophetic interpretation, and that their expo-eitions of prophecy, as a consequence, abound with instances of embarrassment, indefiniteness, self-contradiction, and palpable mis- 1 The reader is requested to turn to the passages referred to. 9 \ 130 SECOND COMING OF CHKIST. conceptions of the subjects treated of. We cannot better express ourself on this point, than by quoting the observations of Db. Toaver, in his “Illustrations of Prophecy,” vol. ii. p. 160. This writer, though an advocate of the figurative theory, yet was of too penetrating and logical an order of mind, not to perceive, and too honest not to expose, the glaring inconsistencies of his colleagues, when satisfied that they misapprehended any portion of God’s prophetic word. Referring to the prophecy of our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 27-30, he says: “That this prophecy of Jesus is of very difficult interpretation, is very generally admitted. Grotius and Lowth, Sykes, Benson, and Macknight, Bp. Watson, and the Taylors, have, Mr. Nesbitt acknowledges, (he is here speaking of the second coming of Christ,) ‘all of them, without exception, manifestly discovered their embarrassment, and the difficulties which they labored under, in considering this subject.’” “Surely,” resumes the Doctor, “this affords a strong presumption, that they have all failed of discovering the true import of Christ’s celebrated prediction.” And again, says Dr. Tower, quoting verse 30, “ The expression translated, ‘all the tribes of the earth,’ Bp. Newton asserts, signifies merely the Jewish tribes inhabiting the province of Judea; and he maintains that this passage plainly signifies, ‘that the destruction of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of Divine vengeance, such a signal instance of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn.’ But, unfortunately for this interpretation,” he adds, “ it is completely at variance with the testimony of civil and ecclesiastical history. So far from authorizing us to conclude that the Jews discerned or acknowledged, in the destruction of their city, any display of Christ’s power; or that they attributed to their rejection of him, and the cruel death which he received at their hands, the overthrow of their armies, their capital, or their polity; it informs us that they still insulted the memory of their crucified Messiah, and still remained hardened in infidelity.” Our design in the preceding remarks on the subject of the figurative and literal interpretations of the prophetic scriptures in general, is simply to furnish a guide tp the mind of the reader, in determining its merits, when applied by its advocates to’ the several parts of the prophecy of our Lord now under special consideration. This brings us, POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 131 Π. To our proposed reply to the expositions given in support of their interpretations of it. We will take up each part of the above prophecy, with its comments, in their consecutive order. The reader will perceive, by referring to the synopsis of the theory in hand (pages 118-123), and to the arguments adduced in its support (pages 123-126), 1. That Matt. xxiv. 27 is interpreted to mean —That the lightning shining from east to west, figuratively denotes the coming of the Son of Man by the Roman army, to invade and conquer Judea; its sudden flashes indicating the unexpected, rapid, and universal desolation that would follow. Before entering upon the subject, however, we would observe, once for all, that we shall maintain that the prophecy before us, like those portions which precede it from verse 1 to 26 inclusive, and those which follow it from verse 31 to the end of the chapter (with the exception of verse 28), is not to be interpreted by the laws which are applicable either to the figurative or the symbolical interpretations of other prophecies, but that it is literal throughout. And here I beg to remark, that it will, perhaps, be a matter of surprise to the reader to be informed that these very advocates of the figurative interpretations given by them of the 27th and 30 th verses, inclusive, of this prophecy, themselves admit that aU the other parts of it are to be taken literally ! Surely, then, the onus remains with them to prove the sudden and extraordinary transition alleged to have been made by our Lord in this part of His great prophecy, from the literal to the figurative. This fact of itself we submit, is sufficient to awaken in the mind of the most ardent and zealous advocate or admirer of this theory, at least a strong suspicion of its unsoundness. Besides. Let it here be borne in mind, that the points at issue are not to be decided by mere assertion, or as a mere matter of opinion, however supported by great names. We shall show that the question of interpretation involved, is purely one of fact. On this hypothesis alone, we shall rest the whole issue of our reply. With these preliminaries in view, we proceed to observe, that the passage before us, taken as a whole, is explained by these writers figuratively, to denote, as we have said: 1st, the invasion 132 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. and destruction of Judea and Jerusalem, together with the ruin of the Jewish nation and polity, by the Roman legions, which should be like the sudden and irresistible flash of the “lightning,” from east to west (v. 27); while, 2d, this destruction is compared to the darkening of the heavenly luminaries, which was to take place “immediately after,” and to be effected by, the agency of said invading armies (v. 29); which invasion and its consequences, 3d, is described under the similitude of ravenous “ eagles,” the Romans, gathered around the fallen carcasses of the Jews (v. 28); and, 4th, that all this was intended to portray the grand, sublime, and momentous event, the second coming of Christ; which is described to be a metaphorical coming, by or with the RomanB, as representatives of Christ, to inflict said punishments upon the Jews, etc.; and that this their destruction would be as ample a manifestation of Christ’s power and glory as if He was Himself to come visibly in the “ clouds of heaven,” etc.; so that “ all the tribes of the earth,” i. e. the Jews, “ seeing the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,” and that it was He whom “ they had pierced,” would “ behold Him and mourn over Him,” and that “ many, believing in Him, would become Christians,” etc. It is here important to observe, by the way, that Mr. Watson takes the liberty of substituting, against the plain words of the the passage, “ all the tribes of the earth shall mourn,” the word, “ Christian,” thus:—“ The sign of the Son of Man,” he says, “ is that demonstration of the supernatural character of the judicial visitation of the Jews, that to the Christians it shall be as sure a sign that it was Christ who was then inflicting His vengeance upon His enemies, as though there should be a visible personal appearance of Him,” etc. Now, let it here be distinctly noted, that these writers deny that the above passage has any reference to & personal coming of Christ, except, at most, in a secondary and remote sense. In other words, they contend that its primary meaning is, Christ’s providential coming, judicially to punish the Jews for their sins. Our method of reply will be, to take up each verse consecutively, making reference at the same time to the others, in order to show their mutual relations to one another. The first in course is, Verse 27.1 On this passage we observe, 1 See comments of Bp. Pearce, Bp. Newton, Dr. Clarke, Dr. Coke, Dr. Scott, The Co\ (age Bible, Dr. Benson, Rev. Mr. Barnes, and Dr. Whitby, on this verse, p. 119-120. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 133 (1.) That there is a contrast here of one subject with another but no figure to illustrate one subject by another. We must bear in mind, that our blessed Lord was now addressing Himself, not to the literati of His day, or to minds inured to the subtleties of abstruse metaphysical speculations, such as abound in our age; but, to the common people, who would construe 'every word He uttered in accordance with the meaning of language then in use. Again, (2.) The disciples, at this very time, believed in and were looking for the speedy second personal appearing of their Divine Master, who had said to them only a little before, that though “ their house was to be left to them desolate,” yet the time would come when “ they should say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”1 Hence their question to Him, Matt. xxiv. 3, “ What shall be the sign of Thy coming? ” In the next place, (3.) In verses 23-26 of this chapter (xxiv.), Christ had predicted the appearance among them of “false Christs,” etc. We therefore affirm, without the fear of successful refutation, that the contrast of which we now speak, lay between the coming of these false Christs and His own coming as the true Christ, verse 27 furnishing as much of an answer to the above question in reference to “ the sign ” of His coming as was deemed necessary, by way of warning them against being deceived by these impostors; so that when men should say, “ Behold, He is in the desert, or in secret places,” they might certainly know that it was not His coming, as that should be signalized only by the lightning’s flash athwart the heavens from east to west. Hence the connection between the 23d-26th verses and the 27th. We repeat, the contrast is between the manner of the coming of the false and of the true Christ, both being as personal as language can make them. Accordingly, (4.) When, in the 30th verse, our Lord describes to them His actual coming itself, He affirmed that He would come “ in the clouds of heaven,” and that “ all the tribes of the earth ” would see Him come in that manner. Finally, (δ.) Whence, then, we ask, the authority for converting Christ’s language, in verses 27 and 30, into figures, as denotive of the sudden manner in which the Roman armies were to come against Judea, Jerusalem, and the Jews? Are we to suppose i Matt. xxiiL 38,39. Ite SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. that our Lord did not know what were the ideas of the disciples as to the nature of His coining ? If, then, He spake of a figurative coming, while they were expecting Him to come personally, is it not natural to conclude that He would at once have corrected their error by telling them—“You are mistaken in your impression that I am to come personally: it is not a personal coming, as the ‘ false Christs’ will pretend ; but only a figurative or judicial coming: I mean simply that I am to come in judgment by means of the Homan armies.” This would not only have guarded them from all danger of deception on this point, but also would have prevented succeeding generations from misapprehending Him. But our Lord did no such thing. The conclusion, therefore, we submit, is, that the theory under review, so far as this verse is concerned, fails rightly to interpret our Lord’s words. We pass to Verse 28.1 The 27th verse, as we have seen, is limited to the contrast between the coming of the true Christ and those of the false. There the comparison ends, and they disappear from the stage of the prophecy. The reference to Christ’s coming in this verse, therefore, is •parenthetical,, and relates, by way of anticipation, to the subject of His actual coming, as set forth more at large in verse 29, which speaks of the signs which are to appear uimmediately after” the “tribulation of those days” spoken of in verses 21 and 22; while verse 30 describes the manner of that actual coming; thus marking the chronological order of the events that are to precede and accompany that coming. It is admitted that the terms, “ eagles ” and “ carcass,” in verse 28, are figures. But, in view of the relation which verses 27, 29, and 30, bear to each other, it is evident, (1.) That verse 28 can have no reference to the coming of the “ false Christs,” spoken of in verses 23-26, as “ eagles ” to prey upon the “ carcasses ” of the Jews. The reference made to them is confined to the description given of the difference between the manner of their coming and that of Christ, as delineated by the flashing of the lightning. The question then is, what is intended by these figures ? We reply, (2.) That they can have no reference to the coming of the Homan armies as “ eagles,” to prey upon the “ carcasses ” of the Jews. True, among the images and other devices of the Roman 1 See the comments of Barnes and Whitby on this verse, p. 12L POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 135 ensigns, that of the eagle was very conspicuous. True also, there are in the Old Testament several references to the habits of this bird, to denote ravaging armies. Still, as we have proved that verse 27 has no reference whatever to the Roman armies, so verse 28, if applied to them, would derange the entire chronological order of the events predicted in verses 27, 29, and 30. This fact of itself furnishes sufficient evidence, that neither the image of the eagle on the Roman ensign, nor the reference to its ravaging habits in the Old Testament, can justify the application of the figures in this verse to the Roman armies gathering against the Jews. Besides, there is no analogy between 'the habits of that bird in coming upon its prey, and that of the Roman armies in ravaging the Jews. The eagle is not gregarious, and does not make its attacks in great numbers, like armies. It is an unsocial bird;1 and, to quote Watson’s Dictionary, “ Providence has constituted it a solitary animal; two pairs of eagles are never found in the same neighborhood, though the genus is dispersed in every quarter of the world.” But, all is made clear, and in unison with the prophecy, by connecting the 28th verse with verses 27, 29, and 30. These last-named verses relate, as we have said, 1st, to the sign of Christ’s coming; and 2d, to the manner of His actual coming ; and which, when taken in connection with verse 28, show that the figures of the eagles and the carcasses therein employed, were designed to illustrate, (3.) The destruction of Vie ungodly at the second coming of Christ This hypothesis, we concede, may at first view strike the reader as far-fetched, novel, and, perhaps, chimerical. He, however, will admit equally writh us, that the Scriptures plainly teach, that when “ the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven,” it will be “ in flaming fire,” to “ take vengeance on them that know not God,” etc., and to “ reward God’s servants.” (See 2 Thess. i 7; and Rom. ib 5-11). As it regards the application of the figures in this 28th verse, however, the agents illustrated thereby cannot be Christ on the one hand, and the just and unjust on the other. Rather, the “ eagles ” are intended to denote the angels, as the agents employed in the destruction of the ungodly, and the separation from them of the righteous. Thus, in Matt. xiii. 30, we learn that, at 1 Job xxxix. 27-30. 136 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. the second coming of Christ, it will be a time of separation be· tween the righteous and the wicked, when the angels will be di rected by our Lord to “ gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, and to gather the wheat into barns.” And this, the great parabolic Teacher says, ehall be at “ the' end of the world?—αιών, i. e., age, or dispensation, called “ the times of the Gentiles.” (Luke xxi. 24; Rom. xi. 25.) Now, we submit that Luke xvii. 34-37 is exactly parallel to Matt. xxiv. 28. Our Lord there refers us to the time when there shall be “ two in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken and the other left.” Upon the announcement of this prophecy, the disciples said to Jesus, “ Where, Lord ? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body (or carcass) is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.” Here, then, we are directed to a time of separation, between those most intimately associated in life. That time is stated to be, “ When the Son of Man shall be revealed,” which is to be at a period of the Church and the world analogous to u the days of Noah ” and of “ Lot ” (verses 26-30), which is exactly coincident with “ the end of the world ” in Matt. xiii. 40-43. It is scarcely necessary to add, in this connection, that in Luke xvii. there is not the remotest reference, from beginning to end, to the Romans. Indeed, the chronological note there given as to the time of said separation, viz., “ in that night; ” (and the second coming of Christ is represented as being in the night, Matt. xxv. 6 ;) and also the nature of the occurrence then to take place—not, mark, the escape of the one and the taking of the other, but a taking of one from the side of another that is left— is decisive against it. As, therefore, 1st, Luke xvii. 34-37 is parallel with Matt, xxiv. 28; and as, 2d, the time of said separation refers, not to the coming of the Romans against Judea, Jerusalem, and the Jews in a. d. 70, but to the time “ when the Son of Man is revealed? it follows, first, that the figures in this 28th verte refer to the destruction of the wicked by the angels at the second coming of Christ; and, second, that the theory under review which applies them to the Romans and the Jews, etc., is fallacious. We come now to consider Yerse 29. The expositions given of this verse by the advo- POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAT, 137 cates of the figurative theory of interpretation, will render it necessary to notice, first, what they say of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars; and, second, what, of the time of their occurrence. L The darkening of the sun, moon, and stars.1 This is made to signify, 1st, “ a proverbial expression, importing the destruction and utter ruin of a nation,” etc.; and, 2d, “ the destruction of their (i. e., the Jews’) ecclesiastical and civil state, and of the rulers of both,” etc., “ who shall suddenly fall down as a leaf from the vine and from the fig-tree.” As what we have to say in reply to these explanations of the heavenly luminaries, will he brought out more fully in connection with our criticisms on the alleged time of their appearance, it will be necessary to say but little regarding them in this place. In unison with what has been said on the subject of the laws of prophetic interpretation, etc.,2 though at the hazard of a seeming repetition, we in the very outset enter our protest against the fanciful, incongruous, and often contradictory expositions, attendant upon the popular system of metaphorizing the plainest literal declarations of God’s word. We are, from conviction, unchangeably determined to expose to our utmost the fallacy of this theory, in our exegesis of the wifigurative portions of the Bible; and in the figurative portions to be guided by what is, in immediate connection or otherwise, taught in literal prose. We observe then, that we hold the passage before us to be strictly literal; that is, when Jesus said that “the sun should be darkened, and the moon should not give her light, and the stars should fall from heaven,” he meant to be understood to speak of them as literally as when he said, “ and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn” when they behold them. And wherefore, pray, should these celestial phenomena be thought a thing “ incredible,” any more than in the instance of the recorded arresting of the sun by the'Command of Joshua;3 or the darkening t>f the sun, and of the other natural prodigies attendant upon th" crucifixion of the Son of God ?4 See the argument of the figurativists as founded on Joel ii,iil etc., and reply, pp. 142-146. But, as before observed, this exposition, if we mistake not, will be abundantly confirmed by what we have to offer on the subject of, 1 See comments by Barnes and Whitby, page 122, etc. * See pages 127-129. * Josh. x. 12. « Matt, xxii. 50-63. 138 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Π. The time assigned to this darkening of the sun, and moon, and falling of the stars, etc. Our Lord’s words are explicit. He says it shall be “ immediately after the tribulation of those days,” etc. Now, in order to determine the time for the commencement and close of this momentous period as indicated by the phrase “ those days,” we must ascertain in what consisted the “ trihula· tion ” here spoken of. All depends upon this. The allegorists, as we shall see, in applying the darkening of the heavenly luminaries as denotive of it, introduce into their interpretations the greatest possible uncertainty and confusion. It is here to be particularly noted, that however these writers differ either with themselves or with each other on this point, all agree that the “days” here spoken of, are embraced in the un· paralleled calamities described in verses 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19: “ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall bewhich “ days ” were to be so intensified in their character compared with all preceding calamities, that, “ except they should be shortened, no flesh should be saved.” Mark’s words are, “ In those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall he? Now, viewed from any stand-point adopted by these writers, this hypothesis is fundamental to their theory. For, the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, etc., whether interpreted to signify “the wasting of the Jews by Vespasian’s army flying quickly [like the lightning’s flash, v. 27] through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea,” and which it is alleged brought “ an utter desolation and terrible destruction upon their nation and their capital cities;” or as denoting the “ destruction of their ecclesiastical and civil state, and the rulers of both; ” if these calamities were those referred to by our Lord in the above passages, it follows that they must have exhausted all that was intended to be embraced therein. § But, in direct opposition to this view, we affirm, first, that our Lord’s description of the unparalleled calamities which were to fall upon the Jews in verses 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19, refer to a period entirely future to the destruction of their country, nation, and polity, by the Romans; and, Second. That the time assigned to the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, etc., is subsequent to the close of these calamities. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 139 But of this in its proper place. Let us now see what these writers say of the time for.the commencement, etc., of the “ tribulation” referred to. We turn, 1. To Dr. Whitby. When treating of the first theory above, which applies the celestial phenomena to denote the coming of the Roman armies to besiege and destroy the nation and capital cities of the Jews, Dr. Whitby tells us that the “tribulation of those days” “ were accomplished during the war under Vespasian! ” But, when we come to the second theory, which makes the same celestial phenomena to denote the destruction—and that by the same Roman army—of the ecclesiastical and civil state, and of the rulers of both (and which he also adopts); this is made by him to refer to “ a considerable period before the destruction of Jerusalem, when the thieves and zealots, says Josephus, ‘ kept all the nobles and rulers of the country in close custody; and when the zealots slew and consumed the nobility, and made it their business to leave none of the men of power alive.” But this is not all. According to these writers, in verse 30 we have not a personal, but a judicial, coming of the Lord, “ by the Roman army,” to punish the wicked Jews. Well, and what time does Dr. Whitby fix upon for this judicial coming of the Lord ? Does he now speak of the invasion of the country ? Does he now speak of that time of tribulation in “ the wasting of the Jews by Vespasian’s army quickly flying through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea ? No. Does he now speak of that period “ a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem,” when, according to his own showing, their “ ecclesiastical and civil state, and the rulers of them both” were destroyed? No. When, then, was it ? Let the learned Doctor himself answer. His own words are, “ Our Saviour’s coming here, seems to import his coming by the Roman army to besiege and destroy Jerusalem, and the unbelieving Jews; for so Christ seemeth plainly to interpret thisc coming of the Son of Man,’ vCrse 27. ‘The coming of the Son of Man shall be as the lightning shining from east to west; for, wheresoever the Jews are, thither shall the Roman army be gathered,”’ i. e., like the eagles devouring their prey! Indeed! Then this judicial coming of the Lord spoken of in verse 30, was not the coming of the Roman army when they made the invasion; it was not that visitation that brought about the tribulation of those days under Vespasian ; neither was it the destruction of their ecclesiastical and 140 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. civil state, etc., which took place a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem,” when their sun and moon were blotted out, and their rulers fell to the earth like untimely fruit from the vine and fig-tree. None of these. But it was the judicial coming of the Lord, to besiege and destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews, after the nation and their capital cities were destroyed, and their ecclesiastical and civil polity had been blotted out. Yes, then it was that the Lord came, by the Romans, to punish them! Again. Other advocates of this theory maintain, that “ the tribulation of those days ” refers especially to the horrors of the final and fatal siege of the holy city. This is the theory of Bp. Newton, in his dissertations on the prophecies, and has been adopted, with little or no variation, by Drs. Clarke, Scott, Coke, etc., and by Watson and Barnes. And, Finally. Dr. Robinson, in his Harmony, making a similar figurative application with the others, as to the things signified by “ the sun, moon, and stars,” etc., says that “ The subsequent desolation and calamity spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 29, 30, and the parallel passages ”—(by which we suppose the Doctor means yerses 21,22, and Mark xiii. 19: while in the other instance, he must allude to the antecedent calamities mentioned Matt. xxiv. 4-13)— “I refer to the overthrow and complete extirpation of the Jewish people fifty years later, under Adrian,” etc. Here, then, while Dr. Robinson differs from all his co-laborers as to the time for the commencement and close of the unparalleled tribulation; so they leave Dr. Whitby to stand alone in his paradoxical theory. As it respects the theory of this latter writer, we remark, that to conclude that “ the tribulation of those days ” refers to a period anterior to the final siege,” unavoidably involves the following difficulties, viz., first, that our Lord, in the exceedingly minute details of this prophecy, entirely omitted any reference to this last notable siege, though it consummated the ruin both of the Church and nation! Second. That if this final siege be the one intended by the darkening of the sun and moon, etc., then we must suppose that our Lord passed, by a sudden and unexplained transition, from one of the most literal prophecies of that event,1 to the most highly figurative language that can be found in all the confessedly poetic departments of the Bible! and, third, 1 See Luke jjL 5-24, first clause: with which compare Matthew and Mark. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 141 another result is, that there was far less of “ tribulation ” in the first than in the last siege. Whereas the first siege resulted in the death of only 300,000 Jews during three or four years, the last was marked by the destruction at “ the edge of the sword ” (Luke xxL 24) of not less than 1,100,000 people in six months! The truth is, Dr. Whitby was logician enough to perceiye, that previously to, or during that siege, the so-called sun, pft&n, and stars of the nation perished; and he could not bring himself to the task of showing that it was afterward. It was this circumstance that forced him into the above unsuccessful, and what we conceive to be self-contradictory, efforts, to fix “the tribulation of those days ” at an earlier period of the war. But, enough of this. The theory, as presented by the other writers on this subject, contains just two points:—1st, That “the tribulation of those days” refers to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem; and 2d, that immediately after this siege, would occur the obscuration, etc., of the heavenly luminaries; which they apply to the Jewish Church and State, as thus expressed by Dr. Lightfoot:—“The Jewish heaven shall perish, and the sun and moon of its glory and happiness shall be darkened—brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of the Church; the moon is the government of the State; and the stars are the doctors of both.” This states specifically the usual interpretations given of the passage. Without further preliminaries, we now proceed to adduce the facts and arguments in support of the opposite view to that advocated by these writers, and observe, First. That our Lord’s - description of those unparalleled calamities in verses 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19, which were to fall upon the Jews, refers to a period entirely future to the destruction of their country, nation, and polity, by the Romans. And, Second. That the time assigned to the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, etc., is subsequent to the close of these calamities. We here again repeat, that the issue in this important matter depends, not upon mere assertion or opinion, but upon facts. The pivot upon which turns the issue in the premises, is the question of the literal or figurative character of the prophecy of Christ in Matt. xxiv. 27-30. That there may be no ground for a continued misapprehension 142 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. regarding it, we here give what constitutes the foundation on which rests the theory we repudiate. It is simply this: Its advocates assume, that as there was no literal fulfilment of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars during the period of the Jewish troubles under the Romans, ergo> the language of the prophecy must be understood figuratively, to represent the providential or judicial coming of Christ, to destroy the country, nation, and ecclesiastical and civil polity of the Jews. Let the reader not forget, in this connection, the fact that these same writers admit that all the other portions of this great prophecy of Christ are strictly literal! That the part of it under review is equally literal, we shall now proceed to prove. The subject in hand relates to matters both of interpretation, and of historic facts. Our arguments, of course, must hold a relation to both. I. First, then. Of the principle of interpretation applied to the exposition of this 29th verse. Two classes of passages are adduced to sustain the figurative theory—the first, those that are alleged in proof that this passage will admit of no other interpretation : the second, that the event predicted, to wit, the darkening of the heavenly luminaries, received their accomplishment in those judgments inflicted upon the Jews, between the commencement and termination of their calamities under the Romans. 1. In regard to the first point, the advocates of this theory refer to numerous passages in the Old Testament, which, being figurative, are adduced in justification of so interpreting the words of Christ in that now before us. The reader will find several examples of these in pages 121 and 125 of this work. Still, the question to be determined is, not whether such figures of speech were ever used by the old prophets for purposes of illustration or ornament—which we admit—but whether our Lord employed the words, “ darkening of the sun and moon, falling of the stars from heaven,” etc., in verse 29, to signify the judgments that were to overtake the Jews ? On the affirmative of this question, great reliance is placed upon the two following passages, Joel ii. 30, 31, and iii. 15 : “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth—blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 143 Lord come.” (Joel ii. 30, 31). “ The sun and the moon shall he darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” (Chap, iii 15). The passages are parallel. Now such writers as Patrick and Lowth, Dr. Clarke and others, say, “this very destruction of Jerusalem is represented ” thus in these passages. The following quotations from their works must suffice. On Joel ii 30, Patrick and Lowth say: “This and the following verse principally point out the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem by the Romans, a judgment justly inflicted upon the Jewish nation for their resisting the Holy Spirit, and contempt of the means of grace.” And Mai. iii. 1, 2, 5, and iv. 1, are referred to as pointing out the signs which were to immediately precede that destruction; while Josephus is quoted (De Bell. Jud., Lib. 6, cap. 31) in verification of their fulfilment, as predicted by Christ, Luke xxi. 11.—On verse 31, they write thus: “ Comp. Mai. iv. 5. . . . The expressions here used, in the literal sense, import the failing of light in the sun and moon, whether hy eclipses (when the moon looks of a bloody color) or any other cause; and here they denote the dark and melancholy state of public affairs at the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Romans, and the utter overthrow of that state and government.” (See the Note upon Isa. xiii' 10.) And so Dr. Clarke, on Joel ii. 30, [“ wonders in the heavens and in the earth.”] “ This refers to the fearful sights, dreadful portents, and destructive commotions by which the Jewish polity was finally overthrown, and the Christian religion finally established in the Roman empire. See how our Lord applies this prophecy, Matt. xxiv. 29, and the parallel texts.” And on verse 31, [“the sun shall be turned into darkness,”] he says: “The Jewish polity, civil and ecclesiastical, shall be entirely destroyed.” Such, then, is the mode of applying these passages from Joel, by all the commentators that give a figurative interpretation to the languagain Matt. xxiv. 29. The issue, then, is distinct. We take the negative. Now for the proof: the prophet—or rather the Lord by the prophet—shall give his own explanation. Let the reader now turn back to Joel ii 30, 31. This, it is affirmed by these learned divines, relates to the destruction of the nation, and the civil and ecclesiastical polity of the Jews. But what does God say on the subject ? Verse 32: “And it shall come to pass, that whoever shall call Ui SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” Chap. iii. 1, 2: “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.” Then, in chap, iii., verses 3-6, follows a narrative of what Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem had suffered at the hands of their enemies. Verses 7, 8, of God’s threatened judgnlents upon them therefor; and verses 9-14, of the manner in which those judgments should be visited upon them, etc. And then comes verse 15: “ The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.” Verse 16 : “The Lord also shall roar but of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens' and the earth shall shake.” For what purpose? as precursors fjf the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jews by the Romans ? Nay, verily. For, saith the prophet, “ The Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Then, from the 17th to the 21st verses, inclusive, we have a most glowing description of God dwelling in Zion, in the midst of his ransomed people; and of the peace, prosperity, and abundance to be enjoyed by them, while they shall behold Egypt and Edom converted into a desolate wilderness, for their violence against the children of Judah. Yea, “Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.” For, saith the Lord, “I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lard dwelleth in Zion” Now let the reader particularly note that these two quotations from Joel are inseparably connected. The last verse of the iid chapter refers to the same time that the sun and moon are to be darkened. This is conceded by Dr. Lowth, who, on Joel iii. 1, “ In those days, at that time,” says: “ The time called ‘ the last days,’ chap.ii. 28,”letc. Also by Dr. Clarke. “Joel iii. 1: ‘For, behold, in those days,—according to the preceding prophecy” [i.e. chap. ii. 28, etc.], “ these days should refer to gospel times, or to such as should immediately precede them.” On the other hand, it has been proved by the authority of God himself, that the first 1 Bee Commentary of Patrick and Lowth. DKD1CATION OF THE TEMPLE POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 145 verse of the iiid chapter refers to the same days spoken of in chap, ii. 28, etc. And, from the declaration of the Almighty, we learn that “ those days ” and “ that time,”—i. e., the time during which the darkening of the heavenly luminaries takes place—do not refer to the utter desolation, destruction and ruin of Judea, Jerusalem, and the nation of the Jews by the Roman armies, but—and God is witness—to events directly the reverse of all this.' It refers to the time when Jehovah “ shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem; ” i. e., when, as the Lord says, “ Jerusalem shall he holy, and when there shall no stranger pass through her any more.” (Joel iii. 1, IV). Here, then, these commentators, who, with one stroke of the pen, refer the darkening of the celestial planets to the destruction of the Jews by the Romans, acknowledge the unbroken and inseparable connection between the iid and iiid chapters of Joel, when they come to comment on this very darkening of the sun, etc., in connection with the events with which it is so undeniably associated ; and that, too, according to God’s own explanation of it, in the iiid chapter; with another stroke of the pen, they totally abandon the ground of their former exposition, and refer it to other events, or confess their inability to understand it at alL Doctors Lowth and Clarke both adopt this course. The latter writer, commenting on Joel iii. 1, says: “But this is a part of the prophecy which is difficult to be understood. All interpreters are at variance upon it,” etc. Then, after giving several examples of them, he concludes thus: “ In this painful uncertainty, rendered still more so by the discordant opinions of many wise and learned men, it appears to be my province to confine myself to an explanation of the phraseology of the chapter, and leave the reader to apply it as may seem best to his own judgment.” [!!!] The reader will pardon our display of the dagger-points. They are merely designed as suggestive of the deep mortification that must have accompanied the penning of the above concession by such a writer as Dr. Clarke—the cause, we submit, the spiritualizing a passage where all was literal; the effect, the indefinite, confused, and contradictory conclusions, in its application to the events referred to. This will appear the more conspicuous, when we come presently to explain the nature and duration of the unparalleled calamities spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 10 146 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19; and also the true chronology of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars. There is, however, one other point that we must not overlook, in reference to the quotations from Joel. The advocates of this theory refer us to St. Peter, and affirm that, having quoted this very passage in Joel, Acts ii. 16-21, he applies the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars to the destruction of the Jews by the Romans ; proof demonstrative, they insist, that Matt. xxiv. 29 is to be interpreted figuratively, to denote that event.1 So far from it, we defy the closest scrutiny of the passage to detect the least reference in it to the Romans, from beginning to end. As we have shown that the prophecy of Joel relates, not to the destruction but to the deliverance, etc., of the Jews; so we shall now prove, of the passage referred to in the Acts. In the prophecy of Joel, the period designated as “those days,” and “ that time,” in chap. iii. 1, which were to commence as described in chap. ii. 28, 29, were to continue, until the period for the darkening of the heavenly planets, as the precursors of the restoration of the Jews, and the final overthrow of their oppressors. Now, are we to suppose that the inspired apostle was ignorant of the fact, that the prophet Joel, when he spake of this darkening of the sun, moon, and stars in its relation to associated events, referred it to the closing up of the tribulation of the Jews at the great battle that should destroy their enemies ? Who will pretend this? Accordingly, in his allusion to this prophecy, the apostle affirms, in the first place, that the dispensation of the spirit, on the day of Pentecost of which Joel spake, had begun to run its course; and second, that his associating with this event the darkening of the heavenly luminaries, was simply to show, in harmony with the design of the prophet, that these “ last days ” were to continue, until, as he said to the Jews a little after, (see Acts iv. 21,) until “the times of restitution of all things, which God had spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began.” In a word, the language of Peter in the Acts is to be taken as Gotfs commentary on the text in Joel. Thus much, then, in regard to this passage from Joel, which, by the way, constitutes the chief reliance of these commentators, in support of their figurative interpretation of Matt. xxiv. 29. 1 See page 121 POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 147 2. But, there are several other passages pressed into service by these writers, to sustain the alleged interpretation given by them of the metaphorical import of the darkening of the sun and moon and stars, as denoting the second coming of Christ by the Romans, within the period of the then existing generation. Our Lord, say they, declared to his disciples that “ This generar tion shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled ” (Matt. xxiv. 34); and also, that with this prophecy accord several other statements, which go to prove that the second coming of Christ spoken of in Matthew cannot be future. The first passage is, Matt. xvi. 27, 28. Our Lord, having in v. 27 spoken of “ the coming of the Son of Man in the glory of the Father,” etc., adds, “ There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom ” (v. 28). To this we answer, that v. 27 undeniably refers to Christ’s coming to judgment. If, therefore, v. 28 refers to the same thing, it follows that that event transpired while some of the disciples were still living 1 and such, substantially, is the view taken of it by Dr. Clarke. In his note on v. 27—with which he considers Dan. vii. 13, 14, as collateral, he says: “This is the glorious mediatorial kingdom which Jesus Christ was now about to set up, by the destruction of the Jewish nation and polity, and the diffusion of the gospel through the whole world. ... It is very likely that the words do not apply to the general judgment,” etc. And on v. 28 he adds, “This verse seems to confirm the above explanation,” etc. ... It is “ as if he had said, ‘ Some of you, my disciples, shall continue until these things take place.’ The destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish economy, which our Lord here predicts, took place about forty-three years after this; and some of the persons now with him, doubtless survived that period, and witnessed the extension of the Messiah’s kingdom.” etc. Now, to this we reply, First. That in no sense can v. 28 be construed to denote the setting up, at the time referred to, of the so-called mediatorial kingdom of Christ, as here alleged. This writer makes the surviving disciples to have “witnessed the extension of the Messiah’s kingdom” “after the day of Pentecost,” and “the destruction of Jerusalem,” by “ the diffusion of the gospel through the whole world.” Two facts demonstrate the utter fallacy of this statement: the first, that the gospel accomplished its entire circuit 148 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. through the world before “the destruction of the Jewish nation and polity,” and that, by these very disciples themselves. (Compare Matt. xxiv. 14 with Rom. x. 19.) The second, that the “ Christian Church” has not yet attained “ its final triumph” since “the destruction of the Jewish polity.” The truth is, the reference in this verse to the “ coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom,” relates exclusively to the kingdom of Christ in manifestation, as contradistinguished from the “kingdom of God,” or “of heaven,” in “ mystery,” under and during “ the times of the Gentiles.” This latter “kingdom” is constituted of those who, down to the end of that period, are “ taken out of (or from among) the Gentiles, to the praise of Christ’s name,”1 and in which they are prepared, “ when the Son of Man shall come in His kingdom,” to receive the welcome, “ Come, ye blessed,” etc. This 28th verse, therefore, relates to the coming of the Son of Man to setup His kingdom in its fulness and perfection, when His present office as our priestly Intercessor at the right hand of God shall have ended; and when, having “received that kingdom” for which He has “taken a journey into a far country,”* He will “ return f to take His seat, as David’s “Son,” on David’s “throne,” and thus commence and continue His kingly reign “ over the house of Jacob forever.”8 For it should he borne in mind, that David was in no sense a type or forerunner of Christ in His mediatorial, but only His kingly office. Christ now fills the office of “ high-priest over the house of God,”4 which is “ His body, the Church,”8 “the kingdom of heaven” in “mysteryf and over which, in His present character as “ Intercessor at the right hand of God,” He is “ the Head.”6 But this is in no way inconsistent with the literal fulfilment of those many predictions of a future kingdom, when the existing dispensation shall have passed away. By not distinguishing between these two widely different dispensations, and confounding those passages which relate to them respectively, the greatest confusion has obtained among expositors of the Scriptures respecting them, to the great trouble and perplexity of candid inquirers. Then again. These two verses in Matt. xvi. 27, 28, taken in connection with other collateral passages, it may be asked— Did Christ, during His alleged coming at “the destruction of 1 Acte xv. 14. 4 Heb. x. 21. * Luke i. 32,33, • Col. 1.18. a Luke xix. 12. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 149 Jerusalem,” etc., come “ with His angels?” Was there then any “ appearance of the sign of the Son of Man in heaven ? ” Did Christ then “ come in the clouds of heaven?” Was there then the sound of a trumpet, and a gathering together of the elect from the four winds of heaven? ” And did Christ then “ reward every man according to his works?” Surely, as it respects this last article, it cannot mean an act of gracious mediation, but of strict judgment; nor can it mean a national judgment, which in no sense is the rewarding of each and every man according to his works; for, sinners of a widely different degree of delinquency, in a time of national judgment, are involved in the same public calamities, the comparatively innocent sharing the penalty equally with the most guilty. It is certain, therefore, that the coming of Christ in the fulness of His glory to set up His kingly reign, could not have been verified by the judgments inflicted on the Jews at the period of the Roman invasion. And yet, agreeably to the intent of Christ’s words, in verse 28, those to whom He addressed Himself did “ see ” “ thd Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” It was verified in the transfiguration, a few days after, when Jesus took Peter, and James, and John, up into the mountain to meet Moses and Elias.1 Of this spake Peter (1 Pet. i. 16-18): “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty. For He received from God honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.” We pass to another passage, in which it is claimed that our Lord spake of His coming in reference to Jewish affairs. John xxl 22: “ And Jesus said, if I will that he [John] tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? ” The argument of the figura-tivists here is, that Christ, by His coming, could not have meant “ the general judgment; for, as the saints that are then alive are not to die, it would follow that John would not die at all Therefore, the coming after which John was to die could not have re-fered to any other than Christ’s coming to punish the unbelieving Jews during the generation then living.2 1 Three of the Evangelists speak of this event in immediate connection with Chriit’· transfiguration on the mount: Matt. xvii. 2; Mark lx. 2; Luke ix. 20. a See page 125. 150 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. To this it may be replied, if the disciples understood Christ in the sense here given, how came they to circulate the report that “ that disciple should not die f ” According to this theory, they had been frequently informed that Christ would come judicially to punish the Jews within the life-time of the men of that generation; and yet, because John should live to witness them, therefore John should never die! Marvellous logic, this! The truth of the matter is simply as laid down in the following facts: 1st. Christ’s remark concerning John was not made till after His resurrection, and also the instructions given to the disciples “ of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” (Acts i. 3.) 2d. These instructions, doubtless, included the important matter of Christ’s coming to raise the dead and change the living. 3d. The whole Church at this time, and so on to St. Paul’s penning of 2d Thess. ii. 1-4, believed that a very short interval was to elapse between the first and the second comings of Christ. 4th. They also understood the doctrine, as afterwards stated by St. Paul, 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52, that those who “remain unto the coming of the Lord,” would not die, but be instantaneously “ changed,” and be “ caught up to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thess. ive 13-18.) Now, it was under these circumstances that our Lord had signified to Peter “by what death he should glorify God.” This awakened his inquisitiveness to know somewhat of the destiny of the beloved John. Hence the question, “ Lord, and what shall this man do?” To this Jesus replied, in the words before us, “ If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? Follow thou me.” When, therefore, we take into view the above instructions of Christ regarding His second coming, how natural was it for the disciples to infer that John was to be kept “ alive unto the coming of the Lord, and also that, as a consequence, he would not die ?” And yet Jesus said not unto him, “my will is that John shall tarry till I come; ” but, “ if I will that he tarry,” etc., “ what is that to thee,” Peter ? “ Follow thou me.” Whether that interval were of shorter or longer duration, an act of Christ’s will was fully adequate to the preservation of John’s life till He come again. But our Lord, looking to the coming itself and not to the time when it should take place, proceeded to suppress the curiosity of Peter as to the destiny of his brother disciple by a mild rebuke: It is no concern of thine, Petep, whether John die before I come, or live until I come. “ Follow thou me.” POPULAE THEORY OF THE DAY. 151 But finally, on this subject. Is it not surpassingly strange, that while these writers explain our Lord’s remarks concerning John’s tarrying literally, so soon as they touch the matter of Christ's coming, to which it relates, all suddenly becomes figurar tive l This, we must insist, is to substitute the most wild and fanciful speculations in divine things, in the place of that simple law of scriptural interpretation which enjoins—“ Interpret every passage of God’s word literally, unless there be a necessity to the contrary.” Now, nothing is more evident than that the disciples, even before the crucifixion, were taught the doctrine of the second literal or personal coming of Christ.1 And, as Christ’s remark concerning the tarrying of John till He come, was subsequent to His prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, they must have understood both the coming of Christ and what was said of John’s tarrying for it literally. Then, as they looked for the second personal coming of Christ as an event nigh at hand, it was perfectly natural for them to understand our Lord to have said that John should not die, but that he should live to see Him come in the clouds of heaven, and then be changed, and caught up to Him, like Enoch and Elijah, “in the air.” We leave the reader to decide between the obvious truth of the literal, or the equally obvious fiction of the figurative interpretation of this passage. A third passage adduced in support of a figurative interpretation of Christ’s coming, is founded on his address to the high-priest, Caiaphas. Matt. xxvi. 64: “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man, sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” The argument derived from this passage is this: As Caiaphas could not live until the day of judgment; and as the second coming will precede the resurrection, therefore, he could not see Christ come, etc. It is hence concluded that our Lord meant His figur rative coming to destroy Jerusalem.8 This reasoning is claimed to be decisive against the literalist. We will examine it, First, in reference to the words, “hereafter shall ye see,” etc. These expositors restrict the seeing of the Son of Man, here, to the •person of the high-priest himself. Then, of course, they will, in all consistency, apply the same restriction to the apostolic com* i See John xiv. 1-3; xv. 16, 22, and intervening verses. * See page 125. 