THE 
 
 LAST JUDGMENT 
 
 AND 
 
 SECOND COMING OF THE LOED 
 
 ILLUSTEATED. 
 
 AUTHOR OP " AKTEDILTJVIAN HISTORY," "POSTDILUVIAN HISTORY," 
 " PECULIARITIES OP THE BIBLE," ETC. 
 
 " In the Church I had rather speak five words with my imder- 
 Btanding, that I might teach others also, than ten thousand words 
 in an unljnowii tongue. Bretliren, be not children in understanding : 
 howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men." 
 
 REV. E. D. EENDELL, 
 
 BY 
 
 1 Corinthians xiv. 19, 20. 
 
 LONDON: 
 F. PITMAN, 20, PATERNOSTEE ROW, E.G. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 IKEDEIUCK PITMAN, 20, PATEllNOSTKn ROW, E.C. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 i PAGE 
 PREFACE V. 
 
 INTEODTJCTION. A GENERAL VIEW OF THE SUBJECTS INTENDED 
 
 TO BE DISCUSSED 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 OF THE DEITY, " WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, 
 
 THE ALMIGHTY " 12 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OF SEVERAL DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS AND JUDGMENTS RECORDED 
 
 IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ; WITH THEIR CAUSES AND RESULTS 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE OCCASION AND PURPOSE OP THE LORD'S FIRST ADVENT . . 62 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THAT REGION IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD WHICH IS THE FIRST 
 COMMON RECEPTACLE FOB THE SOULS OF ALL WHO DIE, AND 
 ALSO THE PLACE OF JUDGMENT 84 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DEATH OP THE NATURAL BODY, AND THE RESURRECTION OF 
 
 MAN 113 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "THE EARTH ABIDETH FOR EVER" . . 
 
 144 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PF^RPETUITY OF THE HUMAN BACK, iND THE DIVINE PUBPOSE 
 
 IN THEIR CREATION 175 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE COMMON OPINIONS RESPECTING THE LAST JUDG- 
 MENT AND THE SECOND COMING OE THE LORD 203 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE OCCASION AND PURPOSE OF THE LORD'S SECOND COMING . . 229 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 OF THE LAST JUDGMENT WHICH IS TO ATTEND THE LOBD'S SECOND 
 
 COMING 259 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN 
 
 WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY 295 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " THE NEW JERUSALEM," A NEW CHURCH ON EARTH 338 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 On the wrapper of tlie Intellectual Repository for January, 
 1863, the editor acknowledged the receipt of one hundred 
 pounds, from " Philalethes," to be offered in two Unequal 
 sums, for the best and second best essays on " The Last 
 Judgment, and the Second Coming of the Lord as the Son 
 of man, foretold in the Gospels and Revelation." In the 
 following number of that publication, the conditions and 
 arbiters were announced ; and in the March issue the letter 
 of " Philalethes " to the editor on the subject appeared at 
 length. In that letter he stated his ideas respecting the 
 broad and Christian spirit in which th.e essays should be 
 written, and made some suggestions concerning the range 
 of the review wbicli should be embraced. He also indicat- 
 ed that, for the sake of the multitude, the work should be 
 handled in a popular manner, and that as large a use as 
 possible should be made of the literal sense of the Scriptures, 
 in order that light might be thrown upon it by Sweden- 
 borg's explanations. This essay was selected by the arbi- 
 ters for the first prize. It is designed to illustrate the 
 teachings of the " New Church " on the various subjects 
 of which it treats, and it is hoped that the results will be 
 useful to the cause for which it is written. 
 
vi 
 
 PBEPACE. 
 
 Althougli the work was iinclertaken in consequence of 
 the advertisement referred to, the author has felt the 
 necessary study for its execution a labour of love. While 
 engaged in the exposition of what he humbly but earnestly 
 accepts to be the truth, he believes that he has not been 
 influenced in the performance of it by any motive more 
 earnest than that of making the work suggestive and useful 
 to the Christian reader. He loves the Christian Church, consi- 
 dered as a spiritual institution, designed to teach Scriptural 
 truths for the rational faith of mankind, and to insist upon 
 the cultivation of charity as an essential for their salvation. 
 For this Church he has laboured, for this he hopes to con- 
 tinue his labours to the end of his career ; it is among his 
 chief pleasures ; he owes to it a variety of blessings ; he 
 looks to its existence as the medium of a thousand mercies 
 which the world is now enjoying, without a sufficient know- 
 ledge of their source ; and he regards it as a medium of 
 spiritual light which future generations will embrace with 
 wonder at the hesitation and obscurities 'felt by the present, 
 and employ it as the handmaid of heaven for the purpose 
 of promoting the Divine teachings. 
 
 Of course, with opinions long formed on the subject of 
 this essay, it was scarcely possible to treat them with en- 
 tire impartiality : no one can reasonably pretend to be in- 
 different to that which he honestly believes ajid loves ; but 
 the effort to explain and confirm it does not necessarily 
 imply a sectarian advocacy : it simply requires that those 
 who undertake such efforts should love the truth and be 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 vii 
 
 equitable to the sentiment of otliera, wMIe attempting to 
 do justice to tlicir own perception of it. In this re- 
 spect the author has endeavoured to be careful and con- 
 scientious. Sectarianism is a section, a something cut off 
 from the general body : a part only ; and, therefore, it is in 
 danger of being one-sided in its views, limited in its aims, 
 and narrow in its mode of defence. These defects he has 
 endeavoured to avoid. Truth is of no party : it is broad 
 and liberal in its announcements, kind and charitable in its 
 expressions, it is universal in its purposes, it offers itself 
 frankly to the consideration of the learned, to the accept- 
 ance of the pious, and as the teacher of all who are willing 
 to learn. It can afford to be tender and indulgent to the 
 opinions of others, without dimming the lustre of its own 
 brightness, or relinquishing the prerogatives which are 
 proper to its nature ; and, surely, a time will come when it 
 will be met with more welcome and generosity than it at 
 present receives ; and when the Judean question, "Can any 
 good thing come out of Nazareth?" shall be silenced by 
 the invitation, " Come and see." The realization of that 
 period will be most advantageous to rehgion and the world : 
 at how great a distance it may be from the present, none 
 can tell ; but come it must, if prophecy be true, although it 
 may not be for us to know the times and the seasons. Our 
 duty is to work in faith, and wait ia hope, and the Divine 
 mercy is sure, sooner or later, to crown the labours of honesty 
 and conscience, with satisfaction and success. In this faith 
 the author lays down his pen, and commits this work to 
 
Vlll 
 
 PBEPACE. 
 
 the wise providence of Him whose predicted judgment lie 
 has endeavoured to interpret, and whose wonderful advent 
 he has attempted to explain. "Whatever defects may attach 
 to the reasonings and opinions set forth, belong entirely to 
 the author. No cause is compromised by his statements, 
 or by his treatment of the subjects, nor are any responsible 
 for his utterances but himself. 
 
 Preston, August, 1867. 
 
THE LAST JUDGMENT 
 
 AND 
 
 SECOND COMIjN a OE THE LORD. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A GEjSTIEAL view OF THE SUBJECTS INTENDED TO BE 
 DISCUSSED. 
 
 The Aegument. — The Scripture narratives of the subjects admitted 
 to be figurative. — The author's opinion. — Statement that we are 
 now lidng in the time of the Lord's Second Coming. — Surprise 
 which this idea may occasion to those who hold the common view 
 of that event. — The fate which has befallen important truths. — 
 The new doctrine is founded in Biblical criticism, and possesses 
 evidence in the condition of society. — The importance of truth and 
 the danger of prejudice. — The time in which we Uve not satisfied 
 with the religious decisions of a former age. — The new era. — The 
 advancement of scientific knowledge. — The argument against the 
 idea of religious progress.- — The completeness of the Christian 
 documents, but the incompleteness of human interpretation. — 
 Differences of religious thought. — Improved perceptions concerning 
 the meaning of what is revealed. — Men's interpretations not to be 
 confounded with Scripture. — We are at liberty to reject what is seen 
 to be mistaken. — The Last Judgment and Second Advent revealed 
 facts which require to be interpreted. — The common explanation put 
 aside. — Canon respectmg the interpretation of prophecy. — The main 
 object of the work stated at the outset : why this course has been 
 preferred. — The author's hope and request. 
 
 The Last Judgment, and the Second Coming of the Lord 
 as "the Son of man," are two events predicted in the 
 sacred Scriptures ; and every Christian will ^always feel a 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AlfD 
 
 serious interest in rightly understanding the phenomena 
 which they involve. What those events are, where they are 
 to transpire, and when they are to be accomphshed, are points 
 which we propose to consider during the progress of this 
 work. A careful study of the language in which those 
 predictions are given, has suggested to many minds, influ- 
 enced by the direction of modern thought, the desirableness 
 of re-considering the views which they have been supposed 
 to express. What these views are will subsequently ap- 
 pear : that they are founded on a very literal intei-pretation 
 of prophetic terms, is evident ; yet it is equally plain, 
 and now generally acknowledged, that the narratives are 
 eminently figurative ; and, therefore, it is not unreasonably 
 concluded that there may be some inaccuracy in such an 
 interpretation. At the outset, we confess this to be our 
 opinion. It was originally suggested to us by the wi'itings 
 of one who is considered by many to have been raised up 
 by the Divine providence, and to have been peculiarly 
 enlightened to communicate information to the world upon 
 the subject of biblical interpretation ; moreover, the idea is 
 intimately connected with doctrines of a new Religious 
 Dispensation, which, it is believed, is now in the process of 
 being established among mankind, and of which the dis- 
 sentions, prevalent throughout universal Christendom, may 
 be accepted as no unworthy evidence. This opinion has 
 been arrived at in no spirit of haste, from no love of novelty, 
 in no desire for change ; but after long, varied, and anxious 
 inquiry into the evidences by which it is sustained, and 
 the consequences to which it led ; and this, too, in defiance 
 of an education urging a difierent result. The long period 
 during which we have held this opinion, has afibrded many 
 occasions for reviewing the testimony and ai-guments which 
 led to its adoption ; we have done this with some frequency 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 3 
 
 and care, and the result, in all cases, has been to strengthen 
 our convictions, with what appeai-ed to us, " Light, more 
 light." The new system of biblical interpretation which 
 the author has adopted, and which regards the Scrip- 
 tures to be written in conformity with a Divine law, a 
 law recognising the correspondence subsisting between 
 natural and spiritual things ; together with considerations 
 touching the wonderful characteristics of the age in which 
 we live, have served to fortify the assurance that we are now 
 actually living within the era in which the predicted judg- v 
 ment and second coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. 
 
 This conclusion may startle some to whom it is suggested 
 for the first time ; but of course in making this statement, 
 it will be understood that we think of those events in a 
 way very different from that which is commonly accepted. 
 We regard the judgment as a spiritual process on the souls t 
 of departed men, and the second coming of the Lord as a 
 spii'itual event in reference to the religious teachings of the 
 Word. And although the natural world is not considered 
 to have been the scene of their occurrence, their accomplish- 
 ment is believed to have been equally real in its results, 
 and to have its foundation in a fair and reasonable interpre- 
 tation of the Scriptures. We think, also, that the remark- 
 able changes which religious society has experienced during 
 the last century, can only be satisfactorily accounted for 
 by referring their causes to the operations of some extra- 
 ordinary spiritual phenomena. Men have been so long 
 accustomed to regard these two events as belonging only 
 to some distant futurity, when 
 
 " The great globe itself 
 And all that it inherits shall dissolve ; 
 And, like the baseless fabric of a vision, 
 Leave not a wreck behind " — 
 
 s 2 
 
4 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 that they are but ill prepared for the reception of any 
 contrary views : hence they may treat such views as the 
 result of some fanaticism, and turn away from them as 
 from the sentiments of folly. Something like this has 
 been the fate of many important truths which have been 
 presented for the world's acceptance. Those brought for- 
 ward by Galileo, Harvey, Newton, and others, are too well 
 known to be repeated here. It will, therefore, be no extra- 
 ordinary thing if the above announcement should induce 
 some readers to proceed no farther with this book. But 
 there are men, and it is believed that their number is in- 
 creasing, who Avill be more patient and candid listeners to 
 the evidence and arguments by which the above statement 
 is attempted to be sustained ; and those, when earnestly 
 assui'ed that that statement has some orood "rounds in fair 
 biblical criticism, in great reverence for the Word of God 
 as a divinely iuspn-ed composition, and in much carefal 
 observation on the remarkable features and progressions of 
 society, may be induced to feel some interest in the inquiry, 
 and to weigh well the testimony which has led us to a con- 
 clusion so startlinj; and uncommon. 
 
 Doubtless it can be no easy thing to give up one's 
 received conceptions on these subjects. To put away from 
 our faith that which has been handed down by a long 
 tradition, and become a part of conventional Chi-istianity, 
 must needs be difficult. But if, upon examination, this 
 traditional faith be found to have originated in some mis- 
 taken interpretation of the narrative in which those 
 subjects are announced, then no difficulty should be per- 
 mitted to interfere with the duty of re-examination. Error, 
 when detected, should be relinquished, whatever may be 
 its antiquity ; notwithstanding it may plead the authority 
 of great names, and urge a wide-spread acceptance among 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE lOED. 
 
 5 
 
 mankind. Truth, and especially that which relates to the 
 vital and eternal principles of our rehgion, is above all 
 price ; it should also be above all prejudice, and when seen 
 it should be embraced at all hazards. At the bidding of 
 truth our most valued convictions should be renounced, 
 and we ought to rejoice and be thankful to the Father 
 of mercies that an opportunity has been pro^•ided for the 
 sacrifice. This coui-se will be sure to result in satisfaction, 
 " steadfast and immovable." 
 
 These are not the times of a dull routine ; the men of 
 this age are not so satisfied with the decisions of the past 
 as were their ancestors a century ago. A new and unpa- 
 ralleled era of knowledge in almost every department of 
 learning has been iuaugurated. Physical science has thi'own 
 ofi" a variety of old traditions, and raised for itself a plat- 
 form never before attained. Literary inquiries are being 
 prosecuted with a breadth and freedom never before in- 
 dulged in. Bibhcal criticism has become a science ; it is 
 shaking oif the fetters of dogmas, and striving, ^vii\l open 
 eyes and busy hand, to correct the mistakes of ages. Those 
 things best calculated to improve and advance our natural 
 civilization, are in a condition of activity and progress. 
 Religious knowledge is the only thing which men endea- 
 vour to keep in a stationary position. That, by many, is 
 considered to be its proper place. It is thought to belong 
 to a province of our necessities which neither needs nor 
 admits of any amendment. It is conceded that we may 
 become more proficient in our acquaintance with the phe- 
 nomena of nature, but it is maintained that all knowledge 
 of a spiritual and rehgious character has been provided 
 for us, and fixed and settled. It is argued that the achieve- 
 ments which have been accomplished in the fornjer, are no 
 reason for expecting any progress in the latter. That there 
 
6 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AUTD 
 
 is no connection between onr improved methods of dealing 
 with matter, and any advancement of reUgions information ; 
 that the one has always been open to the inflnences of pro- 
 gress, bnt that the other, becanse it is a revelation from 
 God, — was never admissive of snch an issne ; and so it is 
 assnmed that our knowledge of rehgious truth has been 
 completed and has reached a standstill ! 
 
 This may be a plausible way of putting the subject, but 
 it is certainly fallacious, and is contradicted by the history 
 of opinion, in many ages of the Church. Doctrines ad- 
 mitted as true ia one period have been debated and aban- 
 doned in another ; tenets have been added to the popular 
 faith, of which antiquity was ignorant ; and interpretations 
 of Scripture, which for centuries were accepted as the 
 truth, have been compelled to recede before the hght of 
 modern science and discovery. Respecting those facts 
 there can be no dispute. 
 
 It is, indeed, true that the revelation of Christianity 
 came from its Founder in a complete and perfect state ; that 
 is to say, the documents called the Bible contain everything 
 that is necessary for our knowledge of Christianity in the 
 most finished and decided form ; but that is not the case with 
 men's interpretation of them. It is not true that the perfect 
 revelations of God have always been understood in a perfect 
 manner. The various sections of the Christian Church 
 which now prevail are standing proofs that different inter- 
 pretations, both of passages and principles of the Word, 
 have found a place among them ; and it is amazing, not to 
 say alarming, to many minds, to observe the strong forms 
 in which fresh ditferences in religious thought are now in 
 the process of being disclosed. They are put forth with the 
 surrounilings of elegant learning by the very elite of our 
 national universities, and they are being sought after by 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 7 
 
 large numbei'S in educiitecl society. The theological era in 
 which we live is extraordinary and surprising. Hence we 
 contend that our progress in all the appliances of social 
 and civilized life, not only suggests the necessity for some 
 advancement in our acquaintance with reUgious truth, but 
 that this progress is actually forcing into existence some 
 new information concerning such truth which may run 
 parallel with itself; not that the documents of revela- 
 tion, not that Christianity viewed in its intrinsic nature, 
 are capable of any improvements, for all these are most 
 Holy and Divine ; but that some new perceptions of the 
 truths which are contained within these munificent provi- 
 sions for our educational welfare, may be arrived at and 
 enjoyed. 
 
 Surely men's interpretations of the Scripture are not to 
 be accepted as Scriptui-e ; and as such interpretations may 
 be mistaken and untrue, it is plain that when this is seen 
 to be the case, we are at liberty to reject them. This re- 
 jection, certainly, has occurred in many instances at various 
 times ; it may occur again, and, therefore, even on this 
 ground, some improvement in religious knowledge may 
 fairly be expected, especially in reference to those subjects 
 from which expositors have excluded reason, and into which 
 they have imported mystery. WMlst rejecting a long- 
 received interpretation, no doubt is entertained concerning 
 the authority and truthfulness of the document interpreted. 
 No man is bound by the explanations of another any farther 
 than he sees its reasonableness and force ; nor ought he to 
 be subjected to any censure because he cannot accept the 
 inference of those who, like himself, are liable to err. 
 
 It is admitted by all who believe the Scriptures, that the 
 Lord promised to execute a last judgment, and to come 
 again. The questions then to be discussed are not about the 
 
8 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, ANT) 
 
 facts considered in themselves, but about the true meaning 
 of the narratives in which they are related ; and this re- 
 solves itself into a question of interpretation and evidence. 
 We believe that the opinion conventionally held upon those 
 subjects cannot be faii-ly and reasonably maintained from 
 the terms of the predictions ; and those opinions have been 
 put away by us for the adoption of others, which commend 
 themselves more fully to our judgment and conscience. As 
 before observed, the views intended to be taught are, that 
 the last judgment and second coming of the Lord are events 
 which have been accomplished in comparatively modern 
 times, and that the exact meaning of the predictions which 
 refer to those subjects could not be ascertained before, 
 because the evidences necessary for then- interpretation 
 had not previously transpired. It is a received canon that 
 prophecy can never be clearly understood until the time of 
 its falfilment. 
 
 The reader is thus, at the very outset, put in possession 
 of the main drift of this work. He sees, at once, some- 
 thing of the points which are proposed to be expanded and 
 explained. It is hoped that, as he proceeds, he wiU meet 
 with nothing to give any just offence to his preconceptions 
 or his reason. If the propositions are true, and the evi- 
 dences on which they rest can be sustained, we have no 
 doubt that the difficulties which may seem to surround our 
 views at this early stage of their announcement, will gi"a- 
 dually abate as the perusal proceeds ; but if they remain after 
 the argument is completed, we have no remedy, and all 
 that we can say under such circumstances is, that truth is 
 no match for an unfavorable bias. 
 
 Had it been thought desirable, these doctrines need not 
 have been set forth as the doctrines of the New Jerusalem : 
 the authority of Swedenborg might have been concealed 
 
SECOND COMrNG OF THE LOBD. 
 
 9 
 
 and tlie materials so arranged as to bring out the purpose 
 of our teaching as a speculative sequel. But the docti'ines 
 which we have to announce do not present themselves to 
 us as speculations, but as facts ; and therefore we have pre- 
 ferred the fi-anker course. There is no wish to sui-prise 
 any into the acceptance of what is taught, nor to com- 
 mit them to any sentiments which do not commend them- 
 selves to their reasonable piety and good sense. Our desire 
 is to present what has been perceived from the teachings 
 of Swedenborg and the New Church, to the quiet reflection / 
 and judgment of sincere and thoughtful men, — to men who 
 feel an intellectual interest in knowing the meaning of 
 what their Divine Master has taught them in His Word, — 
 to men who are earnest in their endeavour to avoid mis- 
 taken interpretation of His teachings, — to men who love 
 the truth, and who will not be deterred from adopting it, 
 when it is perceived, because it may happen to reach them 
 through some unexpected channel, or some unjiopular 
 som-ce. And the result is humbly left to the wise provi- 
 dence of Him without whom no truth can be spoken and 
 no good can be done. 
 