152 SECOND COMING OF CHBI8T. mand, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations.... and Ιο, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” And so, the entire college of the apostles must still be alive! The same holds true of St. Paul and his brethren, in regard to what he said of the second coming of Christ to raise the dead: “ We shall not all sleep,”—i. e., die—“ but we shall all be changed,” etc. And “then, we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord,” etc. But this resurrection has not yet taken place. And so, Paul and his brethren must still he alive! The fallacy of this theory in its application to Caiaphas, however, will be still more apparent from the circumstance, that there is no evidence that even he witnessed Christ’s coming, in the sense here explained of it. We submit the following facts: Jerusalem was destroyed in a. d. VO. It was in the fifth or sixth year of Caiaphas’ priesthood when Christ was arraigned before him, which was probably in the fortieth year of his age at least; and, about four years after, having incurred the displeasure of the emperor, he was deposed. If, therefore, he lived to witness the above catastrophe, it must have been about in his eightieth year. This is not impossible. But, we submit, the strong probability, amounting almost to moral certainty, is that, if he did not die long before, yet, being so eminent a man as the son-in-law of Annas, he fell a victim to the fury of the zealots, who, as Josephus informs us (De Bell. Jud. lib. 5, cap. 20), “slew and consumed the nobility, and made it their business to leave 7ione of the men of power alive” Nor this only; for he adds (Lib. 4, cap. 11, 12), that they “abolished the families of the high-priests by succession, and placed in their room men ignoble and unknown, who neither belonged to the priesthood, nor knew what the office of high-priest meant: ” all of which, the reader will bear in mind, took place even before the first invasion of the holy city by the Roman legions. It is clear, therefore, that the passage did not refer the seeing of Christ at his second coming to Caiaphas personally; but that the living nations, of which himself and those whom our Lord was then addressing were the types, should “Thereafter see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven,” at that day when “every eye should see him; and they also which pierced him; and when all the kindreds of the earth should wail because of him.” The statement, therefore, that, as the second coming of Christ precedes the resurrection; POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 153 and hence, that as Caiaphas was not to be raised until after that event, the coming spoken of above must mean a figurative coming of Christ to destroy Jerusalem, is a most unwarrantable assump tion. It is founded either upon an entire ignorance, or a perversion, of the order of the events which accompany and follow that momentous crisis. For, in the first place, on the hypothesis of the second coming of Christ as preceding the resurrection as laid down by St. Paul, 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52, and 1 Thess. iv. 13-18, compared with Rev. xx. 1-6, and verses 11-15, the order of events is as follows: first, The dead in Christ, at the sounding of the last trump, shall be raised, and the believing saints then alive shall be changed, and together be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, etc. How long our blessed Lord and his saints will remain in that position, we are not informed. But, the union between himself and the saints of this first resurrection being consummated, then, in the next place, as Zechariah states (chap. xiv. 5, and v. 4), “The Lord Cod’ will come, and all his saints with Him,” etc. But for what purpose? To raise the wicked dead? Nay, verily. But it is to judge the living antichristian nations, which, as I have said, answer to the living Caiaphas and others to whom Christ spake the words of this passage. Christ then comes, I repeat, not to raise the wicked dead—for not a word is said in our Lord’s address to Caiaphas about a resurrection—but to “ take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. i. 7—10); and who, being those who shall then “see Him, and wail because of Him;” third, shall be numbered among those wicked “dead” who shall not be raised, “until the thousand years” of millennial blessedness “ are ended” (Rev. xx. 5.) Viewed, therefore, in all its aspects, we appeal to the decision of every unbiased mind, as to the merits of the issue on this passage. We claim to have demonstrated, 1st, that the advocates of this theory assume, that the seeing the Son of Man, etc., was necessarily limited t<\ Caiaphas. 2d. That they assume that the raised dead cannot see Christ. 3d. That their assumptions conflict with the plainest scriptural declarations in regard to the two resurrections, etc. And we now add, that, having shown that the other two passages claimed by these writers, so far from yielding support to their theory, prove it to be utterly fallacious, it follows that the other passage, viz., Matt. xxiv. 34: “This generation 154: SECOND COMING OF CHBIST. shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled,” cannot, by any possibility, be made to apply to the generation of men then living. For, if this prophecy of Christ, in verse 29, is to be interpreted literally, His coming spoken of, instead of being figuratively used to denote the destruction of the Jewish nation in a. d. 70, refers to his judgment-coming in the clouds of heaven, at the last day. Consequently, the “ generation ” that was “ not to pass away till all be fulfilled,” must hold a relation to that event. Having now animadverted upon the two classes of passages adduced in support of the figurative interpretation of this 29th verse of Matt, xxiv., viz., 1st, Joel iL 30, 31, and iii. 15 (see pages 142-146); and 2d, Matt. xvi. 27, 28; John xxl 22; Matt, xxvi. 64, and xxiv. 34 (pages 147-153), we now proceed to demonstrate, by the most indubitable scriptural testimony and historic facts, I. That our Lord’s description of the unparalleled calamities in Matt. xxiv. 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19, which were to fall upon the Jewish nation, etc., refer to a period entirely future to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in a. d. 70.1 This subject brings us into direct contact with uthe tnhdation of those days ” spoken of by our Lord in Matt. xxiv. 29. The advocates of the figurative theory under review, affirm that this verse is collateral with verses 21 and 22 of this chapter; and that they one and all refer to the calamities that overtook the Jews at the destruction of Jerusalem. But, that this view is totally at variance with the true sense and proper application of the passages referred to, will, we submit, appear, 1. From the connection of this part of the prophecy with the following member of it as given by St. Luke, chap. xxi. 24: “And ye shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be carried captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Now, these words are supplementary to the record of Christ’s prophecy as furnished by Matthew and Mark. By this we mean, that St. Luke supplies a portion of the prophecy as given by our Lord, which was omitted by the other two Evangelists. We think these variations may be accounted for from the fact, that Matthew and Mark wrote their respective Gospels for the benefit of the Jews; while Luke penned his for the use of the Gentiles. They were careful to insert a particular narrative of the predicted ap* 1 See pages 13&-14L POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 155 pearance among the Jews of the “false Christs,” etc., down to the war and siege of the holy city; he, of the captivity and dispersion among the Gentiles, of those of them that should escape the edge of the sword during said siege. But, unless, indeed, we suppose one of the inspired writers to have added a passage that the Lord did not deliver—which would have been to falsify the record —this supplement forms as essential a part of the prophecy, as though it had been found in each of the Gospels. We now observe, that the misapprehension and consequent confusion occasioned by these writers in their interpretations of the prophecy in hand, has arisen either from their having entirely overlooked this supplementary passage from Luke, or in assigning to it a wrong place in the chapter. And, inasmuch as both the nature and duration of “ the tribulation of those days ” referred to, can only be determined by restoring it to its legitimate position in the prophecy, it is to that point that we shall now direct the reader’s mind. Now, as already stated, those who claim verses 21 and 22 of this chapter, together with Mark xiii. 19, as collateral with verse 29, now under consideration, place the supplementary passage from Luke opposite to Matt. xxiv. 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19, 20. Against this arrangement we are compelled to urge the following objections, viz.: First. It makes the verse from Luke xxi. 24 to come in before verses 23 and 24, which refer to the false Christs, etc., whose appearance was to precede the Jewish calamities; whereas the supplementary passage undeniably speaks of calamities that were to follow the Jewish war. Again, Second. The chronology of the “ tribulation ” predicted in the verse from Luke,'makes it certain that the above Harmonists have misplaced it. That “ tribulation ” is there made to reach from the end of the Roman siege to the close of “ the times of the Gentiles; ” which period has not yet expired: whereas the calamities predicted by Christ, according to these writers, terminated more than seventeen centuries ago ! Once more, Third. By placing it opposite to Matt. xxiv. 22, and Mark xiii. 20, it makes our Lord predict a shortening of those very days of tribulation, lest all flesh should perish (of which He had spoken in the preceding verses), when He knew that they.were to extend over a period of eighteen hundred years t It is simply 156 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. absurd to speak of shortening the longest period of national dis· . persion that history records. How, then, is this supplementary prophecy of St. Luke to be made to harmonize with the application, by these writers, of the predicted unparalleled tribulation to the time of the Roman war ? * This may suffice, by way of exhibiting the negative argument in these premises. We offer the following, in proof that the true position of St. Luke’s supplement is, to place it before verse 29, which relates to the signs in the heavens. It is hence made to follow the description of the final siege (see Luke xxi. 5-22), and to precede the darkening of the heavenly luminaries, thus—Luke xxl 20-23: “ And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the tribulation is nigh,” etc. Then verse 24: “ And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” And then comes in Matt. xxiv. 29, which is collateral with Luke xxl 25 : “ Immediately after the tribulation of those days,” i. e., “ the desolation ” of the Jews by the Roman siege previously spoken of, “ shall the sun be darkened,” etc. Or, as St. Mark gives it: “ But in those days, after that tribulation, shall the sun be darkened,” etc. (Mark xiii. 24.) The 23d verse of Luke evidently takes in, first, “ the desolation ” of Jerusalem, etc., by the Roman invasion—“ there shall be great distress in the land; ” and, second, the unprecedented calamities which were to follow the close of the siege, down to the time of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, etc.,—“ and wrath upon this people,” as described by our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19, 20. Having thus assigned to St. Luke’s supplement to Matthew and Mark its trm chronological position in this great prophecy of Christ, we proceed to the proof that the predicted calamities described in Matt. xxiv. 21, 22, etc., as alleged to have been verified during the Roman siege, 2. Is contradicted by historic fact. We have the testimony of Josephus, that even before the siege, the direst anarchy prevailed both in Church and State; and that both the ecclesiastical and civil orders were deposed and destroyed, to the absolute subversion of all law and authority among the people. Speaking of the thieves and zealots who infested the city, the Jewish historian POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 157 tells us,1 that they “ kept all the nobles and rulers of the country in close custody,” and that they “ abolished the families of the high-priests by succession, and placed in their room men ignoble and unknown, who neither belonged to the priesthood, nor knew what the office of high-priest meant.” Again ; he says that “twelve thousand of the nobility perished after this manner; when the high-priests, and among them Ananus, were destroyed by the Idumeans,” which Josephus reckons as “ the beginning of their captivity,”2 their national glory departed from them. Josephus adds, that the zealots “ slew and consumed the nobility, and made it their business to leave none of the men of power alive.”3 Nor this only. As though bent upon their own ruin, the factious Jews became divided into twTo parties, the leaders of whom, striving for the supreme dominion, fought not only against one another, but against the common people. · “ And because the city had to struggle with three of the greatest misfortunes, war, and tyranny, and sedition, it appeared upon the comparison that the war was the least troublesome to the populace of them all.” Nor were these terrible calamities confined to the capital; there was in addition a regular combination of ruffians, called Sicarii, outside of the city, who carried on an indiscriminate crusade of murder, plunder, and desolation, together with a desecration of the holy places, i. e., proseuche, or houses of prayer, through every part of Judea. And now, reader, bear in mind that at this time, some who succeeded in escaping from the metropolis, fled to Vespasian, to persuade the Roman general “ to come to the city’s assistance, and save the remainder of the people ! ” and especially remember that all this took place not far from two years before the destruction of Jerusalem! Historically, therefore, the state of the case amounts to this : (1.) The high-priest of the Jewish nation and many of his associates had been murdered, and the whole body of the priesthood overthrown; and, if there were any religious services, they were conducted by such wretches as the robbers saw fit to appoint. (2.) Their temple was changed into a citadel and stronghold for an army of the vilest and most abominable robbers and murderers that ever disgraced the humanrace. 1 De Bell. Jud., lib 4, cap. 11,12. 2 lb. lib. 4, cap. 19. 3 lb. lib. 6, cap. 2Q 158 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. (3.) Their “ holy houses ” (synagogues) throughout the land had been pillaged and destroyed by the ruthless and bloody Sicarii. (4.) Their judiciary and temple officers had either fled for their lives to the Romans, or had been murdered by the robber-gangs of the city, while their nobles and men of wealth perished by myriads. And finally, (5.) Whether within the capital or throughout the borders of Judea, east, west, north, and south, the ecclesiastical and civil institutions of the nation were exterminated, and the country conquered and laid waste by the Romans, or ravaged, by organized banditti. And thus, reader, it continued to the end. These, we repeat, are the historical facts of the case. And yet, our commentators have trusted the interpretation of some of the most important parts of the Bible to the theory, the principal argument to sustain which lies in the assumption that the Jewish ecclesiastical and civil governments were destroyed “after” the destruction of Jerusalem! What shall the writer say more ? He claims to have settled the question by undeniable historic facts. If anything, let it be in the form of the following appeal to logic : 1. If by the heavenly luminaries be meant the ecclesiastical and civil States and rulers of the Jews, and the darkening of them refers to their destruction ; and if this was effected by the Roman legions, it follows that it must have occurred either before or during the tribulation that resulted in their ruin. 2. But, inasmuch as the object of the war was to reduce the nation to obedience, or to bring it to ruin, it could not have preceded it. 3. It must therefore have occurred during the war. Recollect we are now speaking of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, as denoting the so-called Jewish tribulation at the hands of the Romans. We repeat, then, it must have occurred during the war. How, it is undeniable, that that war did not cease until its object was effected. It is also undeniable, that the nation was in ruins before the war was ended. And it is a fact, also, that the predicted tribulation continued undiminished, if indeed it did not increase in severity, to the last. It is, therefore, we submit, settled—historically and logically settled—that it was during, and not after, that time of trouble, POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 159 that the so-called Jewish luminaries were darkened. And, what is decisive of this point, are those notable words of Christ, “Immediately after tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened,” etc.; which shows conclusively that our Lord was not speaking of that event in the 29th verse of this chapter. Having, then, as we claim, proved the fallacy of the metaphorical interpretations of the 27th, 28th, and 29th verses of this prophecy of our Lord, as urged by the advocates of the theory under review; and also historically demonstrated the error of applying it as denotive of the coming of the Romans, etc., it will be unnecessary to dwell at length upon Verse 30. In regard to the comments given of this verse, it matters not whether, as stated by Dr. Whitby, we are to understand the coming of Christ in the sense of a literal coming of the Romans to execute his judgments upon the Jews; or to the subsequent manifestations of Christ by the judgments which he, by means of the Romans, inflicted. The popular view, by which we mean the view adopted by most of our modern divines, is thus expressed by Bp. Newton : “Our Saviour proceeded in the same figurative style” (v. 30): ‘and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven,’ etc. The plain meaning of it is, that the destruction of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of the divine power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led from thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion.” . . . “The destruction of Jerusalem will be as ample a manifestation of Christ’s power and glory, as if He were Himself to come visibly in the clouds of heaven.” [!!!] Yes, reader. This is the theory of our Lord’s second coming, adopted and advocated, in whole or in part, by such divines as Bps. Pierce and Newton, Drs. Whitby, Clarke, Lightfoot, Scott, Coke, Benson, Warburton, Robinson, etc., and the Rev. Messrs. Watson, Burkitt, Barnes, etc. Briefly, then, as it respects the first branch of this theory, its inconsistency, we submit, will become apparent, from the following arguments and facts: (1.) If the coming of the Lord at the time here specified was merely “the coming of the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews,” then it will follow, of necessity, that it occurred at the same time, since, in fact, it is affirmed to be the same event. 160 SECOND COmXG OF CHRIST. (2.) Again. The destruction of the Jewish Church and State, and city, and people, resulted from the coming of the Romans, and must, of course, have been after that coming, because results must be subsequent to the causes which produce them. Accordingly, as our blessed Lord delivered the whole of this remarkable prophecy with special regard to the chronological order of the events, (3.) He describes the appearance of the “ sign ” of His coming, of the mourning of all the tribes of the earth, and of His actual coming in the clouds of heaven, as being “α/iterthe tribulation of those days,” and subsequent, in the order of time, to the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars. Reader, which shall we believe—the comments and opinions of men, or the teachings of Christ ? We have now, agreeably to our proposal in the outset, I., examined the theory offigurative interpretation, as applied by its advocates in their expositions of the prophecy under review; and II., we have replied somewhat at length to the expositions given of each vetse of the prophecy. The reader may suppose that sufficient has been said on the subject. But, such is the writer’s view of the importance to the Church, at this time, of a thorough understanding of the scriptural import of this prophecy, that, even at the risk of being thought to tax his indulgence beyond reasonable limits, he will venture to solicit his further consideration of what may be offered, as was proposed, III. In the form of a direct literal interpretation of this prophecy, taken in connection with its chronological stand-points. Agreeably to our proposed plan as connected with the expositions of this prophecy, everything will depend upon a proper classification of the signs, moral and physical, celestial and terrestrial, with which it is interspersed, in order to determine which of them form the precursors of the judgments of God that were to result in the destruction of the Jewish nation and polity and of the Holy City; and those that were to precede and accompany the second future epiphany of the Lord Jesus Christ. As pro-liminary to their application to the purposes intended in their announcement, it will be well to premise, First. That, present to the mind of our blessed Lord in the prophecy before us, was the period of the “seven times” chastisement of the Jewish commonwealth on account of their sins, as POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 161 predicted by Moses in the xxvith chapter of Leviticus and the ivth chapter of Daniel. Our next remark is, Second. That much of the difficulty and embarrassment attendant upon a correct interpretation and application of these “ signs” to the times and circumstances to which they refer, will be avoided by taking into view the prophecy of Christ as a whole. There are two causes which have operated greatly to obscure the subjects of this prophecy,—the habit, with many, of limiting the things spoken of to the xxivth of Matthew, the xiiith of Mark, and the xxist of Luke, on the one hand; and that of dividing it into two parts, on the other. An attentive examination of the context will show, that while the xxiiid chapter of Matthew, from the 34th verse, forms an exordium to the prophecy; and the xxist of Luke, as shown in a previous page,1 comprises a supplementary commentary or paraphrase on the prophecy as given by Matthew and Mark, our Lord continues it unbroken to the end of Matthew xxvth. Thus, as we shall see, the importance and impressiveness of this crowning prediction of all others contained in Holy Scripture, is vastly augmented beyond the comparatively narrow limits assigned to it by most Writers. It will, in this view, be found to extend—as it respects the events foreshadowed by the “ signs ” designated—from the time of its first announcement to the close of this dispensation; which is immediately proximate to the period of the “ coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.” As it respects, 1. The exordium to this prophecy, commencing, as we have said, with Matt, xxiii. 34. Our blessed Lord, in the preceding verses, proves the Jews to have been “the children of them that killed the prophets,” and declares that they would “ fill up the measure of their fathers” (verses 29-32). He then proceeds to predict that they would persecute and put to death those “prophets, and scribes, and wise men,” whom He would send unto them: that so all the blood of the martyrs, from Abel to Zacharias,1 i See pages 164-156 of this work. 3 Our Saviour here, I submit, spake of things that are not as though they had been, and hence anticipates what was to form the crowning act of the murder of His prophets by the Jews. This is evident from the following historic fact: The Zacharias whom they were oharged with having slain between the porch and the altar of the temple, could not have been the prophet Zechariah, whose writings are extant in our Bibles ; nor Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the high-priest, who is mentioned, 2 Chron. xxiv. 20^ 21, to have been slain in the court of the temple; but Zacharias, the son of Baruch (or Bara· 11 162 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. who was slain between the porch and the altar of the temple, should be visited upon that “ generation ” (verses 33-36). Then follows the Redeemer’s pathetic lamentation over the obstinacy of the Jewish nation in rejecting Him, and His prediction that their “ house should be left unto them desolate /” and that they “ should not see Him henceforth,” i. e., in His character as their “ Deliverer,” till the arrival of the period when they “ shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (verses 37-39). In the light, therefore, of these startling disclosures,—the desolation of their temple; His own departure from and return to them; and the indefiniteness of the period assigned to this last-named event,—how natural the exhibit, on the part of His disciples, of the deepest interest and concern in regard to them. But failing to comprehend their full import, and in the hope of averting, so to speak, the impending ruin just denounced against their beautiful temple, as they follow the retreating footsteps of Christ in His withdrawal from the holy precincts, they “ come to Him, for to show Him the buildings of the temple; ”1 and, as though to move His sympathies in its behalf by their deprecations of its threatened loss, while “one of them said, Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here; ”a others, expatiating on its magnificence, “ spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts.”8 But all to no purpose. The Jews, in fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecy, were about to “finish their transgression,” as a nation, by the rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah, and thus to bring down upon themselves those further chastisements which form an important part of the burden of this prophecy. Our Lord, therefore, proceeds at once to say to them in reply: “ See ye not all these things ? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”4 Hence the desire of the disciples for further instruction on this momentous subject. To this end, as Jesus sat upon the mount of Olives, they come to Him privately, and propound to him three questions, in the precise order of the things announced, as already stated. ehius, as given by oar Lord), who, as Josephus relates, was slain by the zealots in the middle of the temple, just before its destruction by the Romans under Titus, a. d. 70. In confirmation of this view, it may be remarked, by the way, that the Scripture nowhere expresses that the prophet Zecbariah came to his death by violence. Hence the responsibility of thai “ generation ” for the act. 1 Matt xxiv. L 1 Mark xiii. 1. * Luke xxl, 6. 4 Matt. xxiv. 2 * Mark xiii. 2; Luke xxL 6, 6. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 163 First. In reference to the predicted desolation of the temple, they ask, “ When shall these things he?” Second. Of His predicted return to them, they ask, “ What shall he the sign of Thy coming ? ” And, Third. Of the indefinite allusion made to the period assigned for His reappearing, they ask, When shall he “ the end of the world?” It will he well to observe here, in passing, the variations in these questions, as recorded hy the three Evangelists. In Mark and Luke they embrace two particulars only. Mark has it, “ Tell us, when shall these things he, and what shall he the sign when all these things shall he fulfilled? ”1 and Luke, thus: “ But when shall these things he ? and what sign will there he, when these things shall come to pass ? ” * while in Matthew, as above, there are three. To explain this apparent discrepancy, it is only necessary to hear in mind, that there is nothing in the records of Mark and Luke that has any obvious connection with the second coming of Christ; hence, while in all the three Evangelists the first question is the same, “ When shall these things he ?” Mark and Luke only ask for a usign” hy which they might know when these things were to he accomplished. But in Matthew, as we have seen, the context concerns not only the desolation of the commonwealth, polity, and temple of the Jews, hut also the coming of Christ. “ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” 3 The prophecy, as recorded hy the three Evangelists, however, taken as a whole, furnishes internal evidence that the two of Mark and Luke embrace the same subjects as those included in the reply of Christ, as given hy Matthew. Before proceeding to the general subject of this remarkable prophecy of our Lord, we must he permitted to observe, how at war with all consistency is the opinion so prevalent among professing Christians of this day, that the great question: “ When shall these things be ? ” is presumptuous and unlawful. The indulgence shown hy our Lord in His reply to these inquiries of His disciples, together with those things spontaneously revealed to other servants of God;4 above all, the reproof cast hy Christ upon 1 Mark xiii. 4. * Luke xxL 7. * Matt, xxiil. 87-89. 4 See Pe. xxv. 14. m SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. the great bulk of the professing Israelites of His time, “ because they knew not the times of their visitation; ”1 all of which arose from their neglect to “ observe the signs of the times: ”a all these things, we repeat, clearly lead to the conclusion that, to investigate “the times and seasons ” noted in the Holy Scripture, is not only legitimate, but that believers are presumed to know them,8 and are obnoxious to the imputation of the deepest hypocrisy, if they do not. Having thus adverted to the circumstances which occasioned the announcement of this prophecy, we now pass, 2. To consider its general scope and design. The prophecy, as we have said, viewed as a whole, will be found to extend, in regard to the events foreshadowed by the “signs” designated therein, from the time of its first enunciation by our Lord to the close of “the times of the Gentiles,” or “the end of the world,” i. e., αιών, age, or dispensation under which we live, and thence, to the period of the judgment-coming of the Lord. Now, if this can be made to appear, then, we submit, the literal takes the place of the figurative interpretation of all the parts of this prophecy, except Matt. xxiv. 28. But then, as we have shown, the things intended by the figures there used must be a reality: in other words, they must be literally verified.4 It will hence follow, that the fallacy of limiting the entire class of “signs,” etc., therein set forth, to the coming of Christ to destroy the Jews and Jerusalem, will be placed beyond the reach of further controversy. After what has been said on this last-named subject, it would be a waste of time and paper to dwell at length upon the theories of an alleged spiritual and providential coming of Christ to destroy the Jews, etc. Still, that there may be left no room for further cavilling on these points,#it may be well in this place to refer, in a form not previously given, to the source of the misapplication of the above signs in these premises. It is simply this: The advocates of these theories, having looked for a fulfilment of the events denoted by them within the lifetime of the men of that generation, have been led to confound the ordinary “ signs” by which the Jewish nation was warned of its approaching doom, through the providential but invisible agency of the Father, with those miraculously portentous celestial and terrestrial phenomena which were to precede and accompany “ the coming of the Son of 1 Luke xix. 44. a Matt. xvi. 3. 4 See page 131 of this Work. * 1 Theee. ▼. 1-1 POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 165 Man” The followiDg comparison of the respective precursors of these events, will make this plain: Of the first; those which were to precede the destruction of Jerusalem. Matt. xxiv. 5-16. 1. The appearance of false Christs and false prophets. 2. Wars and rumors of jvars. 3. Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. 4. Affliction, persecution, and death of Christ’s followers, at the hand of their enemies. 5. Abounding wickedness and religious formalism. 6. The universal preaching of the gospel to all nations. Then comes the immediate sign— 7. “ When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place . . . Then let them which be in Judea flee,” etc. Mark xiii. 5-15. The same. Luke xxi. 8-19. 8. The same. But He adds, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which be in Judea flee,” etc. 9. Connected with these “ signs,” are also a series of directions given for the safety of the people of God. Matt xxiv. 17,18. Mark xiii. 15, 16. Luke xxi. 21. 10. Also, of the result of this siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army, Luke adds, “ And they shall fall by the edge of the sword,” etc. See Luke xxi. 24, first clause. Of the second ; those which were to precede Christ's second coming, during the season of unparalleled tribulation. Matt. xxiv. 21-29. 1. The appearance of false Christs and false prophets, who shall perform miraculous signs and wonders. 2. The coining of the Son of Man compared to the lightning’s flash. 3. The darkening of the heavenly luminaries, and the shaking of the powers of heaven. 4. “ And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Mark xiii. 17-26. The same. Luke xxi. 24-26. 5. The prolonged period of the unparalleled tribulation, etc., St. Luke’s supple· ment to Matt xxiv. 29, u And ye shall be led captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled 6. This period ended, then comes the darkening of the heavenly luminaire, etc. To this He adds, 7. “And upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” 8. “ And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory.” 166 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Now who does not see, in the light of this comparison, a marked difference between those “ signs ” which were to presage the destruction of Jerusalem, etc., by the Homan army, and those which were designed to indicate the coming of the Son of Man? This confounding of the two classes of “signs,” is the more extraordinary, when we reflect, that in the parallel passage of Luke (chap. xxi. 24-28) the most demonstrable evidence is furnished, that a long interval was to elapse, between the providential or judicial coming of the Father at the destruction of Jerusalem, and the coming of the Son of Man in clouds. We now come to treat of the period appropriated in the prophecy, to the unparalleled tribulation spoken of by Matthew and Mark. Suffice it for the present to say (as we shall show in its proper place), that so far from this “ tribulation” having been verified in the calamities, great as they were, that were attendant upon the destruction of the Holy City, it was not only not confined to, but it formed no part of,\ that event. Indeed, whatever may be alleged of the obscurity in which this remarkable prophecy is involved, yet the attentive reader of the Gospels in which they are recorded, cannot fail to observe the chronological consecutiveness of the events therein portrayed. For, in the first place, St. Luke, speaking of the “ signs ” that were to precede tho coming of the Homan army, says, chap. xxi. 12, “but before all these things, they” (i. e. parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends) “ shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you . . . and cause you to be put to death,” etc; while, second, of the “ signs” which were to forewarn them more directly of that event, St. Matthew says, chap. xxiv. 8, “ all these are the beginnings of sorrowsto which St. Mark, chap. xiii. 7, and St. Luke, xxi. 7, add, “but the end shall not be yet.” Then further, third. St. .Luke, having spoken of the whole interval of the treading down ^Jerusalem by the Gentiles, “until the times of the Gentiles be ^lfilled,” embraces it in that period called uthe days of vengeance ,” in which “ all things that are written may be fulfilledP Nor is this all. The three Evangelists, Matt. xxiv. 34; Mark xiii. 30; and Luke xxi. 32, testify that “this generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilledP And finally, fifth. St. Matt. xxiv. 36, and Mark xiii. 32, speaking of the time of the coming of the Son of Man, says, “ but of that day and that hour POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 167 bioweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” The way is now prepared to lay open the real scope and design of this prophecy. This will be found, as we have said, to relate to “the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” which event was to be preceded by a long, protracted course of “tribulation,” increasing in unprecedented severity toward its close; which latter circumstance, as a11 sign” was to indicate its near approach. To this subject we now address ourself As introductory thereto, our business will be, 1. To determine the scriptural import of the phrase, “ times of the Gentiles,” Luke xxi. 24. Now, “in searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ ” which inspired the old prophets “ did signify, when it spake beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow,” we must go back to the period of the “seven times’ ” chastisement of Israel and of Judah on account of their sins, as predicted by Moses, Lev. xxvi., and by Daniel, chap. iv. This period, as it is given, not in common time, but as a prophetical or mystical date, must be deciphered agreeably to the laws for the interpretation of the symbols of prophecy, thusas the term “ time,” etc., when used as a prophetical number,1 denotes a year of 360 days, and each day is to be taken for a year,* the “ seven times” or years give us a total of 2520 years. Taken in this sense, it marks out the whole period of Gentile domination ov6r God’s church and people, called “the times of the Gentiles.” But, in order to determine the date for the commencement of this period, as it was to reach down to the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” it is indispensable that we ascertain whether the. Scriptures, without going into the details of its chronology, revealed to the Church a definitely fixed period from the creation and fall, to the close of these “times of the Gentiles,” within which all the prophetical numbers were to run out. In addition, then, to the tradition of the pre-Christian Jewish writers, that the six days of creation were designed to typically adumbrate 6000 years—2000 void, 2000 under the law, and 2000 under Messiah—to be followed by a seventh millennary of rest and * See Dan. vii. 25. 9 Ezek. iv. 1-6. See Note D, lid Part. 168 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. triumph over their enemies: I say, in addition to this tradition of the Jews, the Scriptures directly recognize the same principle of analogy on this subject. For example: I ask, was not the first Adam1 created as the figure of Him (Christ) that was to come? ”3 If then, we can go back to the fountain-head of time, and find in Adam a type of “ the second man, the Lord from heaven,”3 as He who, by a second creation was to “ restore all things ” from the ruins of the fall; why should it he thought a thing incredible, that the six days of formation of the material heavens and earth, and a seventh of rest, should also bear a like character ? Wherefore did God create the world in six days, and rest the seventh ? Why did He not employ five, eight, ten, or twelve days instead ? And so, accordingly, St. Paul (Col. ii. 16, 17), alluding to the typical character of the preceding dispensations, speaks especially “in respect of the Sabbath days”—of which, the seventh day of the Creator’s repose from his six days’ work was the first—and denominates them “ a shadow of good things to come.” Or, if this be deemed an unwarrantable stretching of types in regard to the first Sabbath, I would direct the reader to Paul’s use of the word Σαββαησμοϊ—Sabbatism—in Heb. iv. 9; where, especially considering that it was Hebrew Christians whom he was addressing, and that, from long-continued usage, they could not do otherwise than associate it with a chronological septenary, he employed it to designate the saints’ long-expected and ardently-prayed-for glorious time of rest with Christ. If, therefore, as is undeniable, the inspired apostle applied the seventh day or first Sabbath of creation as a type of the heavenly rest, how can we consistently withhold from the previous six days of creative labor, a similar typical character, as denotive of the 6000 years that were to precede the seventh of rest? It is recorded of the anti-typal second Adam, that with Him “ one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ”4 To the above we may also add the fact, that the early post-Christian fathers, with the additional light of the teachings of Christ and the writings of the apostles before them, continued to put forth the same sentiments; and that, mark, not as mere opinions based on Jewish tradition, but as an article of their Christian faith. (See Appendix, pp. 59-65). This, then, we submit, is decisive of the question, that God 11 Gor. xv. 47. * Rom. v. 14. >1 Cor. xv. 47. * 2 Pet. iii. 8. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 169 has revealed to the Church the unalterable period of 6000 years, as the interval within which, under the three dispensations, Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian, all his ordinary purposes of providence and grace were to be accomplished. To determine, therefore, the time for the commencement of this mystical number, we have only to refer to the joint prophecies of the captivities of Israel and Judah, as announced by Hosea and Isaiah. Hosea, thus: “ And the pride of Israel (the ten tribes) doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim (the principal tribe of the ten) fall into captivity: Judah (the other division) shall also fall with them.”1 On the other hand, Isaiah pointed out the very time when these captivities should take place: “and within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall be broken, that it shall not be a people.”8 Now, this last prophecy was made in the 2d of the 16 years of Ahaz’s reign over Israel, a. m. 3377. The above 65 years is made up of the 14 from the 2d of Ahaz, and the 29 years’ intervening reign of Hezekiah, down to the 22d of Manasseh, a. m. 3441, when the captivity of Ephraim took place under Esar-haddan8 king of Assyria; and the same year, having caught Manasseh king of Judah hid in a thicket, he bound him in chains and carried him a captive to Babylon.4 Then, by deducting the “ seven times ” or 2520 years of Lev. xxvi. from the 6000 years above, it throws us back to a. m. 3480, which date, though it falls 39 years after the personal captivity of Manasseh; yet, as by his repentance he was restored to his kingdom, it was not reckoned as having its national commencement until after that interval· Take the following in proof: “Manasseh hath made Judah to sin with his idols: therefore, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, behold, I am binging (i. e., by the personal captivity of their king) such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both their ears shall tingle.” The meaning here is, that the nation, not having repented of their idolatry, etc., during the above interval, was punished for the sins which Manasseh instigated,—and which consisted in the loss to them of their national independence,—and of which his captivity was but the prelude. We have only to add, that while Israel or the ten tribes, from 1 Hosea v. 5. 9 lea. vii. 8. * The same with Asnappar, Ezra iv. 2,10. 4 Compare 2 Kings xyii. 24 with Ezra iv. 2,10; and 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11. 170 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. the time of their captivity under Esarhaddan, have never effect* ually regained their national independence; so Judah, since a. m. 3480, have remained subjected to the dominancy over them of Gentilism. This, therefore, constitutes the whole •period called “the times of the Gentiles,” which, commencing b. c. 652, end in A. d. 1868: 652+1828=2520—and which, added to A. M. 3480, complete the 6000th year from the creation and fall. Again. In confirmation of the exposition here given of the import of the mystical “ seven times ” of Moses, is the interpretation by Daniel of the vision of the colossal image as revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, showing that this domination of Gentilism over the Jewish commonwealth, was to extend from the period indicated by the “head of gold” through the intervening eras denoted by the other symbolic compartments of the Image,1 down to the time when the Messianic “ stone cut out without hands,” smites the image on the ten toes of the feet, and the setting up of that “ kingdom of the God of heaven, which shall stand forever.”9 But more especially, in the things “ noted ” in that monarch’s second vision, that of the Great Tree, as expository of the first. This tree, it will be recollected, flourished, and was glorious in the eyes of men; but it was a thing against which Heaven watched, until at length the command was given, “ Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the earth, till seven times pass over him.”s Now, though this prophetic vision primarily referred to the personal history of the Babylonish monarch, and was verified in his being driven out from men to herd with the beasts of the field in a state of maniacy for seven literal years, at the end of which he was to be restored to his kingdom, etc.; yet, from the fact that, when the Messianic “ stone ” comes and smites the colossal image on his feet, it is still found standing complete in all its parts ;4 it is demonstrative that the Babylonish monarch, as the head of that image, is the representative of the Gentile 1 The four metallic compartments of this image, composed of gold, silver, brass, and iron mingled with clay, represented the rise and fall successively of the four great monarchies that were to bear lule in the world successively, viz., the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Gre· oian, and Roman. 8 See Dan ii. 44. 8 Dan. iv. 10-23. 4 Dan. ii. 34, 35. See also pages 239-241 of this work. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAT. 171 Dowers throughout. It hence follows, that the mystical number of “ seven times ” which was to pass over him during hi^ maniacal exile in the expository vision of the great tree, must also regard him in his representative character, in the relation he holds to these Gentile powers. Consistency therefore requires, that while his state of maniacy symbolizes the wild and ferocious nature of those powers; the “ seven times ” which were to pass over them must run commensurate with their whole existence. This corresponds exactly with Daniel’s representation of the period assigned to the mad career of these powers.1 For, while of the four beasts he says that they “ devoured, break in pieces, and stamped the residue with their feet,2 of the first “ little horn ” (the Roman) he adds, that he “ made war with the saints and prevailed against them, until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”3 So also, of the second “ little horn ” (the Mohammedan), he says that “ his power shall be mighty, . . . that he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people . . . for many days”* L e., for 2300 days, or years.5 Finally, on this subject. As out of the last of the four monarchies, the Roman, in conjunction with the Mohammedan superstition and infidelity, is to arise another power —preeminent in comparison of all that have preceded it,—and which the prophet denominates a “ king that shall do according to his will, and that shall exalt .himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and prosper till the indignation be accomplished,”" etc.;—this, he adds, shall be “ at the time when Michael, the great prince ”—the Messiah, “who standeth for the children of his people,” the Jews, “shad stand up” Now this period, while it commences (as will be shown in the proper place) at the expiration of “ the times of the Gentiles,” introduces us to that short unchronological season of unparalleled affliction/ in the midst of which the Messianic “ stone ” comes in clouds to “ deliver his people, every one 1 This le exhibited in detail in Daniel’s synchronic vision of the four rampant beasts—the two-winged Lion ; the Bear with three ribs in his mouth ; the four-headed and four-winged Leopard, and the nondescript Monster with ten horns, and another little horn ; together with the little horn which sprang from one of the four horns of the rough goat in his second vision, etc. (See Dan. vii. 1-8 ; viii. 8-12.) a Dan. vii. 19. 3 lb. vii. 21, 22. 4 lb. viii. 24-26. ® lb. verses 18,14. 4 lb. xi. 81-39. 7 Matt. xxiv. 21, 22; Mark xiii. 19,20. 172 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. that shall be found written in the book; ” “ awakes his saints tliat sleep in the dust of the earth; ”1 and changes those who shall be alive at his coming,1 etc. The incontrovertible inference from these statements, we submit, is, that the period designated by our Lord in this prophecy as “ the times of the Gentiles,” is no other than that revealed by His Spirit, first, to Moses, and subsequently to Daniel, under the mystical or prophetic form of “seven times” Commencing, as we have seen, with the national captivity of Judah under Manasseh a. m. 3480, it is still running its course. But it is destined, we confidently affirm, to reach its utmost limit in a. d. 1868, at which time “ the fulness of the Gentiles shall be come in.”1 Yes, we repeat. Present to the mind of our Lord was this identical “ seven times ” of the old prophets, Moses and Daniel, when he predicted that unparalleled “ tribulation ” which was to precede his second coming, as we find it recorded by St. Luke: “ and ye shall be carried captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Chap, xxl 24.) Yea, more: when Ho uttered those fearfully portentous words to the still obdurate Jews, Matt, xxiii. 38, “ Behold, your house (temple) is left unto you desolate,” it was as though he had said to them: c That tribulation which, as predicted by Moses and Daniel, commenced with the captivity of Judah under Manasseh a. m. 3480, inflicted upon you by your long-offended covenant God on account of your sins at the hand of the great Gentile “ Deso· lator ” (perpetuated by transmission from the Babylonian, through the Medo-Persian and Grecian to the now Roman power), and which 685 years’ endurance of it by you as a nation, has failed to humble and reform: that “tribulation,” I repeat, is henceforth “ left ” to you, to run on in continued and increasing severity at the hand of that same Desolator, whose “ overspreading of abominations shall make desolate ” your once “ pleasant land,”4 together with your “ Holy City ” and “ Temple,” “ not one stone of which shall be left, that shall not be thrown down.” Yea, this great Desolator “ shall so plant the tabernacle of his palaces between the sea in the glorious holy mountain,”6 that * Dan. xiL 1, 2. See also Zech. xiv. l-β, etc. * 1 Cor. xv. 61, 52; 1 These, tv. 13-18. 8 Ro;n. xi. 25. * Compare Dan. viil. 9 with ix. 27. 6 lb. xi. 45. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 173 “ you shall fall ” at his hand “‘by the edge of the sword; ” you shall again “be led captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” or “until the consummation,”1 .which, while it will be to you “the time of Jacob’s trouble,”3 of “great tribulation,” of “ affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created to that time, neither shall he,”3 it will be to your relentless foe total and irremediable ruin.4 For, “you shall be saved out of it." ’ * We now unhesitatingly reiterate the statement, that this unparalleled tribulation, so far from being identical, has no connection whatever with the calamity of the Jewish nation prior to and during the Roman invasion, except as it was the result of, and hence followed, that event. This prophecy of our Lord, as already intimated, chiefly relates to the great crisis, connected with the closing events of the present age. It alone, therefore, will be found to exhaust the fulness of the description. Nevertheless, the providence of God has so arranged, that events similar in character, though less in importance, should previously occur, either as warnings, exemplifications, and sometimes as types of, the consummation that is to follow: so that the description of the great event becomes in part applicable to the forerunner. It is upon this principle that many of the prophecies of the Old Testament are applied to the New. For example: the context of Jer. xxxi. 15 makes it evident that it applies to the great future tribulation of the Jews; yet in the New Testament it is applied to a minor event which has already occurred, similar in kind, though less in degree.® So the 2d Psalm, which primarily refers to the last great anticjiristian apostasy, is quoted in a similar manner in Acts iv. 25-28. Compare also Zech. xii. 10 with John xix. 37; and Joel ii. 28 with Acts ii. 17. It is hence evident, that on no other principle can we reconcile that part of Matt. xxiv. 5-16, together with the collateral passages in Mark and Luke, which relate to the “ signs ” that were to indicate the approaching destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, with verses 21-27, etc., that refer to those which were to harbinger the “coming of the Son of Man” at the close of“ the times of the Gentiles.” In this, however, we can see the most marked evidence of the 1 Dan. ix. 27. a Comp. Jer. xxx. 7 with Dan. xti. 1. > Matt. xxiv. 21; Mark xlli. 19. 4 2 These, i. 3-10; ii. 8. ■ Jer. xxx. 7 ; Dan. xii. 1. · See Matt. ii. 18. 174 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. infinite wisdom and love of God our Redeemer. Prophecy, though throwing its strongest light upon the concluding events of the Gentile dispensation, and increasing in importance as time advances, is nevertheless rendered useful throughout the whole period, by admitting of being applied, though not exclusively interpreted, with relation to antecedent events, kindred in principle, if not parallel in fact, to that which is mainly the subject of prediction. Now, this may be exemplified by a comparison of “the tribulation,’* as given by Matthew and Luke. St. Matthew’s description of it, chap. xxiv. 21-27, may be compared to an object glass closed. St. Luke draws it out, joint by joint. He first enlarges our view of it by stating, “These be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.” (Verse 22.) He then explains one step further: “There shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.” (Verse 23.) Then, with still additional particularity, he declares that there shall be a massacre: “They shall fall by the edge of the sword;” and a leading into captivity: “they shall be led captive into all nations.” At last, he draws out the glass to its full focus: “And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Verse 24.) Thus is the entire prophecy defined in its details, while it is marked with a particularity in reference to the prophetic history of the “great tribulation,” which, having attained its culminating point, forms the immediate “sign” of the glorious coming of “the Son of Man.” But, that we may leave no room for a doubt in the mind of the reader, in regard to the distinction on which we insist, between those “ signs” which were to inaugurate the events before, and those which were to follow, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, it is indispensable that we settle the question, as to the alleged unprecedented character of the former. The point to be decided is, Were the calamities endured by the Jewish nation, during the interval between the announcement of the prophecy and the close of the Roman war, of an unparalleled nature, compared with all others that had preceded them? We take the negative of this question. As we have said, so do we now proceed by historic fact to prove, that the unparalleled tribulation spoken of by Matthew and Mark, and amplified by Luke? was not only not confined to, but that it formed no part of, the POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 175 Roman siege, etc. A comparison of the besiegement of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, as predicted by Moses, Deut. xxviii. 