 It is hoped that in the treatment of the various subjects 
 which appeared to be requisite for the elucidation of the 
 main object of this work, nothing has been said but in the 
 kindest spirit. If any word is employed which would seem 
 to have an uncharitable meaning, the reader is assured that 
 no such meaning is intended. Truth can always afford to 
 be gentle and forbearing ; it is a power belonging to hu- 
 manity and tenderness, and it becomes more and more 
 beautiful as it is wielded with leniency and love. 
 
 Though in the preparation of the work it has been felt 
 necessary to oppose many things which popular Christianity 
 receives, yet we are not conscious of having Avritten a single 
 
10 
 
 THE LAST JTrDGMENT, AND 
 
 sentiment over wMcli charity has not presided and ttrged 
 us to " speak the truth in love." 
 
 Let no one then be deterred from trying the experiment 
 of a careful perusal of this work because he sees at the be- 
 ginning that the argument is intended to lead him away 
 from opiaions he has cherished. It is not impossible that 
 those opinions may have been formed by the mere conven- 
 tionalities of the Church, and without any fair examination. 
 They may have been taken upon trust from others, and thus 
 have no reasonable ground in self-knowledge and percep- 
 tion. It frequently happens, at least among the multitude, 
 that opinions are adopted, not because they have been in- 
 vestigated, but because some supposed authority has taught 
 them. In such cases, how plain is it that the belief is not 
 in the thing but in the authority ; it is not their own faith, 
 but another's in. them. This can by no means be satisfac- 
 tory to the thoughtful, and when attention is directed to 
 the circumstance, they will, if they are also seriously dis- 
 posed, see the importance of a personal inquiry into the 
 grounds and evidences of that which they professedly be- 
 lieve. Without an inquiry of this sort they cannot know, 
 from any intellectual conviction of their own, that what 
 they have accepted is really true. They may persuade 
 themselves that it is so because others have asserted it, 
 and because the majority have adopted it ; but it cannot 
 be to them any matter of rational certainty. In such a 
 case, there is not only the danger of accepting error for 
 tmth, but the certainty of possessing a persuasive faith, 
 and mistaking the subjects of it for a reality. That only is 
 our own which we have made so by earnest and rational 
 thought ; aU that we possess in any other way is a mere 
 persuasion floating in the memory, about which the under- 
 standing is not informed, and from which the heart can 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 11 
 
 only experience a doiabtfiil profit. The reader, therefore, is 
 affectionately solicited to consider the following pages with 
 candour, justice, and judgment. Should he not accept 
 their teachings, he will at least see that those who do so 
 are not without strong reasons for the hope that is in them. 
 The lovers of truth seek for it in light, and embrace it in 
 liberty. In their inquiries they will humbly look up for 
 guidance to Him who is "the truth;" they will faithfally 
 obey His command to "search the Scriptures;" they will 
 not forget that the way to know His doctrines is to do His 
 will ; and in all their efforts to receive and declare them, 
 they will wait patiently for the issues of His providence. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 OP THE DEITY " WHO IS, WHO WAS, AND WHO IS TO COME, 
 THE ALMIGHTY." 
 
 The Argument. — A knowledge of the idea which the Scriptures teach 
 concerning the Divine Being, essential to the inqnirj'. — The oneness 
 of God. — God not a Being for human discovery. — Kevelation the 
 source of all true information concerning Him. — God's communica- 
 tion to Adam the original reyelation on this subject. — The Old Tes- 
 tament statements respecting it, shadowy ; those of the New Testa- 
 ment, more clear. — Various names of the Deity. — Jehovah Elohim : 
 Jesus Christ : their dual significance. — The love and wisdom of God 
 not to be thought of as abstractions ; they must have embodiment : 
 this indispensable to any intelUgible idea concerning God. — The idea 
 of God as a Divine Person. — Divine appearances prior to the first 
 Advent ; what they were intended to reveal. — What is meant by the 
 declaration that " God is a Spirit." — How the historical statement 
 that God spoke to men and was seen by them is to be reconciled 
 with the declaration " No man hath seen God at any time nor heard 
 His voice." — What are meant by the angel of the Lord and the angel 
 of His presence. — Every Divine appearance a Divine coming. — The 
 same Divine unity on all occasions. — Jehovah, the Creator, Redeemer, 
 and Saviour. — Predictions concerning Jehovah's coming into the 
 world. — His assumption of humanity through the instrumentality of a 
 virgin. — The humanity assumed called the Son of God. — The angehc 
 nature in which Jehovah appeared before the incarnation, and the 
 human nature in which He appeared by incarnation. — How He 
 became a Saviour to the uttermost. — Divine humanity distinguished 
 from the maternal humanity. — Jesus Christ the new name of the 
 One Supreme Being : in what sense He said He had life in Himself. 
 — The distinction between the titles " Son of God " and " Son of 
 man:" it is as the Son of man He la to execute judgment and to 
 come again. 
 
 When it is tmdertaken to inquire into the nature of the 
 last judgment, and the second coming of the Lord, it seems 
 
THE SECOin) COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 13 
 
 essential that we should, at the very outset of such inquiry, 
 make ourselves acquainted with what the Scriptures teach 
 concerning the Divine Being of whom these visitations are 
 predicted. "Without a plain and satisfactory idea upon 
 this subject we shall be liable to get into some confusion 
 while studying those remarkable dispensations of His pro- 
 vidence. Permit me then, with much earnestness and affec- 
 tion, to direct your attention to this point. 
 
 The Scripture statement that " The Lord our God is one 
 Lord," is very emphatic; and the acceptance of it as a 
 grand truth is one of the marks and evidences of genuine 
 religion. Still, this is only the numerical idea, and, viewed 
 in itself, does not advance us very far into an intellectual 
 acquaintance with Him. He is not a Being for human dis- 
 covery : man by searching cannot find out God. The fact 
 that He is one is made known to us through the medium 
 of revelation, and all other true information respecting Him 
 comes from the same source. The Bible informs us that God 
 made several communications to Adam thereby He must 
 have made a revelation of Himself; and from that period 
 some idea respecting Him has always prevailed among man- 
 kind. Nothing seems more certain than that the idea of 
 God first came into the world by His own revelation of it : 
 it is also evident that as the pui'ity of that idea has, from 
 time to time, been corrupted or forgotten by the perversities 
 of men. He has been mercifully pleased to renew such 
 revelations, for the purpose of restoring and maintaining 
 the truth of it in His Church. 
 
 Doubtless the Scriptures are intended to furnish us with 
 as full and complete an idea of the Deity as it is possible 
 for finite minds to have respecting the Infinite. But as the 
 Scriptures were not given to the world all at once, so the 
 * Gen. i. and ii. 
 
THE LAST JFDGMEKT, AND 
 
 complete idea of God which they communicate for the ac- 
 ceptance of our faith must have been gradually developed. 
 Man's necessity for an idea of Him in the natural mind was 
 not a sudden event. Thus, although in the Old Testament 
 He is revealed, yet that revelation was somewhat dim and 
 shadowy, for it is therein written of Him, " Verily Thou art 
 a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour;'" 
 but in the New Testament He is expressly declared to have 
 become " God manifest in the flesh. In the former docu- 
 ments He is made known with some obscurity ; but in the 
 latter He is revealed with remarkable clearness. Through- 
 out the whole history of those revelations, it is the same 
 Supreme Being who is spoken of; but in the latter docu- 
 ments He is more fully declared than in the former. Hence 
 it is written of Him in both that He is " the first and the 
 last;"^ and in the Revelation it is added, "who is, and 
 who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."* There can- 
 not be two Almighties ; and it is important to notice that 
 the clause " who is to come," must refer to His second 
 coming, because it was written subsequent to the first, 
 which is apparently pointed at by the preceding clause, 
 " who was." 
 
 The Scriptures not only reveal to us that God is, and 
 that He is one : they also tell us that He is the Creator, 
 the Redeemer, and the Saviour. But these titles simply 
 express the merciful activities of His providence in regard 
 to the universe and men. They declare some of His attri- 
 butes, but they' do not enable us to think very clearly of the 
 Being to whom these attributes belong. For this we must 
 go to other facts and other teachings with which the Scrip- 
 tures abound. 
 
 1 Isa. xlv. 15. 
 
 8 Isa. xliv. 6 ; Rev. i. 8, 17. 
 
 « 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 4 Rev. i. 8. 
 
SECOND COMIKG OF THE LORD. 
 
 15 
 
 Every one must Have noticed that the Deity is called by 
 a great variety of names ; and it is plain that these are 
 mainly employed to express some peculiarities belonging to 
 His nature. Each refers to some distinctive attribute or 
 action by which the one God is characterized, and by which 
 He was most fally apprehended by the people to whom it 
 was first revealed, and by whom it was employed in their 
 adoration and worship. Under the Old Testament dispen- 
 sations, it is evident that Jehovah was the most distin- 
 guished name of the Almighty. He expressly said, " I am 
 Jehovah, that is my name: "They shall know that my 
 name is Jehovah: He "whose name alone is Jehovah is 
 the most high over all the earth."' Now the idea which 
 this name is intended to convey to us is that of esse, the E.v- 
 isting One ; that is, the supreme Being as He is in His es- 
 sential nature. But this name is frequently associated with 
 another which, in Hebrew, is Elohim, which term is com- 
 monly translated God. This is the most general name of 
 the Deity, because it is intended to convey to us some idea 
 of His existere ; that is. His wisdom or manifestation. But 
 in the Scriptures these two names are fi-equently joined to- 
 gether. In the original they are Jehovah Elohim ; in our 
 version they appear as Lord God. In this connection those 
 names express the Deity in respect to two essentials of His 
 Divine natui'e, namely esse, or love, and existere, or wisdom. 
 
 Now it is vmder these two names that we find the Su- 
 preme Being first revealed to the human race. If the nar- 
 ratives describing the creation and fall of man are consulted 
 in a spirit of discrimination, it will be found that in those 
 remarkable histories the Deity is called Jehovah Elohim ; 
 that is, Lord God. Thus, "the Lord God" formed man 
 out of the dust of the ground ; " the Lord God " planted 
 1 Isa. xlii. 8. ^ jer. xn. 21. 3 Psalm Ixxxiii. 18. 
 
16 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AKB 
 
 the garden ; out of tlie ground made " the Lord God " to 
 grow every tree wMcli is pleasant to the sight ; " the Lord 
 God" commanded the man; "the Lord God" said it is 
 not good that man shonkl be alono ; and so on. This fact 
 is peculiarly marked ; for in the first chapter of Genesis 
 the term Elohim — God — only is used, and in the fourth 
 chapter we find that Jehovah — Lord — only is employed. 
 The titles Jehovah Elohim — that is, Lord God — were those 
 under which the Supreme Being was first made known to 
 man ; and these express those two essentials of the Divine 
 nature, namely, love and wisdom, which were engaged in 
 man's creation, and for the recognition and reception of 
 which he was gifted with the two faculties which we call 
 will and understanding. This is what is refen'ed to when 
 it is said of man that he was to be created in the image 
 and likeness of God.' 
 
 But when we speak of essentials in the Divine nature, it 
 is requisite to remember that they must have their ulti- 
 mates ; that is to say, they must have some embodiment 
 in which to inhere. Essentials are something, and they 
 pertaiu to something. An essence without a form is 
 nothing. Neither love nor wisdom can be thought of as 
 abstractions. As they exist in the Divine, they must have 
 some entity in which to exist ; and what other entity is 
 conceivable but that of a Di^one Person ? And is not this 
 idea respecting the Supreme plainly indicated in the decla^ 
 ration, " God created man in His own image, in the image 
 of God created "He him "? Some may say that this refers 
 to man's mental and moral image — we say so too ; but inas- 
 much as this mental and moral image does not exist out of 
 a Imman personality, so its prototype cannot exist out of a 
 Divine personality. This, moreover, is the appearance un- 
 ' Gen. i. 26. 
 
SECOjn) COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 17 
 
 der whicli He is recorded to have been seen in all the mani- 
 festations which He is said to have made to individuals and 
 to communities 6f men. It is indispensable to any intelli- 
 gible thought coucei'ning Him. God, as it were, vanishes 
 from the human intellect the moment this idea respecting 
 Him is permitted to pass away ; without it, the mind wan- 
 ders ill the universe, and its notions must be either that 
 nature is God, or that He is an infinite — nothing ! 
 
 Thus we see that although the first communications of 
 the Supreme to men were made under names expressive of 
 His love and wisdom, yet it is plain that those attributes of 
 the Divine natm-e could not be presented to human thought 
 under any other idea than that of a Divine Person. This, 
 therefore, has been the idea respecting Him which has pre- 
 vailed iu all the best periods of His Church ; and when, 
 from the extraordinary perversities of men, the reality of 
 this idea was about to pass away, we find that He provided 
 means for its revival and perpetuity ; first, in the per- 
 sonal appearances which He made to special individuals ; 
 and, finally, by assuming humanity, and becoming manifest 
 in the flesh. Previous to this last event, the idea which 
 was extant concerning the personality of God was shadowy 
 and obscui-e ; but by that phenomenon the Divine was 
 brought to view with so much fulness, and in a form so 
 cleai'ly adapted to the perceptions of mankind, that all may 
 know Him, from the least unto the greatest. Doubtless, 
 that fact was intended to be a complete revelation concern- 
 ing the Di\-ine-human personality of God. 
 
 Prior to His first advent, the Lord frequently appeared 
 to men. In the Israelitish history many instances are re- 
 corded, and all of them show that the Infinite intended by 
 them to reveal Himself to human apprehension as one 
 Divine Person. 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AXD 
 
 Wliatever other purposes might have been intended by 
 those appearances, that is quite conspicuous. Nothing else 
 could haye impressed the percipient with the idea of an in- 
 telligent Being, because intelligence had never been pre- 
 sented to the mind of man apart fi'om the idea of personality, 
 either human or Divine. The whole Scriptures keep this 
 fact before us with great precision. The moment we lose 
 sight of the Divine unity on the one hand, and of the actual 
 personality of that unity on the other, that moment we 
 descend into theological confasion, and all clearness of 
 thought upon those subjects vanishes from the mind. 
 
 Although, then, the Old Testament most clearly informs 
 us that the Supreme Beiag has been seen by men, and that 
 He has spoken to many, still a little reflection will show 
 that these statements ought not to be understood as refer- 
 ring to physical seeing and natural hearing. It was not 
 by physical sight that He was seen, nor by the natural ear 
 that He was heard. Therefore those experiences must be 
 understood as adaptations to the interior sight and percep- 
 tions of men, accommodations to their spiritual capabilities 
 of seeing and hearing. And the scenes of those phenomena, 
 however they might have aj^peared upon the plane of the 
 natural world, must nevertheless have been presented in 
 some sphere of that spiritual world which is immediately 
 above ; that is, within. We are expressly told that " God 
 is a Spirit'" ; and that the things of the Spirit of God are 
 spiritually discerned.^ The statement that God is a Spirit 
 is not to be interpreted to mean that He is something 
 aerial, or unsubstantial, but that He is a spiritual entity 
 which cannot be thought of otherwise than as a Divine 
 Person. 
 
 But it is written. " No man hath seen God at any time 
 1 John iv. 24. = 1 Cor. ii. 14. « Johii i. 18. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 19 
 
 " Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His 
 shape.* " How are these statements to be reconciled with 
 the historical facts to which we have adverted, and the ex- 
 planations we have given ? The answer we think is evident 
 and simple. 
 
 There can he no doubt that God, considered in Himself, 
 as to His infinite esse, was never seen nor heard by any 
 man in the universe. The Infinite Himself is above all 
 heavens : He, as such, transcends the capacity of all finite 
 apprehension ; and, therefore, at particular times, and for 
 the special necessities of men. He has " bowed the heavens 
 and come down ; " that is. He has mercifully made use 
 of mediums for the purpose of effectiag those visitations 
 which are related ; to the end that He might furnish men 
 with that idea respecting Himself which should be the 
 nearest possible approximation to that which is actual in 
 Him and which the finite can have of the Infinite. That, 
 then, which has been seen and heard as God, and which, 
 in conformity with the language of appearances, is said to 
 have been God, consisted in those mediums which He 
 was pleased to assume for the purpose of approaching the 
 spiritual vision and hearing of mankind, and thus to con- 
 vey to our perceptions that human idea respecting the 
 Supreme which it is important we should possess if we 
 wotdd know, serve, and worship Him, as He would have us 
 do. With this view, there is no discrepancy between the 
 Divine statements which have been cited and the histories 
 adverted to. Men frequently say they have seen a person, 
 when, strictly speaking, they have seen little else than his 
 dress. 
 
 This brings us to inquire what those mediums were. In 
 connection with those historical manifestations of the 
 1 John V. 37. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 Deity, we frequently read of "the Angel of the Lord ;" or, 
 more properly, "tlie Angel of Jehovah." This, at first 
 sight, wotdd seem to mean nothing more than some spiri- 
 taal envoy, whom Jehovah had employed as a being apart 
 from Himself. But a careful examination of some of the 
 narratives will show that the " Angel of the Lord " means 
 the Divine Himself, manifested through the medium of an 
 angel. For instance, it is written, " The Angel of Jehovah 
 appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire, out of the midst 
 of a bush, . . . and Moses said, I will now turn aside, and 
 see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when 
 Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called 
 unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, ... I am 
 the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of 
 Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for 
 he was afraid to look upon God."' Here, although the 
 narrative opens with the declaration that the Angel of Je- 
 hovah appeared, yet the context shows that it was an 
 angeUc medium which Jehovah had assumed and filled 
 with His presence for the purpose. And this medium is 
 also called God. They are called gods, to whom the word 
 of God came." 
 
 "The Ansrel of Jehovah called unto Abraham out of 
 heaven, and said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither 
 do thou anything unto him : for now I know that thou 
 fearest God ; seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine 
 only son from me :" ' and again, " The Angel of Jehovah 
 called unto- Abraham out of heaven the second time, and 
 said. By myself ha.ve I sworn, saith Jehovah^ * The Angel 
 of Jehovah appeared unto Gideon . . . "and Jehovah 
 looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou 
 
 ' Exod. iii. 2-6. ^ Ps. kxxii. 6 ; John x. 35. 
 
 3 Gen. xsii. 11, 12. * Gen. xsii. 15, 16. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 21 
 
 shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.'" Other 
 instances could he cited, but these are sufficient : they 
 clearly show that the phrase "Angel of Jehovah "is in- 
 tended to express the idea of Jehovah filling an angel with 
 His presence, as a medium for effecting the Divine mani- 
 festations intended ; this, also, is indicated by the phrase, 
 " Angel of His presence." * 
 
 Prom these considerations we learn that the Divine 
 appearances which are recorded in the Old Testament were 
 manifestations of Jehovah ; that is, Divine appearances 
 effected through the instrumentality of an angel's nature. 
 It was the same Divine unity, the same Divine personality, 
 who not only said that He is One, but likewise that He is 
 the Creator, the Redeemer and Saviour. It is expressly 
 written, " Thus saith Jehovah who created the heavens, 
 and stretched them out ; He that spread forth the earth, 
 and that which cometh out of it."' "I am Jehovah, and 
 there is none else." * It is also declared that, " As for our 
 Redeemee, Jehovah of hosts is His name and again, "I 
 am Jehovah, and beside me there is no Saviour."* "A 
 just God and a Saviour, there is none beside me ;"' and 
 "My glory will I not give to another." ' He, then, it was, 
 who, to preserve some definite conception of Himself 
 among mankind, made the appearances to which we have 
 adverted, and thereby provided for the spiritual necessities 
 of mankind. 
 
 But whatever might have been the immediate uses of 
 those several appearances, — for every manifestation was a 
 Divine coming, — it is clear that there was one, of a more re- 
 markable character than all the rest, contemplated at a very 
 
 ' Jud. vi. 12, 14. 2 isa. Ixiii. 9. ^ isa. xlii. 5. 
 
 * Isa. xlv. 18. 5 Isa. xlvii. 4. ^ Iga. xliii. 11. 
 
 ' Isa. xlv. 21. 8Isa. xlii. 8. 
 