47-68, with that of Titus, will make this clear. It is affirmed by some writers, in reference to this latter siege, that the circumstance of women being led by hunger to devour their own children, taken in connection with all the other sufferings‘and horrors of the Jews at that time, show it to have been without a parallel in human history. If this be so, it nullifies entirely our exposition of the whole prophecy. But, let us see. Jeremiah, in his notable prophecy of the second Babylonish siege of the holy city, says: “I will make this city desolate and a hissing; every one that passeth by shall be astonished and hiss, because of all the plagues thereof And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall every one eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies (the Chaldeans) and they that seek their lives shall straiten them.”1 And, having lived himself to witness the fulfilment of this prophecy, in his lamentations over the destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, he records the historic fact in the terms following : “ Behold, 0 Lord, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and the children of a span long?”* “The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children; they were their meat, in the destruction of the daughter of thy people.”8 And Daniel, in alluding to the verification of the curse as denounced by Moses against them above referred to, chapter ix. 4, in the 12th verse adds concerning it, “The Lord hath confirmed his words which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.” Evidently, therefore, we must look beyond the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, for the unprecedented character of that “tribulation,” spoken of by the Evangelists. On this subject, and as introductory to a proper understanding of it, we observe, that though Moses and Daniel, in the passages already quoted (Deut. xxviii. .47-68, Dan. ix. 12), refer primarily to the second Babylonish siege of Jerusalem; yet the former predicts (Deut. xxviii 63, 64), “And ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it; and the Lord shall scatter thee among all 1 Jer. xix. 8, 9. * Lam. ii. 20. > lb. iv. 10. 176 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. people, from one end of the earth even to the other,” etc. And this, he declares, together with their “plagues and sore sicknesses,” shall be of “long continuance” (verse 59), alluding doubtless to the previously predicted “seven times,” chastisement with which they were threatened in Lev. xxvi.; while Daniel (chap. ix. 26, 27) says of “the people of the prince that shall come to destroy the city and the sanctuary,” that they “shall make it desolate, even until the consummation,” etc.: so that the unparalleled character of the “tribulation” of Matthew and Mark respect their being led away captive into all nations, and the treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles after the invasion of the holy city by Titus in a. d. 70, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Hence the Holy' Spirit saith of its consummation, that “Jerusalem hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” If, however, additional evidence be required, in proof that the above prophecies looked beyond the calamities connected with the siege of the holy city under Titus, for a verification of their unparalleled character, we will place in juxtaposition the two following passages from Jeremiah and Daniel, in relation to it: Jer. xxx. 6-9. “Ask ye now and see, whether a man doth travail with child ? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces turned into paleness ? ... Alas! for that day is great, so that there is none like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble: but he shall be saved out of it. For' it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him; but they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.” Dan. xii. 1, 2. ft And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a natioD, even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some of them to everlasting life: and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Now here, the “ more sure word of prophecy, as a light which sbineth in a dark plaoe,” in speaking of “ the manner of time ” revealed to these Old Testament saints by “ the spirit of Christ which was in them” (comp. 1 Peti. 11 with 2 Pet. i. 19), evidently refers to that which forms the crisis of the “ great tribulation.” EZEKIAH'S PRAYER. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 177 In conclusion, it only remains that we harmonize this prophecy of our Lord in Matthew and Luke, with that of Jeremiah and Daniel. The predicted chastisement of Judah, as we have seen, commenced with the captivity of the nation in the reign of Ma-nasseh, a. m. 3480, reaching down to the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, as a signal, though not an unprecedented act of the divine “ vengeance ” against the Jews. But there was a season of“ affliction ” allotted to the covenant seed on account of their sins during “ the times of the Gentiles,” which, compared with any that had preceded it, should have no parallel. St. Luke fixes its commencement at the captivity of the nation under Titus, and continues it down to the close of the period called “ the times of the Gentiles.” This “ affliction,” however, was to increase in intensity, “ until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” when its unparalleled character as the “great tribulation” should begin more especially to develop itself. The period therefore to which it belongs, is the interval between the consummation of the Gentile age—“ the end of the world ” (της συντελαας του αιωνο?)— and the coming of the Son of Man in clouds. It is here, however, to be particularly noted, that, unlike the predicted events which precede and run out at a. d. 1868, we have no definite chronological data by which to determine the length of this interval In other words, it is a short unchronological period. This furnishes the reason, why it is declared of the time of the second coming of Christ, which falls within this period, “ Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”1 * Again. It is of equal importance to observe, that while Matthew and Mark describe the character of this “ great tribulation,” * Luke’s appendix to it3 furnishes the prolonged period of its continuance. To be a little more precise: while Luke omits, in part, those “signs” enumerated by Matthew (verses 23-26), the appearance of false Christs and false prophets, etc., whose great signs and wonders should, “ if possible, deceive the very elect,” he joins those which he mention^ (verses 25, 26) immediately to the closing up of the prolonged period of the Gentiles spoken of in verse 24; thus showing, that the time which he appropriates for the appearance of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, synr 1 Matt xriv. 86; Mark xHl 32. 2 Matt. udv. 21, 22; Mark ziit 19, 20. * Lake xxi. 24. 12 178 SECOND COMING OF CHBIST. chronizes exactly with that mentioned for the appearance of the same signs, Matt. xxiv. 27—29, and Mark xiii. 24, 25 ; i. e., at the close of “ the times of the Gentiles ” in a. d. 1868. It follows incontroyertibly, that the “signs” enumerated, first, by Luke, of the persecutions of the disciples of Christ, chap xxi. 12-19 (and which are parallel with Matt. xxiv. 9-14 and Mark xiii. 11-13); second, by Matthew, of wars and rumors of wars, with national conflicts, etc., chap. xxiv. 5-7 and 14 (and which are parallel with Mark xiii. 7, 8, and Luke xxi. 8-11); and third, of the destruction of the Jews by the edge of the sword, etc., in his (Luke’s) appendix, xxi. 24, were, one and all, to precede, and are to be distinguished from, the appearance of the celestial phenomena mentioned by each. The first in order were chronologically to precede the compassing of Jerusalem with armies. (Luke xxi. 12.) The second were to accompany and accomplish the work of the siege. (Luke xxi. 20; Matt. xxiv. 15 ; Mark xiii. 14.) And the third were to follow, as the result of that siege, down to the period of the “ consummation ” of the Gentile age. (Compare Dan. ix. 27 with Luke xxi. 24.) With the subject before us thus divested of the obscurity which has so long overshadowed it in the writings of the learned, we reach the inevitable conclusion, that whatever of resemblance may be traced between the events portrayed by these “ signs,” the unparalleled character of the “ great tribulation ” spoken of by Matt. xxiv. 21, 22, and Mark xiii. 19, 20, “such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, nor ever shall be,” commences its development from the period of the exhibition of the celestial and terrestrial phenomena at the close of the Gentile age in a. d. 1868, and continues until the Jewish nation shall exclaim, “ Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (Matt, xxiii. 39.) For, as Matthew has it, “ Immediately after the tribulation of those days ”—ευθέως Sc ftera την Θλιψιν—“ shall the sun be darkened,”1 etc.; while St. Mark says, “In those days, after that tribulation,”9 etc.; while all the three Evangelists unite in the statement, “This generation,”—meaning, of course, the generation existing at the time of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, etc.,—“ This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled.” Thus, then, is harmonized the respective declarations of Jere* 1 Matt. xxiv. 2Θ. a Mark xiii. 24. POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 179 miah, Daniel, and our^blessed Lord, regarding the time, and the characteristics connected with the crisis, of the unparalleled tribulation. It is emphatically styled by Jeremiah as “ the great day, even the time of Jacob’s trouble;”1 by Daniel as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time; ”8 and by our Lord, “ The days of vengeance, that all things which are written might be fulfilled.”1 But it may be asked, how, if this season of unparalleled tribulation is to constitute “ the time of Jacob’s trouble ” after the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” is this to be reconciled with the ending that period in a. d. 1868? To this we reply, that though St Luke’s statement is, that the Jewish tribulation is to close when “ the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” yet we are not to understand that they are ended in the absolute sense. Like “the rest of the beasts” in Dan. vii. 12, who “had their dominion taken away,” while “ their lives were prolonged for a season and a time;” so, while the prolonged captivity of the Jewish nation, which is exclusively spoken of by St. Luke, will end at the time assigned to it, yet it by no means necessarily follows that their sufferings will then altogether terminate. This will appear from the peculiar phraseology in St Mark’s Gospel: “ But, in those days, after that tribulation,” etc.; thus clearly indicating that the days of the tribulation, though drawn to a close, are not absolutely passed away: not that this is a distinct tribulation in contrast with or in addition to that which preceded it, but only the climax of it. It is, so to speak, the last act, the last scene of the drama, in which occurs the grand catastrophe of the whole. Nor, further, are we to lose sight of the momentous fact that this “great tribulation,” in its last form of development, is to “ come as a snare on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth; ” that is, “ the days of vengeance,” having reached their crisis coincident with the period when God has his controversy with the Gentiles, all the inhabitants of the world will be exposed to its fury, in accordance with the prophecy following: “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant: therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, 1 Jac. xxx. t 3 Dan. xii L 3 Luke xxi. 22. 180 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left”1 But, in the midst of the general consternation and dismay that shall then seize upon all classes of the ungodly—“ men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth”3—the jealousies of the crowned heads of Gentile rulers against the house of Judah, now dwelling nationally, but in their unconverted state, in the holy city, shall incite them to arms; when, once more, but for the last time, an unprecedented storm of persecution, like the devastations of a resistless tornado, shall be brought down upon the heads of Daniel’s people. The prophet Zechariah, alluding to this very persecution, chap, xiv. 1, 2, says: “ Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy (Judah’s) spoil shall be in the midst of thee. For I will bring all nations against Jerusalem to battle ; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” This, then, is “the time of Jacob’s trouble, so that there is none like it,” spoken of by Jeremiah, Daniel, and Christ. “ But, he shall be saved out of it.” For, says Zechariah, chap. xiv. 3, α Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as He fought in the day of battle.” And, adds the prophet (verse 4), “ Ms feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem,” etc. Now, this period of the deliverance of Daniel’s people, Isaiah makes exactly coincident with the appearance of the darkening of the heavenly luminaries referred to by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In chap. xxiv. 21-23, Isaiah, having said, “ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth,” adds, “ Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.” And, mark, reader: this event exactly synchronizes with the smiting of the colossal metallic image upon the feet of iron and clay by the Messianic “ stone cut out without hands,” Dan. ii. 34, 35; and also with “ one like the Son of Man coming in the, clouds of heaven to the ancient of days,” and to whom is given dominion, and glory, and a king· 1 lea. xxlv. 6,7. s Lake xxi 2d POPULAR THEORY OF THE DAY. 181 dom,” etc., Dan. vii. 13,14. See also Dan. ii. 44, and vii. 26, 27. Does not this therefore clearly demonstrate that the second personal coming of onr Lord is pyre- and not />os£-millennial ? What will our opponents answer ? This, therefore, is the period when “ all the kindreds of the earth shall wail,” at beholding “ the Son of Man come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ” And now, in conclusion on the subject of the last closing scene of the above unparalleled tribulation, and its results to the Jews and their Gentile oppressors; the prophet Jeremiah presents us with the following succinct and beautifully graphic picture: “ Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last, this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.”1 In taking our leave of the theory that has called forth these somewhat extended remarks, we feel that, however imperfectly the task has been executed, we have fully exposed the fallacy of the alleged fulfilment of Christ’s prophecy, Matt. xxiv. 27-30, in reference to His second coming and the establishment of His kingdom in the world, by the judgments inflicted upon the Jewish nation and polity, at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army in a. d. 70. We repeat: this theory, devised and advocated by the most eminent commentators and writers of the last and present century; and, until within the last half century almost universally adopted by all the Protestant churches; when subjected to the ordeal of impartial criticism, logical analysis, and historic fact, is shown to be in every way unworthy of the great minds who embraced it. And yet, such is the tendency of the human mind to be swayed by the imposing authority of great names, that unless the Lord by his grace, as in 1 Jer. 1. 20. 182 SECOND COMING OF CllBIST. the case of Lydia, opens the heart to attend unto the things here spoken of,1 men wiU not receive them. We now pass to a consideration of those theories which affirm that the second coining of Christ is still future. CHAPTER IV. FOUBTH THEORY, THIS THEORY ALLEGES, THAT THE PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE KINGDOM OF HEATUV AND THE REIGN OP CHRIST ON BARTH, REFER TO THE FIRST INTRODUCTION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHJ THE DISPENSATION OF WHICH MERGES INTO, FORMS A PART OF, AND ENDS WITH, THE CLOSE OF THE MILLENNIAL STATE } WHEN, IT IE AFFIRMED, CHRIST WILL PERSONALLY APPEAR AT THE JUDGMENT-DAY, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY RAISE FROM THU DEAD BOTH THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED, WHEN 7HB ONE RTTAT.T. BE REWARDED AND THE OTHER PUNISHED, ETC.3 We have at length reached the last but one of the theories connected with our examination of those prophecies which relate to the important subject of the second coming and kingdom of Christ. The theory now under review, unlike the firsts which alleges the fulfilment of all the above prophecies by the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, affirms, with perhaps here and there an exception, the literal return of Judah and Israel to their own land as still future. Unlike that of the second\ while its advocates generally admit that the prophecy of Christ in Matt. xxiv. 27-30, denotes the providential or judicial coming of our Lord to destroy the nation and polity of the Jews by means of the Roman army under Titus; yet contend for the spiritual presence or reign of Christ as the King of saints, during the Christian dispensation; and that this spiritual presence, which they call His second coming, is to be more signally manifested, in the conversion of all rations, Jewish and Gentile, as preparatory to the introduction and establishment of the Church in all the privileges and blessings of her millennial state under the continuous spiritual reign of Christ. And hence, > See Acte xvL 11 3 See the four theories, etc., p. 55. THESE TWO ERAS NOT IDENTICAL. 183 Unlike the thirds they insist that the millennial state of the Church is «till future. These may he regarded as the popular views on this subject, by the Church of the present day. For thirty years last past, however, we have been led to regard this theory, in several particulars, as essentially erroneous. But in saying this, we at the same time distinctly avow it as our conviction, that the gulf which spans the points at issue, is of much narrower dimensions than what is generally apprehended. There is, for instance, an exact agreement of views in reference to two important points, viz., the future literal return of Judah and Israel to Palestine, and the millennial state of the Church as yet to come. The main point of difference relates to the time and mode of the second coming of Christ in connection with these events. Is it to be ^re-millennial and personal? or is it to be spiritually ^-millennial personally joo^millennia] ? Difficulties.—The Question Stated. With these remarks premised, we now proceed to point out what, at least in our view, has occasioned the questions at issue in the Church on this subject. It is simply this: First. The advocates of the theory under review, maintain that both the second personal coming of Christ, and the universal conflagration of the earth, are joostanillennial. Second. On the other hand, some of the most distinguished millenarian writers maintain, that the second personal coming of Christ, and the universal conflagration of the earth, are both pre· millennial. Third. We, on the contrary, aflirm, against the first class of writers, that the second personal coming of Christ is ^-millennial ; and against the second class, that the universal conflagration of the earth is jo (^-millennial. Our next remark is this: That the j?os£-millennialists, being unable to reconcile the scriptural moral and physical representations of the thousand years of blessedness of the Church, with the universal conflagration of the earth as ^re-millennial, have thereby been led to reject the second personal coming of Christ as jpre-millennial. In other words, as they allege that the universal conflagration is simultaneous with 184 SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. the second personal coming of Christ; they cannot reconcile that event with what the Scriptures teach of the state and character of the millennial dispensation; and hence deny that the second personal coming of Christ is jwe-millennial. Accordingly, in order to square their theory with the above, they allege, First, that the scriptural “ times of the Gentiles ” is identical with the Christian dispensation. Second, that the Christian Church, during this dispensation, is identical with “ the kingdom of heaven,” “of God,” “ of the Son of Man,” etc.; and that, forming a part, it is to run onward to the end of, the millennial state of the Church. And yet, Third, as the idea of a kingdom involves the presence and reign of a king; so, throughout this prolonged period of “ the times of the Gentiles ” or Christian dispensation, they insist that Christ has reigned, and will continue to reign over this kingdom, the Church, by his spiritual presence. But, in the next place: It is to be specially noted, that as both the pre- and the post-millennialists admit that the second personal coming of Christ is to take place at the close of “ the times of the Gentiles;” therefore, if it can be shown, first, that the Christian dispensation is not identical with “ the times of the Gentiles,” however it may in part run parallel with it; and second, that the Christian Church, as “ the kingdom of heaven in mystery,” is entirely separate and distinct from “ the kingdom of heaven” in manifestation; it will follow, 1st, that “the times of the Gentiles” end before the commencement of the millennial period of the Church; 2d, that the Christian dispensation forms an entirely different era> in all its peculiar characteristics and purposes, from the millennial; and 3d, that as, at the end of “the times of the Gentiles,” by the admission of both classes of writers, the second personal coming of Christ is to take place, that event must be pre- and not jpostanillennial. And, finally. If it can be shown, first, that in the scriptural representations of the moral and physical changes that are to distinguish the millennial from the Christian state of the Church, as the sequences of the pre-millennial personal coming of Christ, there is nothing incompatible with the universal conflagration of the earth as joostf-millennial; it will follow, second, that the reign of Christ during the millennial period of the Church, must be a personal and not a spiritual reign. THESE TWO ERAS NOT IDENTICAL. 185 With these statements of the positions respectively of the parties concerned, we shall now proceed to an examination of the theses of our post-millenarian brethren, as above indicated, seriatim. FIRST THESIS. OF THE ALLEGED IDENTITY OF “ THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES ” WITH THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION AND THE MILLENNIAL ERA. Relying upon the candor of the reader to extend to this subject that respectful consideration which its importance demands, we submit the following, in proof of the distinction between “ the times of the Gentiles,” the Christian dispensation, and the millennial era. Having, in a previous part of this work, treated at length of the scriptural evidence relating to the chronology of this period, as denoted by the mystical “ seven times ” of Lev. xxvi. and Dan. iv., showing the 2520 years of that prophetical number to have commenced with the captivity of the Jewish nation under Manasseh, their king, in a. m. 3480, and that it will close at the termination of the 6,000th year from the creation and fall, in a. d. 1868;1 we now adduce the following, demonstrative of the commencement and end of the Christian dispensation as distinguished from it, and from the millennial era. This period dates from the nativity, 652 years after the commencement of “the times of .the Gentiles,” and, according to the corrected Hebrew chronology, in the year a. m. 4132.* It is “determined” by the “seventy weeks,” or 490 years of Daniel’s prophecy of the time of “Messiah’s” first advent, chap. ix. 24-27. This notable prophecy commenced with the edict issued in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus to Ezra, to “ restore and to build Jerusalem,” a. m. 3679, and ended with the “confirmation of the covenant with many ” by the conversion of Cornelius,* at the close of the last of the “seventy weeks,” a. m. 4169, the interval being exactly 490 years. We have only, therefore, to deduct the 33 years and 6 months of our blessed Lord’s life and ministry from the middle of the last week, i. e., between A. M. 4165 and 4166, in order to reach the true date for the commencement of the dispensation under which we live.4 Nor is this less uncertain as to the time of its close. The pro- 1 See pages 168-174. 2 See Note C. 8 Acts x. * Our Bible Chronology, p. 142. 186 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. phetical number of “time, times, and the dividing of time” or 1260 years of Daniel (chap, vii. 25), with the additions thereto of 30 and of 45 years, making a total of 1335 years—for the 1200, 1290, and 1335 years, all have a common commencement (see Dan. xil 7, 11,12)—refer, as all our most judicious expositors of prophecy admit, to the rise, career, and end of the “little” persecuting “horn” of the Papacy, which was to “make war with” and to “ prevail against the saints ” of God. . . . How long ? The answer is, “ until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possess the kingdom.” (Dan. vii. 21, 22.) For, it is at the end of the 1335 days (or years) of Dan. χϋ. 11,12, that he is to “stand in his lot” i. e., be raised from the dead.1 Again. These three dates, as we have said, having a common commencement, by the almost unanimous consent of the learned, began in a. d. 533, with the edict of Justinian, constituting the bishop of Rome, in the person of John II., the vicegerent of Jesus Christ on earth; and they end at a. d. 1868, thus extending over the whole period of the 1335 years’ career of the antichristian Papal “ horn,” down to the period of his being “ smitten ” by the Messianic “stone;” and hence, from a. m. 4132, runs parallel and ends coetaneously with the prophetic “seven times,” or 2520 years assigned to “ the times of the Gentiles.” Again. When the time comes that “the saints possess the kingdom,” the prophet tells us that “ one like the Son of Man comes with the clouds of heaven to the ancient of days,” and that then “there is given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages should serve him.”2 Here, then, we have a literal kingdom on earth, under the sway of areal personal king—{“the Son of David,” seated on “ David’s throne.” * It follows that, when this event takes place, then will be verified the saying, “ The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.” Yea, then “He shall reign on the earth.” And, mark: as we here see, all this takes place at the simultaneous close both of “the times of the Gentiles” and of the present Christian economy; and that, in order to the introduction to, and establishment of, the Church of Christ in the enjoyment of her millennial glory. 1 Compare 1 These, iv. 13 -17,1 Cor. xy. 23 with Rev. xx. 4-6. 9 Dan. vii 20, 22, and verses 13,14. > Luke i. 32; and Rev. v. Id THESE TWO ERAS NOT IDENTICAL. 187 Hence the inference that these two periods, thus terminating together, expire before the commencement of the millennial era. That there is no escape from this conclusion, take the following in proof: 1. The whole Church admits the scriptural doctrine of the second personal coming of Christ. Also, 2. That this event takes place at the clo&e of the Christian dispensation, which, as we have seen, is coetaneous with the close of “ the times of the Gentiles.” Now, take the argument following, as decisive of the point whether the Christian dispensation merges into, forms a part, and closes with the termination, of the millennial age. (1.) The whole Christian Church of this day (or if there be exceptions they are of no account) professedly believes in, and is earnestly praying for, the ushering in of the latter-day glory, or millennial era; which, she affirms, will consist of a thousand years’ enjoyment of that universal righteousness, peace, prosperity, and blessedness, that is to result from the conversion of all nations, Jewish and Gentile, to Christ. With this admission before us, let us now turn, (2.) To that notable prophecy of our Lord, Luke xxi. 24, where, having referred to that portion of the Jewish race who should escape “ the edge of the sword ” of the Roman legions at the destruction of Jerusalem, He said: “ And ye shall be led captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled; ” or, as in the words of St. Paul (Rom. xi. 25), “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” Now here, the terms “ fulfilled ” and “ fulness,” by common consent, are used to denote the close of this period, coincident with which is also the close of the present Christian age. We ask, therefore, (3.) As this prophecy can only be verified by the continued subjection of the Jews and of Jerusalem to the dominancy of the Gentiles over them, down to the end of this period, how is this to be reconciled with the declared state of universal righteousness, peace, prosperity, and glory, of the millennial age of the Church, as forming an integral part of “ the times of the Gentiles ? ” In other words, where are we to find these oppressors of the Jews, during the millennial age, when all nations, Jewish and Gentile, are converted to Christ ? 188 SECOND COMING OF CHBIST. From this dilemma, according to the popular theory on this subject, we can see no possibility of escape. Two inferences follow, viz.: First. That the Christian dispensation, which ends coincident with “ the times of the Gentiles,” is brought to a close before the commencement of the millennial age; and, Second. That, taking the admission of the whole Church, that the second personal coming of Christ is to transpire at the close of the Christian dispensation, alias “ the times of the Gentiles,” that event must be pre- and not jtw^-millennial. But we pass to the SECOND THESIS. THIS THESIS ALLEGES THAT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, DURING “THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES,” IS IDENTICAL WITH “ THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ”—“ OF GOD ”—OF “ THE SON OF MAN,” ETC.; ALSO THAT, FORMING A PART, IT IS TO RUN ONWARD TO THE CLOSE, OF THE MILLENNIAL ERA. We respectfully demur to this statement. Our argument is founded upon the scriptural distinction between “ the kingdom of heaven” in mystery, and “the kingdom of the Son of Man” in manifestation. It is to he observed, that, in accordance with the stipulation of the covenant of God with Abraham, “In thee, and in thy seed, shall all nations, families, and kindreds of the earth be blessed,”1 it became necessary, as we have shown in another part of this work,2 temporarily to set aside the unbelieving Jews, in order to the ingathering of the Gentiles. It was to this end that Jesus Christ was “the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers,” even “ that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written: for this cause I will confess thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, all ye people. Esaias also saith, There ♦ shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles: in him shall the Gentiles trust.”3 Yea, and this, “ according to the eternal purpose of God which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,”4 involved the necessity of &he “fall” of 1 Gen. xil 8 Aets ill. 25. 3 See pages 84, 85 of this work. Rom. xv. 8-12. * Eph. ill. 11. THIS AGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MYSTERY. 189 the Jews, that they might be “ the riches of the world; ” and the “ diminishing of them,” that they might be “ the riches of the Gentiles.”1 Hence the reasoning of St. Paul in the eleventh of the Romans, in reference to the exscinding of the Jewish “national branches” from the “good olive tree” on account of their “unbelief.” It was in order that the believing Gentiles of “all nations,” though “ wild by nature,” might be graded into their place. And hence, also, the divinely ordained process for the “ talcing out of (or from among) the Gentiles, a people for Christ’s name,” through those ordinary instrumentalities of the Church, which were to follow the extraordinary ministry of the twelve apostles. This process, we shall now proceed to show, was to continue coeval, and to close, with the Christian dispensation. The first argument to this end, is derived from the promise appended to the great commission of Christ to “the twelve,” “Lo, lam with you alway, even unto the end of the world”—αίωνος— L e., age, or dispensation. The meaning here is, not that Christ was personally to continue with, or that the twelve apostles were to live to, “the end of the world,” or age; but that He was to be present by divine energy and power with those, who, as their successors, should constitute the divinely appointed “ambassadors for Christ,” during that' period. Now, this great truth, we remark in the next place, is enunciated by our Lord for this express purpose. The first to which I would direct the thoughts of the reader is, The parable of the marriage of the King's Son, Matt. xxii. 2-10. Indeed, there are two other parables, which, when considered in their connections with this, illustrate the progressive developments of the kingdom of God’s “mystery” of grace, during the whole of man’s period of trial, onward to the close of the present age. The first, the parable of the “great supper,” given in the early part of Christ’s ministry, is explanatory of the first call of the gospel to Jew and Gentile; and exhibits the exclusion from its blessings of the former class, whose unbelief and hardness of heart led them to reject it. The second, that of uthe wicked husbandmen” as occupants of the “vineyard” committed to their, care, runs parallel with the first, and delineates their growing enmity to Christ, until it results in their crucifixion of “the Lord 1 Bom. xi. 190 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. of life and glory.” And the third, the 'parable in hand, given at the close of Christ’s ministry, while it covers the ground of both the others, points out the judgments of God which were to overtake the murderers of those of his servants sent to extend to them the second gospel call, at the destruction of their nation, polity, and city, in a. d. 70; and thence, through the period assigned to the ingathering of the Gentile bride for the King’s Son, down to the utterance of “the midnight cry” of preparation to meet him. We learn, therefore, from these three parables, the long-continued exercise of God’s forbearance toward the Jewish nation, on the one hand; and the “taking out of (or from among) the Gentiles a people for his name” during the gospel economy of grace, on the other. This, however, is more especially to be drawn from the imagery introduced into the parabolic marriage of the King's Son, which is both retrospective and prospective. First. In its retrospective aspect, it includes the first class of the King-Father’s “servants,” viz., “John the Baptist” and “the seventy,” who were sent to call the Jewish nation “to the wedding.” But “they would not come.” “Again he sent other servants,” viz., the twelve apostles, to whom Jesus said, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, neither into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and “tell them, behold, I have prepared my dinner .... come unto the marriage.” But, “they made light of it,” etc. Yes. If they would, they might have been the accepted “bride” of the King’s Son, who was then personally with them. If they would, the Theocratic “first dominion,” or “kingdom of Israel,” which, in the time of Samuel, they rejected for an earth-born dy nasty, might then have been “restored to them.” But the King’s Son “ came to his own, but his own received him wo£.” And so, repeating these acts of “rejecting the counsel of God against themselves,” they were “cast out of the vineyard,” which is thenceforth “let out to other husbandmen;” while the King-Father, in his “wrath, sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” Nor this only. For, mark: the judgments of God against that guilty nation, so far from being arrested at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman legions in a. d. 70, still pursued those of them who escaped “the edge of the sword,” by leading them into a long-protracted “captivity among all nations,” and dooming THIS AGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MYSTERY. 191 “Jerusalem to be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”1 This, therefore, spans the whole period of proffered mercy and of merited judgment toward the Jewish nation, from the time of John the Baptist to the close of the above period, and with which, as we have shown, synchronizes the close of the Christian age, and “the times of the Gentiles.” Meanwhile, in accordance with “the eternal purpose of God which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,” seeing that those— the Jews—for whom the wedding was first made ready, by their twice-repeated rejection of it “were not worthy,” the command is given to his “ servants,” “ Go ye therefore into the highways9 and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So these servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests.” The obvious meaning here is, that the first class of invited guests to the wedding, viz., the Jews, unconscious that their per-severingly malicious machinations against the King’s Son were working out the accomplishment of that very “ eternal purpose which God purposed concerning Him,” continued in their love of worldly barter and gain, and in hatred of Christ and his servants, until it ended in their merited doom—they “ were not worthy ” to be constituted “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” No. She must be sought for elsewhere. ♦ And, oh the stupendous “mystery” of redeeming love! She is to be found, not “in the streets and lanes” of the gorgeous Jewish “city;” she is to be selected, not from the self-styled “wise, and mighty, and noble of this world;” but from among “the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind,” that are found in the highways of the earth's population / not of one country, but of every country under the whole heaven; and not of one grade of character, but of every grade, “the bad and the good;” that is, those who are reputedly so, at the time when they are welcomed to the marriage: the “good,” as Nathanael, Nico-demus, Cornelius, and others; the “bad” as “the woman that was a sinner,” the “malefactor” on the cross, “Saul of Tarsus,” the “jailer,” etc. Thus, as our Lord declared to the unbelieving house of Israel, c Seeing that “ ye will not come unto me that ye might have life,” i Luke xxL 24. 192 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. therefore, “the kingdom of God,” L e., the heavenly, which is in reserve for the resurrected dead in Christ and the raptured living saints, and which, if ye would, ye might have retained as its legitimate subjects and “heirs,” “is taken from you, and given to a nation” (the Gentiles) “bringing forth the fruits thereof.” And so, although the earthly “first dominion” shall finally be restored to you, my Gentile bride alone shall be accounted “ worthy” to “sit with me on my throne,” and to “reign with me on the earth,” “judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” ’ We have only to add to this, that the period assigned to the ingathering of the Gentile bride to Christ, runs parallel with that allotted for the prolonged judgment upon the Jews, and ends with it. If, however, additional evidence be required to confirm this fact, it may, we submit, be found in the further instructions imparted by our Lord in the parable of “ the talents, five, two, and one;”1 and in that of the “tenpounds”* In both cases, a distribution is made in goods or in money, as tests of the fidelity or slothfulness of the respective “servants” of the “householder” and the “nobleman,” during their absence “in a far country:” the things denoted by the imagery employed, being that of the improvement or abuse of the means of grace to man, during the probationary period of trial allotted to him under this dispensation ; the extreme points of which, as signified by the withdrawal and return of the two personages in the parables, indicating that they extend from the ascension to the second coming of Christ at which latter event, like them, He calls his servants to a reckoning, rewards the faithful, and punishes the guilty. But what is decisive of this fact, is the lesson taught us in the parable of “ the wheat and the tares”8 This parable is interpreted by many to denote that the visible Church is analogous to the “field” therein spoken of; her members, good and bad, to the “wheat and tares;” her ministers,to the “servants;” the anxiety of the ministry, on their discovery of the tares among the wheat, at once to separate the one from the other by the discipline of the Church; and the course of conduct on the part of the “servants” to “gather up the tares,” etc., to the act of excommunication. The incongruity of these views, however, to the things sig- 1 Matt. xxv. 14-29. * Luke xix. 11-27. 1 Matt. xill. 24-30. THIS AGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MYSTERY. 193 nified by the imagery of the parable, we think will appear obvious on the following grounds. Keeping in view the fact, that our blessed Lord himself interpreted all those parts of the parable which required it, we remark, first, that though both the wheat and the tares grow together in the same soil, yet He does not say, “ The field ” is the visible Church; but, “ The field is the world? Second. The “ wheat ” is interpreted to denote “ the children of the kingdom? and the “tares,” “ tlie children of the wicked one? Third. Although all the other parts of the parable are interpreted by Christ, the “ servants ” are passed over in silence, a circumstance only to be accounted for on the ground that they are identical with the angelic “ reapers? etc. And fourth, the express command of the “householder” to the “servants” respecting the “ wheat ” and the “ tares,” to “ let both grow together until the harvest? can never be made to mean the exercise of discipline in the Church. The import of the parable, then, is simply this: in exact harmony with all the others which precede it as above, though much more explicitly, it exhibits the diversified effects of “ the gospel of the grace of God,” as it is dispensed to mankind during the Christian dispensation, between the first and second comings of Christ, as a test of its acceptance or rejection by them. Hence, first, the two classes of sowers presented to view, He of the “ good seed,” who is interpreted to signify “ the Son of Man? who commenced sowing it, first, personally, and then by His apostles and their successors; and he of the “tares,” who is interpreted to denote that “ enemy ” of Christ, “ the devil? and his emissaries, who commenced scattering the “tares” simul· taneously with that of the “ good seed.” Second. The two classes of seeds, the “ wheat ” and the “ tares,” signify the mixed state or character of the Church, during this dispensation, whose entire history is identified with the existence of mingled good and evil, yet of so marked a resemblance,, as scarcely to be distinguished. Third. “ The field is the world,” in which is to be found the Church, gathering, as it were, the human race into one lifetime, as they will be gathered in one “ harvest,” which is interpreted to mean “ the end of the world” (αίώι/09, age), at the close of this dispensation. And hence, Fourth. The repression of the zeal of the angelic “servants” 13 m SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. as the “ reapers ” of the “ harvest,” until the aggregate of the plants in the “ field of the world,” good and had, shall have attained to full maturity. Then, and not until then, will the “ tares” he separated from the “ wheat.” The angelic reapers or “ servants” have been taught patiently to await the return of the “household” sower of the “good seed”—“ the Son of Man”— to “ the field,” lest, by a premature attempt to “ gather up the tares,” they “ root up also the wheat with them.” Nor is it out of place, in this connection, to refer to the vast disproportion of the “ wheat ” to the “ tares ” in this “ field of the world,” from apostolic times down to this present. Our design here is to show that (in opposition to the theory, that by and through the ordinary agencies of the Church, all nations are to be subjected to the obedience of Christ, in the order of a geometrical succession of conversions, under the Christian dispensation) the moral characteristics both of the Church and the world at the close of the present economy, were to furnish an exact copy to those which marked the close of the antediluvian age. This will appear from the prophecy of our Lord, in reference to the two periods. In Matt. xxiv. 37-39, he says: “But as the days of Noah were, . . . they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not, until the flood came, and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of Man he” Now, true. The setting aside for a time of the unbelieving Jewish nation by their excision from the good olive-tree, was “ to the intent, that now unto the principalities and powers might be known by the Church,” i. e., by the instrumentalities of the Church, “ the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord . . . that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body,” i. e., with the believing Jews; and thus, “ be made partakers of his promise by the gospel,” under the Christian economy. Hence the commission of Christ to his apostles and their successors to evangelize the world: “Go ye, therefore, into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” “ Go, teach all nations,” etc. Not, observe, that they were expected, during this economy, to effect the individual conversion of all in every nation; but, that they and their successors after them should be “ a witness THIS AGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MYSTERY. 195 unto all nations,”1 “ to take out of (or from among) them a people for his name,* Accordingly, during the apostolic age, the Church acted fully up to her sense of responsibility in these premises. “ Beginning at Jerusalem,” she faithfully “preached repentance and remission of sins in Christ’s name among all nations.”3 True to their mission, their trumpet “ voice went out into all the earth, and their words.unto the end of the world.”4 The result was, that “ there were added to the Church daily, of such as should he saved,” so that a “ goodly number ” “ continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship,” and “in breaking of bread and prayers.”B But, in pursuance of this great work, the apostle Paul laid down the following test of the Church’s fidelity to Christ her Head, during this dispensation. Speaking of the excision of the natural Jewish branches from the good olive-tree on account of their unbelief; and of the grafting into their place of the believing Gentile scions, he says: “ On them which fell,” i. e., the Jews, “severity; but towards thee,” i. e., the Gentile Church of all nations—Christendom—“ goodness, if thou continue in God’s goodness: otherwise,” he adds, “thou also shalt be cut off.”6 The question therefore is, Has the Church from apostolic times continued in God’s goodness, in the. sense here intended ? Our fidelity as a writer compels us to say that, like the Sethite “ sons of God ” in unholy alliance with the Cainite “ children of men ” in Noah’s day; so is the Church throughout Christendom, by her criminal dalliance with the world, according to the prophecy of Christ. All history attests, that by her gradual degeneracy from the doctrinal purity and catholic unity of apostolic times, the analogy to that which befell the Church of the antediluvian age, is complete in all its parts. While, on the one hand, the early and numerous conversions under the apostles correspond with those of the days of Enos, when “ men began to call themselves by the name of the Lord;” on the other it must be conceded, that, like its remote type in the days of Noah, there commenced a defection in the Church, which, though at first scarcely discernible, yet at length assumed the most gigantic proportions. 1 Matt. xxiv. 14. 8 Acte xv. 14. 8 Luke xxiv. 47. 4 Rom. ac. 12. · See Acts 11. verses 41-47 inclusive. · Rom. xl. 2J. 196 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. We see indications of this apostasy, not only in the divisions and contentions of the Corinthian, the Roman, and the Galatian Churches, but also in the condition of the seven Asiatic Churches in the days of St. John. And who does not know, that no sooner was the Church translated, in the early part of the third century, from her former condition of obscurity, ignominy, and suffering during the ten pagan persecutions, to the worldly prominence, honors, and wealth to which she was raised under Constantine, than she entered upon her downward course? Yes. Beguiled by the smiles of courtly favor, she continued ignominiously to succumb to the policy of the state, until, in a. d. 533, by the infamous edict of Justinian, ecclesiastical ambition for the “preeminence ” having attained its culminating point, John Π., bishop of Rome, was permanently seated in the chair of St. Peter, as Christ’s accredited vicegerent upon earth ! Thenceforward, during the succeeding ten centuries, down to the period of the Reformation in a. d. 1517, what, we ask, are the heart-sickening annals of this prolonged period, but details of the rapid progression of primitive Christianity perverted, in doctrine, ceremonials, church order, and,moral degeneracy, to the extent that, at its close, it may be truly said, that “ the earth was corrupt before God, and that it was filled with violence ? ” Nor this only. For although, at length, the thundering voice of a Luther, at the portals of the Vatican of old Rome, disturbed the long-protracted quiet of the antichristian “ little horn ” in his lair; and much as we have cause for thankfulness to God, in view of the fruits Of the great Reformation which followed; still, I submit, we are not to overlook the fact of the failure of that Reformation, both on the Continent and in England, in effecting more than a very partial emancipation of Christendom from the tyranny, spiritual and temporal, of the Papal See. (Notes A & E.) And now, to bring this matter still nearer home. What evidence have we, I ask, that the Church, since that time, has “ continued in God’s goodness ” as “ a witness ” to the nations ? Her commission, if it did not impose upon her the obligation to effect the conversion of each individual of the “ all nations ” to whom she was sent; yet it did enjoin upon her the duty to leave not one individual of them without the offer of salvation through faith in Christ. Hence, a reformation in this period or that, cannot make amends for unfaithfulness in any previous period. Besides, THIS AGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MYSTERY. 197 that which continues has no need to he, and indeed cannot be, restored. We appeal, then. Has God no controversy with the Church of this day on the subject of the unevangelized, compared with the evangelized portions of the earth, as they now present themselves in a moral aspect in bold relief before us ? The following statistics will evidence the vast proportion of the “ tares ” over the “ wheat,” as they now prevail in the “ field of the world.” Take a view, Of the population of the earth, scattered over a surface of at least 96,000,000 of square miles. The aggregate number is near 1,225,000000 of souls! These may be divided into the following religious systems, viz.: 1. Of Brahminical Pagans, in Asia,........... 650,000,000 2. Of Mohammedans, in Asia and Africa, .... 150,000,000 3. Of Pagans, in a purely savage state,...... 100,000,000 4. Of Jews (the kingdom of Judah), dispersed, . . 14,000,000 5. In Christendom, there are, (1.) Of the Western, or Romish Church, . . 170,000,000 (2.) Of the Eastern, or Greek Church, .... 60,000,000 (3.) Of Protestants,-throughout the world, . . 80,000,000 This gives a total population of............... 1,224,000,000 It results from these statistics, First. That less than one fifth of the earth’s population are included within the pale of Christendom. Second. That of these latter, only about one third bear the Protestant name. Nor is this all. Third. Computing, as we must, the real numerical strength of Protestant Christianity by the communion statistics of all the various branches .of the Church scattered over “the field of the world,” and they do not yield us a total of over 15,000,000 of souls 1 Here then, so far as figures, based upon the most recent and best-authenticated statistical facts, are concerned, we are presented with a true picture of the moral condition of the populations of earth as they now are. And, what a picture! What a vast disproportion between the respective devotees of the various systems of religion—Pagan, Mohammedan, and Jewish 198 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. —compared with those who hear the Christian name! Considerably more than two thirds of the whole, or 914,000,000 of souls now on earth, either lie buried in the grave of a stupid and beastly idolatry, or are the dupes of a superstitious Islamism or Judaic blindness ! And, of the remaining 310,000,000 of Christen· dom, as Protestants maintain that the systems both of the Roman and Greek Churches, amounting to 230,000,000, are forms of a corrupt Christianity, and that they are equally in an unconverted state with those outside of the pale of their respective communions, it reduces the actual evangelical element, compared with the others, to the appallingly small proportion of about 15,000,000 of souls! Thus much, then, of the proportion of the “ wheat ” with the “ tares,” in the great moral “ field of the world.” Now, if we take into view, First, the fact that, in the parabolic teachings of our Lord, as above exhibited, they all point to the period of man’s probation under the gospel economy of grace, from its first dispensation by Christ and His apostles, with their successors, down to the time of “ the harvest at the end of the world,” or “ times of the Gentiles ; ” and if, Second, we can show, chronologically, that our Lord’s predicted analogy between the moral characteristics of the days of Noah, and those which are immediately to precede His second coming, are applicable to the age in which we live/ it will follow, Third, that those prophecies which relate to “ the kingdom of heaven,” and the coming and reign of Christ on earth, do not, and cannot by any possibility (as alleged by the theory under review), be made to refer to the first establishment of the Christian Church, and of Christ’s spiritual presence with her onward to the close of the millennial age. Instead, it will result that the time of the great “ harvest ” of the world which is to transpire at the close of the present Christian economy, is gust at hand! But before we proceed to demonstrate this last-named proposition, we must once more remind the reader of the magnitude of the work to be achieved by Protestants, on the alleged hypothesis of the evangelization of the world by ordinary Church instrumentalities, to which we have already adverted. To say nothing of the numerous obstacles to be encountered in the conversion of THIS AGE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN MYSTERY. 199 Pagans, Mohammedans, and Jews; and in being brought into collision with the vast machinery of Papal propagandism, which, with more men, and more money, and more zeal, as twenty to one, compared with Protestants; we repeat, to say nothing of these, here are more than 1,200,000,000 of souls, spread over at least 96,000,000 of square miles of the earth’s surface, to be subdued to the obedience of Christ, through the process of a “ geometrical progression of conversions,” by 15,000,000 of Protestant Christians ! The difficulty, therefore, which here presses upon us from the outset is, that from a comparison of the present Christianized and unchristianized portions of the globe with the past, the progress of the Church in effecting the evangelization of the world, if not decidedly retrograde, does not certainly encourage the hope of a very speedy consummation of her work. The discussion of this subject on its merits must be reserved for a subsequent page, when we shall come to treat of the present fondly cherished expectations by the Church of the speedy conversion of the nations to Christ, as alleged of the moral and political revolutions of the day at home and abroad. For, aside from every other consideration, our abiding conviction is, that on the principle of the theory under review, of a “ geometrical progression of conversions ” by ordinary Church agencies—e. g., preaching; missionary operations, domestic and foreign; Bible distribution; tract, Sabbath school, and other societies, etc., etc.—even under the most favorable auspices, we cannot expect the ushering in of the millennial era of the Church this side of 500 years! And further: inasmuch as, on this theory, we must add 1000 years for the period of the Church during the millennium, it will follow that—as the whole Church contends—the second coming of Christ being deferred to the end of “ the times of the Gentiles,” the Church is doomed to at least 1500 years of deferred hope, before that event can take place! The question to be settled, therefore, is—and we appeal that it is one of momentous interest—whether this is in accordance with “ the mind of the Spirit,” as the revealed faith and hope of the Church in regard to either the one event or the other ? That it is not, we have only to refer the reader to what we have already offered in proof, 1. Of the distinction to be drawn between “the times of the 200 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Gentiles ” and the Christian dispensation; and also between this latter and the millennial period of the Church.1 And, to these results, we have now only to add in further confirmation of them, 2. The exact coincidence therewith of the chronology of Holy Scripture, historic and prophetic. This will verify that the predicted moral characteristics which were to immediately precede the second coming of our Lord in analogy to “ the days that were before the flood,” belong to the days in which we now live. In this comparison of the remote original with the predicted copy, it is scarcely necessary to say, that the special design of our blessed Lord was, to direct our thoughts to the culminating point of wickedness, in both ages, as the sure and certain “signs” of their respective close. As the moral characteristics “ in the days of Noah,” taken as signs, marked the approach, and finally instigated the catastrophe of the flood; 50, the corresponding moral characteristics predicted by our Lord, taken as signs, must relate to, and can only transpire at, the close of this age, as the harbingers of His second personal coming from heaven. Nor this only. As the time, according to the pivine purpose, for the closing up of the antediluvian age, was definitely and unalterably fixed by the chronological limit of 120 years, as a respite from, and a warning of, the impending judgment of the flood; so, with the termination of the corresponding Gentile Christian age, immediately preceding “the coining of the Son of Man.” And now, that we of this day occupy a proximity to the second personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ corresponding with that of the 120 years to the flood, in Noah’s time, will appear from the following chronological summary of Holy Scripture, historic and prophetic, which will be found to encircle the entire period of the world’s history, from the creation and fall of man to the close of time, under four distinct dispensations, Patriarchal (antediluvian and postdiluvian), Levitical, Christian, and Millennial. We have now, however, only to do with the first three of the above-named dispensations. Requesting the reader to turn to pages 180-182 of “Our Bible Chronology,” where we have furnished the scriptural evidence that God has revealed to the Church the unalterable period of 6000 years as the interval within 1 See pages 186-188, with which compare pages 188-200. CHRONOLOGY, HISTORIC AND PROPHETIC. 201 which, under the three dispensations, Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian, all His ordinary purposes of providence and grace were to be accomplished, we herewith append the following tabular view of the chronology of Scripture, historic and prophetic, from the creation and fall of man to the close of the 6000 years. We would here premise, that the prophetic chronology, though not exclusively, yet is more especially concerned with “ the times of the Gentiles,” which, interlocking with a definitely determined period in the histone, viz., a. m. 3480, b. c. 652,1 reaches down to, and closes with, those “times” in a. d. 1868. We cannot here enter into this matter in detail. The reader will find that in my recently published work on “Our Bible Chronology, Historic and Prophetic, Critically Examined and Demonstrated,” etc. We will, however, insert the six following tabular summaries of the different periods, including a view both of the historic and prophetic numbers, all of which, though formed of different combinations, amount to precisely 6000 years. Take, 1. The several periods of the Historic chronology. (1.) From the Creation to the Deluge, - - - 1656 years. (2.) From the Deluge to Abraham, - 427 “ (3.) From Abraham to the Exodus, - - - 430 “ (4.) From the Exodus to the close of the time of the Judges,.....................................587 « (5.) The Regal Age, from Saul to the Babylonish Captivity, 480 44 (6.) The Babylonish Captivity, - - 70 years, \ (7.) Thence to commencement of Daniel’s >· 149 44 “SeventyWeeks,” - - - 79 “ ) (8.) The “Seventy Weeks” of Daniel, - - - 490 44 (9.) Add a. d., from the close of “ Seventy Weeks,” 1831 “ Total,.................................. 6000 years. 2. The Historic and Longer Prophetic penods combined. (1.) From the Creation to commencement of the mystical “ Seven times ” of Lev. xxvi., - - 8480 years. (2.) The “ Seven times,”........................ 2520 “ Total,*................................. 6000 years. 1 See pages 169-170 inclusive, of this work, where the longest of the prophetical periode, revealed under the mystical form of w seven times" (Lev. xxvi. and Dan. iv.), amounting to 2620 years, Is shown to have commenced at the above date, with the oaptivity of the Jewish nation In the time of Manasseh. 202 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 3. Another, of the same twofold combinations. (1.) From the Creation to commencement of Daniel’s “ Seventy weeks ” (chap, ix. 21-27), - - 3679 years. (2.) The “ Seventy weeks,”...................... 490 44 (3.) Add from the close of the “ Seventy weeks ” in a. m. 4169, the years a. d........................1831 44 Total,.................................... 6000 years. 4. The Historic and Shorter Prophetic 'periods combined, (1.) From the Creation, set down for commencement of the 2300 years of Dan. viii 14, - (2.) Add from thence to Nativity, - 480 years.' (3.) Add years a. d. to the close of the 2300 years, - - - 1820 44 (4.) Add years for gradual exhaustion of the mystical Euphrates, Rev. xvi 12,......................... 40 44 (5.) Add to a. d. 1868, - - - 8 44 , Total,.................................... 6000 years. 8652 years. 2348 44 6. Another, of the same twofold combinations. (1.) Set down for commencement of the 2300 years, (2.) Add years of the 2300, down to commencement of its first integral period of 44 five months,” Rev. ix. 6, or 150 years, - - - 1572 years. (3.) Add the “five months ” as above, 150 44 (4.) Add for Turkish repose, from a. d. 937 to a. d. 1057, - 120 44 (5.) Add interval between the departure of the Turks from Bagdad, a. d. 1057, to the capture of Constantinople, A. d. 1453, — 396 years, as the second integral of the 2300 years above, of 44 a day, an hour, a month, and a year,” Rev. ix. 14, 15,........................ 396 44 (8.) Add for continued drying up of the mystical Euphrates, Rev. xvi 12, 110 44 3652 years. 2348 44 Total, 6000 years. THE LAST CONFLAGRATION P06T-M1LLENNIAL. 203 Finally, 6. Table, shewing the sum total of the Historic Chronology down to the present year of our Lord. (1.) From Creation to Nativity (Heb. Chron. corrected), 4132 years. (2.) From Nativity to a. d.,.................... 1864 “ True, in the tabular summaries, we are compelled to assume as reliable, what we claim to have proved in our recently published work, “Our Bible Chronology, Historic and Prophetic, Critically Examined,” etc. Referring the reader, therefore, to our verification of them as therein set forth, we most earnestly point his eye to the result here reached. We see, from these tables, that while five of them all concur in filling up to a year the divinely predetermined period of 6000 years as allotted to the history of man down to the close of “ the times of the Gentiles; ” the last one, the sixth, shows that we have reached that limit to within four years from the present time! Well, you will ask, and what thent The reply is, that unless the scriptural arguments and historical facts which have been brought to bear upon our review of the theory in hand can be set aside, that theory is proved to be founded in error on all the points at issue / and we are found to be standing on the vert v^rge of that tremendous crisis, in which all the prophecies converge,1 in regard to the interests and the destinies both of the Church of God and the nations of earth, at the time of the great “harvest” at “ the end of the world ” or “ times of the Gentiles.” But these first two theses, along with the denial, by those who advocate them, that the second personal coming of Christ is ^re-millennial, being, as we have said, hypothecated of their inability to reconcile the alleged universal conflagration of the earth as jwe-millennial, with what the Scriptures teach of the physical condition of the earth during that period; we have at 1 The reader Is requested to turn to pages 189-199 where this subject is explained at length, showing that the eye of the faith and hope of the believer has been direoted toward that crisis from ike beginning. Total,........................................ (3.) Add to close of the 6000 years from a. d. 1864, - 6996 years. 4 “ Total, 6000 years. 204 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. length reached the proper place in these discussions for an exam· ination of that mooted question: Is the Universal Conflagration of the Earth Pre- or Post-Millennial? This is a great subject. It involves an inquiry into the state or condition of the heavens and the earth during the millennial era, when “ the kingdoms of this world,” it is declared, “ shall have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” It is undeniable, that the Scriptures teach us to look for a most signal change as awaiting “ the world ” or earth, together with its surrounding atmosphere or heavens as compared with what they “now are,” which shall adapt them to that blessed era. The question is, as to the nature and extent of that change, and the agencies to be employed in effecting it. Now, in direct opposition to what some distinguished Mille-narian writers allege respecting it, we affirm that this change, though it will extend to the removal of the original curse from the ground, and also from the circumambient air which envelops the earth; yet that it is not to be confounded, as it is often confounded, with that final παλιγγο^σια, i. e., “ regeneration ” or renovation of the globe and the heavens, which is to transpire after the thousand years’ career of the saved nations in the flesh as its occupants shall be “finished.” 1 As we have said, not a few of our expositors of prophecy, by insisting that the universal conflagration of the globe is pre-millennial, have greatly damaged that system of revealed truth, of which they are otherwise the able advocates. The truth of the matter is simply this: it by no means follows, as we shall show, that because the second coming of Christ is jore-millennial, there· fore the universal conflagration of the earth is also jpre-millennial. To maintain that it is so, forms the great stumbling-block in the way of inquirers after truth in these premises. For example: the great body of evangelical Christians of this day (the Bap tists excepted), profess to believe in and to pray for the ingathering and conversion of both Jews and Gentiles to Christ, and of their introduction to a state of happiness on earth during the period of a thousand years. But, being unable to reconcile an 1 Rev. xx. 6, compared 'with chap. xxi. 1-5. THE LAST CONFLAGRATION POST-MILLENNIAL. 205 alleged ^-millennial conflagration of the earth, with a continuance of men on the earth, they reject the doctrine of the second coming of Christ as pre-millennial. The error on the part of both is, that of supposing the two events to be necessarily coetaneous. The result is, that while the^re-millennial conflagrationist inevitably deprives the earth of inhabitants during that era; the jt?os£-mii-lennialist, who, on that ground, denies the jore-millennial personal coming of Christ, leaves the subjects of the millennial kingdom on earth without a visible king ! To escape from these two horns of a dilemma, we shall lay down the following proposition, namely: That the universal conflagration of the earth is not pre- but jpostf-millennial. In the support of this proposition, we shall now proceed to the proof, that the nature and extent of that change to which the physical heavens and earth will be subjected at the pre· millennial coming of Christ to judgment, precludes the possibility of a universal conflagration as the agent to effect it. Wo must here premise, that in the covenant entered into with Noah, the Lord said, “I will not curse the ground any more for man’s sake.......While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease?1 Now, under this covenant with creation, of which the bow in the clouds is the sign or token, the earth has continued till the present time. If then it can be shown that the above stipulations regarding the earth will characterize the state or condition of things during the millennial epoch down to the delivering up of the kingdom to the Father; it will follow that the millennial era is the last of those dispensations under which the earth and its inhabitants were to be placed, during the continuance of God’s covenant with creation after the flood; and therefore that the universal conflagration to which the earth and its elements are destined, cannot take place till the end of the thousand years. Take the following in proof: 1. St. Peter, in his 2d Epistle, chap. iii. 6, 7, having stated that “the world that was before the flood,” being overflowed with water, perished, adds, “ but the heavens and earth which are now, by the same word are kept in stor preserved unto fire against 1 Gen. viii. 22. 206 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” etc. That “ the day of judgment ” here is to be understood, not of a natural day of twenty-four hours, but as running coeval with the thousand years of the millennial era, is evident from the apostle’s statements regarding it. As he stands “looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,” he speaks of it as that day “ in the which,” or wherein “ the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” etc. (verse 12). Then, by way of explaining what he meant by this “ day of God,” he says, verse 8, “ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as bne day.” As though he had said— “You are not to understand this ‘day of the Lord,’ as though it were limited to the short space of a natural day of twenty-four hours; for, ‘the heavens and the earth which are now, are reserved unto fire, against (or for) the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. ” And then, to guard their minds against the insalutary effects which this statement of so long an interval between the time then present, and the “day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men ” might produce, he adds, “ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men” (e. g., those “ scoffers who should come in the last days, saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” etc.) “count slackness.” (Yerses 3, 4, compared with verse 9.) In other words, notwithstanding this long delay in “ reserving the heavens and the earth ” to this ordeal by “ fire, ” what the Lord hath spoken concerning that “ new heavens and earth wherein shall dwell righteousness ” eternal, He most surely will fulfil, “ according to His promise.” (Yerse 13.) With this exposition, therefore, of the import of the terms “day of God” and “day of judgment” as given by the apostle, kept in view, it will be found exactly to harmonize with the expression in reference to that period in which he says, verse 12, “ in the which,” that is, during which, “ the heavens and elements being on fire, shall be dissolved,” etc. That is to say, inasmuch as this “day of God” of “ a thousand years” being synchronous with that of Rev. xx. 1-5, viz., the millennial era, has its morning and evening; so the final παλιγγα^σία or regeneration of “ the heavens and the earth which are now ” by “ fire, ” does not take place at the commencement, but at the close, of this “ day of God:” for, it is not until then, that He who is seated on His THE LAST CONFLAGRATION POST-MILLENNIAL. 207 “great white throne” of judgment says, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev. xxi. 1, 5.) But, that the final conflagration of the earth is not pre- hut jposfanillennial, we remark, 2. That the uses to which the term “fire” is employed in Holy Scripture, when applied to “ the heavens and the earth which are now,” furnish additional evidence of it. Now, both Moses and St. Paul, in speaking of the infinite God in his character as Judge, declare that “ He is a consuming fire.”1 In Scripture, however, the term “ fire ” is used both in a figurative and literal sense, the purposes to which it is applied being determinable only by being taken in connection with the subject spoken of. The figurative and literal sense may readily be distinguished thus: the declaration of our Lord in Luke’s gospel is, “ I am come to send fire on the earth;”2 in Matthew, the term “sword” is used.* These parallel passages are employed to denote, as in a figure, that great moral warfare, “ not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers,” or those “ spiritual wickednesses in high places,”4 which was to ensue upon the propagation of the gospel, in defence of which, when carnal instead of spiritual weapons were used, Christ said, “ they that fight with the sword, ” L e.,' literally, “ shall perish with the sword.”5 So the “ baptism by fire ” 6 signifies, both figuratively and literally, first, the sufferings of Christ in soul and body;1 and of His followers after Him who “ shall drink of His cup and be baptized with His baptism.”8 In this double sense also, it is declared that “the Lord shall purge the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.”9 And this is preeminently true of that “fire ” of which St. Paul speaks, which, “ in the day that shall declare (or reveal) it, shall try every man’s work of what sort it is ;”l° for, the Judge himself having come, “burning coals proceed before His feet,”11 and “ a whirlwind is His chariot,” accompanied with “ fire,” 12 with “ the spirit of burning,” 13 with “ pestilence,” and with “ thunder, ”14 etc. Now, it is in these forms that “ with fire and with the sword shall the Lord,” at the commencement of His judgments upon the wicked, » Dent iv. 24; Heb. xii. 29. a Luke xii. 49. 8 Matt. x. 34. « Eph. vi. 12. • Matt. xxvi. 62. · Matt. 111. 11. 7 Compare Matt. xxvl. 38 with Luke xxii. 44; xxvii. 60. •Matt xx. 22. · Iea.lv. 4. 101 Cor. ill. 12-15. “ Habak. iiL 6-13, 18 Isa. lxvi. 15,16. 18 lb. iv. 4. “ Habak. iiL 6-13. 208 SECOND COMING OF CI1KIST. plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many”1 This is when lie comes “ inflaming fire with His mighty angels,?’ —not, mark, to encircle the earth in the flames of the last confla·* gration; but, to “ take vengeance on them that know not God,'1 and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ;”'2 and who, beipg numbered with the “ many slain ” in that day, “ shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,”3 and who shall be “ reservedfor chains under darkness, against (or unto) the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”4 The obvious meaning here is, that these “ many slain of the Lord by fire and by the sword ” (referring, as they do, to the destruction of the last antichrist and his confederates who fall on the battle field of Armageddon5), being placed among those wicked “dead” who St. John tells us “ shall not live again until the thousand years are finished; ”61 say, in view of these inspired statements, the obvious meaning is, that the “perdition ” to which they are “ reserved,” does not and cannot take effect upon them until at the close of “the great day of the Lord’s”7 judgment. For, then it is, and not until then, that the Lord Jesus, having judged “ the quick ” or living saints “ in righteousness ” for a thousand years; as the same Judge, will appear “ seated on His great white throne; ” and, raising the wicked “ dead,” who have no part in “ the first resurrection,” from the “ sea,” and from death or the grave, and from hell (rather afy?, the state and place of departed spirits), and arraigning them before His bar of judgment, and trying them by “ the things written in the books according to their works: ” He will “ cast them into the lake of (yccvi/α) fire and brimstone, where the devil and the false prophet are, to be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”8 Taking into view, therefore, these tw;o classes of passages, the one referring to the destruction of the wicked “ by fire ami by the sword” at the commencement of “the day of the Lord’s” judgment ; and the other to the destruction (not annihilation) of the raised wicked dead at the close of it; and it is clear, that the two acts of judgment are entirely separate and distinct in the order of time. The objection of the jM^-millenarian against those who main- 1 lea. Ixvi. 15,16. a 2 These. 1. 8, 0. 8 lb. i. 8. «2 Pet. iii. 7. • Compare 2 These. U. 8 with Rev. xvi. 13-16. · Rev. xx. 6. 7 Mai. iv. 6. 8 Rev. xx. 7-16. THORNS ARE ON HIS BROW. THE LAST CONFLAGRATION POST-MILLENNIAL. 209 tain that the universal conflagration is jwe-millennial, is this: “ What” demand they, on this hypothesis, “become of those who are to constitute the saved nations in the flesh, dunng this general subjection of the earth to the action of this last fiery ordeal ? ” And recourse has been had to the most pitiful subterfuges to meet it. And this, on the simple ground of the failure of its advocates to distinguish between the two acts of judgment upon the wicked at the commencement and the close of that day. As we have seen, “ the slain of the Lord by fire and by the sword ” in .the first instance, are not all of the wicked, but “many”1 There are “ a few men left”* These are, those who “ escaped of the nations which came against Jerusalem,” both Jewish and Gentile, at the time of its invasion as described Zech. xiv. 1-3; and who, like the Noahic family saved from the flood, by their conversion to Christ, form the nucleus of the saved nations in thi flesh during the millennial era. · Here, therefore, we have, first, an answer to the above objeo· tion as founded on the mistaken hypothesis, that the universal conflagration of the earth is jwe-millennial; and second, & refutation of the joostf-millenarian, who denies, on that ground, that the second personal coming of Christ is jtwe-millennial. For, the destruction of the wicked at the commencement of the day of judgment does not take effect otherwise than by the personal “coming of the Lord Jesus in flaming fire with His mighty angels.” * Still, we have not yet reached the point which more immediately relates to the subject in hand, namely—the change to be effected, in adapting the physical state or condition of the earth to the era of millennial blessedness; as contrasted with that which adapts it to the eternal “ new heavens and earth ” state. This can only be done by taking into the account the agencies to be employed in regard to each. These agencies, it will be found, are entirely separate and distinct. f Now true, in the descriptions given by the prophet Habaki kuk, chap. iii. 5-13, and the apostle Peter, 2 Epist. iii. 3-9,10-12, 13,14, there is an apparent simultaneousness of the destruction of the ungodly, and the change to be effected on this globe by the action of “fire,” at the coming of the Lord to judgment. U * lea. Ixvi. 15,16. * lb. xxly, 8. a Compare 2 These. L 8 with 2 These. iL 8. 9io SECOND COMING OF CHBET. And this would seem to derive additional strength from the statements of the prophet Isaiah, chapters lxv. 17 and lxvi. 22, and of St. John, Rev. xxi. 1-5, concerning “ the new heavens and the new earth which the Lord will create.” It will amply repay us to devote a few moments to a critical exegesis of these passages seriatim. We observe then, First. That, in regard to Habakkuk’s description of the Lord’s coming to judgment, while He “ marches through the land in indignation to break to pieces his adversaries, or the people of His curse;” yet, having accomplished their overthrow* there is a pause or suspension in the work of judgment: for the prophet tells us that “ He stood, and measured the earth,” etc.; and. the purpose of this pause of God’s judgment he informs us was this: “ Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed,” etc. Now, reference can here be made to none other event than the miraculous national corv-version of the Jews, by their “ looking upon’’their Messiah as the “anointed” of God “whom they pierced,” as described by Zechariah, chap. xii. 9,10 ; and the equally miraculous conversion of those Gentile nations, who will be gathered to and united with the restored houses of Judah and Israel, as spoken of by Isaiah, chap. lx. 1-5, and lxvi. 15-19. Hence, while “the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind to render His anger with f\iry, and His rebukes with flames of fire,” yea, although “ by fire and by the sword the Lord will plead with all flesh, and the slain will be many; ” yet, saith He, “ it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see my glorywhich “glory” is none other than that which shall characterize “ the peaceable kingdom of the Bbanch,” the Messiah, during His millennial reign over the saved nations in the flesh on the renewed earth. And now, 1. In regard to the nature and extent of the change which awaits “ the heavens and the earth, which are now,” in adapting them to the inhabitants of earth during the millennial era. This will involve along with it a consideration of those physical agencies that will be employed in restoring them to their paradisiacal salubrity and fertility; for, the time will then have come for the lifting from off the earth of that dread malediction of God, “ Cursed is the ground for thy sake . . . thorns also and thistles THE LAST CONFLAGRATION POST-MILLENNIAL. 811 shall it bring forth to thee.”1 How He will do this, may be gathered from the following: Bearing in mind that both stages of the earth’s renovation, pre- and post-millennial, is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, when He comes to effect its normal renascence, Zechariah, having stated that “ His feet in that day %hall stand upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east;”4 and, being clothed in “ brightness as the light,” while “ burning coals go forth at His feet,” He will “ stand and measure the earth” * And, as “His glory will then cover the heavens,”4 He whose way is in the whirlwind and the storm;” who “rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers;” and “at whose presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein: ”6 “ before Him the everlasting hills shall be scattered, and the perpetual hills shall how: ” * for, “ in that day the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof towards the east and towards the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south ” even as it was in the time of “ the earthquake in ttfe days of Uzziah king of Judah.”7 We must here keep specially in view the fact, that these terrible mundane convulsions take place at the opening of the Sixth Apocalyptic Seal, which being chronologically synchronic with the “seven vials” and “seven last plagues” under the blast of the “ seventh” or last trumpet,8 there is “ a great earthquake,”9 accompanied “ with voices, and thunders, and lightnings . . . such as was not since men were upon earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great.”10 Hence, such will be the change produced by* these physical phenomena upon the surface of the earth compared with what it now is, that “ every island shall flee away, and the mountains shall not be found”" And now, as to the ulterior result of all this. It may be gathered from the following prophetic utterances, having a direct bearing upon the state or condition of “the new heavens and new earth of” Isaiah, chapters lxv. 17 and lxvi. 22, during the millennial era. The prophet Joel opens the subject thus: “Fear » Gen. ill. IT, 18. * Zech. xiv. 4. * Habak. ILL 8-4. « Tb. verse 3. • Nahum L 8-6. · Habak. lit 6. 7 Zech. xiv. 4,5. 6 Compare Rev. x. 7, with xv. 1,0-8; xvt, •Rev. vi. 12, .I0 lb. veree 18. 11 lb. verse 20. 212 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. not, 0 land: be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do greed things. ... I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the catterjrtllar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.” And, these destroying hoets of insects being removed, “the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness do springalso, “the tree beareth her fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength. And the floors are full of wheat, and the fate shall overflow with wine and oil.”1 And again: “ It shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down with new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Chittim.”1 So also Ezekiel : “ And I will make them and the place about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessings.”* And Isaiah: “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of thfe briar shall come up the myrtle-tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” * And again, “ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah-tree, and the pine and the box together; that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.”* Tea, “the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it; the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.”8 “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I wiU make the place ef mg feet glorious,”7 Yes, then shall be realized to the saved nations in the flesh, that glorious vision of prophecy, uThe earth shall yield her increase, and God, even our own God, shall bless us.”8 For, “ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that »Joel A. 11-84. «Ib.iil.18. « Ezek. xcriv.Λ «Im.1y.18. «lb.xli.19.S0. «lea. ’Xb.lx.Ul THE LAST CONFLAGRATION POST-MILLENNIAL. 213 eoweth the seed; and the mountains shall drop wine, and the hills shall melt; and I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.”1 For “ the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give her dew: and I will cause the remnant of the people^” both Jewish and Gentile, “ to possess all these things.”8 ' And, finally. The earth and its surrounding atmosphere or heaven being thus restored to their original salubrity and fruitfulness, the prophet Ezekiel declares that “ the people shall say, This land that was desolate, is become the garden of Eden, and the desert like the garden of the Lord: joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”3 Thus much then in reference to the state or condition of the earth and heavens as adapted to the millennial era, produced, as we have seen, by a class of physical agencies, neither of which involves the impossibility of man’s occupancy of the earth during their respective processes. Let us now proceed, therefore, to compare, Second, “the new heavens and new earth” in the prophecy of Isaiah lxv. 17 and lxvl 22, with that of St. John, Rev. xxi. 1-5. Now, it is by confounding these passages, as though they referred to one and the same state or condition of the earth during the millennial era, that has betrayed those writers already alluded to, into the adoption of the false theory, that the universal conflagration of the earth is pre millennial. Doubtless, St. Peter’s words, 2 Pet. iii. 13, “ We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness,” refer to the prophecies of Isaiah as above, they being the only passages in the Old Testament where such a “ promise ” is recorded. But, a due examination of the passages in Isaiah will show, that his statements of “ the new heavens and new earth which God will create,” are accompanied with circumstances furnishing unquestionable evidence that he refers, not to the everlasting state, but to the millennial era. In other words, that “ the new heavens and earth ” of which he speaks, as a matter of “ promise,” are typical of, or bear a resemblance to, those of St. Peter and i Amos lx. 13,14. * Zech. vili. 12. * Elek. xxxvi. 35 and lea. 11.8. ‘214 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. St. John. Hence his expository addition of their meaning in chap, lxv; 1”8: u But he glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” The evident meaning here is, that the physical constitution of the earth and the moral condition of its inhabitants will both have undergone such a “ renovation,” that, compared with the “ former ” state of things under the curse of sin, “ they will not be remembered nor come into mind.” This is further evident from chap. Ixvi. 22-24 : “ For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another ”—agreeably to the covenant made with N*ah—“ shall all flesh come and worship before mey saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the car* casses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” Circumstances these, I repeat, totally incompatible with the “ new heavens and new earth” state of St. Peter and St. John. For, then, the Noahio covenant with creation will have expired. Then, “ the city shall have no need of the sun, neither of the moron, to shine in it: for. the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the light thereof. And the nations of the saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings do bring their glory and honor into it” etc.1 Nor this only. For, as the millennial heavens and earth, glorious as they will be, shall have “ fled away,” so that “ no place shall be found for them”2—in others words, like a “changed vesture” shall disappear to be no more seen—so, “ God shall then wipe away all tears from all eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former thmgsfl that is, as they were either before or during the millennial era, “ shall have passed away”* To conclude# The agency to be employed in effecting this last act of almighty power in the regenerating of the heavens and the earth, viz., “ fire,” will he found to differ both in nature and extent^ compared with the other. St. Peter, speaking of the pro· cess by which this work shall be consummated, says: “ The hear vens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 1 Rev. xxl. 28, 24. 9 lb. xx. It 3 See Note B. THE LAST CONFLAGRATION POST-MILLENNIAL. 215 melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.” (2 Pet. iii. 10.) Now, if it be asked, “ How this mighty work is to be effected ? ” we answer, by the /xwtf-millennial universal conflagration. If it be again demanded, “ But how is the conflagration to take place?” we answer: that it will be under those same general laws of nature, by which they were first created and destroyed by water. By this we do not mean a natural, in the sense of an atheistic, stoical fatality. No. The causes will be natural; but the application of them is from a Higher Hand. “ Fire ” is the standing agent in God’s hand, as we have seen, for the accomplishment of his purposes of vengeance on that world which, under every dispensation, has by sinful creaturehood been subjected to his just displeasure. A new occasion for the display of that vengeance will have been furnished by the />o^-inillenniiil “Gog and Magog” apostasy.1 And, the time—that is, at tfte close of the thousand-years “ day of the Lord ”—having at lengtli come, it will be found that there is no want of fuel to dissolve this mighty fabric! 1. Penetrate the bowels of the earth, and there behold the exhaustless stores of fossil coal See from this fact the evidence of the predisposition of the earth internally, thrqugh the medium of her long pent-up fires, to a conflagration, by the effects produced from its central candescent heat on matter which is combustible, and which seeks to disgorge its mass of burning lava by the creation of volcanic eruptions. In addition to this, behold, externally, scattered over all parts of the earth, and particulaly in the regions of the Mediterranean Sea, burning volcanic mountains—Mtm, Vesuvius, etc.; yea, and some, of which Hecla is the principal, even lying within the polar circle, in Iceland ! And to these agencies you may add those numerous lakes of pitch rnd brimstone, together with oily liquors dispersed in several parts of the earth (whence our modem wells of oil ?); and all its vegetable productions, as trees, and grass, and shrubs, and such like; which last, brought under the influence of drought^ immediately preceding this final catastrophe, will be rendered the more combustible. Then, also, we must not overlook the predicted earth-quakes, which are immediately to precede and prepare the way for the conflagration, by cracking, and rending, and tearing open 1 Rev. xx. 7-9. 216 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. its outer crust, that its flames may feed upon its inner vitals* Nor should we forget, in this connection, to add the agency of the angel hosts, of which those sent for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha may be viewed as a type. To all this, however, it is urged by some, that the immense body of water within, and the vast oceans on the surface of, the earth, form insuparable barriers to its destruction by “ fire.” To this it might be sufficient to reply: that we have God’s word for it, that the present earth and heavens are “ reserved unto fire, to be burned up.” But to this we add, by way of refutation of the above cavil, that water, being composed of two elements, oxygen and hydrogen, united by the laws of chemical affinity, it is only necessary to suspend these laws by the fiat of the Almighty, to render it the most powerful agent of either or all the others combined, to accomplish that end. It is the very nature of oxygen to promote combustion; in other words, to produce and support the element of “ fire : ” while the other constituent of water, viz., hydrogen, is the most combustible substance in nature: We repeat, therefore, divorce those chemical laws which unite them in an aqueous state, and the vast bodies of water both inside and outside the earth, would at once become a source of combustion commensurate with their extent. Nor must I here omit, in conclusion, to add, that Mr. Boyle, one of the most profound and judicious naturalists in the scientific world, declares, on the authority of an experiment made by himself, that water is ultimately convertible into oil and into . . ♦ “ FIRE.” Thus, then, we submit—The objection of the ^o^-millennialist to the second personal coming of Christ as jtwe-millennial, as founded upon the erroneous hypothesis that the final conflagration of the earth is jtwe-millennial, is fully met and answered by the evidence above adduced, in proof that that event is post-millennial. One of two alternatives, therefore, is left to him. Either, first, to refute our arguments showing the marked distinction between the “ new heavens and earth” state of Isaiah during the Millennial Era,as contrasted with the eternal “New heavens and earth” state of St. Peter and St. John; or, second, to admit the compatibility of the second personal coming of Christ as jpre-mil-lennial, with those physical and moral changes that are to trana* pire “ at his coming.” PART III. An Examination of the Question— Will the Second Coming of Christ, as an event stiU future, consist of an AUegoncal or Spiritual Coming, or will it he literally a Corporeal or Personal Coming; and will it he Pre- or Post-Millennial?—Scripts rally and Philosophically Considered. Having thus disposed of the question, Is the universal conflagration of the earth pre- or post-millennial? we now resume the discussion of this fourth theory in connection with the THIRD THESIS. THIS THESIS ALLEGES THAT, AS THE IDEA OF A KINGDOM INVOLVES THE PRESENCE AND REIGN OF A KING ; SO, THROUGHOUT THE PROLONGED PERIOD OF “THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES,” ONWARD TO THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM, IT INSISTS THAT CHRIST HAS REIGNED, AND WILL CONTINUE TO REIGN OVER THIS KINGDOM OR CHURCH AFTER AN IN VISIBLE OR SPIRITUAL MANNER. Before going on, it may be well briefly to recapitulate the ground over which we have already passed. We have presented to the reader in Part L an abstract scriptural view of the second coming of Christ, in its doctrinal and practical aspects. In Part Π. we have considered the question: Is the second personal coming of Christ an event past or future? We have examined at length the four popular theories respecting it, namely: L That which alleges that all the prophecies wmch point to that event, in its relation to and connection with the two houses 218 SECOND COMING Bom. viii. 7. •John 1.11. THE CHUBCH AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST NOT IDENTICAL. 221 kingdom of God,” or the Church, is a spiritual establishment· And this on the ground, that our blessed Lord declared to the unbelieving Jewish nation that “the kingdom of God should be taken from them, and be given to a people ” (the Gentiles) who should “bring forth the fruits thereof.”1 Also that St. Paul said to them, “ Seeing ye put these things from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” * The objection amounts, in other words, to the assertion, “ that Christ is now reigning as king in His own proper kingdom; and that this kingdom formally commenced on His ascension to the right hand of God, and that it will continue unchanged, both in character and form, till the end of the millennial age.” In support of this theory, we are reminded that Christ and his apostles spoke of the “ kingdom of God ” or of “ heaven ” as at hand; as about to be established, etc.; and that the apostles, immediately after Christ’s ascension, represent it as actually set up, etc. A formidable array of objections these, to the views we have advocated of “ the kingdom of heaven ” as still future l The importance of the subject will require an examination into the import of the principal passages resorted to by our opponents in the support of their theory. And here permit me to explain, in the outset, that we by no means object to the sentiment so generally expressed, so to speak, in the sermons and psalmody throughout Christendom, that “ Christ reigns in the hearts of his believing people.” Undoubtedly He does ; but the figurative use of the word “ reign,” in such an application of it as this, is no authority for displacing the true, scriptural doctrine of Christ’s kingdom, as contradis* tinguished from that church state under this dispensation, into which the predestined subjects of it are “ gathered out of (or from among) the Gentiles,” and prepared spiritually for their final admission into it as future. Hence, the present church state is called in the New Testament “the kingdom of heaven in mystery ·” that is, it is that period during which God by his Spirit effectually calls, and enlightens, and regenerates, and justifies, and sanctifies his chosen people, in order to render them mete for their ultimate introduction into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus * 1 Matt xzL 43. 9 Acte xlii. 46. 222 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Christ, at its manifestation. Thus St. Paul: “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. . . . And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” 1 This, of itself, might be taken as decisive of the point at issue; for it teaches us, that it is only in resurrection, that the Church is to be admitted to the possession of the kingdom. No, it is not Christ personally, but it is the Divine Paraclete, the “ Comforter,” the Holy Spirit, dispensed by Him to the Church on the day of Pentecost, who now “ reigns ” in the hearts of believers. Christ is now personally absent from the Church; nor, until He “ comes again ” according to His promise to receive her to himself, can He “ reign ” over her in His kingdom. A due examination into the import of the passages already alluded to, will be found to confirm this view. 1. The first passage alleged in proof that the Church in its present state constitutes the spiritual kingdom over which Christ is said to “ reign,” is the following, John xviii. 36: “ My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews : but now is my kingdom not from hence.” The difficulty in understanding this passage lies in the Greek words κοσμος (world) and wv (now). The κοσ/ios (world) here, evidently means the aggregate population of the earth. But, there is another Greek word mistranslated “ world,” viz., αιών, in the passage, “ Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the (αιώνοξ) world” It should have been age or dispensation. Thus, κοσ/Αο9 refers to the people ; αίώνος, to the age, or period of time, when the people lived. The passage in question was Christ’s reply to Pilate, u Art thou the king of the Jews ?” And when our Lord said, “ My kingdom is not of this world,” and also added, “ but (νυν) now is my kingdom not from hence; ” and Pilate a^ked him the second time, “ Art thou a king, then ? ” Jesus answered him, Thou sayest that I am a king;” that is, it is so; lam a king: “ to this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the (κοσμοή world,” etc., i. e.,to the Jewish and Gentile world, “ that I should bear witness unto the truth.” And, for this reason, as Peter and John declared, “ both Herod and Pontius 1 Rom. vilL 28. THE CHUECH AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST NOT IDENTICAL. 223 Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel,”1 conspired to put him to death. Proof this, that “ His kingdom was not of this world,”—not only, that is, it is not composed of men (the collective body of mankind) now dwelling on the earth; for if this were so, “ then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews;” but, as MHy kingdom is not ( νυν) now from hence,”—that is, does not now take its commencement (ivrev0ev) from hence, or from this point of time, it is still future. In a word, it is as though Christ had said to Pilate, “ My kingdom is not” of the “generation of vipers,” Jewish and Gentile, of this age: nevertheless, though not of this κοσμος, it will be on this earth, agreeably to the declaration of Daniel, chap. vii. 27, that the kingdom of Messiah, when “ set up,” * will be “ under the whole heaven/” and also of St. John, Rev. xi. 15, that the king* doms of this (κοσ/m) world are (or will) become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.” We pass to another passage: 2. “ The kingdom of God is within you?8 Positive evidence this, it is alleged, that Christ’s spintual kingdom, the Church, then existed; or how could it be said to have been “ within ” those whom he addressed? But who, pray, were these? Not his disciples, but the Pharisees.4 And was it “ within ” them, suppose you, that this spiritual kingdom was set up? Nor this only. For, if this be so, then it follows, that Joseph of Arimathea, who Was at this very time “ waiting for the kingdom of God,”6 was without this inward grace! To escape this dilemma, several tminent writers · render evros υμών, not within, but among you. But, that our Lord was not speaking of his kingdom as then present, but future, is evident from the fact that he here speaks of two events which must take place before his kingdom could be established. The first was, that he must “ suffer many things, and be refected of that generation; ”7 and the second, that His future personal advent would be preceded, “ not with observation,” or that fixed, attentive, and prolonged expectation of a coming event of which we know nothing as to either how or where," whether at Bethlehem, Jerusalem, or Galilee; but, “as the lightning that lighteneth out of one part under heaven shineth unto another part under heaven, so should the coming of 1 Acte iv. 27. 9 Dan. ii. 1 Luke xvil. 21. * lb. verses 20,21 * Mark xv. 43. · Beza, Grottos, Doddridge, Whitby, Macknlght, and a host of others, 7 Compare Luke xvil 26 with chap. xv. 43. 6 See Luke xvil. 21-28. # m SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. the Son of Man be.” 1 That is, it shall be both instantaneous and irresistible. Then, in the next place, 3. We are referred to that class of passages which speak oi Christ’s kingdom as “ nigh at hand”—u even at the doors”3 etc. Granted. But this is equally true of other events, e. g., “ The Lord is at hand ”8—“ The coming of the Lord draweth nigh ”4— “The end of all things is at hand,”6 etc., which all Christians admit and know are still future. And, as there can be no king* dom without a king, it follows, that as Christ has not yet re-turned, “ the kingdom” has not yet been “set up” 4. But, we are also reminded of other passages which speak of Christ’s kingdom, as about to be established, that is, during the apostolic age. Such as, The declaration of the angel to Mary: “And the Lord God shall give unto Him (Christ) the throne of His father David,” etc. To this we reply, first, that the above angelic prophecy illy applies to the popular notion of Christ’s kingdom as being spiritual; for, during the time of Christ and his apostles, the Davidio throne was a delegated earthly monarchy. Besides, it had been, and was then, utterly supplanted by the Roman Caesars. But second, Jehovah had made oath to David, that He would raise up his seed after him, that is, Messiah, to sit upon his throne, which should be established forevermore.7 Hence David, being a prophet, in view of the oath made to him, “that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, God would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he spake of the resurrection of Christ,”8 etc. But third, the Davidic throne as above was not restored immediately after the resurrection. For Christ, after forty days, ascended to heaven, and sat down on His Father's throne,9 whither “ David is not yet ascended.”10 No, brethren, David’s throne is still “fallen down;”11 nor will it be reerected, until Christ returns from heaven, wearing His “ many crowns.”13 5. Another alleged passage to the same end, is that wherein Christ says to his disciples, “There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.” This, our opponents aflSrm, was verified by the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the assembled disciples on » Luke xvti. 24. a Matt. ill. 2, it. 17, x. 7; and Mark 1.16; Matt. xxiv. 38. ■ Phil iv. 6. * Jamee v. 8. · 1 Pet. iv. 7. « Luke i. 32, 33. » UJhron. xvii. 11-16. · Acte 1L 80,31. · Rev. HI. 21. >· Acte ii. 84» u Amoe ix. 11; Acte xv. 16. 11 Rev. xlx. 12. THE8E TWO ERAS NOT IDENTICAL. 225 the day of Pentecost,1 when, they say, the spiritual “ kingdom of Christ,” or the Church, was established. Again we repeat: No, brethren, the Church existed before. That event was a fulfilment of the promise of Christ to his disconsolate disciples when He was about to leave them: “I will send you another comforter.... even the Spirit of /ruth,”8 etc. And this, in accordance with the prophecy of Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh . . . and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and terrible day of the Lord come,” * etc. But, surely, these latter “ wonders ” and “ signs ” did not transpire at the time of the effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. For, that effiision of the Spirit did not descend upon “ all flesh ” at that time. It was confined to the apostles and disciples, and on those believers upon whom they conferred it. That, therefore, was but an inchoate or first fulfilment of the prophecy of JoeL Hence the true and only consistent meaning of this passage. It refers to a visible earnest and specimen of the kingdom of heaven as yet future. Accordingly, three of the Evangelists who record it, speak of it in immediate connection with the account given, that eight days after this saying, “ Jesus took Peter, James, and John into a mountain apart, and was transfigured before them,” etc., together with the appearance to them of Moses and Elias talking with him.4 Here we have a complete pattern of the coming kingdom. Christ, transfigured in His glorified humanity, together with Moses as the representative of the raised dead in Christ, and Elias of the living saints who shall be changed and glorified at His second appearing.6 And, what is decisive of this matter is, that St. Peter, who was one of the three, calls this very transaction “ the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; ” that is, it was an earnest or pattern of His final coming, the “ majesty ” of which, he says, he was an “ eye-witness of, when he was with Him in the mount?e We pass to another passage. 6. It occurs in connection with the institution of the last supper, when our Lord said, “ I will no more eat thereof, until it is 1 Acte il. 1-4. * John xiv. 1-4, and verses 16,17. « Acts il. 16-20. 4 Compare Matt. xvi. 27, 28, with xvil. 1-3 j Luke ix. 27 with v. 28; Mark ix. 1 with v. % • 1 These, iv. 13-18. · 2 Pet. L 13-18. 