22 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AOT) 
 
 early period after the fall, and frequently predicted in after 
 times. Immediately after that catastrophe, it was stated 
 that the seed of the woman shotdd bruise the serpent's 
 head : ^ and He— Jehovah, — who said this, subsequently 
 promised that He would come into the world. It is of 
 importance to observe that this advent is predicted of Je- 
 hovah, and that that which at the time of its fulfilment is 
 called "the Son of God" is the humanity through which 
 it was accomphshed. In respect to the first of these two 
 facts, we read, " Thus saith Jehovah, sing and rejoice, 0 
 daughter of Zion ; for, lo, I come and will dwell in the 
 midst of thee." * " Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come in 
 strength." ^ " It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our 
 God ; we have waited for Him : this is Jehovah, we will be 
 glad and rejoice in His salvation."* " /e7«oiJa/« whom ye 
 seek shaU suddenly come to His temple :" ^ and the temple 
 to which He did come, He expressly declared to have been 
 "His body."" 
 
 While these passages clearly teach that it was Jehovah 
 who was to come, there are others which show us plainly 
 the manner of His coming. Thus it is written, " Behold, a 
 vii'gin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his 
 name Immanuel :" ' " Unto us a child is bom, unto us a son 
 is given ; and the government shall be upon His shoulder : 
 and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the 
 mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." * 
 Thus we learn that it was " the mighty God, the everlasting 
 Father," who was about to render Himself manifest in the 
 world, by means of a humanity derived from a vii'gin, and 
 caUed " a son." And this prophecy, we are informed, was 
 
 ' Gen. iii. 15. = Zech. ii. 10. s iga. xl. 10. 
 <Isa. xxT. 9. 'Mai. iii. 1. «John 11.21. 
 
 'Isa. vil. 14. ^Isa. Is. 6. 
 
SECOIO) COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 23 
 
 actunlly fnlfilled in the bii-th of Him wlio was called Jesus 
 because He was to save His people from tlieii- sins. Upon 
 that occasion it is written, " That it might be fulfilled which 
 was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold a 
 virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and 
 they shall call his name Immanuel; which being inter- 
 preted is, God -with us."' It was also predicted that some 
 one should "Prepare the way of Jehovah, and make straight 
 in the desert a highway for our God." '^ This prediction is, in 
 the New Testament, distinctly applied to J ohn the Baptist ; 
 he was to prepare the way of Jehovah but the person who 
 followed that preparation, — the preaching of repentance — 
 was Jesus Chi'ist ; it follows, therefore, as a logical sequence, 
 that Jesus Christ was Jehovah in His humanity : that hu- 
 manity being the visible impersonation of the Supreme ; 
 He being %vithin it as a soul within its body ; thus beauti- 
 fully and forcibly illustrating His own declarations, " The 
 Father dwelleth iu me :" * "I and my Father are one." ' 
 
 It is commonly supposed that the human nature, in 
 which God became manifest, was assumed by a second 
 person in the Godhead, called " the Eternal Son." But 
 this is nowhere stated in the Bible : it is the invention of 
 men, and is a contradiction in terms. The Old Testament 
 Scriptures never mention the pre-existence of that which 
 in the New Testament is called "the Son of God." What 
 they say on that subject is prophetical ; they announce 
 that that which had been in the Divine power from eternity 
 would become an actuality in time. For instance, — the 
 passage above cited says, " Behold, a virgin shall conceive 
 and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The 
 son here promised was not then a reality ; the terms of the 
 
 1 Matt. i. 21, 23. ^ iga. xl. 3. s Matt. iii. 3. 
 ■1 John xiv. 10. 5 John x. 30. 
 
24 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AST) 
 
 prediction are, " shall conceive and bear a son ;" and we 
 are expressly told that this " son " came into being by the 
 birth of Jesus Christ : that event was the fulfilment of the 
 prediction. That which was eternal was not that which 
 was then born, but that Divine principle which was its 
 inmost nature, and which is afterguards spoken of as the 
 Father that dwelt within. It is evident that " the son " 
 treated of under such circumstances ought to be under- 
 stood in a sense different to that of a filial relationship in 
 the world. It cannot be reasonably contemplated in the 
 sense of a human sire and son. It was an assumption of 
 human nature by the Divine for ulterior purposes, but it 
 was no more a personal sejaaration from the Divine, than 
 the body of man is a personal separation from his soul. 
 The revealed period of its actual existence was when the 
 angel said to Mary, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon 
 thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; 
 therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee 
 shall be called the Son of God." ^ Here, the Highest, and the 
 Holy Ghost, that is, the Infinite Father and His Divine in- 
 fluence, are spoken of as bringing into existence that hu- 
 manity which was to be called the Son of God. It, there- 
 fore, seems plain that the humanity which " the Highest " 
 assumed, through the instrumentality of a virgin, is that 
 which is called the Son of God. It was God's manifesta- 
 tion in man's nature ; in like manner as that which was 
 called "the Angel of Jehovah " was God's manifestation in 
 an angel's nature. In both cases human natm-e was the 
 medium ; but, in the former case, it was human nature as it 
 exists in heaven, and, in the latter, it was human nature as 
 it exists in the world. The apostle forcibly distinguished 
 between these two phenomena, when he said, " VerUy He 
 » Luke i. 35. 
 
SECOlfD COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 25 
 
 took not on ilim the nature of angels (as he had before 
 done) ; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." ' 
 
 From these considerations we learn that the phrase, " Son 
 of God," does not mean a Divine person separate from "the 
 Father ;" but that it properly denotes the humanity of the 
 Father; that in which mankind could see His glory — the 
 " glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace 
 and truth." And this agi-ees with the Lord's words, "The 
 Father in me ;"* "He that hath seen me hath seen the 
 Father ;"* " I and my Father are one."-^ Thus the Father 
 and the Son are no more two distinct Divine Persons, 
 than the soul and body are two separate men. The terms 
 express distinctions in the Divine nature ; but, together, 
 they indicate only one Divine Person, the humanity being 
 the out-birth of the Divinity, in other words, that ultimate 
 manifestation of His essential nature, by which men may 
 have access to some intelligible idea concerning Him who 
 creates, redeems, and saves. Hence, Jesus Christ — ^that 
 new name of the Supreme — expresses the final and the 
 fullest revelation of the infinite God to finite man. 
 
 The angelic forms in which Jehovah was pleased to 
 manifest himself to men, before the incarnation, were tempo.- 
 rary assumptions of regenerated humanity as it exists in 
 heaven, for the purpose of approaching the interior or spiri- 
 tual sight of those who saw Him ; and so to keep alive in 
 the Church, with men in the world, some intelligible idea 
 respecting Him. The angelic nature is human nature in a 
 state of glory. But when, by incarnation, God took upon 
 Himself, " not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abra- 
 ham," "made of a woman under the law," it was for the 
 purpose of meeting the degraded conditions into which 
 
 ' Heb. ii. 16. 2 John i. 14. » John xiv. 10. 
 
 * John xiv. 9. 5 John x. 30. 
 
26 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 mankind had successively descended ; and so to become a 
 Saviour to the uttermost.' This was done by glorifying 
 that humanity in time which the Omnipotent had possessed 
 in potency fi'om eternity. It was thus that He took to 
 Himself His great power, and became a Saviour to the utter- 
 most. It was in reference to this glorified humanity that 
 He said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life ; no man 
 Cometh unto the Father but by me " He that hath seen 
 me hath seen the Father."* It is this humanity which is 
 declared to be "the brightness of the Father's glory, the 
 express image of His person,"* possessing "all the fulness 
 of the Godhead bodily."* 
 
 The Divine humanity of our Lord, as distinguished from 
 the maternal humanity, was plainly revealed at the time of 
 the "transfiguration." Upon that occasion it is said of 
 Him that " His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment 
 was white as the Ught";* and the disciples who were present 
 were directed by Him, when descending fi'om the mount, to 
 "teU the vision to no man until the Son of man be risen from 
 the dead."' Thus that glorious humanity which they were 
 then permitted to see was above the common plane of the 
 natural world. It was not that humanity which they had 
 been accustomed to see with their ordinary sight ; but it 
 was that Divine humanity, the manifestation and glorifica- 
 tion of which He was in the process of effecting. It was 
 in this glorified humanity that He was seen with so much 
 distinctness after the resurrection, and at the period of His 
 ascension. That the humanity seen upon those occasions 
 was different from that which men had been accustomed to 
 see, is very evident. This is a reason why the three disciples 
 were told not to speak of what they had seen until He was 
 
 ' Heb. vii. 25. 2 John xiv. 6. » John xiv. 9. * Heb. i. 3. 
 Col. ii. 9. c Matt. svii. 2. Matt. xvii. 9. 
 
SECOND COUWQ OF THE LOED. 
 
 27 
 
 risen again from the dead. The resurrection would confirm 
 the truth concerning that which they had seen in vision at 
 the transfiguration. By this Divine humanity, the Infinite 
 has provided the medium for presenting Himself as a dis- 
 tinct object of thought and faith to the lowest conditions of 
 the human intellect ; and so for supplying the means for 
 realizing the prediction, that "all should know Him from the 
 least unto the greatest."' The manifestations which were 
 effected through angelic mediums were not adequate to this 
 purpose ; but by the assumption and glorification of man's 
 nature in its lowest plane, God became a Divine Person 
 more folly in the ultimates of manhood than the angels are ; 
 and so the Invisible has become visible to every degree of 
 rational thought. Hereby He has fulfilled the prediction, 
 " Thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of 
 the Lord shaU name."^ This new name is Jesus Christ; 
 and this name was used because it expresses that new re- 
 lationship which, by the assumption of humanity, has been 
 established between the Deity and men. Hence the apostle 
 teUs us that this name is " far above every name that is 
 named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to 
 come "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
 of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under 
 the earth " For there is none other name under heaven 
 given among men whereby we must be saved."® It compre- 
 hends within its meaning the majesty and Divinity of every 
 other name by which the Supreme, the Infinite, and Eternal 
 has at any time been designated; indeed, so holy is its 
 nature, and so profound is its signification, that Paul has 
 distinctly said, " No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, 
 but by the Holy Ghost. "« 
 
 1 Jer. xxxi. 34. 2 Isa. Ixii. 2. 3 Eph. i. 21. 
 * Phil. ii. 10. 5 Acts iv. 12. « 1 Cor. xii. 3. 
 
28 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AJfD 
 
 Thus, tlaen, wliile the Scriptures commence bj announcing 
 to us the Supreme Being under the name of Jehovah God, 
 they close, after recording many miracles of His providence, 
 by telling us that He is Jesus Christ : Jesus, in the last 
 portions of His revelation, being substituted for Jehovah in 
 the first ; and God, in the first, being transposed into Christ 
 in the last. In both cases we have the twofold appellation 
 of the Deity, because in each they are necessary to express 
 the two attributes of love and wisdom by which He is dis- 
 tinguished, and from which He acts. The name, Jehovah 
 God, expresses those attributes more in the abstract ; while 
 that of Jesus Christ expresses the same attributes, but as 
 they exist in, and emanate from, the concrete of a Divine 
 humanity ; in this He opened out a new and living way 
 for the salvation of His people ; and, as it has been said, 
 took to Himself His great power, and became a Saviour to 
 the uttermost. 
 
 Hence, He " who is, who was, and who is to come, the 
 Almighty," is to be thought of as an infinite, eternal, and 
 omnipotent Person, whose Divine essence has, in the fal- 
 ness of time, been revealed in a glorified hum.anity. This 
 essence being the Father, whom no man hath seen or 
 can see ; and this humanity being the Son, whom men have 
 seen and may see ; — together, like soul and body, they con- 
 stitute a one ; and the Holy Spirit, which was not until 
 Jesus was glorified,* consists in those enlightening influences 
 which have resulted from their union. Surely, in the 
 knowledge of these facts, the Lord has realized His own 
 prediction, " The time will come when I will show you 
 plainly of the Father.'" As there is but one God; as Jesus 
 Christ was "God manifest in the flesh," and "in Him 
 dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ;"' how plain 
 1 John vii. 39. 2 John xvi. 25. s Col. ii. 9. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 29 
 
 is it, that Jesus Ckrist is this one God, that is, Jehovah 
 in His humanity. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who said, 
 " 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." ^ 
 
 This conclusion presents itself to our minds as being most 
 clear and satisfactory. To others it may not be so ; it may 
 be questioned by those who do not believe in His Divinity 
 at all, and also by. others who only acknowledge it in part. 
 But the method adopted by the former to maintain their 
 objections, and the difficult consequences which foUow the 
 opinions of the latter, are sufficient to indicate the unsound 
 principles of both. The first strike out whole passages of 
 evidence from the Word, which bear upon the point ; and the 
 second in thought, however much they may deny it in words, 
 are compelled to set up at least a duality of gods. The one 
 has maltreated the testimony, and the other has confounded 
 its teachings upon the subject. Both parties, in reference 
 to their respective views, have difficulties of their own ; but 
 those which they may urge against the acceptance of ours 
 are caused by their not distinguishing between the maternal 
 and the Divine humanity of the Lord. The instances in 
 which inferiority and dependence are expressed, in which 
 temptations and suffering "are said to have been endured, 
 belong to the maternal humanity ; but that was put off 
 as those infirmities were being conquered ; and in those 
 conquests the Divine humanity achieved its triumphs : 
 therefore it is written, " Ought not Christ to have suffered 
 these things, and to enter into His glory 
 
 It was the Divine humanity which " came down from 
 heaven,'" which is one with the Father, and without which 
 we can do nothing. It was this of which it was said, " As 
 1 Rev. i. 8. 2 Luke xxiv. 26. ^ John vi. 38. 
 
30 
 
 THE LAST JtTDGMENT. AND 
 
 the Father liath life in Himself, so liath He given to the Son 
 to have life in Himself,"^ and to which was "given all 
 power in heaven and in earth."* This " Kfe " and " power" 
 are said to have been " given," because, like the soul, which 
 confers all its activity and energy upon the body, not only 
 without diminishing but thus really augmenting their forces 
 and utility ; so the Divinity, in the process of becoming one 
 with the humanity, gave to it all that belonged to itself, not 
 only without lessening its own glory, but thereby taking to 
 itself its great power, and providing the means by which 
 all may know Him. Nothing of the Deity can be known 
 by us, apart from our acknowledgment of His humanity. 
 If this be not in some measure perceived, there are no other 
 means by which to gather any reasonable thought upon the 
 subject. No man goeth to the Father but by the Son, and 
 they who know the Son know the Father also.' 
 
 But although the Lord, as to His Divine humanity, is 
 called " The Son of God," students of the Word will have 
 remarked, that He, for the most part, spoke of Himself as 
 " The Son of man." It is important to notice this circum- 
 stance, because it is only as the Son of man that He pro- 
 mised to execute His judgment and to come again. This 
 fact will appear in its proper place. That those two titles 
 were intended to express two different ideas respecting the 
 Lord's humanity is evident from His answers to the high- 
 priest. The high-priest said unto Him, " I adjure Thee by 
 the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be the Christ, 
 the San of God. Jesus saith unto him. Thou hast said ; never- 
 theless, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see the Son of 
 ma7i, sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in 
 the clouds of heaven."* Here, although he permitted Him- 
 
 Jolin V. 26. 8 Matt, xxviii. 18. ^ John siv. 6, 7. 
 « Matt. xxvi. 63, 64. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 31 
 
 self to be spoken of as the Son of God, yet it was as the 
 Son of man that He was to be seen in His power coming 
 in the clouds of heaven. 
 
 It has been supposed that the title, Son of man, was intend- 
 ed to express the idea of His bii-th from a human mother. 
 But this could not have been the case ; for He never, under 
 any circumstances, acknowledged Mary to be His mother. 
 She was sometimes so spoken of by others, but she was never 
 thus recognised by Himself. Moreover, it is plain that the 
 title was intended to refer to something else, for He said, 
 "No man hath ascended up to heaven but He that came down 
 from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven."' In 
 this passage the Son of man is said to have come down 
 from heaven, and also to have been in heaven at the very 
 time the words were spoken in the world. It may be plain, 
 therefore, that the term. Son of man, was not employed to 
 express that nature which was derived from Mary, and in 
 which He was naturally seen by men in the world. That 
 did not come down from heaven ; that was not in heaven, 
 and it was to prevent such a mistaken view of the subject 
 from being adopted, that Paul and the other apostles always 
 spoke of the Lord as the Son of God, and never as the Son 
 of man. This, however, was the title under which, as we 
 have said, the Lord, for the most part, spoke of Himself. 
 Thus He inquired of His disciples, " Whom do men say 
 that I, the Son of man, am ? and by this He plainly indi- 
 cated His solicitude that men should know Him under that 
 name. It was as the Son of man that He suffered and was 
 raised from the dead ; for He said, " The Son of man shall 
 be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him, 
 and the third day He shall be raised again it is as the 
 Son of man that He is Lord of the Sabbath ; * it is as the 
 ' John iii. 13. '2 Matt. xvi. 13. a Matt. xvii. 22, 23. * Mark ii. 28. 
 
32 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AlTD 
 
 Son of man ttiat He forgivetli sins ; for He said, " that ye 
 may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to for- 
 give sins," He said unto the sick of the palsy, " arise, take 
 up thy bed, and go unto thine house it is as the Son of 
 man that He effects salvation, for it is written, " The Son 
 of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save 
 them."^ It is the flesh and the blood of the Son of man 
 that we ai'e to eat, without which we can have no life in us.^ 
 It was the Son of man that was to be glorified ;* it was 
 the Son of man who was to ascend it is the sign of the 
 Son of man which is to appear in heaven ; and it is the Son 
 of man who is to come in the clouds of heaven with power 
 and great glory.* It is as the Son of man that judgment is 
 to be executed, for it is expressly said, "The Father judgeth 
 no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, 
 . . . and hath given Him authority to execute judgment, 
 because He is the Son of man."' It is amazing, when the 
 texts are collected together, how frequently, and under what 
 important phases, the Lord is spoken of as the Son of man. 
 And what can be the meaning of this ? Every one sees 
 that the two titles, Son of God, and Son of man, are made 
 use of in reference to one and the same humanity ; and, as 
 it is plain that the title, Son of God, expresses the relation- 
 ship which that humanity bears to God, it may be easy to 
 perceive that the title, Son of man, is employed to express 
 the relationship which the same humanity bears to man. 
 The Lord, under this title, has presented to the world an 
 idea of the Deity in the lowest possible form for human ap- 
 prehension ; it is that side of Him about which we can have 
 some intellectual perception ; that side which we see to 
 
 ' Matt. ix. 6. Luke ix. 56. « John vi. 53. 
 
 * John xi. 4 ; xii. 23. John vi. 62. « Matt. xxiv. 30. 
 
 " John V. 22, 27. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 33 
 
 have sympathised with our necessities, which could be 
 touched with our infii'mities and supply our wants, "for the 
 Son of man is come to save that which was lost."^ He, how- 
 ever, must be lifted up,^ elevated in the thoughts and affec- 
 tions of the faithful ; and, therefore, Jesus said, " When ye 
 have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am 
 He [the Father], and that I do nothing of myself ; but as 
 my Father hath taught me I speak these things."^ 
 
 There is, however, another view of those titles which it 
 may be useful to present before closing this point in our 
 subject. It is generally acknowledged that the Lord, as 
 the Son of God, is called the Word, for it is written, " In 
 the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God ; and the Word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of 
 the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth 
 but it has not been so commonly observed that He is also 
 called the Son of man in reference to the Word ; there is how- 
 ever a distinction in those references, as will be evident from 
 a Uttle attention to the subject. It is written that " the 
 Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment 
 unto the Son, and hath given Him authority to execute 
 judgment, because He is the Son of man." Tet the Lord 
 said, " K any man hear my words and believe not, I judge 
 him not ; for I came not to judge the world, but to save 
 the world. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my 
 words, hath one that judgeth him : the WoKD that I have 
 spoken, the same shaU judge him in the last day." Now 
 although the first of these two passages states that all 
 judgment is committed to the Son, because He is the Son 
 of man, yet the Lord explains this by declaring that it is 
 
 1 Matt, sviii. 11. ^ John iii. 14, 15. s John viii. 28. 
 
 i John i. 1, 14. 
 
34 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, AKD 
 
 the Word ■whicli judges ; tlnis plainly showing that the 
 title, Son of man, embraces within its signification the idea 
 of the Word. It is in reference to the Word that the Lord 
 always assumed this name ; and hence it was that the 
 prophets by whose instrumentality so much of it has been 
 delivered, are so frequently spoken of under the title, " Son 
 of man." It was, as we have said, under this title that the 
 Lord promised to execute judgment and to come again ; 
 and, in reference to those events, it is declared that the Son 
 of man shall be revealed,* which, doubtless, means that the 
 Word should be made clear ; that the sense of it should 
 be manifest. And lest there should be any doubt upon 
 this point, it is written in the Book of the Revelation, 
 where this judgment and consequent coming are treated 
 of, that His name on that occasion " is called the Word of 
 God.'"' 
 