15 226 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. fulfilled in the kingdom of God; ” and also, “ I will · not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come”1 These passages, it is alleged, prove that the spiritual kingdom of God was about to be established in the time of Christ. But, surely, such expositors must have overlooked several important facts in this connection, the first of which is, the design of the institution of the Christian “ passover,” or last supper, as set forth by St. Paul, which was, that it was to be a standing memorial of Christ’s passion, while personally absent from the Church. Hence the command: “ Do this in remembrance of me. . . . For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come” * A second fact overlooked by them is this, viz., that at the institution of the last supper, Jesus said to His disciples, “ I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” * And when, pray, is that to be ? The answer is, not until the twelve apostles shall be admitted to “ eat and drink at Christ’s table in His kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”4 Tea, more. Not until the “many” besides them shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven”1 I repeat: then, and not until then, will Christ celebrate His “pass-over ” anew with His chosen followers. For, then “ the tabernacle of God shall he with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people.”8 We now pass to a number of passages which are alleged to speak of the kingdom of heaven as already set up. For example, those words of Christ: Ϋ. “If I cast out devils” (demons) “by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”7 All that is necessary to say by way of reply, is this: these words were spoken in the very same year in which the kingdom of God was declared to be “ nigh,” as “ at hand,” and “ even at the doors,” etc.; and also about the time when the disciples were taught to pray, “ Thy kingdom come ; ”8 which shows it to have been still future. Nor was this prayer answered by the setting up of the kingdom at any time before the crucifixion; nay, nor after the resurrection. For, to the question of the disciples to the risen Saviour, “ Lord, wilt 1 Luke xxii. Ιδ-18. * 1 Cor. xi. 23-26. Bee also Luke xxli. 19, 20; Matt. xxvi. 26-28 ,· Mark xiv. 22-24. * M6tt. xxvl. 29, « Luke xxii. 28-30. * Rev. xxL 3. • Rev. xxL 3. 1 Matt. xii. 28. « Matt. vi. 10. THESE TNVO ERAS NOT IDENTICAL. 227 thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said unto them,”—not, mark, the kingdom never will be restored thus, but —44 it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.”1 Clearly, therefore, this passage must he understood of that dispensation—44 the kingdom of God in mystery ”—which is to prepare the way for its final establishment. Another passage: 8. 44 The Sqn of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things which offend, and which do iniquity.” 9 Ergo, it is affirmed, this must refer to the veritable “kingdom of God,” or the Christian Church. We reply: this passage occurs in the parable of the sower and the seed. It is here to be specially borne in mind, (see the 36th to the 40th verses of this chapter), that our Lord interprets all the parts of this parable. 44 The field ” in which the seed, good and bad, is 44 sown,” He tells us, 44 is the (κοσμ,οή Jtorld” That is, as we have already explained, the inhabitants dwelling on the garth during the dispensation of44 the kingdom of God ” in 44 mystery.” Accordingly, in this kingdom, while it lasts, 44 the good seed,” which denotes 44 the children of the kingdom,” and which was sown by44 the Son of Man; ” and 44 the tares,” which were sown by the44 enemy,” i. e., the 44 Devil,” and which denote 44 the children of the wicked one,” 44 both grow together until ”—when ? 44 untit the harvest,” which Christ interprets to mean 44the end of”—what? Now mark here. Not the end of the κοσνο? or world of mankind, as in verse 38, but the end of the αίωνος, i. e., the age or dispensation under and during which mankind have enjoyed the advantages of a preached gospel, as in verse 40. And now observe. The 44 harvest ” in this parable points us to that44 great day of the Lord,” called 44 the day of judgment.” But I pray you to mark here, that neither in this parable, nor in that of the ten talents, or ten pounds, or of the drag-net—all of which were given to illustrate the conduot of mankind during this dispensation in accepting or rejecting the gospel offers of mercy, together with the final separation between the two classes at the time of the 44 harvest,”—I repeat: I pray you to mark here, that not one w^rd is said about the resurrection· and judgment of the dead. True, a resurrection will have taken place. But it will be confined to those who 44 have a part in the first resurrection /” * 1 Acte l 6-7. * Matt. xiii. 41. ■ Rev. xx. 1-5. 228 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. those who “ sleep in Christ,”1 and with whom will be united the changed and raptured saints, who were “ alive and remained unto the coming of the Lord.”9 But this event transpires prior to the visible appearance of Christ as Judge, with His angels, “at the time of the harvest.” The risen and glorified living saints, St. Paul tells us, “ will God bring with him ” * to this very “ harvest.” “ For, know ye not,” saith he, “ that the saints,” that is, as “joint-heirs with Christ,”4 “shaU judge the world? ” ® The inevitable conclusion, therefore^ is, that “ the harvest ” in this parable will consist of the judgment, not of the risen dead, but of the “ quick,” that is, of the living nations at the end of this αιώνος, age or dispensation. These will consist, first, of the eon· verted nations, both Jewish and Gentile, who, as the saved nations in the flesh, will be admitted to that restored “ dominion ”6 in the earth which was lost by the sin of the first Adam,1 now wrested forever from the hand of his “ serpent ” seducer by, and which thenceforward becomes “ the kingdom of the Son of Man ”8 under the whole heaven”9 The other will embrace the antichrist tian confederacy of the nations whom Christ will “ consume by the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 10 Yea, these are they who then “know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; ” and “ who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.”11 Thus, and in no other way, will be verified the “ gathering out of his kingdom of all things that offend, and that do iniquity.” There are several other passages to which we are referred, as alleged proofs of the same view with that affirmed of the one in this parable. These are: “ He that receiveth not the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein.” 18 Another: “ Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”18 And yet another, which speaks of our being “ delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.” 14 There are also a few more passages similar to these, e. g.: Matt. vi. 33; xi. 11; xiii. 11, and verses 24 to 41; 52; x-ix. 12; Luke xviii 29; 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10; xv. 24; Col. iv. 11; and James ii. 5. In view, however, of the expositions given 11 These, iv. 13-16. a Ih. veree 17. * lb. verse 14. 4 lb. verse 14. · Rom. vi. 2. • Mic. iv. 8. r Gen. iii. 22-24. 8 Col. i. la · Dan. vii. 27. >· 2 These, ii. 8. π 2 These, i. 7-fl. 13 Mark x. 15. »* John ill. 3,6. . 14 Col. i. 12, la THESE TWO ERAS NOT IDENTICAL. 229 of the preceding passages, demonstrative of the fallacy of the popular view, that “ the Church ” under this dispensation and “ the kingdom of God ” or “ of heaven ” are one and the same ; no further evidence is necessary to prove that the above passages are all susceptible of a similar interpretation than the following, than which it is not possible for language more clearly to set forth the distinction between the present Church state as “ the kingdom of God ”· in “ mystery,” as contrasted with the future “ kingdom of Christ ” in manifestation. Take these two passages from St. Paul and St. Peter, both of whom, it is presumed it will be allowed, were in a state of grace. St. Paul says: “ And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom.” 1 And St. Peter exhorts his brethren, thus: “ Wherefore the rather give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail: for so,” he adds, “ an entrance shall he administered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” * The sum of the matter, then, is this, to wit: that Christ is the divinely constituted “Head over all things to the Church, which is his body,”8 even that Church which had existed from the period of the first promise down to His day, and which still exists. But Christ was also born a king—“ the Kiitg of the Jews” He also declared Himself to be such before the bar of Pilate. He, however, was rejected as a king, and was finally crucified by the Jews and Gentiles. Ay, envy and malice laid Him in the sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea. But the third day He rises again. For what purpose ? Was it to set up His kingdom then? Nay, verily. But, like the exiled nobleman in the parable, who, having committed his ten pounds to his servants, accompanied with the command, “ Occupy till I come” “ took his journey into a far country, to receive a kingdom, and to return” at which time he called them to a reckoning: so the risen Christ. Having commissioned His apostles to go to all nations, and preach the gospel to every creature, as His “ witnesses,” and “ to take out of (or from among) the Gentiles a people for His name,” He ascended, as an exiled king, to the far-off heavens, there to await, at the hand of His Father, the investiture of His royal prerogatives, when He will return with, and set up, His own rightful kingdom, and call »2Tim. iv. is. *2Pet. L 10,11. > Eph. i. 22. 230 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. all His servants to a reckoning for the use or abuse of the talents committed to their keeping during His prolonged absence from them. We affirm, then, readers—and on this point we challenge refutation—that though Christ is styled “ the Head of the Church,” yet in the New Testament He is nowhere called the King of the Church. It is this circumstance, more than any other, that stamps the Church of Rome with the brand of an infinitely infamous apostasy, in that her long line of pretended popes claim to be the vicegerents of Christ in His Church as temporal sovereigns l If I am here reminded, however, that in Rev. xv. 3, Christ is styled “ the King of saints,” it is no exception. In the margin it reads, King of nations. But waiving this: “ King of saints” is not “king of the Church.” The Jews, before New Testament times, were called “ saints.”1 No. He is their King, and as such is ordained by the oath of God “ to sit on David’s throne.” And on this account it is, that He is styled “ the minister of the dr· cumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” But here arises a question, a proper answer to which is fundamental to a correct interpretation and application of that portion of the prophecies now before us. It is this: What is the position or relation of Israel and Judah to the Church of God under the Christian dispensation ? An answer to this question renders it necessary to remind you, First. That while the Messiah, Jesus, as “ the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God,” was the foundation, not only, but the surety and pledge given to the lineal multitudinous seed of Abraham, to “ confirm the promises made to their fathers; ” God the Father, as the Author and Rectoral Head of that covenant, united Himself to Israel as her husband. This is evident from the following: “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.”8 For, saith He, “ I am married unto you.”8 But, as we have seen, when Israel forsook the Lord, and provoked the Divine jealousy by her idolatrous practices, the two names, Lo-ruhamma and Lo-Ammi,4 were applied to her. That is, the » Dan. vii. 2L * Jer. 11.2. » lb. ill. 14. « Hosea i. THESE TWO EE AS NOT IDENTICAL. 231 Jehovah of Hosts as her husband, put her away, by removing her out of Ilis sight. In other word#, she was divorced from Him. The same holds true of Judah, who, on account of their “unbelief,” as “ the natural branches,” were broken off “ from the good olive-tree.” 1 We have showed you, however, that this act of divorcement against Israel and Judah was not to be perpetual. For God, by the prophet Hosea, says: “ And it shall come to pass in that day” that is, the day of their restoration, etc., “ saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi” (my husband); “and thou shalt no more call me Baali ” (my lord). Yea, saith He, then “ will I betroth thee unto me forever: yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies.”a But, brethren, this is not all. “ The King’s Son,” the Lord Jesus Christ, must have His bride also. Hence it has transpired that as the literal Israel, to whom the invitation to the marriage feast of the King’s Son was first given, “ all with one consent began to make excuse,” and, upon being further urged, finally “refused to come;” the King-Father, in His “wrath,” “said to His servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy” And then was straightway issued the command : “ Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.” And the result was, that “ the wedding was furnished with guests.”3 Now, collateral with this, is St. Paul’s address to the unbelieving Jewish commonwealth: “ Seeing ye put these things from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, ίο, we turn to the Gentiles” Yes. Thus the Jewish nation, for the time, was set aside. That is, she was divorced from her former relation to “the King” as her husband. Not that the Jews were to be totally excluded from the privileges of the gospel under this dispensation. For, from the time of St. Paul down to the present day, they have lived in the midst of it, and, in common with the Gentile nations, it has been offered to them. So that, in their position or relation to the Church state under this economy, “ Whether Jew or Greek, barbarian or Scythian, bond or free, they are all one in Christ.”4 But, what is to be specially noted in this connection, is, the design of this arrangement, according to that “ eternal purpose 1 Rom. xi. 20. 8 Hosea it 19, 20. * Matt xxii. 1-10. * CoL iiL 1L 232 SECOND COMING OF CHE 1ST. which God purposed in Christ Jesus.”1 “ Simeon ” stated this when he “ declared how that God did at the first visit the Gentiles, to take out of” (or from among) u them, a people for His name” * Now these, collectively, constitute that “ holy nation, and royal priesthood, and peculiar people,” 3 who shall finally be presented unto the King-Father’s “ Son,” as His elect or redeemed “ bride,” “the Lamb’s wife.” 4 And the marriage nuptials shall be celebrated when the “ five wise virgins,” who denote her, shall hear the “midnight cry, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.” Having, therefore, in the preceding section, demonstrated, as we deferentially claim, first, the fallacy of the theory that the phrases, “ the kingdom of God,” “ the kingdom of heaven,” “ the kingdom of the Son of Man,” etc., are identical with the Christian Church and the millennial era; and, second, having proved that the second coming of Christ, when it does take place, will be a literally personal and not a spiritual coming; we now proceed to a like direct argument, under SECTION II., DEMONSTRATIVE, THAT THERE IS TO BE NO INTERVENING MILLENNIUM BETWEEN THE SECOND PERSONAL COMING OF CHRIST AND THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. IN OTHER WORDS, THAT THAT EVENT, WHEN IT DOES TAKE PLACE, WILL BE PRE- AND NOT POST-MILLENNIAL. We shall divide this section into two parts. PART i. Direct Scriptural and Historical Proof that there is to be no Intervening Millennium between the Second Personal Coming of Christ and the Day of Judgment. This point, however conclusive as a matter of inference—as derived from the facts and arguments adduced in refutation of the several theories already examined in opposition to it—we now proceed, by a direct scriptural argument, to demonstrate,—that the second personal coming of Christ, when it does take place, will be /^-millennial. We flatter ourself that, with those who receive the teachings of Holy Scripture as authoritative on the subject, first, of the 1 Eph. ill. 1L * Acte. xy. 14. «lPetiLO. * Rev. xxt. 9. PROOF THAT IT IS PRE-MILLENNIAL. 233 abstract doctrine of the second personal coming of Christ; second, of the fact that that event is yet future ; and, third, of the mode or form in which it is to take place, etc.; will conclude with us, that it is “ not following cunningly devised fables ” to tax their further indulgence, while we proceed, on the same authority, to place this matter beyond the reach of further controversy. Indeed, when we take into account the infinitely momentous interests at stake in this issue, in reference alike to the Church of God, to the nations of the earth, and to every living soul, all must unite, as with one voice, in condemnation of the thought that it is a matter of indifference, whether this august event transpires within ten, or twenty, or fifteen hundred years! We proceed, therefore, to a demonstration of this point on its abstract merits, our first argument being predicated of that notable prophecy of Daniel, chapter ii. 44, 45 : “ In the days of these kings, shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and co?v· mme all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou (i. e., Nebuchadnezzar) sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, 'and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the Great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” In order to a proper understanding of this prophecy, we must here premise, I. That this vision of the colossal metallic image, taken in connection with Daniel’s interpretation of it, spans the entire period called in the New Testament, “the times of the Gentiles.” 1 This period, as was shown in a previous part of this work,* commenced with the loss to the Jewish nation of her independence under Manasseh, king of Judah, in a. m. 3480, b. c. 652, and that it ends in A. d. 1868, embracing the whole interval . denoted by the mystical “ seven times ” of Lev. xxvi. and Dan. iv. With these also synchronizes the vision of Daniel’s four rampant beasts, chapter vii. 1-8. We observe in the next place, IL That Daniel’s interpretation of this vision teaches us to look for the final and total extermination of all earth-born monarchies, and the restoration of that theocracy under which the 1 Luke xxl. 24; Rom. xl. 25. 9 See pages 185,186. 234 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Jewish nation was placed prior to the period of Saul. Yes; notwithstanding the enormity of their sin in casting off that government ; and though they were destined, as the just punishment of their iniquity, to be subjected to a long period of the most cruel oppressions at* the hands of those earth-born monarchies whose rival national polity to the government of God they had adopted under Saul, yet their covenant God gives them the assurance, “ For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake; because it hath pleased the Lord to make them his people.” 1 Hence, in vindicating them against the “ rod ” of their oppressors, He declares, that, when “ the Desire of nations,” i. e., the Messianic “ stone,” “ shall come” He will “ destroy ” all those nations by whom, from generation to generation, they have been “ scattered and peeled,” reproached and oppressed. For, “ Thus saith the Lord, To Jacob whom I have chosen, and Israel my servant, I will surely make a full end of all nations whither I have driven thee; . . . I will make1 Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all nations that are round about; and on that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all nations, and they shall be cut in pieces and broken, though all the people of the earth be gathered together.” 2 But you will ask, Wherefore this f The answer is, because, subsequently to their abjuration of their original theocracy under Saul, who was anointed with oil out of a vial, to indicate the instability and short-lived tenure of the kingdom of Israel during his administration, God was graciously pleased to establish the per· petuity of the Israelic throne in the person of their second king, David, who was anointed with oil out of a “horn” 8 the tenor of the covenant with whom was, that out “ of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, God would raise up Christ to sit on his throne”4 1. To return now to the prophecy under consideration. The four metallic compartments of the colossal image—the gold, the silver, the brass, and the iron mingled with clay; together with the four corresponding wild beasts of Daniel—the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the nondescript monster; taken in connection with the two little horns, and the ram and he-goat of chapters vii. and viii., symbolize the four great Gentile monarchies that were to bear rule in the earth during “ the times of the Gen- 11 Sam. xii. 22. * Zed). xil. 3. a 1 Sam. xvi. L 4 Acte ii. 80. See also Psalm ii. PROOF THAT IT 18 PRE-M1LLENNIAL. 235 tiles,” viz., the Babylonian, Medo-Persian^ Grecian,, and Roman: setting forth also, in reference to this last-named power (the Roman), the division of that empire into east and west, as denoted by the two iron legs of the image; and its subdivision into ten principalities, as symbolized by the ten toes of the image and the ten horns of the nondescript beast; while, on the other hand, “ the little horn ” of chap. vii. 8 represents the papal power, and that of chap. viii. 8-12 the Mohammedan imposture. In the next place, 2. The prophecy points out the destruction of these four Gen- tile monarchies, together with all those anti-Christian powers emanating from them, by a certain irresistible agent, called “ a stone cut out of the mountain without hands,” etc. And, in the last place, / 3. The period^ when these four monarchies with their dependencies shall be destroyed, is explicitly signified. It is to take place “ in the last days of these kings f during the last stage of their existence. The “ stone ” smites the image, not on the head of gold, but on the feet of iron and clay. Hence we find, that in the Bible, as comprehending the Old and New Testaments, we are furnished with a prophetic account of the origin, the career, and final destiny of all the nations of earth, heathen, Jewish, anti-Christian, and Mohammedan, not only, but of their political and ecclesiastical constitutions, whether autocratic, despotic, monarchical, or democratic ; or whether idolatrous, Papal, Mohammedan, Judaic, or Protestant. It has been well said by the learned Bossuet and Bishop Por-teus, that these above-named four monarchies “form, as it were, one vast map of Providential administration, delineated on so large a scale, and marked with such legible characters, that it cannot possibly escape our observation; ” and that “ this map has been held up before the eyes of all nations for the space of nearly 3000 years, to confront the feeble cavils of atheism, and to confirm the scriptural doctrine of a national Providence.” Ay, however we may have overlooked this fact, in the Bible is to be found the most extensive and complete system of political economy of which the world can boast! It is not our purpose, however, to enter into an application of the above prophetico-symbolic imagery denotive of the rise, etc., of these four monarchies, in detail It must suffice to observe, 236 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. that the first three of them, viz., the Assyrio-Babylonian, Medo· Persiao, and Grecian, are specifically designated in Scripture, as haying followed in the order of succession symbolized by the gold, silver, and brass, and by the lion, bear, and leopard, of the two visions of Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. With the simple remark, therefore, that the term “ king and kingdom ” are used interchangeably to denote the same thing,11 observe, That it is evident from Dan. i. 1, that the first empire, of which Nebuchadnezzar was “ king,” was the Babylonian ; that is, he as its sovereign, with unlimited autocratical power, was considered as representing in his person the kingdom of Babylon. The same holds true of the second, the Medo-Persian. By comparing Dan. v.-l, 2, and verses 28, 30, 31, with chap. vi. 1, it will be seen that Belshazzar, the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar, was king. Now, to this king it was, that the prophet, in interpreting the mysterious handwriting on the wall of his palace, said, “ God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it; ” and, “ thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians,” etc. (See also Dan. viii. 20.) So also of the third, the Grecian. “ The he-goat ” of Dan. viii. 5, 8, 21, the prophet tells us, “ is the king of Grecia, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king,” etc., i. e., Alexander. And, in regard to the fourth, or Roman empire, though it is not specially designated by name in either of the above visions, yet that it was that which immediately succeeded to the Grecian, is evident from the chronology of the rise and fall of the first three empires. The Babylonian existed from b. c. 612 to 538, a period of 74 years; the Medo-Persian, from b. c. 538 to 331, a period of 207 years; and the Grecian, from b. c. 331 to 168, a period of 163 years. Now,-at this last-named date, viz., b. c. 168, the Roman empire (as every schoolboy knows), which was founded by Romulus B. c. 753, came to maturity, and that the last stroke in its course of conquests consisted of its subversion of Egypt, as the last of the four divisions of the empire of Alexander, as symbolized by the four-headed leopard * of Dan. vii. 6, and the “ breaking of the 1 For example, compare chap. i. 1 and ii. 37, 38, with verse 39: “ After thee {King Nebuchadnezzar) shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee,” etc. * At the division of the empire of Alexander, as denoted by the four heads of the leopard, it was parcelled out among his four generals thus : Caeeander reigned over Mace-don, Greece, and Epyrus; Lysimachus over Thrace tfnd Bythinia; Seleucue over Syria; and Ptolemy over Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Coelo-Syria, and Palestine. PROOF THAT IT 18 FEE-MILLENNIAL. 237 great horn,” in the place of which there “ came up four notable horns,” chap. viii. 8. But further evidence of this fact will appear from the following : First, that both Caesar and Augustus were titles of the Roman emperors; second, that Judea, being tributary to the prefecture of Syria when Christ was upon earth, the chief priests declared, “We have no king but Ccesary”1 third, that our blessed Lord himself enforced upon all the injunction, “ Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's”9 etc.; and finally, fourth, that the chief priests and Pharisees, apprehending the powerful influence which might accrue to Christ from the miracles wrought by Him before the people, said, “ If we let Him alone, all men will believe on Him: and the Romans shall come, and take away both our place and nation.” I would only add on this subject, (1.) That the ten toes of the metallic image, and the ten horns of the fourth or nondescript monster, denoted the subdivision of the Roman empire into ten kingdoms, which was verified by the eruption of the Gothic and other barbarous tribes from the north into the western branch of the empire, and its final division into the various principalities of modern Europe. Nor is the matter of determining which are the ten kingdoms represented by these symbols, one of mere conjecture. The principle of territorial division—a principle adopted by Sir Isaac Newton, and sanctioned by all the most distinguished interpreters of prophecy of the present day—will be found to mark them out with almost infallible certainty. The boundaries of the western empire at the time of which we now speak, namely, in a. d. 532, were as follows: It extended toward the west as far as Britain, which was included in it; toward the south to the Mediterranean; northward as far as the Danube and the Rhine; and eastward to the limits of the German empire. To these limits, therefore, we are to look for the ten kingdoms or subdivisions of this once mighty empire. And there, accordingly, we find them. They are as follows: 1st, Lombardy , the seat of a powerful kingdom; 2d, Ravenna, the seat of the exarch, who reigned over a great part of Italy; 3d, the State of Rome, the seat of the empire. To these are added, 4th, Naples, and 5th, Tuscany, forming a division of Italy into five 1 John xlx. 16. * Matt. xxli. 2L 238 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. parts. The other five kingdoms are, 6th, France ; 7th, Austria j 8th, Spain · 9th, Portugal; and 10th, Great Britain. (2.) N ow, as there are no other ten kingdoms that can be named on this principle of a territorial division within the limits of the Roman empire, we may conclude with certainty that the above are the identical kingdoms, whose destinies are involved in the prophetic dream· of Nebuchadnezzar, and the corresponding vision of Daniel. But, (2.) The “ little horn ” of Dan. vii. 8, 20, 21, 25, etc., all Protestant expositors admit, symbolizes the ecclesiastical and eccle-siastico-political power of the Papacy. And, (3.) The “ little horn ” of Dan. viii. 9-25, which sprang out of one of the four notable horns of Daniel’s he-goat, from the description given of him, evidently denotes a power entirely separate and distinct from the “little horn” of chap. vii. 8. This will appear from the fact (without entering further into details) that the time of the appearance of the power represented by this “ horn,” was to be “ in the latter ” period of the “ kingdom ” of one of the “four notable horns” of Alexander’s divided empire. Whereas, the other “little horn came up among the ten horns” of Daniel’s fourth or nondescript beast. Suffice it to say, that this last “ little horn” arose out of the Arabian branch of Ptolemy’s kingdom, that province having fallen to him by the previous conquests and union of the Arab tribes under Alexander; and, that it refers to none other than the great Mohammedan power, Yemen being the birthplace of the notorious Islam Impostor. For, though at that time it was a province of the Persian empire, yet it subsequently formed his own more distant Arab territory, from which, according to the prophet Daniel, was seen to issue those hordes of northern and northwestern Saracens—the “little horn” of Islamism—which finally “waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land,” i. e., Palestine. Again: (4.) The career of the Papal “ little horn” of Dan. vii. 8, 20, 21, 25, was to prepare the way for the introduction upon the prophetical platform of another power, viz., Daniel’s “wilful king,” chap. xi. 3, 4, 35-39. The papal “little horn,” though he was to have “ a mouth speaking great things,” chap. vii. 8, and was to “ speak great words against the Most High,” etc., verse 25; yet this “wilful king” is to “exalt himself, and magnify PROOF THAT IT IS PRE-MILLENNIAL. 239 himself above every god” i. e., the true God as well as the false, and is to “ speak marvellous things against the God of gods” and is to “prosper till the indignation be accomplished” etc. Now, though the Papacy be an antichrist, yet he has never reached this excess of abomination. This “wilful king,” therefore, can be none other than St. Paul’s “ wicked,” or “ the man of sin and son of perdition,” or in other words, the last antichrist, whose coming (παρουσία) is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; ” and “ who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” Now, if we except the “ little horn” of the Papacy, Dan. vii 8, 20, 21, 25 ; and the “little horn” of Dan. viii. 9-25, the symbol of the Turco-Ottoman power of Islamism, and which, at the last end of the indignation, “ is to be broken without hand by the Prince of princes,” (see Dan. viii. 19,25), and whose destruction is to immediately precede that of the others; we have in the prophecy before us, the four monarchies denoted by the four metallic components of the image which is to be smitten by “ the stone cut out of the mountain without hands,” “m the days of these kings.” Now, then, comes to be considered the point of principal interest in this discussion. Our text declares the total destruction of these four gigantic monarchies and their ten subdivisions, by the power of the Messianic stone, “in the days of these kings,” etc. If, therefore, the mission of the Messianic stone, or the second coming of Christ, as we have already proved, is still future, it follows that at the time of that mission, all these four monarchies and their ten kingdoms must occupy their places on the platform of the prophetic earth. Otherwise, there is swept away the entire fabric of the prophetic word, and Christianity is left without a shield of defence against the bold and blasphemous taunt of the infidel: “ Where is the promise of His coming ? ” The question then is, Do these four monarchies still exist f Some affirm that they do not: that they have, one and all, long since passed away, leaving nought behind them but the historic records of their former power, magnificence, and territorial extent. Is this so f So far from it, “ the sacred calendar and great almanao 240 SECOND COMING OF CIIRIST. of prophecy ” represent them as extending from the beginning of the captivity of Israel under Tiglath-Pilezer,1 a. m. 3263, “until the mystery of God shall be finishedwhen “the kingdoms of this world,” by the direct agency of the Messianic stone in their complete overthrow, “shall have become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.”a As I would not, however, even seem to palm upon the reader my ipse dixit as authority in so important a matter, I respectfully submit the following as a solution of the difficulty in these premises. Originally, the first of the above-named monarchies in its geographical territory, population, and government, was Babylonish. Under the second dynasty, the territory and population of Medo-Persia were annexed, and the government of the two made Medo-Persian. Under the third, in like manner, the territory and population of Greece were annexed, and the government of the three made Grecian. And, under the fourth, the territory and population were completed by the annexation of Rome, and the whole made Roman. These therefore form what, for the sake of distinction, we term the platform of the prophetical earth. Nationally and politically, this platform attained its ultimate (which is its present) dimensions, by the process of annexation of the one to the other successively, retaining, throughout, their national, political, and ecclesiastical characteristics—as signified by the several symbols which denote them—as so many rods in God’s hand, for the chastisement of the Apostate Church, Judaic and Christian. I repeat, therefore, that the prophetic colossal image of Nebuchadnezzar now exists in all its parts—gold, silver, brass, iron and clay; or the same, as denoted by the four corresponding beasts of Daniel—the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the nondescript beast; together with the powers denoted by the ten toes of the image and the ten horns of the fourth beast, and the two little horns of the great beast and of the rough goat. They began on the great river Euphrates, whereon stood Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, with Babylon on the Tigris. From these two cities proceeded the power which destroyed the national existence of the Ten Tribes, and brought the Two Tnbes into captivity. And it is iK>$rfous, that both these ancient capitals, Nineveh and 1 2 Kings xv. 29, 30 ; xvi. 9. a Rev. xl 15. THE TRANSFIGURATION PROOF THAT IT 18 PRE-MILLENNIAL. 241 Babylon, together with the countries which they ruled, have now for eight centuries, down to the present day, been under the dominion of the Turkish or Mohammedan little horn of the rough goat.. On the other hand, the Grecian leopard, Alexander, added to the territory of the great image that very portion of Greece which, in our times, has arisen out of oppression and political death, into the state of an independent kingdom, such as it was when it first came on the prophetic stage. And we have the Roman, still subsisting in the ten kingdoms of the west, namely, Lombardy, Ravenna, Italy, Naples, Tuscany, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain. The colossal image of Nebuchadnezzar, therefore, at this very moment, stands erect in all its parts, subjected, it is true, during the lapse of ages, to several transmutations, and undergoing various modifications, but preserving nevertheless, through all, its original metallic and beastly identity of character and of work. Now, it is “ in the days of these kings ” (or kingdoms), i. e., while they still occupy their respective places and play their respective parts on the platform of the prophetic earth, that the prophet declares “ the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, that shall stand forever.” This kingdom, it would be superfluous to argue, is identical with the millennial state. But, the setting up of this kingdom “ in the days ” of these ‘ kings,” is to be brought about by the mission of the Messianic “ stone cut out of the mountain without hands.” This symbol, the “ stone,” I now observe, denotes Christ, in His official character as a Judge and a “ King.” With a view, however, to escape the admission which this interpretation involves, viz., that the second coming of Jesus Christ is jwe-millennial and personal, it is urged that the “ stone ” in the text is identical with the “ mountain,” and that the moun· tain, being symbolical of the Church, which, by her numerous agencies, is finally to evangelize the whole world; therefore, the symbolical “ stone ” cannot refer to Christ, but to the universally established millennial kingdom of Christ, over which He is to reign by Mis /Spirit, till the end of a thousand years, when He is to come to raise the dead and judge the world, etc. This view, so generally prevalent, and sanctioned by the 16 242 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. authority of names both of the living and of the departed which we all revere, is to be respected. I respect it. Nevertheless, I would deferentially submit, first, if the head of gold of the colossal image, and the corresponding first beast, the lion of Daniel, symbolized, personally, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar,1 on what principle of interpretation are we to withhold the personal application of the symbolical “ stone ” to the King Messiah, the Lord Jesijs Christ? Again, second: as Daniel, after interpreting the head of gold to signify the Babylonian king, says, “ after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to theef thereby using the terms “ king ” and “ kingdom ” interchangeably, i. e., as denoting the same thing, how can we consistently avoid a similar use of the terms “ stone ” and “ mountain,” as symbolic of Christ and his kingdom ? Until, therefore, our rule of interpretation of the symbolic “ stone,” and its application, personally, to Christ the Messiah, is proved to be unsound; we must insist, that, when the destruction of the still existing colossal image takes place, it will be effected by no less, no other, agent, than the glorious personal descent of the Son of God from heaven. Yes, by Him, 1. This colossal image, in all its parts, is to be demolished. “ The stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands,” is to “ break to pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold” And, mark. The period in the history of these four monarchies when this destruction is to take place, is designated. It is to be in the divided state of the last or Roman dominion. The “ stone,” the prophet tells us, “ smites the image on the feet ” —ithe ten toes—“ which were of iron and of clay.”2 Europe, as embracing the ten horns of the nondescript beast, the present prophetical earth—Lombardy, Ravenna, the Roman State, Naples, Tuscany, France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain— is here intended. When, therefore, the “stone” comes, “the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, shall be broken in pieces together, and become like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind shall carry them away, that no place shall be found for them: and the “ stone ” that smites the image 1 And bo of all the others—the breast and arms of silver of the image, and the second beast of Daniel, the bear, etc., personally to Cyrus, the first Medo-Persian king; the belly and thighs of brass of the image, and the leopard of Daniel, to Alexander of Greece ; and it· four heads to his four generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus, etc. * Dan. il. 34. THE POPULAR VIEW. 243 shall become a great mountain, and shall fill the whole earth”1 Yes, then it is, that “the judgment shall sit, and they ”—that is, Christ, and His co-judges2 and rulers,3 the risen saints4—“ shall take away the dominion of the Beast, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”8 In conclusion. Our next direct, and exclusively scriptural argument, in proof that the second personal coming of Christ is prer and not jpostf-millennial, will be shown in PART II. A demonstration, Thai the ideas and language of the New Testa· ment writers in reference to the second personal coming of Christ and the judgment of the great day, were derived from and founded upon the prophetic statements of the inspired prer Chnstian Jewish writers regarding them. In illustration of this subject, we shall adopt the following passages as a stand-point: Jude, verses 14,15. “ And Enoch of old, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly men have spoken against Him.” And St. Jude prophesied, saying—verses 20, 21: “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ (i. e., at His second coming) unto eternal life.”' Here it is to be observed in the outset as not a little singular, that only six out of the forty-one prophets of the Old and New Testaments, viz., Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, David, Daniel, and Malachi, predicted of the first coming of our Lord; while most of these, together with the others, prophesied of His second per· sonal coming. (See Note D.) 1 Dan. ii. 35. » Rev. 111. 21; 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. > Rev. 1L 23-28. « Rev. xx. 3-3. 5 Dan. viL 26,27. m SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. So also, while the first class of prophets point out Christ to us in the aspect of His suffering humanity as a sin-atoning sacrifice under the law; the second class treat exclusively of His resur-rectedhumanity, as connected with “the glory that is to follow” His sufferings, as our tbiumphant King. And now, in regard to the purposes of the second coming of Christ as presented to view in the two passages already cited, they embrace two separate and distinct parts, or acts—those of judgment and of mercy. Of judgment for the ungodly: of mercy for those who, in faith and hope, “ keep themselves in the love of God, looking” for the final conferment upon them of “eternal life ” at Bis second coming. These two prophecies of Enoch and St. Jude, therefore, both relate to one and the same event, called in Scripture “ the day of judgment”—“the day of the Lord”—“that great day of God Almighty,” etc., which is to take place at the time of the Second coming of Christ. But on this, as on other momentous questions in connection with it, as we have seen, the Church of this day is unhappily at issue with herself, as to what the Scriptures teach of the nature and the order of events, etc., of “the day of judgment.” Inasmuch, therefore, as that event hinges, so to speak, on all those numerous prophecies which foretell of the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, “ In pomp and majesty ineffable,” it is absolutely impossible rightly to interpret and apply them, until we shall have ascertained in what that day of judgment consists, as inclusive of both the particulars named above. To explain. The prevailing doctrine of the Church on this subject is, that as, at the instant of the death of the righteous and the wicked, the one is immediately admitted to the perfect fruition of heavenly blessedness, and the other immediately consigned to endless consummate misery; so, there will be a universal simultaneous resurrection of both classes, that is, of the just and the unjust, by the second personal coming of Christ at the end of the millennium, as the Judge of the quick and the dead : when, having assembled all, both small and great, before His great white throne, He will open the books, try them, etc.; and, having passed sentence upon each order according to the deeds done in the body THE MILLENARIAN VIEW. 245 while in this life, He will say to the righteous, “ Come, ye blessed of my Father, enter ye into the joys of your Lord; ” and to the wicked, “ Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” This theory also connects with it the additional idea, that the trial, sentences, etc., etc., of the myriads of myriads of the raised dead, will he disposed of within the limits of a natural day of twenty-four hours, or of a very short period. It is here also in place to remark, respecting this theory, that the millennium, at the end of which the second coming of Christ, or the day of judgment, is alleged to take place, is that state of universal peace, prosperity, and triumph of the Church on earth of a thousand years, which the great body of Protestant Christians profess to look for as still future. Consequently, this theory, by placing the second coming of Christ at the dose of that period, teaches that it is jposi-milLennial, and that we are not to look for that event until some 1500 years to come; or according to the Rev. Samuel H. Cox, D. D. (who interprets the thousand years of the Apocalypse as a mystical number1), not until 365,000 years l On the other hand, there are many in the Church—not confined to any one of, but who may be found among all, the different branches of evangelical Christians in both hemispheres, and those too most eminent for their learning, piety, position, etc.—who affirm that the second personal coming of Christ is pre-millennial; also, that “ the day of judgment ” commences and runs parallel with the thousand years of millennial rest to the Church. They also deny that there is to be a simultaneous resurrection both of fhe righteous and the wicked at the end of the millennium; but maintain that the Scriptures speak of two acts of raising the dead, the first of which takes place at the instant of Christ’s second coming, at the commencement or u morning ”5 of the millennium, agreeably to that passage, Rev. xx. 6, “ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection? for “ on such the second death shall have no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years? etc.: the second, at the end or evening of that period, according to Rev. xx. 5, “ But the rest of the dead? L e., of the wicked dead, u lived not again until the thousand years were finished Hence they teach, that the “ day of judgment ” which takes place 1 See Ckridian InUttiqtnctr, New Tork, 1861 1 Ps. xxx. 5; xHt, 11 246 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. at the time of the second coming of Christ, instead of being limited to a natural day of twenty-four hours, opens with an act of mercy to the righteous, both dead and living, agreeably to the statement of St. Paul, 1 Thess. iv. 13-17: “But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as them which have no hope” i. e., the wicked dead; “for, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep,” i. e., from being raised: “ for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Nor this only: for the apostle adds: “ Then” i. e., at the time of the second coming of Christ, “ we which are alive and remain, shall he caught up together with them” i. e., the raised dead in Christ, “in t\e clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”1 But, this “ great day of God Almighty ” also opens with an act of judgment upon the wicked, who shall then be alive upon the earth. We again quote from St. Paul, 2 Thess. 17-10: “ And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be pmnished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power: when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe . . in that day” i. e., the day of their first resurrection, etc., as above described. This act of judgment, therefore, takes effect, not upon the wicked dead, but upon the living nations who, “in that day” “ know not God and obey not the gospel of Christ.” It will fall upon all those who are then found within the pale of the apostate Christian Church, and of the last great Lemocratico-Atheistic Confederacy against Christ and His saints, who, being “consumed”—as St. Paul (2 Thess. ii. 8) says it will be— “ with the spirit of the mouth, and destroyed by the brightness pf the coming ” of the Lord Jesus; and, thus numbered with the 11 These, iv. 13-17. THE MILLENARIAN VIEW. 247 dead, they “shall not live again” i. e., be raised from the dead, “ until ” at the close of the same second coming of Christ, when He shall appear “ seated upon His great white throne,” to execute upon them the final act of judgment, by causing all of them, “ both small and great,” gathered from the “ sea,” and “ death ” or the grave, and from hell (a8779), “to stand before God” when “ the thousand years are finished” (See Rev. xx. 5.) Consequently, this latter class of prophetical interpreters affirm of this “ day of judgment,” inasmuch as it comprehends the twofold acts of rewards and of punishments, that it spans the whole period of the thousand years of millennial blessedness. This is founded on what they claim that the Scriptures teach in regard to the official character and functions of the risen and glorified saints, to wit, that, being “ a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation and a peculiar people;”1 as the “ heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ,”a they are constituted “ kings and priests unto God and his Father;”3 and that, as such, they shall wear “ crowns,”4 “ sit on thrones with Christ,”5 and that “judgment shall be given unto them,”8 to “judge the twelve tribes of Israel,”7 and also to “ rule the nations with a rod of iron,”8 etc. Thus they “ shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years on the earth and over the saved nations, Jewish and Gentile, in their millennial state. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of Messias in direct reference to this period as “ the Branch that was to grow out of the root of Jesse,” says, “With righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” And to this he adds, “ and He shall smite the earth ”— the four Gentile monarchies—“ with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked.”9 Here then, we submit, we have a clearly defined double act of mercy and judgment, such as is to characterize the entire millennial period of the Church as that “ great day of the Lord ” called “ the day of judgment” of which the Scriptures speak. And, at the close of this day, when the wicked dead are raised, tried, and condemned, “Death,” i e., he that “had the power of death, which is the Devil; ” and hell (Hades, 08779), where the spirits of the wicked dead, prior to the resurrection of their bodies, had 11 11 Pet 11. 5 -9. a Rom. viil. 17. »Rev. i. 6. « lb. iv. 4-10. ®Ib.xx.4, •Ib.ib. * Matt. xix. 28. ® Rev. ii. 27. »Isa. xi. 4. 248 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. I been “reserved for chains under darkness against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men;”1 together with aU who are 1 ot then “ found written in the book of life,” shall be “ cast into the lake of fire,” which is “ the second death.”2 This latter exposition of the nature and order of events, etc., of “the day of judgment,” we shall now proceed to demonstrate, furnishes the only method by which to harmonize that large portion of the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, which relate to the second personal coming of Christ. In doing this, we shall show, in support of the thesis which forms the subject of this section, that the ideas and language of the New Testament writers regarding it, were all derived from and founded upon the prophetic statements of it, as made by the inspired pre-Christian Jewish writers. In other words, it will be seen that the doctrine of a future judgment, with its antecedents, accompaniments, and consequents, as taught by our blessed Lord, and by the apostles St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John, in the Epistles and the Apocalypse, all synchronize throughout with that of the Book of DanieL We will begin with the following comparison: 1. When the prophetical times of Daniel are fully expired, the Son of Man comes in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days, and having smitten the metallic colossal image on the feet of iron and clay, and destroyed the Papal and last antichristian powers, there is “ given unto Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, and nations, and languages should serve him,” etc. (Dan. ii. 34, 35, 44; vii. 11-14.) 2. The whole period of “ the times of the Gentiles ” runs coeval with the prophetical “ seven times,” or 2520 years of Israel’s chastisement, Lev. xxvi. 18, 21, 24, 28, at the dose of which, Daniel’s 1335 days or years run out (Dan. xii. 12), when the angel declares to him, that “ God will accomplish to scatter the power of his holy people,” i. e., the Jews, etc. (Dan. xii. 7.) 1 2 Pet. ill. 7. When St. Luke’s “times of the Gentiles ” are fulfilled, the “ signs in the sun, moon, and stars, together with distress of nations, men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things that are coming on the earth,” etc.; then shall the budding of the fig-tree presage “ the coming of the Son of Man in a cloud with power and great glory,” to indicate that “ the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand,” and that the time is come for the redemption of Israel. Compare Luke xxi. 24, 25, 27, 28, with Rom. xi. 25, 26. This latter period of Daniel, is the same with St Paul’s “ fulness of the Gentiles,” Rom. xi. 25; see also Luke xxi. 24; which being “ come in,” i. e., ended, he tells us that “ the Deliverer shall come to Zion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” etc., and so, “all Israel shall be saved,” etc. (Rom. xi. 26.) * Rev. xx. 14,15. N. T. DOCTRINE OF, DERIVED FROM DAN. ΥΠ. 249 We shall now proceed to show, that as the first coming of Christ was to be while the fourth or Roman kingdom—symbolized by the two iron legs of the image, Dan. ii. 33, and the nondescript monster of chap. vii.