 Other evidences in illustration could easily be adduced ; 
 but these are sufficient for our purpose : we see from 
 them that besides the Divine Personal idea included in 
 the two titles. Son of God, and Son of man, they also re- 
 veal the Lord to us as the Word. It is only by the Word 
 that we can know Him ; He is " the Truth," which it 
 contains. It is as the Word that He is to come to execute 
 judgment, and cany on the purposes of His second advent. 
 He is eminently present in His Word. It is by the laws of 
 His Word that the wicked are condemned, and that the 
 faithfnl arc saved. It is through the Word that the Lord 
 communicates his saving blessing: to the world : that is the 
 medium which He has mercifiJly provided for sustaining 
 a mental connection between Himself and man, and of 
 that Word He is the Spirit and the life. As the Judge of 
 all the eai'th. He always judges by His Word : He comes to 
 1 Luke wii. 30. « Rev. six. 13. 
 
SECOKD COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 35 
 
 men in the world, but He comes to tliem by His Word : 
 the good of this Word berag revealed to us by tbat in the 
 Divine Personality which is called the Son of God, and the 
 truth of it by that which is called the Son of man. 
 
 Thus then we learn that the One Supreme Being, whom 
 the Scriptures reveal for our adoration and worship, is the 
 Lord Jesus Christ: He being Jehovah in His humanity. 
 Jesus Christ, under the dispensation of Christianity, is 
 the new name of Jehovah God. Hence it is written, 
 " There is none other name under heaven given among men 
 whereby we must be saved 'Y and that " at the name of 
 Jesus every knee should bow Jehovah, by coming to His 
 temple — the temple of His body, by becoming flesh and 
 dwelling among us, came into a new relationship to His 
 creatures, and it is because of this that He revealed Himself 
 under a new name ; under every name He is the Word, be- 
 cause He is in the esse of all that it reveals ; but under the 
 name of Jesus Christ, He became the living embodiment of 
 all the truth which it contains. It is He who by means of 
 the truth of His Word will execute His judgment, and 
 mercifully accomplish all that He intended by His promise 
 to come again. 
 
 The presentation of this doctrine was felt to be essential 
 to a right understanding of those views of the general sub- 
 ject which we have undertaken to consider. It seemed im- 
 portant that we should, at the outset, know something of 
 Him " who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty," 
 that we should be reminded that in all cases of His com- 
 ing, it is the one same Supreme Being, mercifully adapting 
 Himself to the varied requirements of His Chui'ch on 
 earth. 
 
 In the next chapter we shall endeavour to illustrate some 
 1 Acts iv. 12. 2 Phil. ii. 10. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 THE LAST JTDGMENT. 
 
 of the pz'inciples involved in the Lord's judgment and 
 coming, as they are set forth in some of the histories of 
 the Old Testament. This ■vdll enable us better to compre- 
 hend the real meaning of the predictions which refer to His 
 last judgment, and the second advent treated of in the 
 New Testament. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 OF SEVERAL DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS AND JUDGMENTS, EECOEDED 
 IN THE OLD TESTAMENT ; WITH THEIR CAUSES AND RESULTS. 
 
 The Aegument. — The senses in wliich He who is omnipresent can be said 
 to come. — Instances of the coming of the Di^'ine Being, with brief 
 intimations of their results. — The principles involved. — The Lord's 
 coming always accompanied by evidences of judgment and mercy. 
 — Evil has boundaries beyond which it cannot pass. — Evil the cause 
 of punishment. — The Bible arranges the religious history of the 
 human race into four periods. — Each period the time of a Church. 
 — The leading characteristics of each Church. — The decline and 
 fall of the first three Churches.— The causes of those results briefly 
 sketched. — Their judgment, and consequent coming of the Lord. — 
 Last judgment implies that others had preceded it. — The Lord's 
 coming to the Adamic Church, and the particular judgments which 
 overtook it. — The flood its last judgment. — The Lord's coming to 
 the Noetic Church, and the particular judgment which overtook it. 
 — The dispersion at Babel, a judgment attended by a Divine coming. 
 — The Israelitish Church. — The Old Testament mainly occupied 
 with its history. — The Israehtish Church a purely representative 
 economy. — The infestation which the people of this economy ex- 
 perienced from wicked spirits. — Illustrations. — The making of the 
 golden calf. — The rebellion of Korah and his followers.— The tres- 
 pass of Achan. — The lying spirit which induced Ahab to go up to 
 the battle of Kamoth-Gilead. — The idolatrous disposition of the 
 Israelites. — The judgments to which their lapses into this evil led. 
 — All judgments proofs of the Divine coming. — The times when 
 judgments take place. — Particular judgments, and Divine manifesta- 
 tions contributed to prolong the existence of the Israelitish Church. 
 — The persistence of the people to indulge perverted loves led to the 
 condition which induced the Lord's advent in the flesh.— The last 
 judgment and consequent end of the Israelitish Church. 
 
38 
 
 THE LAST JUDGUE^TT, A^TD 
 
 To liave a fail' understandiiig of tliose predictions -^liicli 
 treat of tlie last judgment and tlie second coming of tlie 
 Lord, it -svill be of great service to observe tbat, before 
 tliose events, several otter Divine manifestations and judg- 
 ments are related. Plain indications of their causes and 
 results are also recorded. K we ai-e enabled to comprehend 
 the principles involved in those remarkable histories, we 
 shall be prepared to see, with greater certainty, the true 
 nature of those phenomena which are spoken of as belong- 
 ing to the second advent. 
 
 When we read of the coming of TTim who is " omni- 
 present," it may seem evident that the idea of His local 
 coming demands a particular consideration. He who is 
 everywhere present, and who fi'om eternity knoweth all 
 things, cannot be said to come in any ordinary acceptation 
 of the word ; and yet there can be no doubt that there are 
 intelligible senses in which He has come, and will come. 
 How plain is it that His coming to the regenerate, that is, 
 to those Avho are ready to open the door when He knocks, 
 has reference to their elevation and perception, rather than 
 to His descent and an'ival. If the Lord may be said to de- 
 part fi'om those who are wicked and depraved, surely He 
 may be said to come to those who are sufficiently wise to 
 recognise His presence. In such a case He may, with great 
 propriety, be said to come to us, when in reality it is 
 we who go to Him ! It is our movement upward which 
 induces the appearance of His descent. As those graces 
 are received which tend to assimilate us to the Divine 
 character, it is plain that we are rising ; and that the 
 Lord, who is always present, is not descending, but unfold- 
 ing and revealing Himself, more and more, to oiu* interior 
 consciousness. It must have been some such fact as this 
 to which the Lord referred, when He said, " If a man love 
 
SECOlfD CO'.ING OF THE LOED. 
 
 39 
 
 me, lie yvill keep my words ; and my Father will love him, 
 and we will come unto him, and make our abode with 
 him."i 
 
 But there have been times in the spiritual history of 
 mankind when no such elevated life has been prevalent 
 among them ; and when, consequently, no such unfoldings 
 of the Divine presence could have been experienced. In 
 those cases another mode of understanding the Divine 
 economy has to be sought for, and that too, without dis- 
 turbing the fact that He is ever present. And this wiU be 
 found in the circumstance that He has been pleased to as- 
 sume mediums by which to appear locally to individuals 
 and communities of men. That He has so appeared upon 
 several occasions is plainly stated in the Word. It was in 
 some such way as this, that He came to Abraham, Isaac, 
 and J acob : to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Manoah, and to 
 several others. In all those cases of the Divine coming, 
 we find that at those times there prevailed among man- 
 kind some conditions of religious faith and character 
 which were unfavourable to the acceptance of the Divine 
 teaching ; and, also, that those manifestations were always 
 followed by some improved circumstances in the life and 
 proceedings of the people concerned. When the sons of 
 Israel became dissatisfied with their position in the wil- 
 derness, and, by murmuring against Moses, displayed a 
 defection in their faith, it was said, " The Lord will come 
 down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai 
 and the result was a disposition more favourable to the 
 Divine influences. When, subsequently, they fell away 
 from the advantages thus induced, we read that " Moses 
 and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of 
 Israel saw the God of Israel;" as also, did "the nobles."' 
 ^ John xiv. 23. « Esod. six. 11. 8 Esod. xxiv. 9-11. 
 
40 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 This Sight clearly implies a Divine coining ; and the con- 
 sequence was the evolution of a state better adapted for 
 the acceptance of ihose teachings which refeiTcd to the 
 love and worship of the Lord ; hence laws upon those 
 important subjects were immediately revealed. 
 
 All the Divine manifestations which are recorded involve 
 those principles, and display such facts. They belong to 
 that wisdom and mercy which the Lord is perpetually en- 
 deavouring to confer upon mankind. Wheresoever the 
 Lord's presence is recognised, there something of those 
 blessings must be experienced. He must have come, in 
 some way, to every individual, in every age, who has been 
 regenerated ; they have been born of His Spirit, and by 
 such coming, they must have been delivered from some im- 
 purities in their nature, and gifted with some graces by 
 which to indicate His presence ; and thus a kind of judg- 
 ment must have been experienced, — for what else can be the 
 Divine judgment but the removal of what is evil and the 
 provision for the safety of what is good. 
 
 All that is wi-itten in the "Word concerning the Lord's 
 coming is accompanied by some intimations of a judgment. 
 Where no e\'il is loved, the Lord is recognised to be pre- 
 sent ; and He is perceived as coming when any evil love is 
 felt to be receding. Such recession is always attended with 
 pain and shame, fear and remorse ; and is not this a 
 ■judgment ? Such coming and judgment are pai'ticularly 
 treated of in the Word, when evils had reached their height. 
 All evil has its boundaries, beyond which it is not permitted 
 to pass ; and when it has arrived at those limits, it sur- 
 rounds its subjects with restraint, and inflicts a punishment 
 upon them. This punishment is called a judgment, and it 
 necessarily continues until the evil is removed. It appears 
 to the evil doer, so long as he does it with impunity, that 
 
SECOND COMHTG OF THE LOED. 
 
 41 
 
 the Lord does not see, and it is only wlien tlie pnnislunent 
 breaks in upon him that he beg-ins to discover that his 
 criminality is known; and it is in reference to cases of this 
 sort that the Lord is sometimes said to come to judgment. 
 It is written of Him that He is " on high," and " the High- 
 est," — not that those terms have reference to space, for 
 they properly mean that He is exalted and inmost ; and it 
 is because all unfavoui'able judgments are experienced in 
 conditions of life which are low and depraved, that He is 
 said to descend, to come. Hence, in treating of the pu- 
 nishment which overtakes the wicked, it is said, " Bow Thy 
 heavens, 0 Lord, and come down : touch the mountains, 
 and they shall smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter 
 them : shoot out Thine arrows, and destroy them."^ " The 
 Lord of hosts (shall) come down to fight for mount Zion, 
 and for the hill thereof."" " Behold, the Lord cometh forth 
 out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the 
 high places of the earth." ^ 
 
 But, from these general principles, we will pass on to the 
 consideration of some particular instances of Divine judg- 
 ments, and the Divine coming which each involves. 
 
 In the Bible, the rehgious history of the human race is 
 arranged into four general epochs : from Adam to Noah ; 
 from Noah to Abraham ; from Abraham to the establish- 
 ment of Christianity ; and from thence to the period when 
 the Lord fulfils His promise to come again.* In all these 
 epochs there has existed a religious dispensation in the 
 world. Each was a Divine institution, and it stood in a 
 s im ilar relation to the people who lived under it that Chris- 
 tianity does to us ; and in each case the teachings vouch- 
 safed to it were of similar authority. They may be de- 
 
 ^ Ps. csliv. 5, 6. 2 Isa. xxxi. 4. 3 Mic. i. 3. 
 
 * John xiv. 3. 
 
42 
 
 THE I/AST JtTDGMENT, AJfD 
 
 scribed as Churclies, and may be respectively called tbe 
 most ancient, the ancient, tbe Israelitisb, and the Christian. 
 Tlie genins of tbe first was tbat wliicli gave pre-eminence 
 to love ; the second assigned superiority to faith; the third 
 gave it to obedience. The genius of true Christianity em- 
 braces all those virtues, assigns to each its proper place, 
 and looks to their united action as necessary for salvation, 
 salvation being deliverance from evil. It is well known 
 that the three first of these dispensations, after having gra- 
 dually risen into eminence, successively declined and fell ; 
 they had not only their morning and noon, but their evening 
 and night. The decline and fall — ^the evening and night — 
 of those Churches resulted ft-om the people corrupting the 
 religious truth, and neglecting the spii'itual duties, with 
 which they were entrusted. And when, in each, those 
 enormities had attained their height, the Divine is repre- 
 sented to have executed a judgment ; He is described to 
 have come ; and their end is recorded to have been the 
 result. 
 
 To understand tbis clearly, it may be useful to mention 
 here something concerning those influences from the spiri- 
 tual world which conduced to those events, but to be treated 
 of more fully in another place. That there is such a world, 
 is shown in the Scriptures and admitted by the learned : its 
 existence is necessary for the reception of the souls of men 
 when their bodies die. As the evils in the above Churches 
 were respectively increasing, men were dying, and con- 
 sequently they were passing, with aU the corruptions they 
 had loved, into the world of spirits. That is the first com- 
 mon receptacle of all who die ; and every one takes with 
 ham the mind and all the afiections by which he may have 
 been distinguished in the world. He then begins to live as 
 consciously in his " spiritual body " as he had previously 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 43 
 
 done in Ms " natural body." Man is man by virtne of his 
 soul. It is for the sake of the souls of men that the Lord 
 comes, and it is upon the souls of men that He executes His 
 judgment : it is the soul which is immortal, and, therefore, 
 this only can be the subject of a result that is eternal. 
 The world of spu-its then must have been the scene of 
 several Divine manifestations ; and the souls of men which are 
 collected there must, in each case, have been the subject of 
 a judgment. But, whenever a judgment has been effected 
 there, its consequences, sooner or later, have always been 
 indicated in the affairs of men : first, in the experience by 
 them of some natural calamities ; and, secondly, in the 
 display of some general munificence. The reason is, be- 
 cause the former were intended to reveal to us the separa- 
 tions of the wicked from the good, and their condemnation ; 
 and the latter, to show us the safety and elevation of the 
 faithfal. Whatsoever transpires among men in the 
 natural world must, more or less directly, have sprung 
 from some corresponding causes in the spiiitual. The re- 
 cognition of these principles is necessary to a right com- 
 prehension of the phenomena which marked particular 
 epochs in the history of the three Churches to which we 
 have referred. 
 
 Although the planting of those Churches, and their 
 decline, fall, and final judgment, are very apparent in the 
 histories that are given ; yet it is evident that the lan- 
 guage in which those facts are described is symbolic. It 
 is hardly possible that an intelligent reader of the early 
 portions of revelation can have overlooked this fact. It 
 stands out with a prominence which modern learning has 
 spoken of with great force. The histories, indeed, are 
 sufficiently plain to enable us to see when some fearfal 
 calamity of the Divine permission, or some favourable 
 
44 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 activity of tlie Divine Providence, is intended ; nevertlieless, 
 the terms in wticli those events are related are eminently 
 figurative ; and they are so for the purpose of pointing to 
 the existence of some more interior life, some more spiritual 
 phenomena, which operated in the production of such 
 natural results. Ideas of spiritual things can only be 
 suggested to us by means of metaphorical teaching. Still 
 this teaching, when employed by the Divine Insti'uctor, as 
 it is in the Scriptures, is clear and systematic, because 
 founded on the principle which recognises the mutual 
 relation subsisting between natural and spiritual things. 
 
 The Adamic, or most ancient Church, during the process 
 of its decay, experienced several Divine judgments, and 
 the consequent manifestations of the Lord. Such also was 
 the case vdth the succeeding dispensations, so far as they per- 
 sisted in the evils by which they at last perished. Their 
 end was effected by a last judgment. The phrase last 
 judgment obviously implies that others had occuiTed before, 
 but it does not necessarily mean that there will be no more ; 
 it simply means that it is the last of a series of Divine 
 visitations, by which a corrupted dispensation is brought to 
 its end. 
 
 We will endeavour to illustrate these points by noticing 
 some of the particular judgments that overtook the three 
 Churches adverted to ; but more especially those which 
 constituted the last with each. 
 
 Wlien the most ancient Church was formed, it is written 
 that the Lord God took those whom He called Adam, ^ and 
 placed them in the Garden of Eden to dress and to keep 
 
 1 "Male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called 
 their name Adam, in the day when they were created " (Gen. v. 2). 
 Adam was not simply the name of the individual man, but the general 
 name for the race. 
 
SECOND COMHTG OF THE LORD. 
 
 45 
 
 it. He also gave them commandments to obey, and taught 
 them the consequences of disobedience. In those facts may 
 be seen the real elements of a Chui'ch. At that time they 
 ■were in the i^oon-tide of religious intelligence and love. 
 When the Divine teachings were disobeyed the people fell ; 
 and then God mercifully condescended to revisit the garden 
 He had planted. " They heard the voice of the Lord God 
 walking in the garden in the cool of the day."' By " the cool 
 of the day" is revealed the decHnation of their love. But 
 this visitation included three things, namely, Coming, Judg- 
 ment, and Mercy ; Coming, because His voice was heard ; 
 Judgment, in condemning the evil that had been done ; 
 and Mercy, in providing for the safety of the good which 
 remained. The coming is evident ; the judgment is taught 
 us by the curse which was pronounced upon the ground, 
 by the multiplication of the sorrows of the woman, by the 
 increase of the labours of the man, and by the expulsion of 
 both from Eden ; the mercy is plain from the circumstance 
 that cherubim and a flaming sword were placed at the east 
 of the garden to keep the way of the tree of life.^ What- 
 ever may be the precise meaning of these statements in re- 
 ference to the natui-al world, it seems plain that their direct 
 pointing is to some circumstance belonging to the inner 
 spiritual life of the people. That was the seat of the trans- 
 gression, and that it was for which the Lord desired to 
 keep open the way of hfe. 
 
 But, in the process of time, the advantages thus provided 
 were neglected and tui-ned aside ; for we read that Cain 
 rose up and slew his brother Abel. And then the Lord was 
 pleased to come again, to display His judgment and mani- 
 fest His mercy, la. reference to the judgment "the Lord said 
 unto Cain," " Now art thou cursed from the earth, which 
 1 Gen, iii. 8. 2 Gen. iii. 14-24. 
 
 I 
 
46 
 
 THE LAST JtrDGirENT, AITD 
 
 hatli opened her moiitli to receive thy brother's blood ; " 
 and to indicate the mercy it was declared, "Wliosoever 
 slayeth Cain, Tengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold. 
 And the Lord set a mark npon Cain, lest any finding him 
 shonld kill him."^ Surely there must have been the in- 
 fluence of some spiritual causes acting behind these outer 
 events, and conducing to their existence. 
 
 To prevent this fact from being overlooked, we find it 
 strongly marked at a subsequent stage of this declining 
 Chui'ch. It is written, "that the sons of God saw the 
 daughters of men that they were fair ; and they took them 
 wives of all which they chose."^ Whatever may be the 
 natural significance of this narrative, it is plain that its 
 general scope is to describe some spiritual atrocity. It 
 is spoken of as a great wickedness, and referred to as a 
 proof that every imagination of man's heart was evil con- 
 tinually. Indeed it was the proximate cause of that 
 Divine coming and last judgment, by means of which 
 the Adamic dispensation collapsed and terminated. For 
 the Lord said concerning it, " I AviU destroy man whom 
 I have created from the face of the earth ; for the earth 
 was corrupt before God : the earth was filled vrith. vio- 
 lence ; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the 
 earth ! " ' It is easy to see that this is a state of things 
 which could only have been brought about by some dire- 
 ful influence proceeding from the spiritual world, and 
 pressing upon the minds of men for the purpose of se- 
 ducing them to evil. And how could such a disastrous 
 circumstance be remedied, but by the total removal of its 
 cause ? This cause we believe to have been the activity 
 of wicked spirits who had passed from the natural into 
 the spiritual world. And how could this activity be 
 J Gen. iv. 11-15. « Gen. vi. 2. » Gen. vi. 7, 11, 12. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 47 
 
 removed, but by tbe execution of a judgment which should 
 consign those wicked spirits to theii' final abodes, and thus 
 clear the way for the descent from heaven of a brighter 
 light, and a purer love ? That these things were accom- 
 plished is plainly revealed, first, by the catastrophe of 
 the flood, and secondly, by the establishment of another 
 Church. Doubtless, the flood was the last judgment upon 
 the Adamic dispensation ; and it seems quite clear that 
 the new Church which immediately followed was at- 
 tended with some new conditions of spiritual life. 
 
 That new Church was begun with Noah : he found grace 
 in the eyes of the Lord, and was a just man, perfect in his 
 generation, and walked before God. " And God spake unto 
 Noah and to his sons with him, saying. And I, behold, I 
 establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after 
 you.'" This dispensation so auspiciously begun did not long 
 remain in its integrity. The history of its decay draws 
 attention to several lapses which marked the process of its 
 fall. Soon after its establishment we read that Noah drank 
 wine, was drunken, and uncovered in his tent, Canaan 
 was cursed, and his father died.^ Thus, after successive 
 offences against the Divine law, the unity of the Church 
 was broken and divisions followec^ Ajad then the people 
 proposed to build a city and a tower, whose top should 
 reach unto heaven, to make a name, lest they should be 
 scattered abroad upon £he face of the whole earth.^ This 
 circumstance reveals to us the profane conduct which the 
 love of the world had induced among them. God was 
 practically forgotten ia consequence of the eminent selfish- 
 ness which prevailed among them ; and, therefore, " the 
 Lord came down to see the city and the tower, wliich the 
 
 1 Gen. is. 8, 9. 2 Gen. ix. 21, 25, 29 ; chap. x. 
 
 3 Gen. xi. 4. 
 
48 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, Am> 
 
 cliildren of men builded," and He said, " now notHng will 
 be restrained fi'om them wMcIl tliej have imagined to do." 
 " So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the 
 face of all the earth. In this remarkable history it is 
 expressly said that "the Lord came down." This, how- 
 ever, does not mean a personal manifestation in the natural 
 world, but an open indication of His influential presence. 
 The perversity of men had reached a dangerous height, 
 and the Lord came down, by a special providence to stay 
 its progress. The events that followed plainly reveal the 
 execution of a judgment, primarily upon those spirits in the 
 spii-itual world who had induced those delusions and urged 
 on the enormities which were committed, and finally dis- 
 played itself among men by scattering them abroad. This 
 may be evident from the check which they received ; "they 
 left off to build the city." The spiritual causes which 
 had led to this result were dispersed, and their powers 
 diminished ; and so those wicked and insane proceedings 
 of mankind were stayed. The effect ceased when the 
 causes were arrested : and this brought the Noetic dispen- 
 sation, as such, to a close. It broke up the unity of men in 
 the prosecution of unholy courses, and scattered abroad, in 
 many rude forms, some^f those spiritual truths which had 
 been known and cherished in purer times. It was upon 
 the remains of the information thus conveyed that most of 
 the religions of the East were subsequently foxmded. Al- 
 though it docs, not appear that the Noetic dispensation 
 was terminated by any general or final judgment, like its 
 predecessor ; yet, after the dispersion, we find that some 
 branches of it became too atrocious for preservation. These, 
 therefore, became the subject of particular judgments, 
 by which they were thoroughly destroyed. The cases of 
 1 Gen. xi. 5, 6, 8. 
 
SECOITD COMIITG OF THE LOUD. 
 
 49 
 
 Sodom and Gomorrali are plain revelations of this fact. 
 Surely the catastrophe which befel those cities may be 
 taken as an outer revelation that an inner judgment had 
 swept off, to their final destiny, those abandoned spirits by 
 whom such wickedness had been induced. The presence 
 of the angels just before this occurrence* proves that there 
 was a special Divine coming in connection with it : and the 
 circumstance of that presence being known to the men of 
 the city shows that they were made aware of their con- 
 nection with influences from the spiritual world. And 
 who will say that even wicked spirits cannot convey such 
 information for evil purposes to wicked men ? Who will 
 say that the destruction of the cities did not reveal the 
 condemnation of such spirits ? How marvellous was this 
 coming : how terrible this judgment ! 
 
 The dispersion of the Noetic Church was followed by pre- 
 parations for the commencing and establishing of another. 
 It seems essential to the merciful designs of the Divine 
 providence that a Chuxch, in which the Lord would be 
 acknowledged, should always exist : it is the orderly 
 channel through which the blessings of His kingdom can 
 descend to men. That which succeeded the Noetic Church 
 was the IsraeUtish. This had its beginning in the time of 
 Abram. The call of that patriarch was by a Divine coming ; 
 the Lord said unto him, " Get thee out of thy country," and 
 " I will make of thee a great nation, and I wOl bless thee, 
 and make thy name great ; and thou shalt be a blessing."" 
 By this Divine coming, a covenant was established with 
 Abram f and it is well known that the Israelitish dispen- 
 sation was formed among the descendants of his grandson, 
 Oacob. This dispensation came into special prominence as 
 the representative of a Church during the sojourn of the 
 J Gen. xix. 1. 2 (jen. xii. 1, 2. ^ Qen. xvii. 4. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 THE LAST JrDGMEITT, AKT> 
 
 people in tlie Trildemess. It was tlien that tte laws pe- 
 culiar to its character were revealed ; and from that time, 
 down to the commencement of Christianity, the historical 
 and prophetic revelations of the Word are mainly occupied 
 with the affairs of this dispensation. It was an economy 
 purely representative ; as may be evident from the singu- 
 larity of its laws and the peculiarity of its ceremonies. In 
 these were represented all the excellencies of the two pre- 
 decessors which had passed away : they also shadowed forth 
 all the benignity and intelligence which are to be developed 
 within the pale of genuine Christianity. In these remark- 
 able features of that institution, we are enabled clearly to 
 account for the extraordinary fact that retribution and 
 blessing directly followed the disobedience and the fidelity 
 of the people.' It must necessarily be so in regard to our 
 spii-itual condition ; but the people of the Israelitish dis- 
 pensation, — because it was representative, — ^were also to 
 experience the operations of this law during their lifetime 
 in the world. Whenever they disobeyed the Divine 
 commands, some natural calamity befel them ; whenever 
 they were dutiful and compliant, some natural blessings 
 were sure to foUow, Nor was this the case only with 
 the people, viewed in their general character as the 
 representatives of a Church : the same law was similarly 
 active among individuals who sustained any position of 
 religious importance in those extraordinary times. The 
 judge who did injustice, the king who ruled wickedly, the 
 priest who administered the law unfaithfully, were all the 
 subjects of special visitation and judgment: whereas those 
 who did what was wise, equitable, and true, became the sub- 
 jects of encouragement and reward. These results in the 
 natural world — which passed away from that people when 
 ' Deut. xi. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 51 
 
 their dispensation terminated — clearly show the representa- 
 tive character of that institution ; and reveal to us through 
 that medium hoAV near the Divine Being is to us, with 
 His judgments and His blessings. 
 
 Every Christian will admit that the iniquity of men, 
 whether individually or collectively, is excited and intensi- 
 fied by infernal agency. " Your adversary, the devil, as a 
 roaring lion, walketh aboiit, seeking whom he may devour.'" 
 And, on the other hand, it is equally certain that all man's 
 fidelity and love are influenced and exalted through angelic 
 administration. Angels are " all ministering spirits, sent 
 forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation."" 
 It is, therefore, most certain that men are, as to their spi- 
 rits, in connection with the world of spirits ; and it is well 
 known that infestations thence, fi'om evil spirits, are diffi- 
 cult to conquer, painful to endure, and dangerous in the 
 consequences at which they aim. When, therefore, a col- 
 lection of such spirits begin to influence a community of 
 merely natural men, how perilous is their spiritual position ! ^ 
 
 That infestations of this sort were experienced during 
 several epochs of the Israelitish Church is very evident. 
 The dark spots which so frequently disfigure its history 
 plainly indicate the activity of some malignant influence 
 upon the people ; while the brighter periods of their history 
 clearly show that such influences must, in some measure, 
 have been arrested and removed. How was this accom- 
 plished ? By what means were such restraints effected ? 
 
 1 1 Pet. V. 8. 2 Heb. i. 14. 
 
 3 " When eyil begins to prevail, and the eqmlibrimii to incline on the 
 side of evils, it is thence plainly perceptible that the last time is at hand, 
 and that the equilibrium is about to be restored, by the rejection of those 
 who are within the Church (but have perverted its principles), and the 
 reception of those who are without who are disposed to love and obey its 
 teachings." — Arcana Ccelestia, 2122. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AJTD 
 
 By what power was the maUgnity removed ? As Chris- 
 tians, we must acknowledge that the primary causes for 
 these results were Divine interposition in the way of com- 
 ing and judgment. All corrupting influences must have 
 proceeded from wicked spirits, who, at some time, had 
 lived as men among the people of the Church that they 
 infested ; they retained in their lives evils similar to those 
 indulged in by theu" successors in the world ; and from 
 this spiritual similitude they were capable of exciting those 
 successors into acts of apostasy and rebellion. Those 
 spirits, like a cloud before the sun, intercepted the light 
 which is aflbrded by angelic ministration; and therefore 
 it became necessary, for the welfare of men, to remove 
 them from the position they had usurped, in order that 
 the blessings of heaven might be communicated. Several 
 events of this kind took place during the history of the 
 Israelitish Chui'ch ; and therefore the Lord must have 
 come, at least in some peculiar way, and at the same time 
 have performed a judgment to administer relief. 
 
 We will endeavour to illustrate these considerations by 
 referring to some particular instances. It may, however, 
 be proper to observe that the histories we are about to cite 
 are commonly understood to have no other reference than 
 to the apostate members of the Church ifi the world. This 
 is the natural result of not perceiving that such histories, 
 because they are the Word of God, must be the vehicles of 
 revelation ; ami, consequently, that there is -ndthin the lite- 
 ral narratives the record of some spiritual transactions which 
 the Supreme Being intended us to know.' Thus, our illus- 
 
 1 " It should at least be acknowledged now by speculative Christians, 
 that there may be a truth in Scripture behind and beyond its letter, be- 
 yond even the thought of those who composed it." — Westminster Revietc, 
 April, 1859, pp. 570. 
 
SECOND COMING Or THE LOED. 
 
 53 
 
 trations will appear more evident in the revelation than in 
 the vehicle. Revelation proper consists in the disclosure 
 of those spiritual things which lie behind the letter. The 
 letter is but the outer history of some of the activities of 
 the inner lives of men, and consequently of their association 
 with the spiritual world. Man, being essentially spiritual 
 in his nature, cannot be separated from that world ; he is 
 intimately connected with some one or other of its depart- 
 ments, by means of that spiritual character which he has 
 formed, and the immortality with which he is endowed. 
 
 It is written of the people of Israel, that they became 
 idolatrous in the wilderness ; they made a golden calf, and 
 said of it, " These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought 
 thee up out of the land of Egypt." ^ Surely the perpetra- 
 tion of this religious enormity, in the face of the wonderful 
 miracles they had so recently witnessed, and the merciful 
 deliverances they had experienced, must have been induced 
 by some benighting influences operating upon them from 
 the spiritual world, and with which they had become asso- 
 ciated during their residence in Egypt. Doubtless they 
 carried with them a leaning towards the idols of the country 
 which they had inhabited so long ; and this was the mental 
 plane through which the spirits of deceased idolaters could 
 assail them. The people yielded to those assailants and 
 sinned a great sin,^ so that there fell that day about three 
 thousand men.^ This terrible* visitation ia the natural 
 world reveals the execution of a judgment upon those 
 spirits in the spiritual world, by which the actors in this 
 enormity were impelled. For it is to be observed that 
 soon afterwards a more favourable disposition to fidelity 
 sprung up, and spread itself among the people ; thus show- 
 ing that some obstacles to this blessing had been removed, 
 1 Exod. xxxii. 4. 2 Exod. xxxii. 31. 3 Exod. xxxii. 28. 
 
54 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 and that an improved influence was at work ; that a dark 
 cloud had been dispersed, and that a gleam of spiritual 
 sunshine had burst in upon the people. For it was then 
 said, " I will send an angel before thee ; and I will drive 
 out the Canaanites"^ and the other idolatrous nations of 
 the land ; thus strongly assuring us that some spiritual 
 phenomena lay behind those natural occurrences. Why 
 else is an angel introduced into the scene, and represented 
 as a necessity for the future guidance and safety of the 
 nation ? 
 
 Another case is presented in the rebelHon of Korah. 
 Who cannot see that he, with Dathan, Abiram, and two 
 hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the 
 conoTcgation, and men of renown,- coxdd only have been 
 blinded as to the real authority of Moses, induced to defy 
 his government, and seek pre-eminence for themselves, by 
 the vpicked influence of some abandoned spirits, who were 
 endeavouring to destroy the progress of truth among those 
 who were in the process of accepting it iu the world ? It 
 seems almost impossible to read, with intelUgence and care, 
 the narrative which details the facts, -svithout perceiving 
 that a Divine coming to judgment is described, — a judg- 
 ment not merely upon the rebels in the world, but also 
 upon those spirits whose seducing influences had conduced 
 to the infamous revolt. The presence and revelations of the 
 Lord upon the occasion ; the separation of the loyal from 
 those who were conducting the insurrection ; their earnest 
 confession that God was "the God of the spirits of all 
 flesh;" the direction of Moses, that they should depart 
 from the tents of those wicked men, lest they should bu 
 consumed in their sins, are all indications of some peculiar 
 and special providence of the Lord being in a state of un- 
 ' Exod. xxxiii. 2. * Num. xvi. 2. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 55 
 
 usual activity ; while the awful circumstance of the ground 
 cleaving asunder beneath the rebels, and swallowing up 
 Korah and his band, and all that pertained to them, and 
 their going down alive into the pit, and the earth closing 
 upon them, were awful evidences that a spiritual cata- 
 strophe lay behind those natural occurrences ; in other words, 
 that a special judgment had also been executed in the spi- 
 ritual world upon those evil spirits, who, in the lust of do- 
 minion, had stirred up a conspiracy so defiant of heavenly 
 law.^ But even this disaster did not entirely stay the jea- 
 lousy of the people ; it arrested some of the most malignant 
 causes, and put an end to their particular residts. But 
 other causes of discontent remained, and required to be 
 dealt with : these causes were not simply in the facts of the 
 case, but in the minds of the people and their spiritual 
 associates. Instead of being warned by the calamity they 
 had witnessed, they took occasion from it to murmur 
 against Moses and Aaron, saying, " Ye have killed the 
 people of the Lord and the result was that wrath went 
 out from the Lord, and the plague began.^ The wrath of 
 the Lord was an appearance caused by the evil condition 
 of the people : to the wicked His visitations appear like 
 anger, although that is really no attribute of the Divine 
 character. The wicked determination of some to pursue a 
 rebellious course still remained, and this invoked a malig- 
 nant influence from the spiritual world, which resulted in 
 the plague. These things were not written merely for the 
 sake of their literal history. The narrative was also in- 
 tended to reveal to us that some malignant spirits were 
 still at work upon the people, that the preceding judg- 
 ment had not restrained them, and therefore they also had 
 to become the subjects of a disastrous visitation, in order 
 ' Num. xvi. throughout. Num. xvi. 41. ' Num. xvi. 46. 
 
56 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 to secure tlie discipline of the camp. And the terror of its 
 execution is announced by the death of fourteen thousand 
 and seven hundred, besides those that had died about the 
 matter of Korah/ Such revelations belong to, and are 
 parts of, a pui'ely representative economy, — representative, 
 not merely in the affairs of its religious ceremonial, but also 
 in aU the transactions selected for the purpose of sustaining 
 it — in the calamities which the people endured, as well as in 
 the advantages which they enjoyed. The order which suc- 
 ceeded those judgments shows that a new and an improved 
 influence from the Lord's kingdom was brought to bear 
 upon the people. 
 
 The trespass of Achan= affords another instance of those 
 particular judgments — and every judgment implies a 
 Divine coming — which occm-red dui'Lug the historical 
 periods of the Jewish nation. Jericho, before it was taken, 
 was devoted to destruction ; all its combustible eon- 
 tents were to be consumed, but its metals were to be con- 
 secrated to the Lord. The people were strictly charged 
 to keep themselves from the accursed thing, lest they 
 should bring a curse upon the camp. The city was taken ; 
 but Achan disobeyed the iastructions which had been 
 given : he took a Babylonish garment, together with some 
 silver and gold, and hid them in his tent. In this guilt a 
 cm-se was brought upon the camp, and all the people 
 were involved in it ; for we read that the children of Israel 
 committed a trespass in the accursed thing. This is said, 
 doubtless, to inform us that although the actual guilt was 
 perpetrated by one party only, still the whole camp were 
 more or less infected with a similar cupidity. They must 
 have interiorly desired to possess some of the spoils, though 
 they did not externally venture upon the transgression. 
 ' Num. xvi. 49. ' Josh. vii. throughout. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 67 
 
 How else could tliey have been involved in tlie crime ? 
 How else could they have deserved the punishment ? What 
 but a hankering after the accursed thing, and a sense of this 
 guilt, could have induced the pusillanimity with which, im- 
 mediately after the conquest of the city, they fled from be- 
 fore the men of Ai, and through which Joshua first became 
 aware of the people's trespass ? In this transgression they 
 must have been infested by a band of selfish, faithless 
 spirits, whose judgment and condemnation are revealed to 
 us by the violent deaths of Achan and his household. The 
 advantages which followed this catastrophe were greater 
 freedom and ability among the people to receive and per- 
 ceive the Divine direction ; and these, being good gifts, mnst 
 have come down to them from the Father of lights. 
 
 There may be some unwillingness to admit these views 
 of the case ; but how can they be resisted ? If it be 
 true that the vices and virtues of mankind are urged into 
 existence by some unseen or spiritual influences, the whole 
 matter is established. For in that case no judgment can 
 befal the wickedness of mankind without bringing into 
 condemnation its spiritual cause ; nor can any blessing be 
 wisely enjoyed among them that is not attributable to a 
 heavenly source. The occurrences adverted to cannot be 
 said to be a revelation, if they reveal nothing but the Utera 
 history ; they cannot be said to be representative, if they 
 represent nothing but what is apparent in the letter. We 
 feel assured that there were judgments transpiring in the 
 spii'itual world, of which those natural calamities were the 
 revelations ; and, in those facts, we have kept before us that 
 great and true principle which recognises the intimate con- 
 nection which subsists between the outer and inner histories 
 of the human race, so far as they are presented in the Word 
 of God. 
 
58 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEIfT, AND 
 
 We will, however, advert to another case, wHch to some 
 may be a plainer illustration of the argument before us. It 
 specially refers to the spiritual things of the Church, in 
 which the worship of the Lord is pre-eminently concerned. 
 There can be no reasonable doubt among those who believe 
 the Scriptures, that lying spirits must have been the pri- 
 maiy soui'ce of all Israel's idolatry. Now Ahab is recorded 
 to have encouraged this enormity in his kingdom, and to 
 have fastened it with a strong hand upon the observance of 
 his people. Ahab had prophets in whom he trusted ; but 
 they were false, and they deceived him ; and we are ex- 
 pressly told that the source of their deceptions was from 
 spirits in the spiritual world. In the matter of persuading 
 Ahab to go up to the battle of Ramoth-Gilead, it is written 
 that a spirit stood before the Lord, and said, " I wiU per- 
 suade him ; I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in 
 the mouth of all his prophets."^ By this means the king 
 was led up to the battle, in defiance of a Divine warning ; 
 and he was slain, and his army discomfited. Here it is 
 expressly stated that a lying spirit lay behind and assisted 
 the historical occtirrence. This being so in reference to the 
 circumstances which contributed to Ahab's death, is it not 
 reasonable to conclude that a similar influence must have 
 induced the idolatry which he encouraged by his life ? 
 And, finally, it seems clear that this transaction in the 
 natural world was the revelation of a particular judgment 
 in the spiritual world ; for we find that immediately after- 
 wards, the people came into an improved and more accept- 
 able condition. But none of those favourable changes were 
 lasting ; all the Divine interpositions to keep that nation 
 within the boundaries of faith and obedience failed; and 
 so, in the fulness of time, the dispensation intrusted to their 
 care came to an end. 
 