—was yet in being ; so the second is to take place when it shaU end.1 4 On this subject, the profoundly learned Mr. Mede says: 4 The mother text of Scripture, whence the Church of the Jews grounded the name and expectation of the great day of judgment, with the circumstances thereto belonging, and whereunto almost all the descriptions and expositions thereof in the New Testament have reference, is, that vision of the viith of Daniel of a session of judgment when the fourth beast came to be destroyed: where this great assizes is represented after the manner of the great sanhedrin, or consistory of Israel; wherein the Pater Judicii had his assessories, sitting upon seats placed semi-circular before him from his right hand to his left. 44 I beheld,” saith Daniel, (chap. vii. 9, 10), “till the thrones were pitched down,” (namely, for the senators to sit upon), “and the Ancient of Days did sit. ... I beheld, tiU the judgment was set ” (that is, the whole sanhedrin),44 and the books were openedf etc. 4 Here we see both the form of judgment delineated, and the name of judgment expressed; which is afterward yet twice more repeated; first, in the amplification of the tyranny of the wicked horn (verses 20, 21), the symbol of the Papacy, which (it is said) continued 44 till the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High” i. e.,potestas judicandi ipsa facta: and the second time, in the angel’s interpretation, (verse 26),44 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end” Where, observe also, that cases of dominion, of blasphemy, and apostasy, and the like, belonged to the jurisdiction of the great sanhedrin. ‘From this description it came that the Jews gave it the name of the day of judgment and the day of the great judgment: whence, in the Epistle of St. Jude (verse 6), it is called 44 The judgment of the great day.” 4 From the same description they learned that the destruction then to be should be by fire; because it is said (verse 9), “His throne was like a fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire; * i See Mode’s Works, Book TV. Ep. 8, p. 744, 746; also Book III. p. 700. 850 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. (and verse 11), “ The beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame” ‘ From the same foundation are derived those expressions in the gospel, where this day is intimated or described: “ The Son of Man shall come in the clouds of heaven”—“the Son of Man shall come in the glory of the Father, with his holy angels:” forasmuch as it is said here, “Thousand thousands ministered unto him;” and that Daniel saw “ One like unto the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, and He came unto the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.” ‘Hence St Paul learned that “the saints should judge the world” (1 Cor. vi. 2); because it is said that “ many thrones were set*” and (verse 22), by way of explanation, that “judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” ‘ Hence the same apostle learned to confute the false fears of the Thessalonians, that the day of Christ’s second coming was nigh at hand; because that day could not be, till the man of sin were first come, and should have reigned an appointed time, etc., (2 Thess. ii. 3); forasmuch as Daniel had foretold that it should be so, and that his destruction should be at the appearing of the Son of Man in the clouds; whose appearing, therefore, should not be till then. This επιφαναα της παρουσίας αυτόν in St. Paul, “ whom the Lord ” (saith he) “ shall destroy at the επιφάνεια of his com· ing” Daniel’s wicked horn is St. Paul’s man of sin [rather, we should say, the forerunner], as the Church from her infancy interpreted it. ‘But, to go on. While this judgment sits, and when it had destroyed the fourth beast by the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of heaven, He receives “ dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve and obey him” (verse 14); which kingdom is thrice explained afterwards to be the millennial kingdom of “ the saints of the Most High.” (Verses 18, 22, 27.) ’ These grounds being laid, Mr. Mede proceeds. ‘ I argue as follows: ‘ The kingdom of the Son of Man and of the saints of the Most High in Daniel’s vision, begihs when the great judgment sits. ‘ The kingdom in the Apocalypse, wherein the saints reign with Christ a thousand years (Rev. xx. 4, 6), is the same with the kingdom of the Son of Man and of the saints of the Most High in the vision of DanieL 27. T. DOCTRINE OF, DERIVED FROM DAN. VII. 251 6 Ergo. It also begins at the great judgment. i That the kingdom in Daniel and that of a thousand years in the Apocalypse are one and the same kingdom, appears thus: ‘ First, because they begin, ab eoUem termino, viz., at the destruction of the fourth beast: that in Daniel, when the beast (then ruling in the eleventh little wicked horn) is slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame ” (Dan. viii. 11, 22,27): that in the Apocalypse, when “the beast” [i. e., the two-horned beast from the earth, having a mouth like the Dragon],1 “ and the false prophet” (i. e., the Papal wicked horn in Daniel), “were taken, and both cast alive into a lake burning with fire and brimstone.” (Rev. xix. 20, 21.) ‘ Secondly. Because St. John begins the regnum or kingdom of a thousand years from the same session of judgment describee! in Daniel, as appears by his parallel expression borrowed from thence: Daniel says, chap, vii. 9: “ I beheld, till the thrones were pitched down . . . and the judgment (i. e., the judges) sat” 22. “And judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” ((And the saints possessed the kingdom : ” viz., with the Son of Man who came in the clouds. St. John says, chap. xx. 4: u I saw thrones, and they (i. e., the risen and raptured saints),sat upon them” “And judgment was given unto them.” “ And the saints lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” “ To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne,” etc. (Rev. iii. 21.) “And I will give them power over the nations,” etc. (Rev. il 26.) ‘Now, if this be sufficiently proved, viz., that the thousand years begin with the day of judgment, it will appear further out of the Apocalypse, that the judgment is not consummated till they are ended: for Gog and Magog’s destruction, and the universal resurrection of the wicked dead, together with the final conflagration which is to change and purify the globe, etc., will not be tiU then: therefore, the whole thousand years is included in the day of judgment. ‘ Hence it will follow, that, whatever Scripture speaks of a kingdom of Christ to be at His second appearing, or at the destruction of [the last] antichrist, it must needs be the same which Daniel saw should be at that time; and so, consequently, the kingdom »Rev. xlii. 1L 252 SECOND COMING OF CHBIST. of a thousand years, which the Apocalypse includes between the beginning and consummation of the great judgment? Finally. To sum up the whole in a few words. The day of Christ’s second coming, and the great day of judgment which opens it, commence at the close of the 1335 days or years of Dan. xii. 12, when the vengeance of God begins to be poured out upon the little Papal horn ; is continued upon the last antichristian or atheistic confederacy, headed by the two-horned Apocalyptic beast from the earth (Rev. xiil 11—17), or St. Paul’s “man of sin and son of perdition” (2 Thess. fi. 3); extends through the period of the millennium, and terminates with the final destination of all mankind, by the reward of the redeemed in their admission to that “ inheritance which is incorruptible,” 1 in the “ new earth and heavens” which “ God will create; ”a and by the punishment of the wicked in the yecmi (Gehenna) fire of everlasting torments. It hence follows, that this second coming of Christ comprehends not two separate and distinct comings, but two manifestations of one and the same event: the one at the commencement of the millennial period, to raise the sleeping dead in Christ, and change and glorify the living saints, and to destroy the last antichrist and his God-denying confederacy; and the other, at the dose of it, to punish the Gog and Magog hosts that compass the camp of the saints and the beloved city, by fire from heaven; to raise the wicked dead, both small and great, from their graves, and the sea and Hades (αΰψ); and, arrainging them before the Judge, who now appears, for the first, seated on His great white throne, to try them according to the deeds done in the body, and to consign .them, together with death and Hades, to the perdition of ungodly angels and men. At this point, therefore, time doses, and eternity begins. Of this St. Paul spake when he said: “ Then cometh the end, when He (L e., Christ) shall have delivered up the kingdom (millennial) to God, even the Father, when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power;” for, “He must reign, until He hath put all enemies under His feet; ” * and, as “ the last of these enemies is “ Death,”4 so, “ when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God mat be all in all.” 8 11 Peter i. 4. «lb. verse 26. * 1 Cor. xv. 26. • 1 Cor. xv. 24,28. * Rev. xxi. 1-6. 253 N. T. DOCTRINE OF, DERIVED FROM DAN. VTI. Thus much, then, in regard to the opposite views prevalent in the Church of this day, as to what constitutes the scriptural doctrine of the second coming of Christ and of the future judgment. But we now deferentially submit, that we have pointed out the fallacy of the various theories: I. That all that the prophetic Scriptures teach on this subject, were verified by the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. Π. That they were verified by the events which preceded, accomplished, and followed the invasion and destruction of Jerusalem, etc., by the Roman army, in a. d. 10. ILL That they received their accomplishment by the overthrow of paganism and the establishment of Christianity in the Roman empire under Constantine the Great at and after a. d. 323; and also, IY. Of those who allege, that the kingdom and reign of Christ on earth at His second coming will be spiritual; and that “ the times of the Gentiles ” are identical with the establishment of the Christian Church, the dispensation of which is to continue until the close of the millennial age, etc. And finally, Y. In addition to the inferences derivable from our scriptural arguments and historical and philosophical facts against the second personal coming of Christ as being joostf-millennial; what we have advanced by way of a direct argument, as demonstrative that, when that event does take place, it will be jwe-ijiillenmal; we have adduced the scriptural proof, that the ideas and language of the New Testament writers in reference to the second personal coming of Christ and the judgment of the great day as future, were all denved from and founded upon the prophetical statement of the inspired pre-Christian Jewish writers regarding them. This last-named circumstance of itself, unless it can be shown to be fallacious, settles forever the question as to the foundation of the synchronisms of the Gospels, Epistles, and the Apocalypse, with the Book of Daniel, in regard to this great fundamental doctrine of the judgment-coming of the Lord; and it cannot fail to appeal, with a corresponding force and power, to the heart and conscience of every lover of the truth as it is in Christ. It may, however, be of service here to present the divergence 254 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. between the prevailing theory and its opposite, in juxtaposition, thus: it is maintained By the Church at large, 1. That the second personal coming of Christ is jDoei-millennial, and that the day of. judgment does not commence until the cloze of that period. 2. That all the dead, both righteous and wicked, are then to be simultaneously raised, and being tried, are justified or condemned, the righteous being taken to heaven, and the wicked consigned to hell. And, 3. That the day of judgment is limited to the short period of a natural day of twenty-four hours. By us, That the second personal coming of Christ is jwe-millennial, and that the day of judgment commences at the opening of that period. That then “ the dead in Christ are raised first, and the living saints changed and glorified; while “ the rest of the dead” (i. e., the wicked dead) are not raised u until the thousand years are ended.” (Rev. xx. 6.) That the day of judgment runs coeval with the whole period of the millennium of a thousand years. In conclusion, then, we observe, First. It is clear that these conflicting views, so absolutely antipodal, cannot both be according to “ the mind of the Spirit,” as revealed in Holy Scripture. Nor can it be pretended on any legitimate principles of scriptural interpretation, that the voice of the many against the comparatively few, is any evidence of the truth of the popular theory on this subject. To admit this, would be to reverse the order of evidence in proof of any doctrine of Holy Scripture/ “ Yox populi, vox Dei”—the voice of the people is the voice of God— is not the criterion by which to decide the question, “ What is truth ? ” It was the voice of the people, both Jews and Gentiles, that crucified God’s dear Son!1 while, except the weeping Mary, and Joanna, and Susanna, etc., who clung around the cross to the last, even the few timid disciples who had followed Jesus during his ministry, “ stood afar off/”2 Indeed, all history shows, that the true faith of the Church, doctrinally, has always been found, not with the many, but with the few. It was so at the time of the flood.8 It was so in the time of Abraham.4 It was so in the time of the prophet Elijah.5 It was so at the time of the first coming of our blessed Lord,6 and also during His ministry and that of His apostles. And Christ himself declared prophetically, that so it shall be yrnmediately before and at the time of His second appearing: “ As 1 Acts 11. 23; Iv. 10-55. * Matt. xxvl. 58; xxvil. 65. 11 Pet. liL 2D. 4 Joeh. xpv. 2,3, and verses 14,15. 6 2 Kings xix. 18. e Luke xil. 82. N. T. DOCTRINE OF, DERIVED FROM DAN. VII. 255 it was in the days of Noah,” etc., “ even so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man.”1 And to this St. Paul prophetically adds that “ that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (αποστασία) first”* While St. Peter, speaking prophetically of the same event, declares, that “ in the last day shall scoffers arise, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers have falle^ asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 8 Does it not then behoove us to beware, lest we at this day should be found among the “ scoffers ” of these “ last times ? ” And, Second. We may see from this subject the error, yea more, the palpable injustice of confounding, as many do, the millena· Han system of interpreting the prophetic Scriptures—which is that substantially advocated by us—with that of Millerism. The truth of the matter is, that Millerism differs in nothing from the popular theory respecting the day of judgment as future, except in the single article of anticipating the time of Christ’s second coming. Both affirm that Christ is to come at the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” with this difference according to the popularly received 'views, that event is not to transpire for some 1500 years or more; whereas the Father of Millerism, alleging that “the times of the Gentiles” closed in a. d. 1843, as terminating the 6000 years from the creation and fall, affirmed that Christ would coipe then, simultaneously raise the dead, both just and unjust, save the righteous, destroy the wicked, and wrap the globe in the flames of the last universal conflagration, etc.; having done which, mankind were to enter upon their eternal stale of bliss or of woe. On the other hand, millenarianism maintains that “ the times of the Gentiles,” and the millennial period of the Church, are two separate and distinct dispensations ; and also, that while Christ’s second coming is jore-millennial, the universal conflagration is^ostf-millennial. And hence, that time does not close, and eternity be· gin, at the termination of the “ times of the Gentiles; ” but that it continues to run on to the end o/the peace, prosperity, universal »Matt. xxiv. 37-39. a 2 These, ii. 1-8. See Note A. • 2 Pet. iii. 2-L 256 SECOND COMING- OF CHRIST. righteousness and glory to man, of the mild and benignant reign. of “ the Prince of Peace.” The way is now prepared, for the discussion of the only remaining topic directly connected with “the great theological question ” in reference to the Second Coming of Christ, as indicated by the following chapter. CHAPTER Υ. SACKED PHILOSOPHY, CONSIDERED IN ITS APPLICATION TO THE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, AND OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED DEAD, AS DEPENDENT UPON, AND CONNECTED WITH, HIS SECOND COMING. Having, in the preceding pages, agreeably to my original design, discussed at considerable length the various theories which relate to the second coming of Christ, whether it is to be pre- or j0O5£-millennial; the subject of tie mode or manner of that coming calls for additional remark. The question regarding it involves a more extended inquiry into the nature of the resurrected state, in its application to our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and to the dead, both just and unjust. The question is, Does it consist of a purely spiritual, or of a literal or corporeal resurrection ? On this subject we premise, 1. That, whatever was the mode or form of the resurrection of our Lord, that mode or form will characterize the resurrection of “ all that are in their graves ” generally; and, in respect to the saints in particular, there will be an exact correspondence between it and the resurrected state of Christ, in accordance with the explicit declaration of the Apostle John, 1st Epis., chap. iii. 2: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall he like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” But, 2. The popularly received theory of the Church of this day is, that the righteous, at the instant of deaths enter upon a state of 17 258 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. perfect and consummate blessedness of God in heaven, and of the wicked in hell, and that their resurrection will consist of their being changed into a purely spiritual state. It follows, therefore, on the principle of homogeneity, 3. That the resurrection of Christ, in its mode or form, was of a purely spiritual nature. For, to argue that the resurrection of Chiist was a literal or corporeal resurrection, while that of the saints is purely spiritual, is totally irreconcilable with, and ignores the above statement of St. John. But, this popular theory of a purely spiritual resurrection, we maintain, tends to cut up, root and branch, what we affirm to be the scriptural doctrine of a literal or corporeal resurrection of the dead, whether in respect either of Christ, or of the just and unjust. It is necessarily founded upon the hypothesis, that “ the soul only is the mdn,” that is, the person. But in direct opposition to this theory—which we hold to be of the species of ancient Sadduceism1—we maintain, that the soul, plus the body, is the man, that is, the person. In other words, we mean, that man, at his creation, was constituted a complex being, consisting of body and soul · and hence that, in order to preserve the personality of man in its integrity after death, the body must be literally raised from the dead, and reunited to the soul; and also, that such a resurrection is common to both Christ and the saints, together with “ the rest of the dead ” spoken of in Rev. xx. 5. We shall treat the subject under the following sections: SECTION I. AN INQUIRY INTO THE IMPORT OF THE TERMS, SPIRITUAL, CORPOREAL, AND PERSONAL. L By the term spiritual, I mean that which is not cognizable to the senses, immalerial, incorporeal, invisible. To illustrate its nature, operations, etc., our blessed Lord employs the following striking metaphor: “ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, » See Matt. nil. 23-35; 2 Tim. 11.16-18 ; 1 Tim. L 18-20. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 259 and whither it goeth; so is every οης that is horn of the Spirit.”1 Here, that material element, the “ wind ” or air in motion, from its most powerful hut subtle and invisible properties, is used to denote the nature of the infinite and eternal Godhead, whose existence, however attested by the magnitude and grandeur of creation's work, or by the fruits of man’s regenerated being, is nevertheless, in His divine essence, hidden from mortal eye, “ The blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in light, which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see”8 Hence the word spirit—in Hebrew nsn, ruach, in Greek nvcvpa* pneuma, and in Latin spiriius*—as significant of the divine essence, is applied, first, to the Father,—“ God is a spirit ”6—and of whoip Jesus declared, “No man hath seen God at any time:” and second, to the third person of the adorable Trinity, who, proceeding from the Father and the Son, energized the chaotic elements of the material world, bringing order out of confusion;e and in the moral world, inspires, illumines, regenerates, and sanctifies the redeemed. I only add on this subject, that our Lord, by way of contrasting His complex nature with that of a Being purely spiritual, says to the eleven disciples among whom He appeared in His resurrected body,'M Why are ye troubled ? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet; it is I myself. Handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and hones, as ye see me have”1 This brings me to a definition of the word, n.—corporeal. This word means, that which is opposed to spiritual or immaterial, as, a material or corporeal body. Such a corporeity, however, is not to be understood as excluding from it all connection 1 John iii. 8. a 1 Tim. vi. 15,16. ■ Applied by the Greek writers to the wind (Theophane*, Horn, xlvii., p. 325), “Aim* d χινονμβίΌ? αηρ Aryrrai ιτνημα; The air itself in motion, is called ιτνβυμα.” 4 From splro, to blow, breathe, etc.: (Virgil, J2n. xil., line 365): ■ ■ - Borete cum spiritus alto Intonat ^Egaeo- ----------------When the northern Blast Roars In the JSgean--- See ParkhursVs Gr. Lex., word Πι^νμ·. • John Iv. 24. • Gen. i. 1 i John. 260 THE SECOND COMING OF CHBI6T. with what is spiritual. They may coexist with each other. In man, they do so coexist. Hence the term irvcv/na is applied to the human soul or spirit, breathed into the newly-created corporeal form of man by God himself,1 expressly to distinguish it on the one hand from his body, σώμα, soma ; and on the other from his soul, ψυχή, psuche. Man, indeed, is constituted of three parts, body, soul, and spirit; the latter, the spirit, consisting of the animal life, as forming the connecting link between the body and the soul, and which, though composed of matter, yet being refined and attenuated to its utmost capacity, like caloric or heat— which is material—is invisible and intangible, a refined, active substance, subject to the laws of matter, and, though differing from every other modification of it, yet is equally liable to decomposition. This is in exact harmony with the philosophy of the inspired Paul on this subject, 1 Thess. v. 23, where he says, “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” From the very intimate but yet inscrutable affinities subsisting between the soul and spirit, however, man for the most part has come to be regarded simply as constituted of body and soul, or the corporeal and the spiritual: the body, the vehicle of the soul’s manifestations; the body, originally created immortal, yet, on account of sin, subject to death; the soul, immaterial, indestructible. Such, then, is man. And such a man—I would utter the sentiment with the deepest solemnity—such a man, sin excepted, was our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Yes. “ According to the eternal purpose ” of self-manifestation, which the spiritual “invisible God” the Father “purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord,”a “ a body,” corporeal, visible, was “ prepared ” for Him > and, “ in the fulness of the time,” was assumed by Him of the Virgin Mary, by “the power of the Holy Ghost.” Of that “ body,” that of the newly-created Adam was “ the figure.” 3 Nor of the body only. For, as “ God breathed ” into the “ nostrils ” of “ the first man ” who “ was of the earth, earthy,”4 and he thereby “ became a living soul; ”6 so we read of the Lord Jesus, that “His soul was exceeding sorrowful.”" Nor does the corresponding relation between “ the first man ” as the figure or 1 Gen. ii. 7 ; see also Rev. xi. 11 9 Eph. ill. 1L · Rom. v. 14. * 1 Cor. xv. 47. · Gen. ii. 7. · Matt. xxvL 38. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESUERECTION. 261 type of “ the second Adam, the Lord from heaven ”1 as the antitype, end here. Did the first Adam die f So did the second. The following Pauline statements illustrate and confirm these points: “ IIe (Christ) took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham, Wherefore it behoved Him, in all things, to be made like unto His brethren.” u Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that, through death, He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil; and deliver them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”a With this distinction, therefore, between the nature of the purely spiritual, and that which is corporeal, kept in view, I now remark, that, whenever the Scriptures speak of the first and the third persons of the adorable Trinity, namely, the Father and thi Holy Ghost, whatever be their acts and operations, either in the world of nature or of grace, they are always presented to the mind in thei^ incorporeal, indivisible, and infinitely spiritual essence. That is, that they are not cognizable to the senses. It remains to be seen whether the same holds true of what the Scriptures affirm of the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the manifested God-man Mediator. The whole question, therefore, philosophically considered, turns upon the single point as to what constitutes, hi.—personality, and personal identity. 1,.Personality, On the principle that the soul plus the body is the man, then, the soul cannot say to the body, u I have no need of thee; ” nor can the body say to the soul, “ I have no need if thee.” This reciprocity of dependence each upon the other, as arising from the joint connection of the two, constitutes essential personality. And, as the person consists of soul and body conjointly, so, 2. Personal Identity, taken in connection with the scriptural doctrine of the resurrection, is dependent on two circumstances: the first, the perpetuity of the material body in its connection with 1 1 Cor. xv. 47. a Heb. ii. 16,17 ; and verses 14,15. 262 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. the soul during life ; and the second, the resurrection of the same body, and its reunion with the soul after death. Now, in reference to thq first of these conditions, viz/, the perpetuity of the material body during life, it is provided for by a law of nature adapted by the Creator to that end. “ Life is maintained by continued combustion. The oxygen of the air we breathe combines with the food we eat. Carbonic acid is given out by the breath and the pores of the skin. Fresh carbon is required to maintain the supply, and to compensate for the waste thus produced. The sensation of hunger urges us to eat, and thus fresh fuel is added to the fire. Every time we breathe we inhale oxygen. Every time we eat we swallpw carbon. By this simple process, life is maintainedAnd, whatever changes may occur in the physical constitution of man, as produced by these chemical combinations from infancy to old age, the supply, as seen in the gradual growth of the body, exceeding the waste, his material nature is sustained in its entire integrity. At death, “the oxygen is inspired for the last time, and the combustion which maintains life, of course, ceases. The fire is put out, to be rekindled once for all [and, so far as the dead in, Christ are concerned, after a heavenly manner] at the resurrection.” As to the allegation that, under the above-named law for the maintenance of animal life, the body undergoes an entire change every seven, or as some say, every three years, so that we have not the same body now that we had three, or seven, or ten years ago; a «car, contracted in childhood, and retained to old age, is a sufficient refutation. And, whr is true of the “children” as “partakers of flesh and blood,”' s equally true of that adorable Redeemer, who took upon HiLx their nature. Of the child Jesus, we read, that He “ grew, and increased in stature”3 etc. The second condition of personal identity, I said, consisted in the resurrection of the same body, and its reunion with the soul, after death. Now, observe here. By the phrase, the resurrection of the same body, I mean, not that it (L e., the body of the believer) will be the same as to its corporeal condition, both before and after the resurrection ; for we read that “ we shall all be changed, at the last trump.”3 This “ vile body shall be made like unto Christ’s glorious body.”4 By the phrase, the same body, then, » Heb. ii. 14. 2 Luke i. 80; ii. 62. 3 1 Cor. xv. 61,62. * Phil. iii. 21 PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. I mean the identity of the PBE-resurrection body with the post-resurrection body, when it shall be reunited to the soul. Personality, then, as we have seen—understanding the soul as including that of the spirit—consists of two parts, body and soul. At death, these two parts are dissociated from each other. The body is laid in the grave. The soul is in hades (αδ^ς), the place of the departed, whether of happiness or misery. The body, taken separately, though not ourself, is a part of ourself, and it is that part which dies. But, the soul never dies. Nothing is more irrational and absurd, therefore, than to talk of the resurrection of the soul. True, the soul, if saved, must also be changed in its moral character, and this change in Scripture ie called both a new creation1 and a resurrection? But, this new creation and resurrection of the soul must take place in this life? It follows, that, in order to complete our personality, the same body that is laid in the grave, subject to such a change as is necessary to fit it to that end, must be raised,, and reunited to the soul. This introduces us to, SECTION II. A DEMONSTRATION OF THE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF A LITERAL RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. Our first argument in proof of it is derived, 1. From analogy. The apostle Paul, in answer to the question, “ How are the dead raised up f and with what body do they come?” answered: “Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain ”4 etc. Here we are plainly taught, that the seed which dies, is the seed that is quickened. This representation accords with fact, and is sanctioned by comipon consent. The difference of the raised body, viz., “ that body that shall be” from the body as dead, is illustrated by the difference between the seed sown, and the plant which springs from it. The plant, the raised body, has a peri· carp, whereas the seed sown has none, but is a “ naked seed?1 It 1 Eph. ii. 10 ; iv. 24. * Eph. ii. 1; Rom. vL 4. • 2 Cor. vi. 2; Heb. ii. a 4 1 Cor. xv. 86-37. 264 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. has been objected to the personal identity of the dead with the raised body, as drawn from St. Paul’s analogy between the seed sown and quickened, that insect transformation, e. g., that of the butterfly, is against it. But, let us see. The following comparison, if I mistake not, will show that there is a perfect analogy between them. On close examination, each will be found to pass through the four following stages. Thus— The Imect (Butterfly.) 1. The egg. 2. The larva, or caterpillar. 3. The pupa, or chrysalis. 4. The imago, or perfect insect. Man. 1. Man, in embryo. 2. -----, at birth—a crawling worm. 3. -----, at death, his pupa, or chrys- alis state. 4. ----, at the resurrection, his ima- go, or perfect state, when he comes forth clothed with an immorta* body. The fallacy of the above objection consists in its making the soul to pass at once from the second, the larva, or caterpillar state, to that of the fourth, or the imago or perfect state; thus overlooking the important fact that the third, the pupa or chrysalis state, is intermediate between the two. Nothing therefore is more evident than the perfect analogy which exists between the insect and the human transformations; for, “ The butterfly, the representative of the soul, is prepared in the larva for its future state of glory; and if not destroyed by the ichneumons and other enemies to which it is exposed, symbolical of the vices that seek to destroy the spiritual life of the soul, it will come to its state of repose in the pupa, which is its hades / and at length, when it assumes the imago, break forth with new powers and beauty to final glory, and the reign of love. So that, in this view of the subject, well might the Italian poet exclaim, “ * Non v* accorgete voi, che noi siam vermi, Nati a forma V angelica farfalla ? ’ * Do you not perceive that we are caterpillars, Bom to form the angelic butterfly ? ” I I pass to another argument. 2. The resurrection of " dead persons ” is an elemental doe· trine. Thus St. Paul, Heb. vi. 1, 2, makes “the resurrection of PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 265 the dead ” one of the first “ principles of the doctrine of Christ.” And no marvel. For Jesus himself had* declared, “The hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall come forth”1 &c. Now, whether we understand the expression, a dead person, to denote a dead body; or the soul of a dead person; or the soul and body conjointly ; the Scriptures will be found to treat the subject under all these aspects, to show that the resurrection from the dead consists of a reviviscence to life, by a reunion of soul and body, (1.) Take the first sense—where a dead person is understood in the sense of a dead body. “ One who had died was carried out, the only son of his mother.”2 “ Dead persons are raised.”1 “Women received their dead raised to life again.”4 In these and numerous other passages, a dead person means a dead body raised to life. (2.) Take the second sense—where the soul is used to denote a dead person, “ I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held,” 6 etc., viz., the martyrs of Jesus. (3.) Take the third sense—where a dead person is understood of the soul and body conjointly. Such are all those passages which speak of a resurrection of (or from among) dead persons.” Thus, “ the dead in Christ shall rise first”6 Here, as predicated of the resurrection, the meaning is, that those who shall share in the blessedness of “ the first resurrection”7 are raised by a reunion of soul and body, the former being redeemed from hades, the latter, from the grave. This reunion, therefore, both of body and soul, is essential to the integrity of the entire person. Further comment on this article is superfluous. 3. But, I pass to a third argument. It is this: This identity of the dead body with the raised body, is proved from those passages in which “ the person ” is expressed, and “ the body ” is intended. Man, after death, does not cease to exist. True, a change has taken place in the mode of that existence. The soul and body are separated. But to say, on this account, that the soul and spirit alone constitute man in the whole integrity of hie » John v. 28, 29. a Lnke vii. 12. * lb., v. 22. 4 Heb. xl 85. 4 Rev. vi. 9. 4 These, iv. 10. 7 Rov. xx. 5,0. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. complex nature, is as contrary to sound philosophy as it is repugnant to Scripture. The Mosaic account of man’s creation is decisive of this. “Tbe Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” Here is man in the integrity of his nature as constituted of body and soul while living. There must, therefore, in order to retain that integrity in man’s resurrected state, he a complete parallelism thereto. Otherwise, man loses his personal identity. Paul’s argument of analogy in the fifteenth of 1 Cor., between the dead seed sown and quickened, and the dead body buried and raised, proves this parallelism. I have said that the soul, when separated from the body at death, still lives in a state of perfect consciousness in hades. On the other hand, the popular idea regarding the state of the dead body when laid in the grave is, that life is totally extinct And yet, death, in Scripture, is represented figuratively as a state of sleep. Speaking of the dead in general, Daniel styles them “ the sleepers in the dust of the earth” 1 So the martyr Stephen is said to “have fallen asleep.”3 And Christ said of Lazarus, “ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth,”3 All that I would suggest as intended by these and similar passages, is, that they illustrate the minuteness of the analogy between the seed sown and the buried body. The seed contains within itself a vital principle, which, when sown, lies in dormant or torpid state, and this state the apostle calls death.4 Can the apostle, then, mean anything less, anything else, than that the dead bodies of those who “ sleep in the dust of the earth ” are also possessed of a principle of vitality ? Is the latter case less possible with God than the former ?6 So thought not St. 1 Dan. xii. 2. a Acts vii. 00. 8 John xi. 11. * 1 Cor. xv. 30. • But to this it is objected : “ Does not the plant [seed ?] whose germ has been destroyed, lose its productive power? Throw a seed into the fire, and what prospect of its germination?” . . . . “ Submit a human body to the action of the flames, and then say whether the effect upon the vital principle or the vital portion, whatever it may be, is not the same as in the case of the plant ” [seed?]. Our reply is, that, even admitting this to be true in regard to the plant [seed?] under the circumstances here represented—and no one will deny it—yet the argument fails, in its application to “ a humarn body submitted to the action of the flames.” The reasoning of the apostle in the above analogy, evidently comprehended the death of the body under aU possible circumstances, whether dying in a bed, or burnt at a stake, or engulfed in an ocean, or blown to atoms by gunpowder. The “ earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust” of the dead, whether reposing in a tomb, or scattered to the four winds of heaven, or borne away by the current of the Ganges, or consumed by the inhabitants of the mighty deep; in either case, it is written, “ The sea shall give up the dead that is in it; and death PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 26? Paul: But, recognizing the identity of the dead with the living body, he says, “ and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jems Christ”1 The above fects I have adduced simply to show why it is that the Scriptures, when speaking of the dead, make mention of “ the person” when “ the body ” only is intended. I give the following illustration: In the twenty-third chapter of Genesis, the phrase, burying the dead, occurs seven times; and at the close of it we read, “ Abraham buried Sarah his wife.” Again. “ Isaac died. . . . and his sons Esau and Jacob buried Aim.”3 “ Miriam died, and was buried.” 8 “ Aaron died, and was buried.” 4 “ God buried Moses in a valley in the land of Moab.”6 “ David was buried in the city of David.”6 And, coming to the New Testament, we read of Tabitha or Dorcas who had died, that when Peter entered the chamber where the corpse was laid, “ turning him to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise /”7 In the account of the death of Lazarus (John, chap, xi.), the expressions, “he had lain in the grave four days already ” (v. 17); “ Where have ye laid him ? ” (y. 34); “ They took away the stonfe, where the dead man was laid” etc. (v. 41), all go to show that the evangelist, in speaking of the dead body of Lazarus, spake of him personally. And this mode of speech, I now remark, is in perfect harmony with that in common use on this subject. Thus we say: • Washington lies buried in the family vault at Mount Vernon.” **Ρπτ and Fox lie side by side in Westminster Abbey,” etc. But, in addition to the above fact, there is yet one other which I must not pass over. It is the following: 4. Personality is applied to the bodies of those who were raised from the dead. Says our Lord, “ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth: but I go that I may awake him out of sleep”8 And when He had prayed, “ He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, and hell (ά8ης) shall deliver up the dead which are in them,” etc. (Rev. xx. 13.) “The Lobd God ” ie as able to re-form man after death “ from the dust of the ground as at the first" however that dust may have been scattered. No conceivable circumstances, therefore, resulting In the death of the body, can destroy the principle of vitality which God has implanted in it. Hence the appropriateness of the inspired analogy—minus the fact, that there is nothing in nature which affords a perfect parallel to the resurrection of the body— between the conditions of the seed sown and quickened, and the dead body when raised to life. » 1 These, v. 23. 8 Gen. xxxv. 29. .8 Nqmb. xx. 1. 4 Deut. x 8. • Deut. xxxvl. 6. *1 Kings ii. 10. T Acts lx. 36-41. 8 John xi. 1L 268 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. come forth! and he that was dead, came forth” etc.1 So also* at the time of the crucifixion, we read that “ the graves were opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, etc., and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many”3 In the light, therefore, of the above facts, namely, the distinction between that which is spiritual and that which is corporeal, the latter only being cognizable to the senses; the nature of man, as constituted of body and soul conjointly; the evidences of man’s personal identity as such while living, and of the same in bis resurrected state ; and the proof of it furnished by what is recorded of some who were actually raised from the dead;—these facts, I submit, demonstrate the real, visible, corporeal, and therefore the literal, resurrection of man. SECTION III. A SPECIAL INQUIRY INTO THE MODE OR FORM OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTED STATE. Reverting once more to the great question before us—Will the second coming of Christ, when it does take place, be purely spiritual, or a visible, corporeal, or personal coming ?—I remark that, in order to an intelligent understanding of it, we must necessarily go back to the stones which compose the foundation on which we build. One—and that the Lord Jesus Christ, “ the chief corner-stone n thereof, has been already examined, as to what constitutes His complex Being, as “Emmanuel—God with us”3—“God,” as “manifest in the flesh.” 4 The result is, that He is presented to our view as possessed of the two component parts of proper humanity, namely, a material or corporeal body, and a reasonable soul. A second stone in this foundation. Of Christ’s complex incarnate nature as our sin-atoning sacrifice, the “exceeding sorrow of His soul,”3 and the crucifixion of His body on the cross, subjected him to an actual organic deathf and He was buried in Joseph’s tomb.7 But, In this foundation is a third stone, to which I now for the first would call your special attention. It is this, viz.: 1 John xi. 41-44. * Matt, xxvli. 61-48. · Matt. L 23. «1 Tim. ill. Ml * Matt. xxvi. 88. · Ib.t xxvll. 50. T lb., vs. 57-60. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION·. 26$ That, whatever the Scriptures reveal, as to the mode or form of the second coming of Christ—whether it be spiritual or per. sonal—the resurrection of Christ on the third day, according to His own word affords the only key to its solution. For it is clear that the resurrection of our Lord, if a purdy spiritual one, could have had no connection whatever with that corporeal body in which He was born of the Virgin Mary, in which He labored, suffered, and died, and which, after His crucifixion, was laid in the sepulchre. On this hypothesis of the purely spiritual nature of Christ’s resurrection, it may reasonably be demanded, What became of the entombed body of Christ after His resurrection ? Was it cast aside as a thing of nought ? Was it annihilated f I cannot, reader, spend my time, and tax your patience, with a wire-drawn exhibit of the philosophy “falsely so called,”1 of the above theory. Suffice it to say, that it is but the fruit of that system of scriptural hermeneutics introduced into the Church in the early part of the third century by Origen, who, though a man of distinguished eminence in his day and generation, and of great apparent holiness and zeal, as he was also of profound scholarship ; yet, having committed himself to the guidance of a fare ciful imagination in his interpretations of Scripture, “ was permitted of the Lord to be drawn away from the true sense of God’s word, even while avowedly engaged in the study and exposition of it.” The result to the Christian world for the most part from that day to the present has been, the substitution of the allegorical or spiritual, in the place of the literal, sense of Scripture,* as the rule of interpretation. In its application to the subject in hand, it inevitably involves a denial of the resurrection of the material body of Christ, and hence affords a plausible pretext for the support of that theory which alleges that man, immediately after death, rises again in a purely spiritual state, in which he lives as a man, throughout eternity, either in heaven or hell. The fallacy of this theory has been already exposed, in our definitions of the terms spiritual, corporeal, and personal, in proof of the complex nature of man, as constituted of a material body and a rational soul. And, having also demonstrated the scriptural doctrine of the perpetuity, intact, of man’s personal identity after death, by and through the process of a literal resurrection of the body from the grave, and its reunion with the soul, I hence argue 1 1 Tim. vL 20. 270 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST· that, if this he true of our personal identity of body and soul after death—on the principle that our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, though very God, was also truly and verily man ; as He suffered death upon the cross, and was also buried, and rose again—so, His resurrection, in the mode or form of it, must also have been a real, visible, corporeal, and therefore a literal resurrection. Let us, however, enter here a little into detail. As preliminary to w’hat is to follow, I observe, that as u in all things it behoved Christ to be made like unto His brethren,”1 during His life, ministry, sufferings, betrayal, trial, death, burial, resurrection, etc.; as “the man Christ Jesus,”2 He must have possessed their entire complex nature, corporeal and spiritual, in all its integrity, sin excepted; or, if “ the soul ” only “ is the man ”—if “ the soul ” only was raised from the dead, it follows that Christ is only half a Saviour! that while He atoned for the sin of man’s soul, He left the body to be consigned to an eternal sleep l that the inspired Paul committed an unpardonable blunder, and imposed upon the credulity of his Thessalonian brethren, when he prayed that their “ whole body and soul and spirit might be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”3 But, as evidence of the fallacy of these hypotheses, in His proper person· ality, as constituted of body and soul (equally as when he conversed, and walked, and ate, and slept, and sorrowed, and rejoiced, and wrought His many miraculous “ deeds and wonders \ among men”4), He predicted, 1. His own death by crucifixion, “And they shall scourge Him, and put Him to death”6 “ And the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, . . . and to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him,”* 2. That prediction was literally fulfilled, “ The chief priests, and the rulers, and the people, cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man , . . and they cried, saying, Crucify Him I crucify Him ! ”1 “ Then Pilate delivered Him to be crucified,”8 “ And they led Him away to crucify Him.”9 “ And He (Jesus), bearing His cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull . . . Golgotha, where they crucified him.”10 i Heb. iL * 1 Tim. ii. 5. « 1 These, v. 23. * Acte ii. 22. • Luke xviii. 33. · Matt. xx. T Luke xxiiL 13-21. 8 Matt, xxvii. 201 9 lb., verse 3L 10 John xix. 17,18; see Rev. xl. 8. PHIL080PHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 271 3. He was buried. “And after this, Joseph of Arimathea (being a disciple of Jesus) . . . besought Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. . . . Now, in the place where He was crucified, there was a garden: and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein “was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus / ”1 i. e., the corpse, or body, of Jesus. For we read that “ Joseph took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre hewn in stone,”2 etc. Now then, having proved that the personality of Christ, whom “ it behoved to be made like unto His brethren,” consisted of His endowment of a material body and a rational soul; and that His soul did not and could not either die or be raised; it follows, that, in order to preserve that personality in its integrity, the same body of Christ that was buried in the sepulchre must have risen, and must have been reunited to His soul. I remark, 4. That it was predicted of Christ, that it should so be. David, personating Christ prophetically, says, “ My flesh shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in (αδ^ς) hell ” (i e., the place of the departed), “ neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”8 4 Both Peter and Paul quote these words of David as prophetic of Christ’s resurrection, declaring that “ God raised Him up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.” B “ Davidf says Paul, “ saw corruption : but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.” e And so also, Jesus Himself declared, “ I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again.”7 And he predicted, “ I will destroy this temple ” (meaning His body), and in three days I will raise it again.”8 This, therefore, brings us to the question direct: 5. Were these several predictions verified, by the actual resurrection of the same body of Christ from the dead, that was crucified on the cross f And if so, what evidence have we of it? Now, we take the affirmative of this question, in the advocacy of the literal, in opposition to the so-called spiritual or metar phorical, resurrection of Christ. The evidence in support of such 1 John xix. 38-42. a Luke xxiii. 33. 3 Ps. xvi. 9,10. 4 In this respect the dead body of Christ (if we except those who shall be “ alive,” and Immediately “ changed ” at His coming, 1 These, iv. 13-18) differed from that allotted to our eommon humanity, which does see corruption. * Acte iL 28-27. · Acts xiii. 34-37. T John x. 18. 8 Mark xiv. 58. 272 THE SECOND COMING OF 'CHRIST. a claim, I admit, must be express, positive, leaving no room for further doubt or cavil, or it is of no account. In adducing this evidence, therefore, I refer you, (1.) To the action taken by the enemies of Christ, regarding His dead body. Calling to mind the “ deceiver’s ” predicted resurrection of Himself on “the third day;” and to protect the sepulchre against His thieving disciples; having obtained leave of Pilate, the scribes and pharisees “made sure the sepulchre, sealing a stone, and setting a watch.” 1 My purpose in referring to this fact is, simply to prove that the Jews understood a “ resurrection from the dead” to mean a “ resurrection of the bodyThe design of the above procedure, however, was to prove that Christ was an impostor. But, behold ! at the end of the third day, an earthquake ministers to a celestial visitant from heaven, in rolling away the sealed stone from the mouth of the tomb, while the sentinels, overpowered with fear, become as dead men. Some of this same “ watch,” on their recovery, “ went into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.” And they not only believed that Christ had actually risen; but the bribery of the soldiers by the chief priests, to say that Christ’s disciples came by night and stole Him away while they slept f2 is proof that they also believed it. For, if these soldiers were awake at the time of the alleged act, why did they thus suffer the corpse to be removed ? And if they were asleep, how could they tell f hat it was stolen f Alas ! Their “ last error was worse than the (2.) The next evidence of this fact is the testimony of some who had themselves been raised from the dead. “ They came out of their graves after the resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”4 (3.) But, I am now about to refer you to the most astounding moral phenomenon known in the history of man. I refer to the incredulity of Chnsfs own disciples, as to the fact of His actual, literal resurrection from the dead. Now, when we reflect that these men had been associated with Christ for more than three years; that they had listened to, and believed in, His doctrines; that they had witnessed his miracles (especially those connected with His raising several from the dead; e. g., the young maid of iirst.” 8 1 Matt, xxvii. 62-68. a Matt, xxviii. 64. * Matt, xxviii. 2-4; 12-15. « lb., xxvii. 62,53. THE ASCENSION PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 273 Cyrophenicia, and Lazarus who had lain in the grave four days); that they had heard Him predict His resurrection from the dead on the third day; and that they had all professed the most firm adhesion to Him and His cause in life and in death : I say, when we reflect on all this, how reasonable is it to infer that they would have awaited, in the exercise of a strong faith and unflinching hope, the approach of the resurrection morn, to hail with joy their risen Master! But, so far from this, their conduct throughout evinced an apparent determination, at all hazards, to prove that Christ was an impostor! But, under God, this very circumstance is made to furnish the only evidence demonstrative of the fact of Christ’s literal resurrection. This will appear most conspicuous in every event which furnished them with the proof that “ The Lord is risen indeed.” 1 The nature of the evidence demanded by them was of the highest order. In the case before us, that" evidence may be gathered from the following facts, namely, First. The eleven disciples first doubted the credibility of those who reported that Christ was actually risen. Second. When they could no longer resist this evidence, they then doubted the reality of the appearance of Christ, which was declared to have been seen. And, to this, Third, tangible evidence must be added, before all the eleven would admit the fact. If therefore it can be shown, that all these species of evidence were afforded them in proof of Christ’s literal resurrection from the dead, it will place that fact beyond the reach of further controversy. You will here again bear in mind, however, that in speaking of the resurrection of the same body of Christ from the grave that was crucified on the cross, I speak of that body as changed, In what that change consisted, must be a subject of after consideration. I now conduct you back to the sepulchre. It is at u the end of the Sabbath ” (Jewish), as it merged into the opening dawn of “ the first day of the week,”3 the morning of the resurrection, and hence, the Christian Sabbath. At the mouth of the open sepulchre—for the great stone had been rolled away— stood a solitary female mourner. It was Mary Magdalene. She had come “while it was yet dark,” seeking the body of Jesus, i i Luke xxiv. 34. * Matt. rxvUL 1; John xx. 1. 