 1 1 Kings xxii. '21. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 59 
 
 Idolatry -was the besetting sin of the Israelitish nation : 
 this is the reason why they were so strongly forbidden to 
 make to themselves any graven image, or any likeness of 
 anything that is in heaven above or earth beneath, or that 
 is in the water under the earth.' They were a community 
 of naturally minded men, to whom, therefore, life and im- 
 mortality were but imperfectly revealed ; these were brought 
 to light by the gospel. They were not disposed to appreciate 
 interior truths, and hence it is that so Uttle is said about 
 spiritual things in the letter of their history : those things, 
 however, are contained within the letter and imaged forth 
 thereby. Idolatry prevailed for many ages in various por- 
 tions of the world long before the Israelites were selected to 
 become a representative people. The inhabitants of those 
 countries had, by natni-al death, furnished the world of 
 spirits with a multitude of idolatrous spirits ; and these 
 would find a plane for action in the Israelitish mind, for 
 they were idolaters in origin and at heart f and this had 
 
 1 Exod. XX. 4. 
 
 2 Of Abraham, their progenitor, it is written, that " Joshua said unto 
 all the people. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on 
 the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham 
 and the father of Nahor : and they served other gods." (Josh. xxiv. 2 ; 
 see also verses 14, 15). It is also expressly declared of Abraham, that 
 Jehovah was not known to him, and that he worshipped the god Schaddai 
 (Exod. vi. 3) ; and thus that in his youth he was, like other GentUes, an 
 idolater ; and that even after he had been called by the Lord, he did 
 not at once reject from his mind the god Schaddai. The principle of 
 idolatry seems to have had a place in the mind of the Israelitish nation 
 from their origin ; and it is very plain, both from the historical and pro- 
 phetical portions of the word, that they were prone to the worship of 
 idols ; and it was because of this that it was so severely condemned 
 among them, and also because its tendency was to destroy the repre- 
 sentatives of the Church instituted among them. It was because in 
 heart they remained in the idolatry of Eg3rpt, that, notwithstanding the 
 
60 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 been fostered in Egypt by the heathenism which snr- 
 ronnded them during their residence in that country. This 
 was the secret cause of those frequent lapses into that 
 enormity, and of the calamities which followed its indul- 
 gence. Whenever they fell into its open practice, the 
 spirits triumphed ; whenever they suffered the conse- 
 quence of their infidelity, the spirits, as well as themselves, 
 were experiencing a judgment ; and whenever they were 
 brought into a better state and greater freedom, it is plain 
 that the power of such spirits had been arrested, and that 
 some superior influences had been mercifully provided. 
 The frequency and prominence of those principles in the 
 Scripture history of the Jewish people are very remark- 
 able, and cannot fail, when they are suggested, to strike the 
 attention of the pious and the thoughtful. Many judgments 
 are recorded, and all of them imply a coming of the Divine, 
 for the purpose of their execution : about these general 
 facts there cannot be any dispute ; we therefore will not in 
 this place add to our illustrations. Enough has been said at 
 this early stage of our discussion to direct attention to the 
 idea that the judgments of the Lord are effected by His 
 coming, and that those events primarily occur among 
 spii'its in the world of spirits, which is the first common re- 
 ceptacle for all who die. The time for such judgments and 
 comincr is when evils of life and false doctrines have become 
 enormous, and thereby obstruct the orderly working of a 
 beneficent Pro.vidcnce in the affaii's of men ; and the results 
 of those phenomena wiU, sooner or later, become manifest 
 
 miracles by which they had been delivered from that country, they made 
 a golden calf, and said of it, " These be thy gods, 0 Israel, which 
 brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Esod. xxsii. 4). The calf 
 was among the idols of Egypt ; hence Egypt is said to be a very fair 
 heifer, and a beautiful calf (Jer. xlvi. 20, 21). 
 
SECOITD COMIKG OF THE LORD. 
 
 61 
 
 in the natural world, and especially among those with whom 
 the Lord's Church professedly exists. 
 
 All the cases' which have been cited, because upon the 
 one hand they were attended by the removal of certain evil 
 influences from the world, and upon the other the revival 
 of some religious sentiment for the benefit of the people, 
 contributed to prolong the existence of the Jewish dispen- 
 sation among those who accepted it. But notwithstanding 
 those efforts of the Lord to maintain for Himself and His 
 Word some sensible recognition among that community, we 
 find that they went on from bad to worse. In defiance of 
 checks and hindrances, each generation sunk lower and 
 lower in the scale of religious intelligence. The revelations 
 of God were supplanted by the traditions of impostors : 
 hypocrisy grew into an institution ; the eyes of the people 
 were blinded so that they could not understand, and their 
 hearts were hardened so that they could not believe. And 
 who can seriously contemplate that period, as it is presented 
 in the gospels, and not perceive that an infernal influence 
 had set in upon the minds of men ; and, consequently, that 
 a time had arrived for the special coming of the Lord to 
 execute a last judgment upon the Jewish Church ? for by 
 that coming and judgment that dispensation was brought 
 to its end, and the estabKshment of Chi-istianity began. 
 
 But this brings us to another phase of our subject. The 
 principles involved in what has been said will be more fully 
 defined and more amply illustrated in future chapters of 
 this work. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE OCCASION AND PURPOSE OF THE LOED'S FIRST ADVENT. 
 
 The Aegument. — The Lord has always interfered in the affairs of men 
 when their conduct has reached some dangerous limits. — The cause 
 of such dangers. — Man the subject of influences from the spiritual 
 world. — The Fall. — The progress of that event and the time of its 
 completion. — The condition of mankind at the period of the flood, 
 and at the time of their dispersion at Babel. — The cessation of the 
 Adamic and Noetic dispensations. — The state of man when the Lord 
 made His first advent. — The testimony of history. — The picture 
 which the Lord drew of the character of the Jewish Nation. — Cor- 
 roboration by Josephus. — The apostle's statement respecting " the 
 whole world." — A precipice reached. — The danger arrested by the 
 Lord's coming into the world. — The infinity of the Divine Love. — 
 The Redemption effected by it. — The increase of imclean spirits and 
 the operation of their influence on men. — Redemption a deliverance 
 from a state of bondage. — What that bondage was. — Deliverance 
 efl'ected by the Lord assuming humanity. — Why that com'se was 
 adopted. — The Lord's temptations, combats, and victories. — Pro- 
 phetical and historical evidence on those points. — The spiritual and 
 not the natural world the special scene of the causes of those events. 
 — The redemption which the Lord eflfected implies not only a Divine 
 coming but a judgment. — This purpose of His coming shown. — The 
 scene of this judgment, the world of spirits, and the subjects of it 
 the souls of men. — The. end of the Jewish Church. — Judgment 
 at the end of the preceding Churches. — Evidences in the natural 
 world of such judgment having taken place in the spiritual. — 
 Conclusion. 
 
 From the Scriptures we learn that the Lord has always in- 
 terposed in the affairs of men when some extraordinary 
 occurrences in their spiritual condition have required cor- 
 
THE SECOND COMrNG OF TUE LORD. 
 
 63 
 
 rection. As men have strayed from His fold, He has mer- 
 cifully endeavoured to arrest their dangerous progress ; and 
 when they have reached some perilous point in their bad 
 career, the Lord has come by some providential visitation, 
 to stop their course, and bring it to an end. This may 
 be evident from the cases of the flood, the confusion of 
 tongues, and some other circumstances referred to in the 
 preceding chapter. Throughout the Word, every Divine 
 coming is intimately associated with judgments, and with 
 subsequent acts of beneficence. They were as storms re- 
 quired to clear a" corrupted atmosphere, behind which there 
 has always been a genial sunshine to fit it for the better 
 respiration of healthy life. It is, then, the transgressions of 
 men which have been the special causes of the Divine com- 
 ing — with the innocent He is always present — and the 
 purpose of such coming has always been to remove those 
 causes and prepare the way for a more genial influence to 
 descend for the acceptance of the people. Those causes 
 were not simply the common wilfulness of men to disobey 
 the Divine commands ; in this, indeed, those causes found 
 a plane for carrying out the pui-poses at which they 
 aimed ; but they Hved as it were behind it, and really 
 consisted in the secret activity of wicked spirits. That 
 men are the subjects of such influences is plainly taught in 
 the Word ; and how few are they who have escaped such 
 painful experiences ? How frequently has it happened 
 that some evil thought has been suddenly injected into the 
 mind, at the enormity of which every superior sentiment 
 has felt dismay. This has occurred to most persons, not 
 only without any conscious efibrt on their part to evoke it, 
 but at times when the mind has been voluntarily turned 
 some other way. To what other than spiritual causes can 
 such experiences be attributed ? Such facts cannot be rea- 
 
64 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEITT, AIO) 
 
 sonably explained upon any other principle ; and there have 
 been periods in our history when the ascendency of some 
 evil influences has been evident. Without deliverance and 
 protection from those influences, no merely external im- 
 pression for good can find an abiding place with men. To 
 destroy the weed, the root must be dug up. It is necessary 
 to " cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, 
 that the outside of them may be clean also." * A wound 
 externally healed when corruption is beneath, is always 
 in danger of fresh suppuration. The malady of the patient 
 cannot be removed so long as the source of it is active. 
 The wise physician appHes his remedy to the cause of the 
 disease; when that is reached he knows that a cure may 
 follow. And this has been the Lord's purpose whenever 
 He has visited His people. He has come when men were 
 suffering from "wounds and bruises and putrefying sores," 
 and mercifully removed the wicked causes by which those 
 maladies were induced ; and the result has always been 
 some improvement in the spiritual health of the people. 
 Such, specially, were the occasion and purpose of the 
 Lord's first advent. He came to " destroy the works of the 
 devil ; " that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and 
 purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
 works. " ' 
 
 But we will endeavour to open out these facts with a few 
 additional considerations. It is commonly admitted that 
 the Lord came, into the world in consequence of the fall of 
 man, and that Redemption was the purpose of that coming. 
 The opinions entertained upon those subjects are, that the 
 fall of man was completed in Adam's transgression, and 
 that Redemption consisted in the deliverance of man from 
 the wrath of God, wliich that transgression had incurred. 
 ' Matt, xxiii. 26. « 1 John iii. 8. s Titua ii. 14. 
 
SECOND COMiyO OF THE LORD. 
 
 65 
 
 We cannot believe that these are correct views of the snb- 
 ject. They are said to be " mysteries " by those who hold 
 them; therefore no one can know that they are true, and 
 every one feels that they are eminently embarrassing to 
 all rational thought. "We consider them to be mistakes ; 
 still we shall not stop to discuss or to expose them : to us 
 there can be no doubt that they are the fabrications of men, 
 and we prefer to rest our views on the Scripture history 
 of the events themselves. 
 
 That the fall of man had its beginning in Adam's trans- 
 gression is very evident : it is the first recorded act of dis- 
 obedience, but all which that enormity involved was not 
 completed until the Lord God of Israel visited and re- 
 deemed His people ; ^ and the " wrath" ^ from which Jesus 
 deUvered them was not the wrath of Grod, but the wicked 
 influences of an infernal crew. To what else can the de- 
 basing influence of wrath belong ? The extreme of the 
 Divine mercy was displayed when the extreme of human 
 necessity had arrived. It was when the Lord " came unto 
 His own, and His own received Him not," ^ that the mea- 
 sure of man's iniquity was filled. 
 
 We may be reminded that the world had become extreme- 
 ly wicked at the time of the flood ; and, also, that after that 
 catastrophe the enormities of men, indicated in the over- 
 throw of Sodom and Gomorrah, were exceedingly revoltiug ; 
 and from these facts it may be argued that men had fallen 
 at those periods quite as low as any degradation observable 
 in their history at the time of the Lord's advent into the 
 world. But those who adopt that conclusion are not yet 
 in possession of all the facts and circumstances which relate 
 to the subject. The fall of man is not to be considered 
 simply as a fall into criminal acts, but chiefly as the cor- 
 1 Luke i. 68. 2 Kom. v. 9. » John i. 11. 
 
 P 
 
66 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AiTD 
 
 ruption and paralysis of all his tuman principles, and tlras 
 as the perversion of all his original inclination to receive 
 and retain the spiritual sentiments of purity and heaven. 
 
 The human principles are celestial, spiritual, and natu- 
 ral ; it is 'these which distinguish humanity from the brute 
 creation, and the two former were rendered inactive by the 
 depravity of the people, before the latter was entirely cor- 
 rupted. They are distinct degrees of human life, to which 
 respectively belong the sentiments of Love, Faith, and 
 Duty ; and that which was pre-eminent in each priaciple 
 stood out as a characteristic of the people in the best times 
 of the Adamic, Noetic, and Israelitish periods. In each of 
 those periods a Divine dispensation was established, suited 
 to the prevailing genius and requirements of the people to 
 whom it was vouchsafed. The first, however, was associ- 
 ated with a more interior life, even in its visible character, 
 than the intermediate and the last. How plain is it that 
 the condition of reUgion which was begun with Adam, was 
 much more eminent than that which had its commencement 
 with Noah ; and how certain is it that that which was ori- 
 giuated with Noah was superior to that which was estab- 
 lished with Abraham and his descendants ! The reason is, 
 because the first was adapted more to the loving, or celes- 
 tial principle of mankind ; the second to the believing, or 
 spiritual principle ; and the third to the obeying, or natural 
 principle. It is well known that each of the three Churches 
 referred to, declined and fell ; but the peculiar nature of 
 their fall consisted in the people of each Church successively 
 perverting that principle in themselves to which its teach- 
 ings were specifically adapted. Thus the celestial principle 
 was perverted when the Divine things proper to the Adamic 
 dispensation ceased to be perceived ; and the rain which 
 followed is revealed to us by the calamity of the flood. The 
 
SECOITD COMINff OP THE lOED. 
 
 67 
 
 spiritnal principle was perverted, when the Divine things 
 proper to the Noetic dispensation ceased to be acknow- 
 ledged ; the wreck and disorder which resulted are repre- 
 sented to us by the confusion of tongues and the dispersion 
 of mankind. The natural principle was perverted when 
 the obedience proper to the Israelitish economy ceased to 
 be observed : it was then that the fall of man became com- 
 plete ; this is shown in the termination of that external 
 economy by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, 
 by the advent of Jehovah in His humanity. 
 
 Hence we learn that the cessation of each Church re- 
 sulted from the perversion of that distinctive principle- in 
 man, for the development and maintenance of which the 
 teachings of each Church had been mercifully provided ; 
 consequently the fall consisted in man successively per- 
 verting in himself the orderly use of each distinctive prin- 
 ciple and purpose of human life. Thus, although the crimi- 
 nal acts which were perpetrated in the early ages of man- 
 kind were quite as bad as any that were committed in sub- 
 sequent periods, yet, as in each of those periods such acts 
 proceeded from the perversion of the different principles 
 which were peculiar to each period, it is certain that there 
 must have been a difference in the moral quaUty of the enor- 
 mities which prevailed ; and, consequently, the evils perpe- 
 trated by the people of the first dispensation must have been 
 more atrocious than those committed in succeeding times : 
 the people sinned with more open eyes, and perverted the 
 uses of a more interior principle than any enjoyed by their 
 successors : hence the first dispensation perished by a catas- 
 trophe more teiTible than that of any of the others. When 
 then it is said that the fall of man was not completed until 
 the Lord God of Israel visited to redeem His people, the 
 meaning is that, at that time the orderly uses of aU the 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 THE LAST JTDGKEITT, AOT) 
 
 human principles had been perverted, so that darkness 
 covered the earth, and gross darkness the people.^ And 
 then it was that the Lord so pointedly said, " Except a man 
 be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."^ To be 
 born again is to have those human principles of which we 
 have been treating, brought again into a state of Kving and 
 orderly activity. 
 
 When the Lord came into the world, all the sentiments 
 aixd affections of true rehgion had been abandoned, and 
 their restoration was one of the objects for which that ad- 
 vent was undertaken. The civilization of the nations at 
 that period was a gilded rottenness. They had a theology, 
 but it was paganism ; they had a religion, but it was self- 
 ishness ; the one knew nothing of the true God ; the other 
 knew nothing of spiritual faith and virtue. The govern- 
 ments were debased by ambition, wantonness, and cruelty ; 
 the people were enslaved by pride, ignorance, and vice. 
 Revelation, which is the magnet through which the influ- 
 ences of heaven are brought down to men, had no place 
 among them. Sismondi, speaking of the Roman power at 
 that period, says that " it exhibited all that was shameful 
 and perfidious in man ; everything that was atrocious in 
 the abuse of absolute power. Never had the world been 
 astounded with such a variety of enormity and crime ; 
 never had so fatal an attack been made upon every virtue 
 which men had been accustomed to hold in reverence. 
 Nature was outraged." This evil power received a check 
 by the establisliment of Christianity, because thereby some 
 of its spiritual sources were arrested. 
 
 But every one knows something of the fearful character 
 which Jesus drew of the Jewish nation.' The scribes, 
 
 ' Isa. Ix. 2. 2 John iii. 3. 
 
 8 See Matt, xsiii. throughout, and in many other places. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOBD. 
 
 69 
 
 Pharisees, and lawyers were all denounced as bands of 
 hypocrites, who strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel ; 
 who made void the law and substituted the tradition of 
 men for the word of God ; who turned the temple into a 
 den of thieves, and neglected mercy and judgment ; who 
 were of their father the devil, and the works of their father 
 they would do ; who were fall of ravening and wickedness ; 
 made prayer for a pretence, and compassed sea and land 
 to make a proselyte, whom they made twofold more a 
 child of hell than themselves. In short, they were a wicked 
 and an adulterous generation ; a generation of serpents and 
 vipers, of whom it was asked, how they could escape the 
 damnation of hell. And of the Sadducees, it is said that 
 they did not believe in the resurrection, nor in angels, or 
 spii'its.^ This awful picture of Jewish profligacy, drawn 
 by One who knoweth what is in man, is corroborated by 
 Josephus, an historian of their own time. He says, " Such 
 was the impudence and boldness that had seized on the 
 high-priests, that they had the hardness to send their ser- 
 vants into the threshing floors to take away those tithes 
 that were due to the priests ; insomuch that it so fell out 
 that the poorest sort of the priests died for want."^ During 
 the reign of Alexandra, " the Pharisees artfidly insinuated 
 themselves into her favour by little and little, and became 
 themselves the real administrators of the public afiairs J 
 they banished and reduced whom they pleased ; they bound 
 and loosed (men) at their pleasure ; and to say all at once, 
 they had the enjoyment of royal authority, whilst the 
 expenses and difiiculties of it belonged to Alexandra."* 
 " The behaviour of the Sadducees one towards another is 
 in some degree wild, and their conversation with those of 
 
 1 Matt. xxii. 23 ; Acts xxiii. 8. ^ Antiquities, book xx., chap, viii., sec. 8. 
 8 "^Yara of the Jews, chap, v., sec. 2. 
 
70 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEIirT, AND 
 
 their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers 
 to them."^ If or were these things true of the Jews 
 only. Similar evils had broken out among manlrind in 
 general, wherefore the apostle said, "the whole world 
 lieth in wickedness." " Surely no one can fail to see from 
 these facts that a dreadfal precipice had been reached, 
 and that the people must have fallen over it into an eter- 
 nal ruin, if some merciful measures had not been adopted 
 to hinder such a catastrophe. 
 
 But how was this hindrance accomplished ? By what 
 means was this terrible danger averted ? Plainly, by " the 
 Lord God of Israel visiting to redeem His people." He 
 came into the ultimates of nature, when transgression sprung 
 from the ultimate principles of man. He did not so come 
 before, because that result had not before been so thoroughly 
 developed. He adopted the extreme measure for the rescue, 
 when the extreme of human necessity bad been reached. 
 And this circumstance, of itself, may be taken as one of the 
 strongest proofs that this must have been the period when 
 the fall had reached its greatest depth. If it had been 
 reached before, surely that advent, which was so requisite 
 to avert its dangers, would not have been delayed. No ! 
 the Lord then came into the world that He might have 
 access to men by an external way, because then it was that 
 all the internal ways to man's spiritual life were shut against 
 the Divine approach. In every stage of the process by 
 which the faU was brought to its close, God had mercifully 
 watched over mankind with unabated solicitude and care. 
 He desires nothing so intensely as the happiness of men. 
 He does not withdraw His regard because they may re- 
 linquish their obedience. The Divine love is infinite ; if it 
 could have been diminished, mankind could not have been 
 1 Wars of the Jew8, chap, viii., sec. 14. * 1 John v. 19. 
 
SECOND COTUXNG OP THE LOED. 
 
 71 
 
 preserved. It is from this fact that He said, " I have loved 
 thee with an everlasting love ; therefore with loving-kind- 
 ness have I drawn thee."^ "Why will ye die — ^return ye 
 now every one from his evil way, and make your ways 
 and your doings good."^ "What doth the Lord require 
 of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk 
 humbly with thy God."^ To an-est man in the process of 
 his downward career, God mercifully interposed a thousand 
 providences ; He coxdd not see His people straying from 
 His fold without putting forth His hand to stop them. 
 The ingratitude of men cannot diminish the love of God ; 
 that is an everlasting activity of the Divine nature ; and 
 therefore it is written that, " In His love and in His pity 
 He redeemed them."* 
 
 But from what did He redeem them ? Doubtless it was 
 from the extraordinaiy influences of those wicked spirits 
 who at that time had gained great power in the afiairs of 
 men, and brought about so terrible an issue. The ascen- 
 dency they had obtained is clearly proved by those numer- 
 oufl cases in which devils and unclean spirits are stated 
 to have taken possession, not merely of the minds, but 
 even of the very bodies of mankind. We do not before 
 read of such revolting facts ; and they may be taken as ad- 
 ditional evidence of that extremity to which man had fallen. 
 Those spirits had been accumulating, since the period of 
 the flood, in that department of the spiritual world which 
 is the first common receptacle for all who die. Some, in- 
 deed, had been removed therefrom at various times by par- 
 ticular judgments, but the mass remained. Peter speaks of 
 some disobedient spirits who had been detained there from 
 the days of Noe to the coming of the Lord ; for he said that 
 
 ^ Jer. xxsi. 3. 2 Jer. ssvii. 13 ; xviii. 11. s Micah Yi. 8. 
 
 i Isa. Mil. 9. 
 
72 
 
 THE LAST JTrDGMENT, AND 
 
 the Lord went and preached to them after His resnrrec- 
 tion.' Men dying with corrupted lives, which they had 
 voluntarily fixed upon themselves, proceeded with them 
 into the spiritual world, and there they still retained them. 
 "In the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be."* 
 " He that is unjust will be unjust still : he that is filthy will 
 be filthy still."* Those spirits, from age to age, increased 
 in number and enormity, until at length they became so 
 multiplied and powerful as to overspread the minds of men 
 with darkness, and urge them to love and adopt those ini- 
 quities of which we have been speaking. Thus, when the 
 Lord came into the world, " hell had enlarged herself, and 
 opened her mouth without measure ; and hell from beneath 
 was moved to meet Him at His coming and it was from 
 the influences of this terrible condition that mankind had 
 to be redeemed. 
 
 Redemption obviously implies deliverance from a state of 
 bondage. This is the idea which the term everywhere ex- 
 presses in the Scriptures. The rescue of the Israelites from 
 their captivity in Egypt is frequently spoken of as redemp- 
 tion ; and that circumstance, as an historical event, was the 
 type of that spiritual deliverance now under consideration. 
 It was the rescue of mankind from the ascendency of that 
 infernal influence by which they were held in bondage, and 
 thereby the restoration of that spiritual liberty in which 
 they might again co-operate with the Lord to work out 
 their salvation with fear and trembling.^ Hence, the Lord 
 said, " I am come that they might have Ufe, and that they 
 might have it more abundantly."* 
 
 The assumption of humanity by the Lord was essential 
 to this purpose. This may be evident from its adoption ; 
 
 ' 1 Pet. iii. 18-20. " Eccles. xi. 3. « Rev. sxii. 11. 
 « Isa. V, 14 i siv. 9. « Phil. ii. 12. « John x. 10. 
 
SECOWD COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 73 
 
 for who can attack an enemy nnless lie approach, towards 
 him, and be furnished with arms requisite for the battle ? 
 It was man who had to be redeemed ; the assumption of a 
 manhood was therefore indispensable to the work. By 
 that means a suitable plane was provided, in which the Om- 
 nipotent could meet those spiritual enemies of His people ; 
 cause them to be " dismayed, and turned away back, and 
 their mighty ones beaten down."' They attacked that hu- 
 manity, as they had attacked that of ordinary men, because 
 they found in that humanity a similar plane ; but they were 
 met therein, and resisted ; fought against, and conquered ; 
 and by that conquest mankind were redeemed from the 
 bondage into which they had fallen. It was in reference to 
 those spiritual victories that the Lord is so frequently called 
 " the Redeemer ;" " also " a mighty man " a man of war," 
 "the Lord of hosts;"* "the Lord strong and mighty in 
 battle."* Those against whom He fought were the spiritual 
 enemies of the souls of men, and the object aimed at by the 
 war was to cause the unclean spirit to pass out of the land,* 
 to deliver men out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem 
 them out of the hand of the ten-ible.'^ This was exclusively 
 the Lord's own work ; for " He saw, and there was no man, 
 and wondered that there was no intercessor ; therefore His 
 own arm brought salvation unto Him ; and His righteous- 
 ness, it sustained Him : for He put on righteousness as a 
 breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head ; and 
 He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was 
 clad with zeal as a cloak. "When the enemy came in like a 
 flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifted up a standard against 
 
 * Jer. xlvi. 5. 
 
 « Job six. 25 ; P8. six. 14 ; Ixxviii. 35 ; Isa. xli. 14 ; xliii. 14 ; xliv. 6, etc. 
 8 Isa. sUi. 13. i Isa. i. 24 ; ii. 12 ; vi. 3, etc., etc. 
 » Ps. xxiv. 8, 9. 6 zech. xiii. 2. 7 jer, xv. 21. 
 
74 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, AiTD 
 
 him."' Tlie frequency witli whicli those Divine combats 
 are spoken of by the prophets is remarkable and promi- 
 nent. Take, as another instance, the following : — " Who 
 is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments ft-om 
 Bozrah ? This that is glorious in His apparel, travelling 
 in the greatness of His strength ? I that speak in right- 
 eonsness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in 
 thiae apparel, and thy garment like him that treadeth in 
 the winefat ? I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and 
 of the people there was none with me : for I will tread 
 them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury ; and 
 their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I 
 will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in 
 mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I 
 looked and there was none to help ; and I wondered that there 
 were none to uphold : therefore mine own arm brought sal- 
 vation unto me ; and my fury, it upheld me. He said. Surely 
 they are my people, children that will not lie ; so He was 
 their Saviour. In aU their affliction He was afflicted, and 
 the angel of His presence saved them ; in His love and in 
 His pity He redeemed them." * Other passages of similar 
 significance could readily be cited. It is, indeed, true that 
 many of them have been commonly regarded as having 
 reference to some natural wars among the nations, in 
 which Divine judgments against the enemies of the Church 
 were conspicuous. Still it has always been a matter of 
 great difficulty to find, in the history of nations, fiicts which 
 could be identified and adopted as the fulfilment of such 
 predictions. Hence there are no settled opinions concern- 
 ing their application to worldly history ; nor can there be, 
 so long as such a political view is taken of those Divine 
 writings. Their true interpretation can only be found in 
 1 Isa. Ux. 16, 17, 19. « Isa. Ixiii. 1—9. 
 
SECOITD COMIIfG OF THE XOEB. 
 
 75 
 
 the spiritual history, which we are endeavouring to illus- 
 trate. The passages quoted above plainly speak of the 
 Lord's combat against the spiritual enemies of Himself and 
 His people, and also of His triumphs in the battle. The 
 same facts are referred to in Joel, under images of a some- 
 what similar character : thus, " Put ye in the sickle, for 
 the harvest is ripe : come, get you down ; for the press is 
 ftill, the fats overflow ; for their wickedness is great. Mul- 
 titudes, multitudes in the valley of decision ; for the day of 
 the Lord is near in the valley of decision." ' Some of the 
 teachings of this prophet are expressly spoken of by Peter, 
 as referring: to events which distinofuished the Lord's ad- 
 vent."^ The reality of His spiritual combats, triumphs, and 
 consequent judgment, is pointed at by several circumstances 
 recorded of Him during His personal presence in the world. 
 It is written, " The Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness, 
 and He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of 
 Satan ; and was with the wild beasts : and the angels minis- 
 tered unto Him."« Here, by "the Spirit," " Satan," and " the 
 wild beasts," are clearly denoted evil spirits of various 
 sorts ; and this temptation is said to have taken place in 
 the wilderness, because by such a tract of solitude and 
 savageness is represented the desolation and misery to 
 which humanity was reduced. That it was a transaction 
 having special reference to the spiritual world is evident, 
 not only from the circumstance of " the Spirit," and 
 " Satan," being named, but also from the concluding state- 
 ment, which informs us that " the angels ministered unto 
 Him." Again we read, "the devil taketh Him up into 
 the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, 
 and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thy- 
 self down: for it is written. He shaU give His angels 
 ' Joel iii. 13, 14. « Acts ii. 16. » Mark i. 12, 13. 
 
76 
 
 THE LAST JtTDGMEITT, JlHTD 
 
 charge concerning Thee ; and in their hands they shall 
 bear Thee np, lest at any time Thon dash Thy foot against 
 a stone. Jesus said nnto him, It is written again, thou 
 shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh 
 Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him 
 all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them ; and 
 saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou 
 wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto 
 him, Gret thee hence, Satan ; for it is written, Thou shalt 
 worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. 
 Then the devil leaveth Him, and behold angels came and 
 ministered unto Him."^ These, doubtless, were most ex- 
 traordinary occurrences, and surely it cannot require any 
 argument to prove that the actual scene in which they 
 transpired was the spiritual world. The temptations by 
 wicked spirits, and the comforts of angelic ministration, 
 must each have come from their respective departments in 
 the other Ufe ; and when the temptations were removed, 
 illustrations from the latter were displayed. How pointedly 
 did the Lord refer to the spiritual combats He had imder- 
 taken, when He said to Peter, who had di-awn the sword 
 in His defence, and struck a servant of the high-priest 
 and smote off his ear, " Put up again thy sword into his 
 place, for all they that take the sword shall perish with the 
 sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 
 and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of 
 angels ? It was thi'ough the devil entering into Judas 
 that the Lord was betrayed f and to what else, but the ter- 
 rible nature of His spiritual conflicts, can be referred the 
 agony which he experienced in Gethsemane, in which 
 " there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strength- 
 ening Him," and when " His sweat was as it were great 
 
 1 Matt. iv. 5-11. « Matt. sxvi. 51-53. s John xiii. 2. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 77 
 
 drops of blood, falling down to the ground " ?^ How plainly 
 also did He speak to His disciples concerning tlie conflicts 
 •which He sustained, and the triumphs which He won? 
 When " the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even 
 the devils are subject unto us through Thy name, He said 
 xmto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 
 Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and 
 scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy ; and nothing 
 shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this re- 
 joice not, that the spirits are subject unto you : but rather 
 rejoice because your names are written in heaven."^ Surely, 
 these were phenomena beyond the scenes of ordinary hu- 
 manity in the natural world. The narrative plainly recog- 
 nises the cruel bondages into which manldnd had fallen, 
 and the heavenly liberty that was in the process of being 
 restored. " For this purpose was the Son of God mani- 
 fested, that He might destroy the works of the devil:"* 
 Hence Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, " The Spirit of 
 the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to 
 preach the gospel to the poor ; He hath sent me to heal the 
 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
 recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that 
 are bruised ; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 
 And He closed the book, and began to say unto them, this 
 day is this Scripture fulfilled in yoiu" ears." ^ Here, among 
 other purposes of His mission, are expressly enumerated 
 the " deliverance of the captive," and the " setting at liberty 
 them that are bound :" but the captivity and bonds referred 
 to were not those of the body ; for from these we do not 
 read that he liberated any. He spake of the captivity and 
 bondage of the souls of men ; it is these that are precious 
 ' Luke xxii. 43, 44. 2 Luke x. 17-20. s 1 John iii. 8. 
 * Luke iv. 18-21. 
 
78 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMElfT, AlTD 
 
 in His sight ; and for these He effected spiritual liberty and 
 life, for He said, " If the Son therefore shall make you free, 
 ye shall be free indeed:"^ "I am come that they might 
 have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."* 
 And how was this accompHshed ? This is sufficiently ex- 
 plained by the facts that He cast out devils by the Spirit of 
 God : and that with authority He commanded the unclean 
 spirits and they obeyed Him.^ These considerations clearly 
 show that the Lord's purpose in the natural world was to 
 redeem men from the power of those wicked influences 
 which had set in upon them from the world of spirits. His 
 humanity was, as it were, the field in which those influences 
 could be met and conquered by the Divioity within. As 
 these conquests were effected, a cloud of evil influences was 
 driven away from the minds of men ; a new Ught frona 
 heaven was enabled to descend for their enjoyment ; and 
 then a new condition of religious life was begun in the 
 world, of which the establishment of Christianity is the 
 evidence. 
 
 Now when we remember that the Lord cast out the 
 spirits with His word and that it is the word which He 
 speaketh that judgeth f we must at once perceive that the 
 Redemption which He accompUshed, implies not only a 
 Divine coming, but also the execution of a judgment. He 
 had authority to execute judgment ; and He said, " For 
 judgment I am come into this world," ' John the Baptist 
 plainly referred to this event when he said, " He that 
 Cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not 
 worthy to bear ; He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, 
 and with fire : whose fan is in His hand, and He will 
 throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the 
 
 John viii. 36. « John x. 10. » Matt. xii. 28 ; Mark i. 27. 
 
 * Matt. viii. 16. « John xii. 48. « John v. 27. ' John is. 39. 
 
SECOND COMIIfO OP THE lOED. 
 
 79 
 
 garner, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable 
 fire." ' Doubtless this gathering of the wheat, and burning 
 of the chaff, werfe figures of the judgment for which the 
 Lord came, for it very closely resembles His own description 
 of that event, namely, " In the time of harvest I wiU say 
 to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares and bind 
 them in bundles to bum them, but gather the wheat into 
 my barn." ^ Every one knows that a general judgment 
 is treated of in this figurative language : indeed, it is so 
 explained by the Lord Himself. Besides, He plainly said, 
 " Now is the judgment of this world ; now shall the prince 
 of this world be cast out." ^ The prince of this world is 
 judged : " * "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the 
 world : " I beheld Satan as Ughfening faU from heaven." * 
 Surely it is evident that by "the world," "the prince of 
 this world," and " Satan," are denoted the wicked influence 
 of infernal spirits ; and, consequently, the judgment for 
 which the Lord came did not consist merely in the forma- 
 tion of an opinion respecting the condition and deserts of 
 the world, but in the actual severance of the hold which 
 those spirits had gained upon the minds of men, and the 
 removal of them to their final destiay. Without this, that 
 judgment could not have had any practical results. Thus 
 we learn that the Lord came into the world for judgment, 
 and that then was the time of its execution. Did He 
 accomplish this purpose ? Most certainly He did ! Any 
 other conclusion would imply a failure in His designs ; and 
 this cannot be conceded. Now where was the scene of 
 this judgment ? and who were its subjects ? Doubtless the 
 world of spiiits was the scene ; and the souls of men were 
 the subjects. There was no occurrence at that time in the 
 
 1 Matt. iii. 11, 12. » Matt. xiii. 30. 5 John sii. 31. 
 
 3 John STi. 11. * John xvi. 33. e Luke x. 18. 
 
80 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGlTEJrT, AJTD 
 
 world of men wMcli can be reasonably translated to mean 
 sncb a judgment. It is the sonl wMcli constitutes tlie man, 
 and it is in this that vice or virtue is implanted ; this, 
 therefore, is the subject of the judgment. The Tvorld of 
 spirits is the first common receptacle for the souls of all 
 who die, and it is there where they remain until their time 
 of judgment. Who does not perceive that He who could 
 say of Himself, " The bread of God is He which cometh 
 down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world : I am 
 the bread of life ; " ^ He who could declare that He was 
 present in heaven at the same time that He was visible on 
 earth,** could also be present in the world of spirits to exe- 
 cute the judgment for which He came ? And so the first 
 advent of the Lord was attended by a last judgment, — the 
 last of several especially referring to the Jewish economy, 
 because thereby that dispensation was brought to its end. 
 It has, indeed, continued as a form, like a rtiin in decay, 
 but from that time it ceased to be recognised as a living 
 institution. Men had rendered its teachings of none efiect, 
 and therefore He who founded it supplanted it by another. 
 That other is Christianity ; which is to be a perpetual insti- 
 tution among mankind. It is true that some con'uption of 
 its primitive excellence was foretold in language plain and 
 striking ; but it is equally true that their removal is pre- 
 dicted by the execution of a judgment and the second 
 coming of the Lord. These are among the evident teach- 
 ings of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. 
 
 While, then, the Scripture history of our race is divided 
 into three epochs, each of which has been distinguished by 
 the existence of a Church, caUed respectively the Adamic, 
 the Noetic, and the Israelitish, we find that as each became 
 corrupt, and so no longer adapted for carrj-ing on the pur- 
 1 John vi. 33. = John iii. 13. 
 
SECOND COMINO OF THE lOED. 
 
 81 
 
 poses for whicli it was estabKshed, it was brought to an end 
 by the execution of a judgment; and thereupon provision 
 was made for the establishment of a successor. So that from 
 the Scriptures we learn that three general judgments have 
 been actually executed ; that the world of spirits was the 
 scene of their execution ; and also that each has been at- 
 tended by a Divine coming, in some specific way ; of which, 
 however, the Lord's advent in the flesh was the most ulti- 
 mate, and consequently the judgment then executed reached 
 a lower plane in man's spiritual life than any of the rest. 
 
 But were there any circumstances visible among man- 
 kind which may reasonably be considered as the results of 
 this last judgment on the Jewish Church having taken 
 place in the world of spirits ? We certainly believe there 
 were. Such an event would necessarily, sooner or later, 
 give forth to the world of men some indications of its oc- 
 currence. Such indications appeared in the cases of those 
 judgments which attended the end of preceding dispensa- 
 tions, and to which we have previously referred ; and they 
 are found to stand out very distinctly in the history which 
 immediately follows that judgment which we have now 
 before us. From that period the Jewish people gradually 
 Bank into a powerless community; and the fig-tree, to which 
 it was said, " Let no fniit grow on thee henceforward for 
 ever," presently withered away.^ Within seventy years of 
 that judgment Jerusalem was besieged by Titus ; its popu- 
 lation was reduced to a condition unexampled in the sufier- 
 ings attending warfare; the survivors of that terrible conflict, 
 with their descendants, were dispersed, and their national 
 existence was destroyed. From that period, too, the de- 
 cline and fall of Pagan Eome began ; and all who are ac- 
 quainted with its history know something of the idolatry 
 1 Matt. xxi. 19. 
 
 a< 
 
THii LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 whicli prevailed, tlie love of dominion wHcli was clierislied, 
 the tyranny wliicli was exercised, and of the comparative 
 rapidity with which those evils were checked and mode- 
 rated. Surely circumstances like these, occurring on so 
 large a scale, may in themselves be regarded as indications 
 of a judgment. But behind those national experiences 
 there must have transpired some spiritual phenomena. 
 These occurrences were not without an adequate cause ; 
 and, doubtless, the breaking up of such perverted religious 
 institutions on the one hand, and the termination of such 
 flagitious abuses of political power on the other, could only 
 have been accomplished by a removal from the minds of 
 the people of those influential and spiritual causes by which 
 they had been induced. The circumstances adverted to 
 certainly occurred, and the hand of the Divine providence 
 was as certainly concerned in their production. And is not 
 the removal of the ruling cause of evil from the minds 
 of men in perfect keeping with the merciful providence 
 of Him who came into the world to save His people from 
 the hand of those who hated them ? This was done ; 
 and, therefore, it implies the execution of a judgment by 
 which the preponderating power of evil spirits was re- 
 moved from men, and new influences from heaven provided 
 for their enjoyment in the world. 
 
 But whether the above historical circumstances be con- 
 sidered as evidences that a Divine judgment had been exe- 
 cuted in the world of spirits or not, the fact remains that 
 the Lord came into the world for judgment, and that its 
 immediate subjects were the souls of departed men ; for the 
 Lord solenmly declared, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
 the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear 
 the voice of the Son of God."^ There can be no reason- 
 John V. 25. 
 