18 274 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. But, behold, it was gone / And, still incredulous as to the fact of Christ’s resurrection, even she, supposing the body to have been stolen, ran to bear the sad tidings to Peter and John, “ They have taken away the Lorp (meaning His body) out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid Him.” To satisfy themselves on this point, both these disciples ran to the sepulchre, and looking in, saw nothing but the shroud and napkin of the dead body. Peter, however, still remained incredulous. John only, believed that He was risen.1 But, what, meanwhile, became of Mary Magdalene? Why, being now joined by “Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women with them,”2 she returned to the sepulchre to weep there. Yes, women were last at the cross, and first at the sepulchre. And now, superadded to the previous witnesses of Christ’s resurrection, namely, His enemies the sepulchral sentinels, and the risen dead, we add, (3.) The testimony of the angels, who to these weeping and “perplexed” female disciples of Christ, said, “Fear not ye: for I , know that ye seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord (that is, the body) lay.” And now, (4.) *As last at the cross and the first at the tomb of Christ, so these women are the first of His disciples to proclaim His resurrection to others. Yes. Of them it may be said, 44 The mom the Saviour rose, Ah what, true saints, was then thy meet reward ? The eyes that watched His woes, Were first to hail the rising of the Lord I Oh, when were tears so pure, so blest as those Which gushed, when at His feet they knelt— Gazed—wept—and adored! ” Obedient to the angelic command, these women at once wend their way quickly to His disciples as heralds of His resurrection/ But, “ their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.”* No. With them the above evidence wj*s not sufficient. Though they personally knew these witnesses, and had every reason to confide in their veracity, yet they doubted the 1 John xx. 1-11. 1 Matt, xxviil. 7, 8. a Luke xxiv. 10. 4 Luke xxiv. 1L PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 275 credibility of these reports. They had been fhrnished. with the first species of evidence in this matter. But it had proved entirely unsatisfactory. They demanded, Second, ocular demonstration of the fact. This, we must admit, was reasonable. For they well might, and indeed must have argued, “If risen, where is Hef Has He, like Enoch or Elijah of old, been escorted to heaven, without having afforded His anxious, trembling, desponding disciples that evidence so essential to a proof of the fact, that of His having been seen f ” etc. If so, this had been a direct violation of a promise made by Christ to them before His crucifixion. “ After I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”1 But no. This could not be. And I now proceed to the evidence, that our blessed Lord, after His resurrection, appeared visibly, not only to one, but to many per-sons: not only in me, but in several places, 1. The first person by whom he was seen, was Mary Magdar lene. As she stood weeping at the sepulchre, still in doubt as to His actually having risen, Jesus spake to her. But she, supposing it was the gardener, said, “ If ye have borne Him away, tell me where ye have laid Him, and Γ will take Him away. . . Jesus saith unto her, Mary l ” It was enough. She exclaimed, “ Rab- BONI! ” 2 2. After this, as Mary and the other women were on their way to Galilee to bear the joyful tidings to their brethren, “ Jesus met them, saying, All hail 1 And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.”9 Accordingly, “ Mary Magdalene cometh to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord.” Still, they were incredulous. “ And they, when they heard that He was alive, and had been seen by her, believed not”4 3. The risen Christ was next seen by the two disciples, who were on their way to Emmaus. To these, though “ their eyes ” at first “ were holden, that they should not know Him,” that they might stand self-convicted of their “ slowness of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken ” concerning Christ; yet “ their eyes were ” finally “ opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight.”5 » Matt. xxvi. 82. * John xx. 14-16. · Matt, xxviii. 9,10. « Mark xvi. 11. · Luke xxiv. 13-31. 276 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Nor is the circumstance to be overlooked, that Christ made Himself known to these two disciples in the “ breakinq of bread” thereby showing, that though risen from the dead, He was still possessed of real corporeity. Yes, to a conviction of their judgment by reason, was added a conviction of their senses. They s^w Christ eat before them. No doubt as to His literal resurrection found any further place in their minds. And hence, returning to Jerusalem, they at once made known these things to “ the eleven disciples, and those that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed”1 “ And, as they thus spake,” 4. “Jesus stood in the midst of them” (i. e., the eleven, etc)., “ and said unto them, Peace be unto you.” The circumstances connected with this personal appearance of Christ to the eleven, introduces us to The third kind of evidence demanded by them, before they would believe. When these disciples could no longer resist the credibility of the reports of Christ’s resurrection by those who had seen Him, they then doubted the reality of the appearance of Christ to them. Hence, upon our Lord’s presenting Himself in their midst, we read that “ they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.”a This is a proof of their determination to reject all previous evidence, unless fortified by what was tangible. Our Lord knew this. And therefore “ He said unto them, Why are ye troubled ? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet: it is I myself. Handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” .... Besides, He “partook of their broiled fish, and did eat before them.” 8 5. But, on this occasion, “ Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them, when Jesus came.” Eight days after, however, Thomas being present, “ came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst of them, and said, Peace be unto you.”4 This occasion of Christ’s appearance furnished the opportunity for the dissipation of the last lingering doubt, as to the literality of His resurrection. “ The other disciples had said to Thomas, We have seen the Lord” 6 Now, mark. They did not declare to him whether or not they had handled the body of Christ. My own impression is, that they had not. This I think is borne out by the recorded * Luke xxiv. 87. * lb., vereee 38-48. • John xx. 25. » Luke xxiy. 83,81 « John xx. 21-26. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 277 effect of Christ’s challenge to them, “ Handle me? etc., which is, that “ they believed not for joy, and wondered,”1 etc. Surely, the above demonstrations of the fact were sufficient to produce convictions in their minds without it. But, if their declaration as above to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord,” was still accompanied with a lingering doubt in any of their minds, the result of the declared incredulity of that disciple set it at rest forever. Hear him. Saith he, “ Except I shall see in His hands the prints of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Yes, the evidence of the sense of touch, with him, must be added to that of sight, before he will be convinced. The condescending Saviour therefore says to him, “ Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and beheld my hands: and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing / ” And now, what could the doubting Thomas do, but yield f and he did yield. In holy faith and worshipful adoration he exclaimed, “My Lord, and my God ! ”8 I only add to the above that, as we have no account that any one of the disciples informed Jesus of the declaration made by the unbelieving Thomas, either before or after He entered the chamber where they were assembled; and as He entered that chamber while the doors were closed, without divesting Himself of that glorified body which had been recently raised from the tomb; taken in connection with the above evidence of His actual literal resurrection; we are furnished with a demonstration beyond which nothing can be demanded or given, of the personal identity, Divine and Human, of 6ub blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by a reunion of His body and soul, in His resurrected estate. And now, in conclusion, the risen Christ, having subsequently appeared to the eleven disciples while engaged in fishing on the sea of Tiberias;8 then to the five hundred brethren on a mountain in Galilee;4 and once more to the eleven, when He gave them their commission and sent them forth to preach the Gospel;5 and having “ been seen of them forty days, and speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God;”8 in that same body in which He was bom of the Virgin Mary, and which was i Luke xxiv. 4L * John xx. 28. 8 Jotin xxi. 1-6. 4 1 Cor. xv. 6. · John xx. 19-2L · Acta L 3. 278 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. crucified, and was buried, and was raised again on the third dayin that same body, but changed, “ while the disciples beheld, He was taken up ” into heaven, “ and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” This then, that is, the corporeal, visible, personal, but changed and glorified mode or form in which Christ was raised from the dead, and in which he ascended to Heaven, will be the mode or form in which he will return. SECTION IT. A SCRIPTURAL EXHIBIT OF THE NATURE, ATTRIBUTES, AN1> OFFICIAL DIGNITY OF THE LITERAL OR PERSONAL RESURRECTED AND GLORIFIED HUMANITY OF CHRIST. We shall select, as the basis of an illustration of this subject, the following passage, 2 Pet. i. 16flTY ’ v K “ For we have not followed cunningly devised-fables, Wh€*i made known dnto you the* j)ower and coming of our Lord* and Saviour Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His Majesty. For He received of God the Father honor and glory, wheh there came to Him such a voice from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This section we shall divide into two parts: PART i. OF THE NATURE OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTED HUMANITY. This is a subject that may well be placed in the category of “ the deep things ” of God’s revealed mysteries—the “ some things hard to be understood ” of St. Paul, and which, as we have seen, on the principle of the allegorizing or spiritualizing theory of interpretation, “ they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures.” 1 Our prayer is, that it may not be “to their own destructiona but, that “ the eyes of their under· standing being enlightened, they may know what is the hope of 1 2 Pet. lit 16. * Ibid. PHILOSOPHY OF THE EESUERECTION. 279 their calling, and what the riches of the glory of their inheritance in the saints.”1 Nor is the subject of our present inquiry to be classed with those “ foolish and unlearned questions ” which, “ engendering strifes,” we are called upon to “ avoid.”2 Still, while meditating on what “the wisdom of God” has been graciously pleased to reveal to us in these premises, we would not forget that it is “ a mystery” which, like the river disclosed to Ezekiel in prophetic vision, issuing from under the threshold of the temple, gradually expands into a width that “ cannot be passed over.” * While, however, we are not presumptuously to intrude into those “ secret things which belong alone to the Lord our God,” we are not to be deterred from a diligent and prayerful investigation of “ the things that are revealed to us and our children ”4—“ the things which the angels desire to look into.” 6 The subject then in hand, relates to the nature of the resurrected humanity of Christ. In reference to it, I remark, 1. Negatively, That it was not a spiritual resurrection. ^Thia could not be. The body of our Lord that was interred in the sepulchre, was malerial. And matter even when attenuated to its utmost capacity, cannot be transformed into that which is purely spiritual, or incorporeal. And, could it have been so transformed, as Christ was also possessed of a reasonable or spiritual soul, thia spiritual resurrected body would have become so absorbed into, and so identified with, his material body, as to have destroyed all personality. Besides, it would involve the dilemma, that Christ had two spiritual human natures! which is an absurdity. But, take a view of the subject, 2. Positively. And here I must premise, as necessary to an intelligent view of the matter, that we must distinguish between a purely spiritual body, and a body spiritualized. The former consists of a being immaterial, incorporeal, and hence, not tangible to the senses. That is, it cab be neither seen nor handled. On the other hand, a body spiritualized, is a material substance changed, or transformed from a lower to a higher state, thereby adapting it to a new, and a more exalted and glorious sphere of action.* And if this be sd, a body may be spiritualized or changed, without ceasing to be material. Such a body, however refined or 1 Eph. i. 18. 4 Deut, xadx. 29. a 2 Tim. ii. 23. * 1 Ezek. xlii. 1-5. • 1 Pet. i. 12. 280 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. transparent it may become, does not necessarily lose its inherent elements of corporeity. On any other hypothesis, personal identity, so essential to the whole man, as I have just said, would be destroyed. m Now,1 apply this principle to our^ blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and I argue that, as neither His body alone, nor His soul alone, but both conjointly, made up His whole manhood, unless the same material body that was crucified and buried was also raised, and reunited to His soul, His manhood or personal identity was not sustained in its integrity. But, as has been already abundantly demonstrated, that same body of Christ that was crucified and buried in, also emerged from, the tomb, on the third day. Ay, and by the act of the resurrection power of God, it was changed also. Christ’s mortal body, as “ the first-fruits of them that slept,” 1 at that instant “put on immortality.”a And, as I shall now proceed to prove, when Christ’s body was raised from the dead, it consisted, not in being apurely spiritual, but, in being; 3. A spiritualized bodt. That is, it was changed. In treating of this deep mystery of God, however, let me not awaken expectations beyond what was designed. I do not mean to venture into this shoreless and fathomless ocean beyond ray depth. I would also scrupulously avoid all metaphysical subtleties and amusing speculations regarding it. I say, then: of the mode of the hidden process by which the dead body of Christ was both raised and changed; in other words, how the material corporeity was spiritualized^ we know nothing. And, of the actual nature, qualities, etc., of that spiritualized body, we know but “ in part.” A thick film spreads over the “ glass ” through which we are now compelled to look at it.8 And hence, under the most favorable circumstances, it is a much easier task to tell in what it does not, than in what it does, consist. To this method, then (at least in part), I shall resort, in my endeavors to illustrate this subject. I therefore remark, That Christ’s body, when raised, and changed, did not become angelic” He took not on Him the nature of angels ”4 — and, unless He lost His entire personal identity in passing through the grave to His resurrected state—which we have proved an im- 1 1 Cor. xv. 20,23. * 1 Cor. xv. 53. 3 1 Cor. xiii. « Heb. ii. 16. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 281 possibility—He must have retained,\ after His resurrection, that same nature, in which He died and was buried. Now if, before His resurrection, His nature was not angelic, how, I ask, could it become so after that event ? The advocates of the theory of Christ’s spiritual resurrection, have labored to support it on the ground of an alleged exact correspondence between the nature of Christ’s raised body, and that of the angels. But this theory, while it is in direct contradiction to the inspired Pauline statement as above, that Christ “ took not On Him the nature of angels,” rests on the assumption that “ angels,” in their nature, are incorporeal or purely spiritualhzmgs. This, however, is contrary to fact. This can only be said to be true of the two Persons in the infinite and eternal Godhead—the Father and the Holy Ghost. We are to bear in mind, that “ angels f whatever be their nature, are created beings. And creation is the great boundary-line which separates between that which is purely spiritual, as the Invisible Godhead, and that which is corporeal, as angels and men. If it be urged, but angels are called “ spirits,”—“ who maketh his angels spirits ; ” I reply, in the same passage we read, “ and his '’ministers aflame of fire? 1 Here, the terms “ angels ” and “ ministers ” denote the same thing. While, therefore, the term “ spirits ” may be understood to refer to the rational, the term, “ a flaming fire,” which we know to be a material element, is used to signify the corporeal vehicle, through which to manifest themselves. That their corporeity differs from the human, is admitted. It is of a vastly higher, more refined, and ethereal nature. But, it were as consistent to deny the materiality of the air we breathe, as, on this account, to deny angelic corporeity. Besides, the Scriptures abound with instances of visible and corporeal angelic .visitations to men on earth,s thereby illustrating the adaptedness of their compound nature, rational and corporeal, to answer the heaven-devised purposes of “ ministeiing angels, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation.” 8 Still, the nature of angels as thus defined, though corporeal, and that of the resurrected body of Christ, are not identical. 1 Ps. civ. 4; Heb. i. 7. J* Gen. xvi. 7, 9 ; xix. 1,15; xxii. 11; Exod. xxiii. 20; Numb. xx. 10 ; xxii. 28 ; Judg. Ji. 1,4 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16 ; 1 Kings xix. 15 ; Dan. ill 28 ; Zech. i.0; Luke i.13,19 ; xxii, 48 Acts x. 7, 22 ; xii. 8; and numerous other instances. ■ Heb. i. 14. 282 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. The difference is this: their nature, as they are not subject to death, is not susceptible of any change. This is true, not only of “ the elect,” but of the “ fallen angels.” 1 True, by their sm, they lost the holiness of their character. But; we nowhere read of their dying. In the same nature in which they rebelled, “ are they reserved in chains under darkness, against the day of judgment.” 2 It is this circumstance which renders their salvation an impossibility. Christ did not assume their nature. “But he took upon Him the seed of AbrahamThat is, He assumed the grosser corporeity of human nature, which, having sinned, became subject also to death. But, in order to accomplish the great object of His mission into our world as “ God manifest in the flesh ” (which was, “ to destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage ”*), “ the Son of God ” must die, not only, but rise again. Now, as “an angel cannot be actually transformed into a human being without ceasing to be an angel ; ” so, by parity of reason, a material body cannot be actually transformed into the angelic, without ceasing to be human. It follows, that as our Divine Redeemer (“ who in all things, sin excepted, it behooved to be made like unto us ”) suffered, died, and was buried in His proper human nature; so, when He rose from the dead, He must have risen in the same proper human nature. That He did so arise, is evident from the angel’s declaration to the weeping Mary, at the sepulchre. “He (Christ) .is not here. He is risen ? Behold the place where the Lord (i. e., the corpse) lay.”4 Nor, again, did the difference in the condition, between the body of Christ as crucified and buried, and of the same body as raised and changed, destroy His real corporeity. The question before us now, is not “ as to the link that united God and man in one person, namely, Christ;” but it is as to the spiritualized nature of His risen body. And, however we may reason analogically from our resurrection, as illustrated by the dead seed sown and quickened, in proof of the fact of the resurrection of Christ, at this point aU coincidence between us and Him ceases. “In all things, He must have the pre-eminence.” As, even in His 1 Tim. y. 21; Jude, ver. 6. * Heb. ii. 15. * 2 Pet. ii. 4,17 ; Jude β. 4 Mark xvi. 6. ‘ PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 283 death, “ He saw no corruption,” and which differs from that of the saints, who do see corruption; so, as “the first-fruits of them that sleep in Christ,” our resurrection? state is to be inferred from His, not .His from ours. “ Who shall change our vile body, and fashion it like unto His own glorious body.” But, notwithstanding the proofs adduced in pages 271-278, of the actual corporeity of the raised and spiritualized body of our blessed Lord on the third day, the spiritualists would have us to believe that all the above instances were mere ocular illusions. We are told, that “an appearance generally denotes the opposite of reality.” And hence, when we read that “ Christ appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” it was a mere phantom / That when He said to Mary, “ Touch me not,” there was nothing to touch l And, that, when the women “ worshipped ” the risen Saviour, “ holding Him by the feet,” they were actually clasping less than a shadow l Reader, are you prepared to receive such teaching as this ? 4. But, finally, on this topic of the spiritualized body of the risen Christ. With a view to obviate an alleged difficulty arising from our exposition, namely, that the same body of Christ that was raised from the dead ascended to heaven; it is contended by some, that while they admit a literal resurrection to have taken place on the third day, yet that our blessed Lord, when He left his disciples and ascended to heaven, laid aside that raised bodyy or in some way changed it into a purely spiritual body, totally distinct from that seen by His disciples after his resurrection. And this is argued from the facts following: That there are a number of extraordinary circumstances and actions, connected with these ocular manifestations of Christ, in His resurrected spiritualized body. For example: His appearing to Mary under the aspect of a gardener. His talking and eating, etc., with His disciples, without being recognized in His true character. And His entering the room where the eleven were assembled, while the doors were closed, etc. The question therefore is, How are these extraordinary circumstances and actions to be explained f Not, I submit, (as some allege,) by his resurrected body undergoing a change / or by His assumption, alternately, of a material and ethereal form at will · or by a transformation of His risen spiritualized corporeity into different shapes to suit the occasion, from that with which He left the sepulchre. Doubtless, 284 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. during the interval of the forty days that elapsed between the resurrection and the ascension, while the Saviour was employed “ in speaking ” among His disciples “ of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God,”1 there was to them an eclipsing of the full glory of His beatified risen body, which, however, no more argued any change in the glorified body itself \ than an eclipse of the natural sun in the heavens argues a change in its physical organism as the bright ruler of the day. The ostensible reason of this, on the part of the risen Saviour was, that the time had not yet come for th efuU “ restoration of the kingdom to Israel”8 A subordinate reason was, to produce in their minds a conviction of the reality of His resurrection, by appeals to their understanding, rather than by a brilliant display of His full glory to their senses. They had criminally forgotten “all that the prophets had spoken concerning Christ, how He should suffer, and die, and rise again on the third day,” 8 etc. And, as we have seen, such was their “ slowness of heart to believe ” that He was actually risen, that they pertinaciously refused to admit it, except on the highest evidence that could be given—that of tangible demonstration. It may well be doubted, therefore, whether the brightest instantaneous exhibit by Christ to them of His risen glorified humanity, would have led them to believe in and receive Him as such. Hence, while “ He showed himself alive ” to them “ after His passion” as above recited, it was “by many infallible proofs,”41 e., miracles, wrought, not on Himself, but on them. Take a single example in illustration. As our Lord was walking with the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, it is recorded of them, that “ their eyes were holden, that they should not know Him” 6 And so, He whose look was sufficient to remove the bolts and bars of closed doors, could also lock up the senses of the eleven against a perception of His presence, till He was seen standing in their midst. And, finally, if the Saviour, before His crucifixion, to escape the stoning of the Jews, could “ hide Him-'self,” and yet pass by “ through the midst of them out of the Temple;”6 surely we can have no difficulty as to His “ vanish· ing ” out of the sight of the two disciples, after that event.7 In this article, therefore, of the changed or spiritualized body of our risen Redeemer by the power of God, (limited as is our 1 Acte i. 3. a lb., 6, 7. ■ Matt. xri. 2L 4 Acte i. 3. • Luke xxiv. 1β, 4 John ylll. 69. τ Luke udv. 3L PHILOSOPHY OF TJ1E RESURRECTION. 285 knowledge of its nature, yet,) enough is revealed to us of its peculiar properties or qualities, to enable us to adopt the language of our text, and say, “ we have not followed cunningly devised fables” in our endeavors thus to analyze it. Nor is the same veil that eclipsed its brightness during the brief sojourn of the risen Christ with the early Church, drawn over the present eye of faith. In evidence of this, I pass to consider, PART II. WHAT IS REVEALED OP THE ATTRIBUTES AND OFFICIAL DIGNITY OF THE RESURRECTED HUMAN NATURE OF CHRIST. I. An exemplification of this “glory” was made on the mount of Transfiguration. The humiliation of Christ was His transfiguration as uthe word made flesh” with its accompany ments of poverty, obscurity, and suffering. On the other hand, the transfiguration on the mount, was an exhibit and an earnest of His glorified risen humanity, and the power and splendor of His future reign. The design of it was, to furnish to the three disciples who witnessed it, a proof of His messiahship, and to fortify their minds against the influence of the ignominies of His life and death. But, alas, how soon was this resplendent display of the glory of Christ obliterated from their minds! Their conduct, subsequently to the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of their Divine Master, was evidence of this. And, as has been shown, even amid the “ many infallible signs ” afforded them of His resurrection glory, their perceptions of it were greatly obscured. Nor was this obscurity removed, till the descent of the Holy Ghost upon them on the day of Pentecost. Then, “all things” which Christ either did or said respecting Himself, or which had been said of Him by the prophets, “were brought to'their remembrance”1 Hence, thirty-five years after the transfiguration on the mount, the apostle Peter writes, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there came to Him such a voice from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 1 John xiv. 26. 286 THE SECOND CODING OF CHRIST. Now, observe here. The apostle, in speaking of the incarnate Christ before His passion, declares that He “received of God the Father honor and glory? and immediately connects it with His transfiguration. The question then is, what was transfigured f And the answer is, the incarnate body of Christ. Otherwise, I ask, what became of the material body of Christ meanwhile ? And, this transfiguration the apostle calls “ the power and coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in describing His appearance, tell us that “ His countenance was altered;” that “His face did shine as the sun;” and that “His raiment was white as the light,” “shining,” “glistening,” “exceeding white as the snow.”1 Daniel, to whom He was revealed in prophetic vision in His resurrected “glory” as· the Christ of God, thus speaks: “ I beheld, till the ancient of days did sit, whose2 garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool,”8 etc. And so also the prophet Ezekiel, speaking of the Lord (Jehovah) in human form, says that, “ upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it,” . . . “ from the appearance of His loins even downward, fire: and from His loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the color of amber.” And, speaking of His voice, the same prophet says, that it was “ like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host.” And “ this? he adds, “ was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord?4 Again we turn to the prophet Daniel, who says of Him, “ Then I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man”—referring to Christ’s resurrected glorified humanity—“a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins Avere girded with fine gold of Uphaz; His body also was like the beryl, and His face as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire, and His arms and His feet like in 1 Matt xvii. 1, 2; Mark ix. 2,8; Luke lx. 28, 29. * This vision contains a double allusion. It reveals to us a view of “ God in Christ”—the Father, as “the ancient of days,” and who, in His essential spiritual essence is invisible, “whom fto man hath seen nor can see,” being exhibited under the visible form and character of God the Sod, who therefore testifies, “ He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father also.” This distinction between the Father and the Son is more emphatically shown in the 13th verse of this viith chapter: “I saw in the night visions, end behold, one like unto the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought pim (Christ the Son) near before Him (God the Fathxb) ; and there waa given Him (Christ the Son) dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,” etc. • Dan. vii. 9. 4 Ezek. 1. 26-28. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 287 color to polished brass, and the voice of His words like the voice of a multitude,”1 Finally, we turn to the Revelator John, who says of Him, “ And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks: and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed* with a garment down to the foot, and girt to the breasts with a golden girdle. His head and hairs white like wool, white as snow; and His eyes as a flame of fire ; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they,had been burned in a furnace ; and His voice as the sound of many waters : and holding in His right hand seven stars : and out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword proceeding: and His countenance as the sun shineth in his strength.”2 But, from this brief exhibit of the glory of the resurrected humanity of Christ, let us pass to a view of that same glory, as connected with, Π. His divine Attributes. The effect of the above vision of Christ to John in His resurrected “glory” was, that he “fell at Bis feet as dead”3 It is not our purpose to enter here into a proof and defence of the proper Deity of Christ in detail. That necessity is avoided by the very attributes claimed by our Lord, in His address to His servant John on the above occasion. He laid His right hand upon him and said, “Fear not, I am the First, and The Last : I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, 1 am alive for evermore, Amen: and have the keys of hell and of death.”4 Of the identity of Christ as above, with “ the Son of Man ” wbo was revealed in the visions of Daniel and Ezekiel, there can be no doubt. The 8th verse of this chapter may be taken as expository of the attributes claimed by Christ in the passage just quoted. Saith He, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” These titles, therefore, namely, “ the first and the last,” or their equivalent, “the Alpha and Omega” being the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet (and which are also used as numerals), are designed to signify the eternity of the Being who claims them. Now, of “the Almighty God,” saith Isaiah, “Who hath 1 Dan. I. 5,6. * Rev. i. 12-16. * lb. ver. 17. * lb., verses 17,18. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning ? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am He.”1 But St. Paul declares concerning Christ, that “ He is before att things,” and that “ by Him aU things consist.”2 That is, that Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, is “ the Being through whom creation received its origin, and who conducts it through the ages of ages to its final destination.” Hence, in this book (chap. iv. 8), St. Johfi applies the ineffable name of Jehovah to Christ,, and which, in that passage, is a paraphrase of that name as used in the corresponding song of the Seraphim in the sixth chapter of Isaiah. We will compare them. St. John. “And the four living creatures rest not day and night, saying, Holt, Holt, Holt, Lord God Almightt, who is, and who was, and who is to come: ” or who is THE COMING ONE, Isaiah. The six-winged Seraphim cried one unto another, saying, “ Holt, Holt, Holt, is the Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” I remark in conclusion in reference to this ineffable name, that it is not a word, but the monogram of an appellation consisting of several words, of which it contains aU the letters, as well as the initials, in their order: m'm - vm - rpm * (yihyeh—haiyeh—vehoveh) ; that is, torat καί ψ, και ών; or, more properly as an appellation of the Greek tongue, ο ών, και 6 ών, και 6 Ιρκόμενος, “THE Is, THE WAS, AND THE COMING ONE.” What a Name! It is expressive of the summing up of all existence, in all time and mood, in His own infinite Being, which is of all existence the source and centre, and of life, past, present, and to come, the all-comprehensive, all-sustaining ocean ! Such, then, are the attnbutes of the resurrected and ascended Personal Christ! It only remains that we notice, HI. His resurrected official dignity. This is threefold. It relates, 1. To Christ’s Intercession in our behalf at the right hand of God. In His humiliation Christ appeared as a Prophet. Now » lea. xllA * C&. i. IT. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 289 that He is risen and glorified, He appears in heaven as a jPriest, to intercede for us. “ But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God.”1 “ Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. For, such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens,”a etc. This intercession of Christ in our behalf ex^ tends from the time of the ascension, to tl^e period when He shall descend from heaven, 2. As our Judge. This is the second official work of the risen Christ in his resurrected human nature. Thus, the apostle says, “ and He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify, that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead; ”3 “ because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom He hath ordained.”4 And, as such, He will judge the fallen angels, who are “ reserved in chains, under darkness, against the day of judgment.”6 Also Antichrist, “the man of sin” and “ son of perdition,” whom He will “ consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”® And He will also judge the poor, and all their wicked oppressors. “ He will judge the poor of the people, He will save the children of the needy, and He will break in pieces the oppressor.”7 “ He will not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He will smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.”8 And, finally, connected with Christ’s dignity as risen, is, 3. His office as King. Isaiah, in predicting of Him, says, „ “ He shall be called,.... the prince of peace.” 9 He is elsewhere styled “ the Prince of the kings of the earth”10 Hence, as David’s son, who is to sit upon His throne, He was “ horn a king” “the king of the jews.” 11 And, at His first coming, had they received Him as such, He had then established Himself 1 Heb. x. 12. * lb., vil. 25,26. » Acts x. 42. * Aote xvii. 3L *2 Pet. it 4,17; Jude, 6,13. *2 These, it 8. ί Pe. lxxii. 1 · lea. xi. 4. · lb., lx. 61 i· Rev. i. 5. 11 John xviit 37 ; xix. 19. 19 290 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. on David’s throne. But, “ by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, they, with wicked hands, crucified and slew Him.”1 And now, see the wisdom of God in all this. Christ’s rejection by the Jews, opens the. door for His expiating human guilt by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross; and for His burial) resurrection, and ascension to heaven, whither He has gone to receive a kingdom, and to return.”a I close, by a reference to that event, as described by the revelator John. “ And I saw heaven opened,” says he, u and behold, a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. And He had a name written, that no man knew but Himself. . . . And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God. And, He hath on His vesture, and on His thigh, a name written—KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” * Blessed be God! “Behold! a King”—Jesus, in His risen and glorified humanity—“shall reign and prosper,'and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”4 SECTION V. CONCLUDING SCRIPTURAL PROOF THAT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST WILL BE BOTH PRE-MILLENNIAL AND PERSONAL. I. Proof that it will be pre-millennial. To relieve this important doctrine from all misapprehension, I propose to present it in the following syllogistic aspects, namely: That only can be restored to the Church, which has been with· drawn from the Church. But the spiritual presence of Christ never has been withdrawn from the Church. i Acte IL 23. 9 Luke xlx. 11,12. 9 Rev. xlx. 11-16. 4 Jer. ixili. A PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 291 Therefore, the spiritual presence of Christ is not the thing to be restored to the Church at the second advent. Take another form: That only can be restored to the Church, which has been withdrawn from the Church. But the personal presence of Christ, at His ascension, was withdrawn from the Church. Therefore, the personal presence of Christ is the thing to be restored to the Church at the second advent. Here, then, I might well rest the whole merits of this question. What follows, is added simply by way of illustration of the latter conclusion. I have, on a previous occasion,1 considered those passages which distinguish between the immaterial or spiritual, and henoe invisible essence of the first and third persons of the Infinite Godhead—the Father and the Holy Spirit—“ whom no man hath seen nor can see; ”2 and the visible manifestations of the same eternal Godhead to man, in the person of the Immaculate Jesus, “ the word made flesh”8 “ Emmanuel, God with us,” 4 and of whom St John, who saw Him, bare witness, “ THIS IS THE TRUE GOD, and eternal life” 6 I have also explained the sense in which the Scriptures represent Christ’s spiritual coming to His people. I now refer you to several passages which distinguish between the fellowship which His people hold with Christ in virtue of this spiritual presence, during His intercession in their behalf “ at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens;”* and His visible appearing “the second time, without sin, unto salvation.”7 Thus, the apostle exhorts the Corinthians to “ see that they come behind in no gift; ” for, inasmuch as “ God is faithful, by whom they were called ” (i. e., by the Spirit) “ unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, He would also confirm them unto the end, that they might be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ; ” and this he urges as a motive for their constant waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”® Here, ctearly, while the “coming” spoken of was to them, future ; the spiritual “fellow· ship ” was to them, present This brings us to another standpoint, absolutely indispensable 1 See pp.258, 259. * 1 Tim. iv. It J John 114. 4 Matt. i. 23. • 1 John v. 2t · Heb. I 3. * Heb. ix. 28. · 1 Cor. i. 7-fll THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. to a proper understanding of the subject in hand. It is this: That all the prophecies of Scripture which speak of Christ, relate exclusively to His humanity, either in His suffering, or His glorified· estate. They point us, I. To His suffering estate. And here we are directed, 1. To His parentage. As the “ seed ” of the woman,1 He was to he “ horn of a virgin,” “ of the house and lineage of David.”8 2. To His birth-place—Bethlehem.i * 3 3. To the scene of His personal ministry—“The land of Zebu-lun, and the land of Nephthalim.”4 * 4. To His prophetic and priestly functions. The first, as the great “ Teacher sent from God: ”6 and the second, as a sin-atoning sacrifice;6 and hence, they point us also, 5. To His death. To this end, “ a body was prepared Him,”7 in which He “ bare our sins on a tree,”8 thereby procuring for us “ peace,” “ reconciliation,” “ sanctification,” and free access into the holiest of all, “ in the body of His flesh through death.”9 But, in connection with the prophetic and priestly oflices of Christ, the Scriptures also treat of His kingly or regal prerogatives, all of which relate, IL To His glorified humanity. And here, permit me again to remark, that the Deity, abstractedly considered—the Deity, considered in reference to His ineffable, spiritual essence, cannot be the subject of prophecy. He is only such as “ Deity manifest in the flesh.” And the class of prophecies now under consideration—those relating to Christ’s kingly or regal prerogatives—all stand directly connected with His second coming, in His estate of glorified humanity. Accordingly, it will be found that the prophetic Scriptures specify with the greatest minuteness the details of that event. They point out the place of His descent;10 the seat of His Government ;11 the extent of His Dominion;12 the happiness of His subjects ;18 the duration of His reign;14 and the time, both when He i Gen. iii. 15. * Matt. i. 23; ii. L » Micah y. 2; Matt. IL & « Matt iv. 12,13; see lea. ix. 1,2. * John iii. 2. · John i. 29,30. * Heb. x. 5. « lea. lilt 12; 1 Pet. it 24. · Col. i. 22,23. 10 Zech. xiv. 4; Acte i. 2. 11 Jer iii. 17 ; lea. xxiv. 23; Ezek. xltil. 6-7; Mlc. iv. 7. 13 Gen. xy. 18; Exod. xxiii. 31; Pe. lxxii. 8. is Pa. lxxii 7 ; lea. xL 1-9; lx. 15-22; lxvL 12-14; Rev. xxl 1-6. 14 Pa. lxxxix. 20-37 ; comp. x. 1-T. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 293 will commence His millennial reign,1 and when it will terminate, by the delivering up of that kingdom to the Father.* The only point which at present concerns us, however, is the office of Christ as King. In this capacity it was predicted of Him, that “ He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and that the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David” * For, “ God had sworn by an oath unto David, that, of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh ” (not according to the spirit), 44 He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.”4 It is however urged by many, that as the sitting of Christ on David’s throne was to follow His resurrection, He commenced His kingly reign as David’s son immediately on His ascension to heaven. Hence the foundation of the popular idea, that Christ now reigns as King over His saints; in support of which, the two following passages are quoted: “ Sit Thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.”5 And, 44 He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet.”e But, I submit, as the first passage has reference to the exercise of Christ’s office in heaven as the intercessor of His people 44 till ” His and their enemies are subdued unto Him; so the last regards His providential government over the kings and nations of the earth,1 till 44 the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.”8 To the above I add that, if Christ, at the time of His ascension, sat on David’s throne, it follows, that there are two thrones in heaven. For St. Paul tells us that our Lord, upon His return to heaven, 44 sat down on the right hand of the throne of God”9 At least, this result follows, unless it can be shown that the phrases, 44 throne of David ” and “throne of God ” are convertible terms. But, that they are not, and that our blessed Lord has not yet talcen possession of 44 the throne of His father David,” the apostle Peter most explicitly declares respecting 44 the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,w and that his sepulchre (not his throne) is with us unto this day.” 10 * And, as though this were not sufficient, the same apostle adds, that 44 David is not t Dan. H. 31-35; 36-45; vii. 15-28; 2 These, il. 1-12. « 1 Cor. xv. 24-28 • Luke 1. 32,33. * Acts ii. 30. 8 Acts ii. 34, 35. • 1 Cor. xv. 25. 7 Dan. ii. 20, 21; iv. 26. 8 Rev. xL 15. • Heb. i. 1-3; vlii. 1; Acts ii. 34. Acts ii. 29. • Ysa, and even in our day. For “ the tomb of David ” retains its origi al locality, Just outside of the southern wall of “ the Hill of Zion ” or<( City of David,” in Jerusalem. 294 THE SECOND COMING OE CHRIST. ascended into the heavens.”1 How, then, I ask, can his throne he there ? In conclusion, therefore, on this subject, I remark, that when Christ ascended to heaven, and sat down on the throne of God, it was not to commence His reign as king, hut to exercise His office as our intercessor. Hence says St. Paul, “ Now, of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens,”i 2 * * whose office-work now is, not to reign oyer His people as king, for He has not yet “received his kingdom;”* hut, to make perpetual intercession for us.v 4 The sum of the whole matter, then, is simply this: David has no throne in heaven. And Christ, though horn a king, and crucified as a king—“the King of the Jews”—yet, “the kingdom, and dominion, and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,”5 has never yet hem givm to Sim or to Sis saints.· But, there stands the immutable oath of God to David, that Christ, as his Son “ according to the flesh ”—mark, not according to the spirit—“ shall sit on His throne ”!7 It follows inevitably, that when this oath is verified to David, it must he by Christ’s sitting on David’s throne at the commencement of the millennium. II. Proof that Christ’s second coming will he personal. I now observe, that the New Testament scriptures harmonize with the old, on this subject. Seeing that it is only in His human nature, that the Saviour can he said to “ come,” to “appear” to he “sent” etc.; the phrase, the “coming of the Son of Man,” 8 inasmuch as He is always spirituaUy present with His people, must involve a visible, personal coming. For example: That the following and similar passages—“Waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,”8—“and to wait for His Son from heaven,”18—“ Blessed is that servant whom His Lord, when Se cometh, shall find watching,”11 etc., all denote a visible and personal coming, is evident from the following:— In the New Testament there are three nouns substantive used to signify that event, the first of which is, Αποκάλυψή, JRevd» i Actever. 81 « Heb. vll. 25. τ Acte li. SO. i· 1 These. L 10. * Heb. viil. 1. * Dan. vii. 26, 27. * Matt. xxiv. 27. * Luke xix. 11-27. • lb., ver. 21. • 1 Cox. i. 7. u Luke xii. 43. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 295 tion ; the second, Επιφανεία, appearance ; and the third, Παρουσία, coming, or presence. 1. Now, though the word Αποκάλυψή may be employed t« signify the discovery of spiritual truth to the mind,1 yet it is never so applied in reference either to the first or second comings of Christ. As it regards the last-named event, in the sense of uncovering, revelation, disclosure, display, etc., it occurs in the following passages: “Waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ.”2 “ At the revelation of Jesus Christ, with His mighty angels.” * “ Might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”4 “ Hope for the grace that is brought unto you, at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”6 The second term, Επιφάνεια, which signifies appearance, display, splendor, etc.—“ apparitio rei cprpore® et lucid®,” *—“ the appearance of a thing corporeal and resplendent,”—occurs in relation to Christ’s second coming, in the following passages: “ Until the appeanng of our Lord Jesus Christ.”e “ Who shall judge the quick and the dead, at His appearing and kingdom.”7 44Unto them that love His appearing.”8 “Looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, even our Saviour, Jesus Christ.”" 3. The third term, Παρουσία, which signifies presence,} coming, etc., occurs, in all, twenty-five times. Now if, when this word is applied to others than the Saviour, it can mean, and is admitted to mean nothing short of a personal coming, with what consistency, I ask, can it be interpreted to mean quite a different thing when applied to Him ? 1. In the following passages, it is applied to different individuals : “ I am glad (επί ry παρουσία) of the coming of Stephanus,10 “ God . . . who comforted me (cv ry παρουσία) by the coming of Titus.”11 “ And not by (ev ry παρουσία) his coming Only” 17 “ But his—L e., Paul’s—(f) δε παρουσία του σώματος) bodily presence is weak.”17 “ That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Christ Jesus for me, (δια της ίμής παρουσίας) by my coming to you”1 “ Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always 1 Matt. xL 27. * 1 Pet. i. 7. * 2 Tim. iv. 1. « 2 Cor. xvi. 17. » 2 Cor. x. 10. * 1 Cor. i. 7. • ib., ver. 13. 8 Ib., ver. 8. “ 2 Cor. viL 6. Philipp. I 26. 8 2 These, i. 7. « 2 Tim. vi. 4. • Titus ii. 13. ia Ib., ver. 7. * Schleusuer. 296 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. obeyed, Dot (iv τβ παρονσίγ. μσυ) as in my presence only, but now much more in my (απουσία) absence”1 etc. And, in the following passage, the same word is applied to the last Antichrist, who, both before and since the time of the Reformation, has been regarded as the Papistico-Infidel Leader of iniquity, who was to appear in the last “ perilous times ” to come. “ And that man of sin be revealed, (Ου iarw η παρουσία) whose coming is after the manner of Satan,”8 etc. Yes. As Jesus Christ, as “ God manifest in the flesh” was the embodied visible personification of all good ; so Satan, through this incarnate “ son of perdition”a at the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” will be the embodied visible personification of all evil. 2. I pass now to those passages—in all, seventeen—where the word παρουσία is applied to the second coming of Christ. “ What is the sign (τής σής παρουσίας) of thy coming”4 “ As the lightning ... so shall (ή παρουσία) the coming of the Son of Man be.”5 “ As the days of Noah, so shall also (ή παρουσία) the coming of the son of man be.”6 “ Till the flood came ... so shall (ή παρουσία) the coming of the son of man be.”7 “ They that are Christ’s (tv t!J παρουσία) at His coming”8 “ What is our hope . . are not even ye, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ (cv τβ αύτοΰ παρουσία) at Hk coming ? ”9 “ To the end that He may establish your hearts unblamable ... (tv τβ παρουσία) at the coming of our Lord.”10 “We which remain (tk την παρουσίαν) unto the coming of our Lord.”11 “And I pray God your whole body and soul be preserved blameless (cv τβ παρουσία) unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”18 “Now we beseech you, brethren, (xrrrtp της παρουσίας) by the coming of our Lord.”13 “ That wicked ” —the last personal Antichrist—“ whom the Lord shall destroy with (rrj €7ΓΙφανάφ) the brightness (της παρουσίας αυτου) of HlS coming.”14 “ Be patient, therefore, brethren, (τής παρουσίας) unto the coming of the Lord.”15 “ For (η παρουσία) the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”1® “We made known unto you the power (την παρουσίαν) and coming, of our Lord Jesus Christ.”17 St. Peter here alludes to the transfiguration on the Mount, which 1 Philipp, ii. 12. 4 Matt xxiv. 3. 7 lb., ver. 39. lb., iii. 13. . 73 2 These, ii. L Ie James, v. 8. * 2Thess.il 3,8. • lb., ver. 27. β 1 Cor. xv. 23. ” Ib.,iv.l5. “ 2 These. 11.8. 3 lb., ver. 3. • lb., ver. 37. • 1 These. 1119. « lb., v. 23. 13 James v. 7. 2 Pet 116. PHILOSOPHY OF THE RESURRECTION. 297 was personal and visible. u Where is the promise (της παρουσίας αυτόν) of His coming f ”1 “ Looking for, and hasting unto (την παρουσίαν) the coming of the day of God.”2 “ And now, little children, abide in Him. . . and not be ashamed before Him (cv rfj παρουσία αυτόν) at His coming.” 8 In the view, therefore, of all that has been offered on the subject of the mode or form in which the second coming of Christ will transpire, I think we may affirm, without either breach of modesty or fear of refutation, that, when that long-predicted event does take place—a prediction reaching back to the time of “ Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam,”4 a. m. 687, or 5309 years ago—it can be understood of none other than* a real, visible, personal coming. That “ same Jesus,” which was t{ taken up ” from earth to heaven forty days after His resurrection, in His glorified human body, “ shall,” WITH THE SAME BODY, “ so come again in like manner.” 6 “ Spirit of Grace ” ! through Thine enlightening, regenerating, and sanctifying power, may we all “ love His appearing,” 8 and “ BE ACCOUNTED WORTHY TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF Man.” 1 » 2 Pet 111. 4. * lb., ver. 12. » 1 John 1L 28. < Jude, ver. 14. • Acts L 9-1L · 2 Tim. iv. 8. T Lnke πί.8β. CHAPTER VI. A HAND-BOOK TO MILLEN ARLANS, BEING ▲ COMPLETE SYNOPSIS OF THE MILLENARIAN SCHEME OF THE SECOND PERSONAL COMING OF CHRIST AND OF THE MILLENNIAL ERA, AS TAUGHT IN HOLY SCRIPTURE. Remark. The contents of this chapter embraces also such parts of the subject-matter in the “ reply ” which follows, as was deemed necessary to complete the synopsis. The various theories of anti and jpostf-millenarians on the subject of the second personal coming of Christ and the millennium, as the discussions in this treatise show, are based upon a series of negatives. We claim to have historically demonstrated upon the authority of “ Holy Scripture and ancient authors,” that the mil-lenarian scheme is founded upon and derived from the prophetio announcements of the Old Testament prophets, and of Christ and His apostles, and that it was believed in and became universally prevalent among the orthodox as the Catholic faith of the Church during the early post-apostolic age. Also, that it met with no opposition, until the substitution of the allegorical in the place of the literal interpretations of “ the teachings of Isaiah and St. John concerning the second coming of Christ,” as introduced into the Church by Origen in the early part of the third century. Now, it was this unauthorized change in the original law prescribed for the interpretation of “ the Messianic prophecies,” which necessitated those who adopted it to frame their respective exegeses in such wise as to stand out in antagonism to the literal interpretations of the prophecies regarding the coming and kingdom of Christ, as taught by the primitive chiliasts. In analogy to the future assault upon the preexisting K camp of the saints and the beloved city ” by the poatf-millennial “ Gog and Magog ” hosts, the citadel of the jwe-Christian Jewish, apostolic, and early primitive millenarians, has been the object of attack, on THE SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. 299 widely different grounds, by its anti and poetf-millenarian opponents. Hence, in accordance with the rule of Tertullian—“ that which is first is true, that which is later is adulterate ”—the advocates of millenarianism have occupied the position of the defensive against the objections of its assailants of every name. Again: Whatever may be said of the variations that have obtained among liteealists, in their interpretations of “ the teachings of Isaiah and St. John concerning the second coming of Christ,” yet, compared with the numerous contradictory theories of the allego-eists, we submit, we are furnished with a strong presumptive argument in behalf of the former. For, differ as they may in some of the minor details of the millenarian scheme, literalists, ancient, mediaeval, and modern, have always substantially maintained the same great fundamental tenets required by the law of their adoption. On the other hand, the aUegorists, surrendering themselves to the caprice of fancy, have originated theories between no two of which can be traced the remotest resemblance. Take, for example, the ancient theories of Origen, Eusebius, and Augustine. Or take the more modern theories of Grotius, Prideaux, Vint, and Bush, and of the Millerites, together with that based upon the popular interpretations of Matt. xxiv. 27-30, and of the Whitbyan “ New Hypothesis ” as founded upon Rev. xx. 1-6: and who, we deferentially ask, will venture to affirm that a law of interpretation of “ the Messianic prophecies ” such as that adopted by the aUegorists, could by a possibility have been given by inspiration from God ? This would be to argue that the law of sacred hermeneutics given by the Holy Spirit, instead of “ guiding us into all truth,” was designed to allure us into a wilderness of uncertainty and conjecture in the interpretations of that “more sure word of prophecy” to which we are admonished to “ take heed, as unto a light which shineth in a dark place.” The fair inference is, that Oeigen, as the originator of the allegorical theory of interpretation, as Mosheim declares, “ by an unhappy method, opened a secure retreat for all sorts of errors which a wild and irregular imagination could bring forth; ” and that, as Milner says, “ no man, not altogether unsound and hypocritical, ever injured the Church more than Origen did; ” and that hence, in the words of Luther, “ the allegorical sense is commonly uncertain, and by no means safe to build upon; forasmuch as it usually depends on human opinion and conjecture only, 300 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. on which, if a man lean, he will find it no better than an*Egyptian reed.” And hence, having exposed the fallacy of the various theories which, as built upon Origen’s “ unhappy method ” of interpreting “the teachings of Isaiah and St. John concerning the second coming of Christ,” allege that they were all fulfilled, either first, by the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; or second, by the overthrow of paganism and the establishment of Christianity in the Roman Empire under Constantine the Great in a. d. 325, as founded upon Rev. xx. 1-7; or third, that the second coming of Christ was verified by the judgments inflicted upon the Jewish nation and polity by the Roman army in a. d. 70, as founded upon our Lord’s prophecy, Matt. xxiv. 27-30; or finally fourth, as predicated of the Whitbyan “New Hypothesis” of a spiritual coming of Christ, as founded upon Rev. xx. 1-6; I repeat, having exposed the fallacy of these absolutely conflicting theories of “ the Messianic prophecies,” I proceed to lay before the reader a brief synopsis of the millenarian scheme of the second coming of Christ and of the millennial era, as taught in Holy Scripture, that he may have a more complete view of it as a whole, than was compatible with our original plan and design in the “ Sequel.” Millenarianism teaches, I. That the faith and hope of the Church, in every age, have been directed to and centred in tiie second personal coming of Christ, as that event which is to consummate her redemption from all physical and moral evil. Heb. xi. 13-16; 35, 39, 40; xii. 1, 2; 1 Cor. i. 7; Phil. iii. 20, 21; 2 Tim. iv. 8; 2 Pet. iii. 12-14; Titus i. 1, 2; ii. 11-13; iii. 7; Rom. v. 5; viii. 24, 25; xv. 13; Col. i. 27; 2 Thess. ii. 16 ; Heb. vi. 18, 19; 1 Pet. i. 3; 1 John iii. 3; Job xix. 25-27; Isa. xxv. 9; Matt. xvi. 27; xxv. 31-34; Mark xiv. 62 ; 1 Tim. vi. 13,14; Heb. ix. 27, 28.—1 Thess. L 10; Rom. viii. 23 ; 1 Cor. i 7 ; 2 Thess. iii. 5.‘ II. That the present Christian dispensation is that part of “ the times of the Gentiles ” called “ the gospel of the kingdom,” or the kingdom of God in “ mystery,” during which the gospel is to be preached to all nations as “ a witness ” of the truth, “ to take out of (or from among) the Gentiles a people for Christ’s 1 It will, of course, depend upon the reader to turn to the numerous references to the Scrip* tares under each head, in order to verify the correctness of their application to the subjects treated ot THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 301 name,” as preparatory to their admission to u the kingdom of God” in manifestation. Luke xxi. 24; Rom. xi. 25.—Matt, xiil 11; xxiv. 14; Mark iv. 11; Luke viiL 10 ; Rom. xvi. 25, 26 ; Eph. iii. 3, 4, 9; 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; Rev. x. 7.—Acts xv. 14 ; (Matt, xxviii. 18-20; Mark xvi. 15, 16, 17-20.)—1 Pet. i. 1-9; 2 Tim. iv. 6-8 ; Matt. xxv. 31-34. ΠΙ. That we are now living toward that close of “ the times of the Gentiles ” called “the time of the end” Dan. xii. 9. That is, not the end of time, but of the αίωνος (world), the present age or dispensation. See on this, the chronology of the world, “ Sequel,” pages 201-203, and of “ the times of the Gentiles,” ib., pages 167-172, and 185-188. And also as more fully set forth in “ Our Bible Chronology, Historic and Prophetic, Demonstrated,” etc. And hence, ΓΥ. That as, by the acknowledgment of the whole Church, the second coming of Christ is to take place at the end of “ the times of the Gentiles,” we are now occupying a position proximate to that event. Dan. ii. 35, and verse 44; vii. 11, 12, and verses 13,14; 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4, and verse 8, etc. (See also references above.) Accordingly, Y. That there is no ground for the popular expectation of a millennium of universal righteousness, prosperity, and peace, as alleged to be effected by the conversion of all nations to Christ through ordinary church instrumentalities before Sis second coming. So far from it, that event is to be immediately preceded by the following portentous signs : 1. A prevalent ignorance of divine things among all classes. Isa. lx. 2; Dan. xii. 10; Isa. xxxii. 6, 7; Hosea xiv. 9; Rom. xi. 8-10; 2 Thess. ii. 10-12; Rev. ix. 20, 21. 2. A general apostasy from that “ faith once delivered to the saints,” and especially in the article of the Lord’s second coming. Luke xviii. 8; 2 Thess. ii. 1-3 ; 2 Pet. iii. 1-4. 3. A state of religious formalism, abounding iniquity, national and political revolutions, tyranny, anarchy, war, infidelity, and blasphemy. Matt. xxiv. 12; James v. 1-6; 1 Tim. iv. 1-3; 2 Tim. iii. 1-7.—Isa. ii. 10-22; v. 26-30; xxiv. 1-20; Jer. xxv. 15-29; Ezek. xxl 24-27; Haggai ii. 7; Luke xxi. 7-11, and verses 25, 26.—Daniel vii. 8, 11, 20, 25; 2 Pet. ii. 12-15; Jude 10,17-19; Rev. xiii. 1, 5, 6. Nevertheless, 4. That, in the midst of these general commotions in church 302 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. and state, the gospel will accomplish its second circuit through the earth, when its office-work as “ a witness ” to the nations will end. See first, Matt, xxvfii. 19; Mark xvi. 15. Then compare Rom. x. 18, and CoL i. 6, with Matt. xxiv. 14, and Christ’s promise, Matt, xxviii. 20, which extends down to “ the end of the world ” (i. e., αιωνος), age or dispensation. 5. That there will also be an extensive spirit of inquiry among the true followers of Christ on the subject of His second coming. Dan. iv. 4, 9; Habak. ii. 1-3; Matt. xxv. 6, 7. 6. That these “ signs ” will be attended with numerous corresponding physical phenomena in the earth and the heavens. Micah vii. 15,16 ; Luke xxi. 25, 26. See also verse 11; and Rev. xvl 18. 7. That there will be an unprecedented manifestation of the power and malice of the Devil, in exciting the worst passions of national rulers and their subjects to acts of mutual violence, and of blasphemy against GocL Rev. xil 12; xiiL 4-8; followed by the effects, as symbolized in Rev. xvi. 13,14. See also Ps. ii. 2,3; and Rev. xvl 9-11; 21. 8. That while there will be a waning of the temporal power of the Popedom, the spiritual superstition of the Papacy will revive and become dominant throughout Christendom, down to the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” when it will be totally exterminated by the very power which has so long promoted and upheld it. Compare Dan. vii. 12, particularly the last clause, with Rev. xvfi. 12, 15; and verses 16-18; taken in connection with chap, xviii. 1-21; 22-24. 9. That the same will apply to the wasting and decay of the Turco-Mohammedan Imposture, the total extinction of which, as the only impediment to the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, will be coetaneous with the destruction of the Papal power. Compare Dan. viil 8-12, and verses 21, 22; 23-25 ; with Rev. ix. 14, and xvi. 12. See also “ Sequel,” pages 92, 93, and note. 10. That as the Turkish power approaches the destiny that awaits it as above, the ruling powers of Europe and America will be more and more inclined to remove existing disabilities, and withdraw the hand of oppression from off the Jewish nation, which will indicate the preparatory steps to their return to their own land. Isa. xiv. 2; xlix. 22; lx. 9 ; lxvi. 18-20. 11. But, notwithstanding the marked character and sigmfi· THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 303 cancy of these “ signs ” as the immediate harbingers of the Lord’s second coming, that the nominal church and the world, heedless of their premonitory warnings, will be involved in a state of stolid indifference, carnal self security, and sensual indulgences. Matt, xxiv. 37-39 ; 1 Thess. v. 1-3; 2 Thess. i. 4-9; Rev. xviii. 7, 8. Now, these last Scriptural references undeniably connect Christ’s second coming with the moral and physical phenomena as above indicated, and hence demonstrate the impossibility that a millennium of universal righteousness and peace is to jyrecede that event. Nor this only. The 8th and 9th of the above H signs,” taken in connection with the others, when viewed in their relation to the second coming of Christ, prove irrefragably, YI. That that event is pee and not post-millennial. In other words, inasmuch as the final destruction of the Papal and Turco-Mohammedan powers is to take place at the close of “ the times of the Gentiles; ” and this being, by the admission of the whole Christian Church, the time of the second coming of Christ; it follows, that no millennial kingdom or other power can come in between their destruction and that event. First. Of the Papal power. Compare Dan. vii. 11, 12, with verses 13, 14: also 20, 21, with verse 22: also verses 24, 25, with verses 26, 27. Second. Of the Turco-Mohammedan power. Compare Dan. viii. 9,14, 23, with verse 25, last clause. Note.—It is quite superfluous to add, that this second PRE-millennial coming of Christ, not in the sense of a providential, or an ecclesiastical, or a spiritual, but a personal coming, form the corner-stone in the base and the key-stone in the arch of the millenarian scheme. It is founded upon the fact, that the following and similar passages, viz., 1 Cor. i. 7, 1 Thess. i. 10, and Luke xii. 43, all denote a visible and personal coming. Proof, as derived from the three following nouns substantive, used to denote that event. First. ’Aνοκάλυψυ (apokalypsis, or Revelation, Disclosure, Display, etc.), 1 Cor. i. 7; 2 Thess. i. 7; 1 Pet. i. 7; and verse 13. Second. 'Ετιφανεία (epiphaneia, Appearance, Display, Splendor, etc.), 2 Tim. vi. 4; 2 Tim. iv. 1; and verse 8; Titus ii. 13. Third. Παρουσία (parousia, personal presence, coming, etc.), Matt. xxiv. 8 ; and verse 27 ; and 37; and 39 ; 1 Cor. xv. 23 ; 1 Thess. ii. 19; iii. 13; iv. 15 ; and verse 23; 2 Thess. ii. 1; and verse 8 ; James v. 7; and verse 8 ; 2 Pet. i. 16. The millenarian scheme also teaches concerning that event, YU. That while “ of that day and hour knoweth no man—no, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only n (Matt. xxiv. 36), yet that prophecy reveals the proximate period 304 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. when it will take place. All the eleven “ signs ” above enumerated, and especially the 8th and 9th, are designed to indicate its near approach. (See references under No. VI.) Further, it teaches, VIIL That the great event that is to immediately accompany the second personal coming of Chnst, is, the resurrection of those who sleep in Him, and the change and translation of those living saints who shall remain unto His coming, according to 1 Thess. i. 13-18 ; 1 Cor. xv. 23 ; and which is called “ the first resurrection,” Rev. xx. 5, 6. Also, that this coming of Christ in the first instance will be, not openly or visibly to all the world, but as it were secretly, like “ a thief in the night,” to steal away His waiting and watching saints, when “ two shall be in one bed, the one shall be taken and the other left” etc. Matt. xxiv. 43 ; Luke xil 39; 1 Thess. v. 2; 2 Peter iii. 10; Rev. xvi. 15; Luke xvil 34-36. Note.—Let us now look at those events that will be contemporaneous with this invisible coming of the Lord. The dead in Christ and the living saints, as above, having been taken up from the earth “ to meet the Lord in the air ” (1 Thess. iv. 17), those of the apostate church and the nations of Christendom that are “ left ” behind, will not be idle. Butj being surrendered up to the power of Satanic influence (See No. 7), and being characterized by the moral “ signs ” of the last times described in Nos 1, 2, 8, and 11, and influenced by the political commotions and revolutions set forth in Nos. 8, 9, and 10, the way will have been prepared for the introduction upon the prophetical platforms at the close of “ the times of the Gentiles,” or the termination of the 6,000 years of the world, in a. d. 1868, 1 1. Of the last great democratico-atheistic confederacy, under the leadership of the last Antichrist, or St. Paul’s “ man of sin and son of perdition,” etc., and which will constitute that unprecedented “falling away first” or apostasy from the faith of the Gospel, that is to immediately precede that open and visible manifestation of the Lord Jesus, when “ every eye shall see Him, and they also that pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Compare 2 Thess. ii. 1-3; Rev. i. 1. Observe, First. In reference to this last Antichrist, (1.) His titles. Isa. xiv. 4, 25; Ezek. xxviii. 2,12; Dan. xi. 21; Matt. xxiv. 15; Rev. ix. 11; xiii. 11, 18; 2 Thess. ii. 3, 8. (2.) His characteristics. Isa. xiv. 29, 30; Ezok. xxviii. 3-5, JOHN WRITING TO THE CHURCHES. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 305 11-19; Dan. xi. 21-23, 32, 36-39; Matt. xxiv. 15, 24; 2 These, ii. 9,10. Notice, Second. The confederacy under him—how formed. See Rev. xvi. 13, 14. The way having been prepared therefor, as indicated under “sign” No. 10, the next event contemporaneous with the above will be, 2. The restoration of the Jews to their own land, in verification of the following prophecies: Lev. xxvi. 40-45; Isa. xi. 11,12; xxvii. 12, 13; xliii. 5—7; xlix. 11-13; lx. 4; Jer. iii. 18; xvi. 14, 15; xxiii. 3; xxxi. 7—10; Ezek. xxxiv. 22-31; Zech. viii. 7, 8; x. 8-10, and numerous other places. Their restoration will be brought about under the circumstances following: (1.) The last Antichrist having made his appearance upon the prophetic stage, the Jews, captivated by his display of miraculoui· powers (Rev. xifi. 11-17), will make a league with him to restore their nation to Palestine, by which they will virtually acknowledge him as their Messiah. Compare Hosea v. 13, with Dan. xi. 23. Note.—The prophet Hosea speaks of the last Antichrist under the title of the As· eyno-Babylonian king, by whom “ the house of Judah ” was carried into captivity, while Daniel styles him that “ vile person” with whom the Jews make the compact above spoken of. History attests that the Assyrian monarchs dictated the terms for the adjustment of all disputes and other matters appertaining to inferior powers, with the authority of despots. We shall presently see that this personage is identical with St. John’s “ beast from the earth, having two horns like a lamb, with the mouth of a dragon ” (Rev. xiii. 11), or the “eighth” which is “op the seventh” head of the Roman beast from the sea (Rev. xvii. 11), and also with St. Paul’s “wicked” or “man of sin and son of perdition ” (2 These, ii. 3, 8). (2.) The Jewish nation will be restored to Palestine in their •unconverted state by this mystical Assyrian or Antichrist, in alliance with a great maritime power. Isa. xviii 1-3. This passage, instead of “Woe to,” etc., should read, “Ho! the land of overshadowing wings,” etc. This prophecy refers to that nation which shall hold a maritime preeminence over all others, and which can refer to none other so emphatically as to the United States of America. (3.) The Jewish nation, when thus restored, will rebuild their temple in Jerusalem after the model prescribed by Ezekiel, and toiU rapidly rise to national and political distinction, etc. First 20 306 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRI8T. See Ezek. xli.-xliii., inclusive. Second. Isa. xliii. 5; Zech. viii. 7, 8; Isa. lxv. 21; Jer. xxix. 5, 28; Isa. lx. 10; Amos ix. 11, 14; etc. But, (4.) The Jews will remain tributary to the false Messiah, he having obtained possession of their kingdom by flatteries (Dan. xi 21, 22); and after the league he will work deceitfully; and will forecast his devices against the strongholds (verses 23, 24), and divide the land for gain (verse 39), and select Jerusalem as his capital, etc. (verse 45, Ezek. xxviii. 2, 14); and, true to his characteristics as already portrayed, he will not only utter the most horrid blasphemies against the Father and the Son (verse 36, and 1 John ii. 22, 23 ; iv. 3; 2 John 7; Jude 4), and appropriate to himself divine honors in the temple of God (Ezek. xxviii 2; Dan. xi 36; Isa. xvi 13,14; 2 Thess. ii 4), and establish idolatry (Dan. xi. 38, 39); but he will also deprive the Jews of their restored daily sacrifices (verse 31; ix. 27), and sorely oppress and persecute them (Dan. xi. 32-35). And, under these circumstances of his treachery, they will revolt against his authority (Isa. xxiv. 16), which will result, (5.) In his invasion of the Holy Land and the city of Jerusalem by his confederate hosts. Isa. xiii. 4, 5 ; xvii. 12-14; Ezek. xxxviii 1-17; Joel iii 2; Zech. xiv. 1, 2; Rev. xvi 13, 14, 16. Note.—Thus, as “ the house of Judah had dealt treacherously against their covenant God (Isa. xlviii. 8 ; Jer. iii. 20; v. 11), and especially in that they will have hailed the mystical Assyrian Antichrist as their Messiah, so will the same ‘ measure be meted out to them at his hand. (Matt. vii. 2.) This will constitute, preeminently, “ the time of Jacob's trouble ” (Jer. mi. 7; Dan. xii. 1), or that unparalleled tribulation predicted by our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 21; Mark xiii. 19. (See also “Sequel,” pages 166-179.) But, both Jeremiah and Daniel declare that “ he shall be saved out of it." (See references above.) Accordingly, at this point, the entire prophetic scenery changes. The above invasion of Jerusalem by the Antichrist and his Magogean army, is identical with that war waged by the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies against the rider on the white horse whose name is Faithful and True, and the armies who followed Him from heaven upon white horses, etc., described Rev. xix. verses 19 and 11. Hence, millenarianism teaches, IX. IX. That it is in connection with this war, that the mighty conflict takes place between the true Messiah and his army, and the Antichristian usurper of His kingly rights and his confederates, which is attended with Christ’s personal and visible mani- THE SECOND COMING OF CHBI8T. 307 festation of Himself, when “ every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him, and when all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him” (Rev. i. 7). Let us now look at the events which follow this peksonally visible coming of the Lord in their regular consecutive order. 1. The destruction of the Antichrist and his Magogean army, by Christ and His heavenly attendants. (For these latter, see 1 These, iv. 13-17). Then turn to, first, Isa. xiv. 10-25; Ezek. xxviii. 7, 8, and verses 21, 22; Dan. xi. 45. Second, the manner of their destruction, Zech. xiv. 3-5 ; 2 Thess. ii. 8; Rev. xix. 11 -16 ; 17, 18, 20, 21. Third, the extent of their destruction, under the name of the mystical king of Babylon, Isa. xiv. 4-25; also of Pharaoh, Ezek. xxxi. 2-18. But, fourth, this destruction of the enemies of Christ and His people, though complete in kind, is not total in number. 1st, some of the Jews shall escape, Zech. xiv. 2, last clause, Rom. xi. 5, 28; 2d, also some of the Gentiles, Zech. xiv. 16. Note.—The reader will here bear in mind the fact, that “ the times of the Gentiles ” and the Christian dispensation at the time here spoken of have ended, and with them the ordinary means of grace and salvation to man, and that the events just described transpire at the opening of the seventh millenary of the world. The erection of the millennial kingdom had commenced with the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the change and translation of the living saints, when He came invisibly as a thief in the night, and separated them as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. It was the dividing and complete ingather· ing of the elect Bride of Christ, from the wicked dead, and the unbelieving but still living nations. The Bridegroom, whose near approach had been announced by the midnight cry, had come, and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage, when, the door being shut, the others were left without. (Matt xxv. 1-12.) The things set forth in this parable of the ten virgins, and further ^elaborated in verses 31-46, together with the intervening parable given in > verses' 14-30,\aken as a whole, were intended to illustrate the nature and design of the Christian dispensation as “ the gospel ” of “ the kingdom of heaven ” in mystery, down to its termination by the judgment-coming of the Lord. For the details connected with the particular process of this “ day of judgment,” however, we must take into account other prophetic announcements which hold a direct relation to it. These furnish the evidence that there will be, first, the universal ingathering of all the redeemed, both dead and living, of all ages of the world, at the second personal but invisible coming of the Lord, who will “ be caught up together in the clouds, to meet Him in the air, and so to be ever with Him,” and which is called “ the first resurrection.” (1 Thess. iv. 13-17; Bev. xx. 4-7.) 308 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Second, This accomplished, will be followed by the visible appearing of Christ (Rev. i. 7), accompanied by His risen and glorified saints (Zech. xiv. 6, last clause), to consume and destroy the last Antichrist and his confederates, when “ the slain of the Lord shall be many." (Zech. xiv. 1-3 ; 2 These. L 6-9; Isa. lxvi. 6.) Third, These, being numbered among the wicked dead, “shall be reserved for chains under darkness against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” which final act of judgment will not take place “ until the thousand years are finished(Compare 2 Pet. ii. 4-9, and fii. 7, with Jude 6, 14, 15, and Rev. ix. 5, 11-15.) Then, Fourth, as there will be a remnant of the Jews, and some that will he “ left ” of the nations that invaded Jerusalem, they, together with the yet unrestored ten tribes of Israel, and the vast nations of heathendom that formed no part of the antichristian confederacy, will constitute the nucleus for the peopling of the millennial earth, in analogy to the family of Noah, etc., who were preserved during the flood. And hence the next tenet in the millenarian scheme— X. That these nations, Jewish and Gentile—the latter both nominally Christian and heathen—wiU be converted to Christy and become the mortal subjects of the earthly millennial kingdom during a thousand years, under the personal reign of Christ and His risen and glorified saints. The following predictions relating to these stupendous events, will indicate the order in which they are to occur. 1. Preliminary 'prophecies of the world’s conversion, etc., Isa. xxvi. 9; xxvii. 7-9; Hosea v. 15; the Jews: Jer. xxxi. 9; the Gentiles: Isa. lx. 3; lxvi. 18; see also Gen. xii. 3; xviii. 18; Ps. lxxii. 17; Acts iii. 25, 26; Gal. iv. 8. 2. Special prophecies of, specifying the order of these national conversions, and the agencies to be employed in effecting them. These will consist of a series of miraculous displays of the Divine power to that end. (1.) Of the Jewish nation. Their conversion to take place after Christ’s return, compare Zech. xii 8, 9; Micah ii 12,13; and Ps. cii 16: with the agencies by which it will be accomplished, viz.: first, an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Joel ii. 28-32; second, thz personal presence of Christ, Zech. xii 9-14; Rom. xi 26. Note.—As St. PauTs conversion as a Jew was by Christ’s personal manifestation to him (Acts ix. 3-5; 1 Cor. ix. 1), and he tells us that he was “ as of one bom out of due time ” (1 Cor. xv. 8), it was doubtless designed as a type and earnest of the spiritual birth of the Jewish nation as it were in a day. (Isa. lxvi. 7, 8.) THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 309 (2.) Of the Gentile nations of Christendom. Compare Zech. xiv. 17, and Isa. xxvi. 9, with Isa, lvi 8; lxvi. 18; lx. 3-12. Miraculous agencies employed in—Isa. xlix. 12, 22; lxvi. 19. These converted Gentiles shall he sent, (3.) To the idolatrous nations. Compare Isa. lxvi. 18, 19, with chap. ii 18-22, and Ps. i 8. See also Rev. xiv. 6. (4.) Of the conversion of the ten tribes of Israel; who are still captives in Assyria. Compare 2 Kings xv. 29, and xvi. 9, with chap, xvil 20. Their conversion to precede their return. Jer. xlvi 27, 28; xxxi 1-14; Ezek. xxviii 24-26; xxxvi. 1-6; 7 -15; Isa. xliv. 1, 2. Their continental restoration follows. See Jer. xvi. 16-21; Isa. xi 11, 12; 14-16; lxvi. 19, 20. (5.) The conversion of Egypt and Assyria, etc. See Isa. xix. 18-25. Consult also Isa, xl 10; xlil 1-17; Jer. xvi. 16-21; Micah iv. 1-5 ; Zech. viii. 20-23 ; Isa. lx. 1-10. Finally, (6.) This work of converting the nations, Jewish and Gentile, will be accomplished in a short period of time. Rom. ix. 28; Matt, xxiv. 34. Thus will he verified the prophecy, “ the kingdoms of this WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS Christ ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. xi 15; see also Dan. ii. 44; vii 13, 14, and verses 22, 27). And this leads, first, to an exhibit of, XI. The physical changes of the earth and heavens, in adapting them to the millennial era of the world. 1. The earth, with its surrounding atmosphere, will be restored to their Paradisiacal salubrity and fertility. Compare Gen. ii. 8-14, with Ezek. xxviii 13; xxvi 35; Isa, li. 3; lx. 13; Ezek. xlvii. 12. Note.—This is that “ new heavens and earth ” of the millennial era predicted by Isaiah, chaps, lxv. 17-20, and lxvi. 22-24, and are the type and earnest or “promise” of the jpoetf-millennial “new heavens and earth” predicted by St. Peter and St John. Compare 2 Pet iii. 8-13 ; Rev. xxi. 1-5. (See Sequel, pages 204-216.) 2. The original curse will he removed from the animal crear tion. Rom. viii 19-23; Isa. xi 6-9; Isa. lxv. 25; Hosea ii 18; Zech. xiv. 11, 20, 21. 3. Antediluvian longevity of human life will he restored. Compare Gen. v. 5, 27; with Isa. lxv. 20,22, and Ps. xcii 12. 4. The earth shall be blessed with uninterrupted prosperity 310 THE SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. and national peace. Ps. Ixvii. 6, 7; xcvi. 11-13, first clause; Isa. xxxii. 15,16; xxxv. 1-7; lii. 9, 10; and fi. 4. And, 5. There will be a new division of Palestine among the twelve tribes, see Ezek. xlviii. Jerusalem and the Temple will be rebuilt, Jer. xxx. 18-24; xxxiii. 10-16; Zech. xii. 6, xiv. 11; Ezekiel, chapters xxxvii. 26-28, and xl. and xliii. inclusive; and building and agriculture will flourish, Isa. Ixv. 21-24; lxii. 8, 9; lx. 6, 7. The second change relates to, XII. The moral aspect of the world. 1. The knowledge of the Lord will be diffused through the whole earth. Ps. xxii. 27 ; Isa. xi. 9 ; Habak. ii. 14; Heb. viii. 10,11. 2. The restored covenant seed of Abraham, Judah and Israel, will be the medium of great blessing to all the families of the earth. Gen. xii. 2, 3: compare Jer. xxxi. 33, 34, and Ezek. xxxvl 24· 33, and Heb. viii. 10-12, with Rom. xi. 12-15; Zech. viii. 20-23; and Micah iv. 1, 2. The third change— XIIL Politically—Take the following prophecies: 1. The national schism between the two houses of Judah and Israel, or the ten tribes shall be healed. Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14; 15 -28; Isa. xi. 10-13; Jer. iii. 18, 19; xxiii. 3-8; Hosea i. 10, 11; Zech. viii. 9-15; Rom. xi. 25-29. And, thus again United into one nationality, 2. The earthly “first dominion,” lost by the first Adam, shall be restored to them. Micah iv. 8. See Gen. ii. 26; iii. 1-6 ; 20-24. 3. God will establish a new covenant with them, adapted to their regenerated state. Jer. xxxi. 31-34; xxxii 39-44; Deut. xxx. 6 ; Ps. xxxvii. 31; Ezek. xi. 19, 20; xxxvi. 25-27 ; 2 Cor. iii 3^ 7, 8; Gal. v. 22, 23; Heb. viii. 10; x. 16, 17. Compare also Rom. viii. 2-8, with vii. 22. 4. There will be a restoration of ceremonial observances, the offering of sacrifice, etc. Jer. xxxiii. 18. Compare Ezek. xliii. 13-27, with Isa. lxvi 21, 23 ; lvi. 3-7; lxi. 6. See also Ezek. xl. 38-42; and xlii. 13. Of the priests who are to officiate. Ezek. xliv. 10-30. See also specially verse 9. Their observance positively enforced. Ezek. xliii. 10, 11, and xliv. 5, 6. (See on this subject, “ Sequel,” pages 73-75.) And, 5. Under these circumstances of the physical, moral, and political changes of the earth and heavens and of the Jewish race, all other nations will be subordinated to them. Isa. lx. 3-7; 8-12; THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 311 13,14; 15, 16; Jer. iii. 16,17; Zech. xiv. 16-19. And, super-added to the above, 6. During the millennial era, mankind will be exempted from the power of Satanic influence. Rev. xx. 1-3. See also Isa. xxvfi. 1. Hence, 7. Israel's^ song of praises to God, for the fulfilment of these long-deferred prophecies of their national restoration, conversion, and political preeminence in the earth. Isa. xii. 1-6. Recapitulation.—We have now presented an exhibit, 1st, of those prophecies of the events that are immediately to precede the second personal coming of the Lord—the second universal promulgation of the Gospel as a witness among all nations; the unprecedented prevalence of formalism and apostasy in the Church, and of iniquity in the world; and the overthrow of the Papal and Mohammedan powers. lid, of that stupendous event which will accompany Christ’s invisible return from heaven —the resurrection of the dead in Christ, and the change and translation of His living saints to meet Him in the air. And IHd, of those subsequent events, which transpire down to the time of His visible manifestation to all nations—the introduction upon the prophetical platform of the last Antichrist and his confederate Magogean army. The “ league ” entered into between him and the Jews as their acknowledged Messiah to restore them to their own land. Their restoration, rebuilding of the temple, and exalted position among the nations. Antichrist’s after treachery toward them, their revolt, and his invasion of Palestine and Jerusalem, followed by the visible appearance of Christ on Mount Olivet, accompanied by His risen and glorified saints. The destruction of the antichristian legions by Christ personally on the battle field of Armageddon. The escape of a remnant of the Jews and a portion of the Gentile antichristian hosts. The subsequent universal miraculous conversion of all nations to Christ; together with those signal changes in the physical, moral, and political conditions of the world, by which it is introduced into and fitted for, the millennial era. The restoration of the earth and atmosphere to a state of Paradisiacal salubrity and fertility. The removal of the curse from the animal tribes. Antediluvian longevity of human life restored. Judah and Israel reunited into one nationality, and blessed with their recovery of the “ first dominion ” given to man. A new covenant made with them, to- 312 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. gether with a renewal of ceremonial observances, and the subordinating to them of all other nations. It only now remains, therefore, in the light of prophecy, to present a view of the millennial scheme in reference to— THE ORGANIC STRUCTURE OF THE MILLENNIAL HIERARCHY. Remarks.—First. In analogy to other earthly kingdoms, the Millennial Kingdom must have its King, its officers of state, its subjects^ and a territorial domain. Second. Thus it was in innocence. “The earth and the fulness thereof,” created by the self-manifested “ God in Christ ” 1 as the territorial domain of his kingdom, and of which “ they that dwell therein,” viewed representatively in their federal head, were the subjects, were “ the Lord’s ” 3 by rightful possession and sovereign rule.8 Hence, Third. The “ dominion ” given to man in Eden, was not a dominion over his own kind.* And, as his sin was an act of treason and rebellion against his only rightful sovereign, the Christ of God, and he was delivered over as a vassal to the Satanic usurper of his Lordly rule down to the time of the predicted “restitution of all things; ” 6 when restored from the ruins of the fall, it will consist of his recovery to and acknowledgment of his allegiance to the only rightful King, the “woman’s Seed,” Christ. Or, as in the instance of Israel’s abjuration of the theocracy in the time of Samuel, when God himself was their King ;8 having “abode many days” (the mystical “seven times” of Lev. xxvl, or 2520 years—see “Sequel,” pages 167—171) “without a king, or a prince, or a sacrifice, or an image, or teraphim,” when they shall “ afterward seek the Lord their God in the latter days,’’ that Theocracy shall be restored to them under the reign of David’s royal son, “ the Prince of Peace.” 7 True, in accordance with God’s convenant promise to Israel when restored to their own land—“ I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning,”8 etc.; and again: “ I will make thy officers peace, and *thy exactors righteousness; ”9 and also that, in matters of “ controversy, the priests, the Lerites, the sons 1 John L 1-3 ; CoL i. 15-17. * Pe. and. i. » Gen. ii. 16,17. * Gen. ii. 24,26-28. · Acte iii. 21. *1 Sam. viiL * fioa. iii. 4,5 ; Isa. ix. 6. · Isa. i.26. · lb., lx. 17. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 313 of Zadok, shall stand in judgment,” 1 etc., it is evident that they shall be invested with governmental powers. As with Israel of old, they will be constituted of a church and state union, with a ritual form of worship, and a corresponding system of government for the regulation of their civil, social, judicial, and religious affairs. But I now add, Fourth. That when “ the first dominion shall come to the daughter of Zion, and the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem,” 1 as above, it will constitute the lowest, inasmuch as it will be the subordinate form of Government, under the restored Theocracy of Israel. I now observe, therefore, that in the organic arrangement of the Millennial Hierarchy, L The son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is to sit upon his throne, is the Divinely appointed King, or Head, around which, as the source of all authority, and the Centre of Unity, all the lesser orders, like the planets around the sun, will revolve. First, compare Ps. lxxxix. 4, 5, with Acts ii. 29-35. See also Ps. xc.; Matt. xxii. 42-45; 1 Cor. xv. 25; Eph. i. 22; Heb. i. 13. Second, 2 Sam. vii. 12-16; Ps. ii. 6-12; Isa. ix. 6, 7; Jer. in. 17 ; xxxiii. 17, 20, 21; Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24; xxxvii. 24, 25; Zech. xiv. 9; Luke i. 31-83; 1 Cor. xv. 25; Heb. ii. 6-8. All the nations of the earth, Jewish and Gentile, shall he subjected to Mis Divine Authority. Dan. ii. 44, 45; vii. 13, 14; 22, 26, 27; Isa. xxxii. 1,17,18; Ps. lxxii. 8-19; Micah iv. 1-7; Zech. ix. 10; Rev. xi. 15-18. II. The raised and translated living saints share with Christ in the government of the nations of earth. Ps. xlvii. 3 ; xlix. 14; Isa. xxxii. 1; Dan. vii. 21, 22; Matt. xix. 28; Luke xix. 17, 19; xxii 29, 30; 1 Cor. iv. 4, 5; vi 2, 3; ix. 25; 2 Tim. iv. 8; 1 Pet. v. 4; Rev. i 6; ii. 10, 26, 27; iii 21; v. 10; xx. 4, 5, last clause, and verses 6, 7. Note.—It is important here to observe, that as not a few writers on this subject, by confounding things which differ, have indiscriminately amalgamated those of the mortal with the immortal or resurrected state, as equally and in the same sense the occupants of the millennial new earth—which circumstance, by the way, more than any other, has subjected millenarians to the imputation of Jitdaieing and carnalizing the future stale of Christ and His glorified saints—it becomes necessary to point out, 1 Ezek. xliv. 15,21 • Micah iv. 8L 314 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRI8T. ΙΠ. The distinct prophetic relation that will exist between the saved nations in the flesh, and Christ and His co-reigning saints, during the millennial era. This will involve an exhibit, 1. Of the territorial domain assigned to the newly erected millennial kingdom of Christ. As this “ kingdom ” is said to be “under the whole heaven” Dan. vii. 27, of course it must be on this earth. Compare Isa. ix. 6, 7, with Ps. xxii 28; and lxvii. 4; il 8 ; lxxxii. 8 ; Rev. iii. 21; v. 10; xx. 4, 6. This refers to the earth, etc., as renewed or regenerated by “fire” at the last day, i.e., the seventh millenary of the world, in the morning of which it will be partial only, preparing it for the millennial “ new heavens and earth ” state predicted by Isaiah, chap, lxv., compare verse 17, with 18,19; and chap, lxvi., compare verse 22 with 23, 24. See also Ezek. xxxviii. 18-23 ; xxxix. 6. But in the evening of that day, it will be total, corresponding witt. the state of the “ new heavens and new earth ” of St. Peter and St. John. Compare 2 Peter iii. 8, with verses 9-12, and 13; and Rev. xxl 1-5, and chap. xx. 9. This will prepare it for the eternal abode of the redeemed. The distinction between these two states of the renewed earth will appear from the following comparison. The former will not be totally exempt from existing evil, sin, and death, see Isa. lxv. 20, and lxvi. 23, 24: circumstances, these, absolutely incompatible with the latter. See Rev. xx. 1, 4; xxii. 3-5 ; 11, 15. 2. The metropolis of the millennial earth. Isa. ii. 2-4; xxiv. 23; lx. 8-14; Joel iii 16, 17, 20 ; Zech. xiv. 17-21; Ezek. xliii. 7. Reference is here made to the ancient city of Jerusalem when rebuilt. It is to be located in the “ holy oblation or portion,” upon the division of the land, on the north next to Judah, Ezek. xlv. 1-3; xlviii. 7, 8; 30, 31. In this city is to be erected the new 4sanctuary” or temple, Ezek. xlv. 3; xlviii. 21. And also a “ tabernacle,” Ezek. xxxvii. 25-27. But there is to be a second city, Ezek. xlviii. 15. This “ city” is located in the “ holy portion ” on the south, nes t to Benjamin, whose “ border,” like that of Judah, extends from east to west, verse 23. Then there is to be a third city, called “ the Holy City, New Jerusalem,” etc., Rev. xxl 2,10. In this “city” there is also to be a “ tabernacle,” Rev. xxl 3. And finally, both Ezekiel and St. John speak of a new river, THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 315 whose borders on either side will be lined with fruit-beanng trees, etc. Compare Ezek. xlvii. 12, with Rev. xxii. 2. Now, an attentive perusal of the above references will show, that these three cities, together with the sanctuary, or temple, and tabernacle, and the river of Ezekiel and of the Apocalypse, are totally separate and distinct each from the other as it regards their respective localities, their uses, and the order of time in which they are to appear. As it is perfectly apparent that the “ new heavens and earth ” state of Isaiah, chap. lxv. and lxvi., is pro* millennial, and that of St. Peter and St. John, 2 Pet. iii., and Rev. xxi. 1, 5, is jflosi-millennial, with the period of a thousand years intervening; so, the first two cities, together with the sanctuary or temple, the tabernacle, and the new river of Ezekiel, belong to the millennial new earth state : while the third city, and the tabernacle and new river of St. John, belong to the eternal new EARTH STATE. But, from the time that Messiah visibly appears to Israel, when they shall exclaim, “ Lo, this is our God, we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord, we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation ” (Isa. xxv. 9), the prophets declare that “Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord ” (Jer. iii. 17), and that he will “ dwell in the midst of them,” etc., Zeph. iii. 14,15; Zech. ii. 10-12; and viii. 3; Ps. cxxxv. 21; and Isa. xxiv. 23. Also, that “ the name of the city from that day shall be, the Lord is there ” (Ezek. xlviii. 35). And again, that both Ezekiel and St. John declare that His “ sanctuary shall be in the midst of them,” and His “ tabernacle shall be with men,” etc., Ezek. xxxvii. 25-27; Rev. xxi. 3. And finally, as of the saints it is declared that they shall be “ Icings and priests unto God and the Lamb,” so they are to “ sit with Him in his throne,” and “ reign on the earth,” etc., Rev. iii. 12 ; and verse 21; also chap. v. 10; xx. 4. Now, expositors, not a few, having confounded the “new heavens and earth” states of Isaiah, St. Peter, and St. John, insisting that they are identical; have also, first, confounded the two cities of Ezekiel with the Holy City or New Jerusalem of St. John. Second, the same with the tabernacles of Ezekiel and St. John, insisting that they are identical with the New Jerusalem of the latter prophet. And then, third, alleging that “ the holy city, or new Jerusalem ” of the Apocalypse, will be the abode of Christ 316 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. and his co-reigning saints during the millennial era, from the above descriptions of their presence in the Jerusalem and second city of Ezekiel, they insist, fourth, that all the above-named phrases refer to one and the same thing, as denotive that the future inheritance of the raised and changed saints during the millennial era, is identical with that of the occupants of the earth in the flesh. If this be so, it renders the millenarian scheme justly obnoxious to the charge, that it is a Judaizing and carnalizing the future state and condition of Christ and His glorified saints. But, a careful discrimination between things which differ, as connected with the several cities spoken of, their occupants, the relations of rulers and the ruled as predicated of the organic structure of the millennial hierarchy, and the distinction to be drawn between the millennial and the eternal state portrayed in the above prophecies, will sufficiently evidence the fallacy of the above theories, and with it the injustice of the imputation against the millenarian scheme thence arising. To this end, it is only necessary to take into account, 1. The distinction drawn between the millennial new heavens and earth state of Isaiah, and that of St. Peter and St. John, after an intervening period of a thousand years. 2. That the two cities, together with the sanctuary and the tabernacle of Ezekiel, appertain to the millennial state of the renewed earth. 3. That the two cities, together with the sanctuary and taber nacle, located in the holy oblation or portion of Ezekiel, form the metropolis of the millennial earth state, occupied by the saved nations in the flesh. I next observe,'that, 4. Between these, as the subjects of the millennial kingdom, and the Lord Jesus Christ as their King, together with his coordinate immortal and glorified saints, there will be kept up a continued intercourse from His seat or throne “ in the air ” (see 1 These, iv. 17), as the capital of His universal earthly empire, onward to the period of “ the end, when He will deliver up ” the millennial “ kingdom to* God, even the Father . . . that God MAY BE ALL IN ALL.” (l Cor. XV. 24-28.) It hence follows, that there is a wide distinction in the prophetic writings, between the respective relations and spheres of action of the living races of men, and of the risen and glorified THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 317 redeemed Church of Christ. The former are of the lineal multir tudinous seed of Abraham, and of the Gentile nations gathered unto them, during the millennial era. The latter, in virtue of their prior faith in Christ, who is emphatically the “ seed ” of Abraham, and who are of the “ Jerusalem that is above,” have a union with Zion’s King that is not of an earthly, but of a heavenly origin, and are hence of the “ election ” according to grace, whether they be Jews or Gentiles by nature, all being one in Christ Jesus; so that, when they are gathered into one “ at the appearing of Christ,” on the morning of “ the first resurrection,” they will constitute the mystical body of the glorious Head—His spouse—His bride, whose high destiny is, not to be ruled over, but to rule, as kings and priests unto God. The scriptural meaning of the word “ inheritance,” in its application to the two classes of the literal and spiritual seed of Abraham, will afford additional light on thia important subject. Apply it, First, To the literal Israel as the Lord’s inheritance. Detft. xxxii. 8, 9; Ps. cxxxv. 4. Second, To the land of Canaan as their inheritance, in connection with the Gentile strangers among them, etc. Ezek. xlvil 13, 14; 22, 23. So on the other hand, First. Christ has a glorious inheritance in His saints. Compare Eph. v. 27, with chap. i. 18, and verses 15-23 inclusive. This will be revealed when He appears the second time, etc. Compare Heb. ix. 28, with 2 These, i. 10. But, Second. The saints also have an inheritance m Christ. See Eph. i. 11-14. Now, this “inheritance,” for which the saints of the “first resurrection ” have an “ earnest ” or title deed in Christ, is entirely separate and distinct from that of the Jewish and Gentile saved nations in the flesh. It is typified by that which the priests and Levites had in God under the law, as occupying the place and enjoying the privileges of the first-born, as the Lord spake unto Moses, Numb, iil 12, 13; and Deut. xviii 1,2; and also by Ezekiel, chap. xliv. 28. With these passages, compare James i. 18; Rev. xiv. 4; Heb. xii. 23. In the enrolling of names in this last passage, allusion is made to the numbering and recording the names of the first-born among the Israelites, etc., Numb, ifi., and chap. viii.; and, as such, they are said to be “ redeemed from the earth ” Rev. xiv. 3, i. e., in resurrection glory, Rom. viii. 23, and 818 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. hence belong to Christ as his “jewels” Mai. iii. 17, and shall be admitted to that “ inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away,” 1 Pet. i. 3, 4, which, now “ reserved in heaven for them,” shall be “ revealed in the last time ... at the appearing of Christ,” verses 4, 5, 7. It is hence evident, that the elect saints—the church of the FiRsr-BORN—as the espoused Bride of the Lamb, never will have an abiding inhentance upon the restored Paradisiacal “new earth ” of Isaiah during the millennial era. The reason is obvious. Those in mortal flesh, whose “inheritance” is on the earthy as we have seen, being of the natural seed of Abraham, are to some extent subject to both sin and death. Whereas the saints of the resurrection, being “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,” who is the divinely constituted “ Heir of all things,” will be exalted to resurrection life “ in the air to be ever with Him,” And now, as to the mode of the intercourse to be kept up between Christ as Zion’s King in conjunction with the “firstborn ” of the resurrection as His “ kings and priests,” and the saved nations in the flesh. Though our knowledge of it is limited, still, with the ladder in Jacob’s vision present to our minds, with its foot resting on earth and its top reaching to heaven, and the Lord standing above it, while the angels of God were seen ascending and descending upon it (Gen. xxviii. 10-13), we may consider ourselves as furnished with some useful suggestions in elucidation of this subject; and especially when we take into account the numerous statements already given of Christ’s personal presence with His people on earth during the millennial era, and of the statement regarding the resurrected saints, that they will be “ equal unto the angelsf i. e., in wisdom, and in the powers of locomotion, etc., by which they will be qualified to descend from and ascend to their aerial thrones (See Rev. xx. 4), in the execution of the commands of Zion’s King, among the millennial inhabitants of earth. Why, did not Jesus, in His resurrected and glorified humanity, appear among, and eat and drink with, His disciples ? And when He arose, did not many of the saints which slept arise with Him and enter into the Holy City and appear unto many ? Yea more, has not the earth often been trodden by angels’ feet ? And do we not find that everywhere in the universe of God there are ranks and degrees ? Among the angels there is an Hierarchy. And so also, “in the resurrection” state, THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 319 M one star will differ from another star in glory.” In the world to come, therefore, there will be those who rule, and those who are ruled; Jesus Christ, seated upon Ilis father David’s throne, swaying His righteous sceptre over all; uthe apostles, sitting on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; ” and the resurrected saints, also enthroned; and which, taken together, will constitute that GLORIOUS MILLENNIAL HIERARCHY OR THEOCRACY OF THE world to come, whereof we speak. And finally, on this subject of the intercourse between Christ and His saints with the occupants of the millennial earth. It is not necessary, in order to meet the requirements of the prophecies in reference to it, that it should be uninterrupted. It may be illustrated by the condition of our blessed Lord, during the forty days* interval between His resurrection and ascension. He had then no fixed habitation, nor did He associate with men as He was wont to do before His crucifixion. It was seldom that He showed Himself even to His own disciples, and all His appearances were mirao-ulous. They knew not whence He came, nor whither He went. It might be in a room, where the doors were closed, that He suddenly stood in the midst of them, they not perceiving how He obtained admittance. Or it might be on the public highway, or in the open fields, or by the seaside, that He joined their circle and their converse. But in every case they were taught that their risen Lord’s resurrected human body had acquired superhuman or wupernatural power of concealment or of manifestation. As so, we are warranted to expect that the saints, when raised in their spiritualized bodies, and made like unto Him, shall also possess this extraordinary power as above intimated, of appearing and disappearing at will. To conclude: 5. The two cities of Ezekiel, though possessing several marks of resemblance (compare Ezek. xlviii. 31-34, with Rev. xxi. 12, 13), yet, besides other points of dissimilaiity, while the former are to be located within the bounds of the “ Holy Oblation,” St. John saw the latter “ descending from God out of heaven,” etc., Rev. xxi. 2, 10. Besides, this follows, in the order of time, the creation of the POST-millennial “ new heavens and earth ” by the “ fire ” of the last conflagration. (Compare 2 Pet. hi. 7-13, with Rev. xxi. 1, 5.) This stands connected with, 6. The closing scene of time—the last Gog and Magog apostasy—their attempted assault upon “ the camp of the saints and 320 THE SECOND COMING OF CHBIST. the beloved city”—their destruction by “fire from God out of heaven ”—the resurrection of the wicked dead when the millennial thousand years are “ finished ”—the assemblage of “ the dead small and great ” before “ the great white throne ”—their trial and condemnation, which have so long awaited them, even unto this “ the day of judgment and perdition of-ungodly menf when “ death and hell shall be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death; ” .and when “ whosoever shall not be found written in the book of life, shall be cast into the lake of fire.” Then will follow, 1. The great voice from heaven, saying Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he wiU dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: foe the foe MEE THINGS AEE PASSED AWAY. This is that eteenal state in the “ new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Trusting to the indulgence of the reader for the space occu · pied in the “ Sequel ” on this momentous subject of our blessed Lord’s pre-millennial coming, in the language of St. Paul, “I commend him to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build him up, and to give him an inheeitance among all them that are sanctified.” THE RIVER OF THE WATER OF LIFE. REPLY TO AN ARTICLE ON ESCHATOLOGY, OB THE SECOND COMING OF CHKIST,” IN CONNECTION "WITH THE “MILLEHARIANISM OR CHILIASM OF THE ANCIENT, MEDLEVAL, AND MODERN CHURCH,” ETC., ’ AS CONTAINED IN THE REV. PROF. SHEDD’S “HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.” BY THE REY. RICHARD CUNNINGHAM SHIMEALL, MEMBER OF THE PRESBYTERY OF NEW YORE, AUTHOR OF, OUR BIBLE CHRONOLOGY, HISTORIC AND PROPHETIC, DEMONSTRATED ; AN ILLPMf-NATBD SCRIPTURAL CHART OF BIST., CHRON., GEOG., AND GENEALOGY ; A CHART OF UNIVERSAL ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY *, WATT’S SCRIPTURE HISTORY ENLARGED*, END OF PRBLACY *, A TREATISE ON PRAYER, ETC., ETC. NEW YORK: HENRY S. GOODSPEED & CO., PUBLISHERS, GEO. LAWRENCE, LONDON, ONT.