SECOIO) COMING OP THE LORD. 83 
 
 able doubt tbat this, among other purposes, was spoken 
 of the judgment then in process of being executed. The 
 dead who were hearing the voice of the Son of God were 
 not only those who had not yet attained spiritual life and 
 who were in process of accepting the teachings of Divine 
 truth for that purpose ; they were also those who had 
 passed away from this world, and who were still living 
 in another ; they were thus hearing those words of the 
 Divine voice from which they could learn their destiny ; 
 for " all judgment is committed unto the Son, and the word 
 which He speaketh the same jiidgeth." 
 
 u 2 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF THAT REGION IN THE SPIRITUAL WOELD WHICH IS THE 
 FIRST COMMON RECEPTACLE FOR THE SOULS OF ALL WHO 
 DIE, AND ALSO THE PLACE OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 The Aegumext. — A recapitulation, and an intimation of the subjects it 
 will be requisite to consider in the following chapters. — The exist- 
 ence of spiritual worlds admitted by all who belieye in heaven 
 and hell. — The necessity for an intermediate region. — This, an 
 ancient doctrine of Christianity, but discarded by the Reformers. — 
 The reason and consequence. — The "great gulf." — The ideas held by 
 the " Church" on this subject. — Such a region as this phrase implies 
 a spiritual necessity, arising out of the state of man at the time of 
 his decease. — The mixed nature of the affections and thoughts with 
 which men die, not altered by the mere circumstance of death. — The 
 necessity for their separation. — Death does not do this. — How the 
 judgment is effected, and in what it consists. — Sheol; different 
 translations of this Hebrew word. — Illustrations from the Old Tes- 
 tament histories. — Hades; different translations of this Greek word. 
 — Illustrations from the New Testament histories. — The Lord's 
 preaching to the spirits in prison. — The case of David, not having 
 ascended into heaven when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost. 
 — The case of Samuel, when seen by Saul and the woman of Endor. 
 — Gehenna and Tartarosas. — Instances in which Hades cannot 
 mean heU, "although so translated. — The visions of the prophets, for 
 the most part views into the world of spirits. — The final state of 
 the soul must be preceded by a judgment. — The Lord's statement as 
 to His being present with His disciples in the world, and His ap- 
 pearance to them after His resurrection. — The dead who were to 
 hear the voice of the Son of God. — The promise of paradise to the 
 penitent thief; the meaning of paradise. — Those in the graves 
 bearing the Lord's voice : the scene and signification of this. — The 
 
THE SECOND COMIITQ OP THE LOEB. 
 
 85 
 
 bodies of the saints ■which arose out of their graves and went into 
 the Holy City. — The scene of this occurrence. — The meaning of the 
 grave and the Holy City. — Conclusion. 
 
 If it be true, as we have attempted to show in a pre- 
 ceding chapter, that several judgments are recorded in the 
 Scriptures to have taken place ; and, specially, that at the 
 personal advent of the Lord a general judgment was really 
 executed in consequence of the height to which the cor- 
 ruption of Divine religion had attained — that judgment 
 being one of the declared purposes for which that advent 
 was undertaken — then it will follow that the doctrine con- 
 cerning the world of spirits, the truth of the existence of 
 which has been occasionally assumed in the process of the 
 argument, must, in reahty, be true. And this being so, 
 the expectations commonly entertained respecting the last 
 judgment, the second coming of the Lord, the cessation of 
 the human race, the resurrection of the natural body, and 
 the destruction of the world, cannot be founded in correct 
 views of the Scripture teaching. These subjects it will 
 be requisite to consider, in order that our main argument 
 may be sufficiently clear. We shall therefore treat of them 
 in the present and following chapters : considering in this 
 chapter that region in the spiritual world which is the first 
 common receptacle for the souls of aU who die, and also 
 the place of judgment. 
 
 The existence of a spiritual world is conceded upon all 
 hands, but by that term is generally meant heaven and 
 hell as the final destination of the good and the evil of man- 
 kind. It appears, however, to us, that there must be an 
 intermediate region for the reception of the soul between 
 the periods of natural death and final judgment. This 
 region we call the world of spirits. The existence of such 
 a world is not commonly accepted, at least among the 
 
86 
 
 THE LAST JtTDGMENT, XST) 
 
 Protestant sections of tlie professing Churcli ; though the 
 admission of its reality seems indispensable for preserving 
 any reasonable idea concerning the existence of the sonl 
 after the death of the body and before the judgment. It 
 is, however, to be found in the teachings of the Scriptures, 
 and among the ancient doctrines of Christianity. It was 
 known to the Jews ; indications concerning it are to be 
 found in the philosophy of the Greeks, and in the poetry 
 of the Latins. Indeed, it was universally accepted in the 
 Christian Church up to the time of the Reformation. At 
 that period, however, the true idea of it had been cor- 
 rupted, and the Romish purgatory had been substituted in 
 its stead. The Reformers, in disgust at such corruptions, 
 threw aside the doctrine as not having any foundation in 
 Christian teaching. Instead of reforming the abuse, they 
 rejected the truth that had been abused ; so that the 
 " Church" was left without any information concerning the 
 destination of the soul between the times of natural death 
 and final judgment. The soul is immortal ; and, therefore, 
 it must live somewhere. If it does not immediately un- 
 dergo its judgment, that residence cannot be either in 
 heaven or hell ; hence it follows that there must be an 
 intermediate region for its reception : and did not the Lord 
 Jesus Christ plainly refer to this when He spoke of Abra- 
 ham, who was in heaven, saying to the rich man who was 
 in hell, " between us and you there is a great gulf fixed 
 
 * Luke xvi. 26. " The universal Christian world from the very com- 
 mencement, believed generally in an invisible world of spirits, which was 
 divided into three different regions : heaven, or the place of the blessed ; 
 hell, or the place of torment ; and then a third place, which the Bible 
 calls hades, or the receptacle for the dead, in which those souls which 
 were not ripe for either destination, are fully made meetfor that to which 
 they most adapted themselves in this life." — Dr. Jung Stilling : " Theory 
 of Pneumatology," Jackson's translation, p. 11. 
 
SKCOITD COMrNG OP THE lOBD. 
 
 87 
 
 The term gulf, in tlie original, is x"""/^"; cJiasma, from -which 
 we derive the English word chasm, which denotes an in- 
 terstice, that is a space between two things ; consequently, 
 in the case before us, it must mean that world which exists 
 between heaven and hell. This idea was held by the most 
 eminent Fathers of the Church : ^ indeed, it is founded in 
 the very nature of things ; for between opposites there 
 must be intermediates ; and, therefore, between heaven 
 and hell there must be an intermediate region. The force 
 of this reasoning has been perceived ; and, therefore, it has 
 been thought, and sometimes expressed by Protestant 
 writers, that the intermediate state of the soul between 
 death and judgment was a condition of insensibility.' 
 But what is this but the cessation of a life that never dies ? 
 for surely that must be a strange conception of immortality 
 which can imagine the interruption of conscious life for 
 thousands of years, and which, if this doctrine were true, 
 is still the condition of the first men, supposing them 
 not yet to have experienced their judgment. But this is 
 an idea nowhere taught in the Scriptures. The Lord said, 
 that those who live and believe in Him should never die : ' 
 and also, that the faithless had a worm that dieth not.^ 
 To suppose that the promise of " everlasting life " includes 
 the idea of unnumbered years of insensible existence, is a 
 novelty of interpretation on which we need not dwell. 
 Dives and Lazarus, though dead as to their natural bodies, 
 were still living, thinking, talking men. To be absent 
 
 ^ See Dr. Pearson on the Creed, under the clause, "He descended 
 into hell." Also Dr. Burnet, in his Exposition of the Thii-ty-nine 
 Articles. Art. iii. 
 
 * Dr. Whately's View of Scripture Revelation concerning a Future 
 State. Fifth edition, p. 89. 
 
 8 John xi. 26. * Mark is. 44-48. 
 
88 
 
 THE LAST JTJD0MENT, AlTD 
 
 from tlie body is to be present with the Lord ;^ and is this 
 presence to be accompanied by a state of unconsciousness ? 
 Was the promise of Paradise^ to tbe penitent malefactor to 
 be realized in a condition of insensibility ? Were those 
 souls, whom the apostle tells us were under the altar and 
 crying for judgment,' unconscious of their existence ? It is 
 amazing to consider how so helpless an idea could have 
 found for itself an utterance among any reputable thinkers.* 
 
 Some, indeed, have supposed that the soul, immediately 
 after death, passes into such a condition of enjoyment or 
 suffering as the deeds done in the body may have merited. 
 But to maintain this view, the common doctrine concerning 
 the resurrection and last judgment must be abandoned, or 
 the idea of sending souls to their destination first, and 
 bringing them to judgment afterwards, must be adopted ! 
 This latter opinion will hardly be defended ; and although 
 a relinquishment of the two doctrines referred to would be 
 no detriment to truth, yet neither can be advocated for a 
 moment without first admitting the execution of a judg- 
 ment : there must, therefore, be some place for receiving 
 the souls of men, in which they must be judged before they 
 can enter upon their final destiny. And what other place 
 can be conceived of but an intermediate region in the 
 spiritual world ? 
 
 Moreover, such a region seems to be a necessity arising 
 out of the condition of man at the period of his decease. 
 Heaven is a state of felicity, into which nothing that is 
 
 ' 2 Cor. V. 8. ^ Luke sxiii. 43. » Rev. vi. 9. 
 
 < " I think the doctrine of an intermediate state can never be effec- 
 tnally extirpated, so long as a belief of a separate soul is retained. For 
 while that is supposed to exist independently of the body, it will not be 
 easily imagined to sleep along with it, but will be thought to enjoy more 
 or less of consciousness of its existence." — Dr. Priestley's " History of 
 the Corruptions of Christianity," vol. i., p. 425. 
 
SECOITD COMIKG OF THE lOHD. 
 
 89 
 
 tmclean can be admitted ; and hell is a state of wickedness, 
 into which nothing that is good can be allowed to enter. 
 But universal experience shows that the states of men in 
 this life are of a mixed character. It will rarely happen 
 that any individuals, at the time of death, are so folly 
 prepared that they can at once pass on to their final desti- 
 nation. But supposing such cases do sometimes occur, 
 sm'ely those persons will not pass on to their eternal 
 homes without a judgment ? Where, then, can that judg- 
 ment take place ? Doubtless the world of spirits must 
 be the scene of it. How, indeed, can any go from the 
 earth to heaven or to hell, and avoid the intermediate 
 region ? We might as well attempt to pass from moun- 
 tain to mountain and escape the valley ! Good and evil 
 enter into the affections of all men, and although one 
 or the other of those principles will predominate in their 
 character at the time of death, yet something of an opposite 
 tendency will still remain. The mere circumstance of death 
 does not remove from man any principles he may have 
 cherished. Men, in general, pass out of this life with a 
 composite nature, and therefore the separation which is 
 necessary, before they can enter either heaven or hell, must 
 take place in some distinct region. This separation is the 
 work of judgment : it is spoken of as dividing the sheep 
 from the goats ; and where can be the scene of it ? It 
 cannot be heaven, because the evil which adhered to them 
 will prevent their admission into that kingdom : it cannot 
 be hell, because the good to which they may be attached 
 will hinder them from descending into that fearful abode ; 
 it follows, therefore, that there must be an intermediate 
 region for their reception on their departure from the 
 natural world, and that region must be the scene of judg- 
 ment. The judgment consists in the separation of aU those 
 
90 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEIfT, AJTO 
 
 things from tlie souls of men which are contrary to their 
 predominating love and characters. This is effected by the 
 merciful providence of the Lord opening out " the book of 
 life," which pertains to every individual ; separating the 
 good from the evil by which he may be distinguished, and 
 bringing that which predominates of either into the folness 
 of its existence. It is thus that the spirits of just men are 
 made perfect and where from him who hath not is taken 
 away that which he seemeth to have.^ 
 
 These reasonable considerations are, in addition, plen- 
 tifully confirmed by the evidence of Scripture. They are 
 clearly indicated by the terms sheol in the Old Testament, 
 and hades in the New. These two words of the original 
 are by no means satisfactorily rendered in our version of 
 the Scriptures. Sometimes they are translated grave, and 
 sometimes hell, which every one perceives to be two very 
 distinct things ; and the consequence is that a frequent 
 confasion of thought upon the subject is induced. The 
 word sheol is sometimes surrounded with expressions which 
 clearly show that hell could not have been intended by it ; 
 in these cases, because the translators did not acknowledge 
 an intermediate state, they have rendered it by the expres- 
 sion grave, which, however, the very same surroundings 
 clearly showcannothave beenits true meaning. For instance, 
 Jacob, in his grief occasioned by the reported death of his 
 son Joseph, said, " I will go down to sheol to my son, 
 mourning." Here it was readily perceived that hell could 
 not have been the place referred to, and, therefore, the 
 word grave was adopted. But who does not see that the 
 patriarch could never have expected to find his son in 
 any natural sepulchre, to which he himself might be con- 
 signed. Joseph had not been interred : the report was 
 * Heb. xii. 23. ' Luke viii. 18. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE XOED. 
 
 91 
 
 that lie had been torn in pieces by some wild beast ; and 
 therefore the idea of a grave could not have been present 
 to his father's mind, when in the depth of his sorrow he 
 spoke of going down to him in slieol. Hence it is plain 
 that sheol does not mean the natural grave for the recep- 
 tion of a dead body, but that region in the spiritual world 
 designed as the first receptacle for the living soul. If the 
 grave had been meant, surely keher, which in Hebrew is 
 the common term for grave, would have been employed, 
 since it is very carefully distinguished from slieol through- 
 out the Hebrew writings.^ 
 
 So again it is written, " sheol and destruction are before 
 the Lord."2 Here it was seen that the purpose of the term 
 slieol was not to indicate the grave, and therefore it has 
 been rendered hell : but that hell was not the idea intended 
 by the expression, follows from the circumstance of its 
 beinsr distinguished from " destruction." Hell is the de- 
 struction of all heavenly life : " destruction," therefore in- 
 cludes that idea; consequently, the sheol, which is also 
 before the Lord, denotes that intermediate region in which 
 His judgments are performed upon the souls of men. It 
 is also declared, " God will redeem my soul from the power 
 
 ^ " It is a leading mark of distinction between keher, the grave, and 
 sheol, the place of souls : that while the former takes the possessive pro- 
 nouns through all their variety, such as my grave, his grave, your grave, 
 etc. : the latter never does, and never appears in the plural, but stands 
 by itself as one extended region, the receptacle of all spirits departed. 
 It is never said they buried him in sheol, or I will cause your bodies to 
 come out of your sheol ; such expressions never occur once throughout 
 the whole of the sacred volume. Keher is invariably employed. On the 
 other hand, when mention is made of the soul's destination, its assigned 
 abode is as invariably sheol." — Olam Haneshaneth. By the Rev. G-. 
 Bennet, p. 283. 
 
 * Prov. XV. 11. 
 
92 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEirT, AUT) 
 
 oi sheol thus, not from the grave, ior the soul is not 
 interred ; nor from hell, as it is translated, because thence 
 there is no deliverance : it is plain, therefore, that by 
 sJieol mnst be denoted the world of spirits. 
 
 Now, the equivalent of this term sheol, in the New 
 Testament, is hades. This is established upon the best au- 
 thority. It is written in the Psalms, " Thou wilt not leave 
 my soul in sheol: the apostle, citing this passage, and 
 applying it to the Lord, says " His soul was not left in 
 hades:'" ^acZes, therefore, was understood by the apostle 
 to have the same meaning as sJieol : and it is plain that 
 sheol denotes the first common receptacle for departed 
 spirits, consequently, that must also be the signification of 
 hades : and Josephus expressly tells us that such is the 
 meaning of the word : " it is that place," says he, " wherein 
 the souls of the righteous and unrighteous are detained."* 
 And we have bequeathed to us by Peter an historical cir- 
 cximstance which illustrates the fact. He says Christ was 
 " quickened by the Spirit, by which also He went and 
 preached to the spirits in prison ; which sometime were 
 disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in 
 the days of Noah while the ark was preparing."" Here we 
 are plainly informed that certain sph'its had been waiting 
 for deliverance, from the days of Noah until after the 
 Lord's resurrection. Now in what depai'tment of the 
 spiritual world had those expectant spirits been detained ? 
 It was not heaven, for that is not a prison ; nor was it in 
 hell, for there all hope is lost : it must then, most certainly, 
 
 ' Psalm xlix. 16. « Psalm xvi. 10. « Acts ii. 31. 
 
 * See his discourse to the Greeks on this subject. 
 
 « 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19. Dr. Kitto observes that this is one of the strongest 
 tests in proof of the existence of an intermediate spiritual world. — Bib. 
 Cjc, Art. Hades. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 93 
 
 tave been in hades, tlie intermediate spiritual world : and 
 in this case it is called a prison, simply because it is there 
 where the spirits of the departed are received, and as it were 
 held in custody until the time of their judgment is accom- 
 plished ; and, no doubt, those to whom the Lord preached 
 wei-e "prisoners of hope," whom, in the process of His 
 judgment, He mercifully released, and conducted into 
 heaven. The same apostle relates another remarkable cir- 
 cumstance, which cannot be explained without the admis- 
 sion of the existence of an intermediate region in the 
 spiritual world. When Christianity was established, David 
 had been dead upwards of a thousand years ; and yet Peter 
 declared that in his time David had not ascended into 
 the heavens.^ Doubtless he was still a living spirit, and 
 it will hardly be admitted that he was consigned to the 
 kingdom of the lost. Where, then, had he been residing 
 during that long period after the decease of his body ? K 
 it was not in either of the two kingdoms intended for the 
 final destination^ of the evil and the good, it must, most 
 certainly, have been in hades, the intermediate region. The 
 case of Samuel, when seen by Saul and the woman of 
 Endor, is somewhat parallel. Samuel had passed by ordi- 
 nary death from the natural world, and yet he was seen 
 
 ' Acts ii. 34. 
 
 2 In speaking of the final destination, it may be useful to make this 
 point clear and emphatic, because it has been supposed by some, no 
 doubt from a benevolent wish, that the condition of the lost is not 
 eternal. The foUoNving beautiful passage from Swedenborg appears to 
 us to be quite conclusive on the point. " The life of man cannot be 
 changed after death, but must for ever remain such as it had been in the 
 world ; for the quality of man's spirit is in every respect the same as 
 that of his love, and infernal love can never be transformed into heavenly 
 love, because they are in du'ect opposition to each other. This is what 
 is meant by the words of Abraham's address to the rich man in hell : 
 
94 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, AND 
 
 alive again : lie had not tlien ascended into heaven, nor had 
 he descended into hell : how plain is it then that the region 
 of his sojourn must have been hades — the intermediate 
 world? Saul believed that Samuel was stiE alive, not- 
 withstanding his bodily decease : he would not otherwise 
 have made the effort which he did to " bring him up,"^ 
 and as the woman applied to for the purpose made no 
 reference to the locahty of Samuel's interment, it seems 
 plain that slieol was not understood to be the grave from 
 which he had to be invoked, but that common place of 
 assembly for all spirits on their first departure hence. 
 
 The classical signification of the term hades, is the place 
 "where the souls of the righteous and the unrighteous 
 are detained;" thus it is neither heaven nor hell, but that 
 region in the future life of which we have spoken as the 
 woi'ld of spirits. And although this word, in the New 
 Testament, is generally translated hell, it does not always 
 mean that miserable abode of the lost. That condition is 
 more fully expressed by the terms ''^ gelienna" "hell-fire," 
 &rxdi tartarosas, "hell."" And when this idea is intended 
 by hades, it is indicated more by the context than the term, 
 for there are many cases in which it is manifestly not 
 employed with such a meaning. For instance, it is said, 
 " Death and hell (Jiades) delivered up the dead which 
 were in them ; and they were judged according to their 
 works. And death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake 
 
 'Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which 
 would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that 
 would come from thence ' (Luke xvi. 26). Hence it is evident, that all 
 who go to hell remain there to eternity, and that all who go to heaven 
 remain there to eternity." The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doc- 
 trines, 239. 
 
 ^ 1 Sam. ssviii. 15. 2 Matt. v. 22 ; Mark is. 47 ; 2 Pet. ii. 4. 
 
SECONT) COMING OP THE LOBD. 
 
 95 
 
 of fire.'" How clear is it that in those cases hades cannot 
 mean hell, considered as the final destination of the lost ; 
 for they who were in it were to be judged, and, it was after 
 their judgment that they are said to be cast into " the lake 
 of fire." Surely they were not passed on to then' final 
 destiny first, and judged during the process of its punish- 
 ment ! The connection in which the term occurs plainly 
 shows that an intermediate region is essential to explain 
 the phenomena recorded. John expressly says, " I saw the 
 dead, small and great, stand before God ; and the books 
 were opened : and another book was opened, which is the 
 book of life ; and the dead were judged out of those 
 things which were written in the books according: to their 
 works." ^ The facts thus detailed did not take place on 
 earth ; it is equally plain that they did not occur in heaven 
 or in hell. The conclusion, therefore, is irresistible, 
 namely, that the scene of them must have been the world 
 of spirits. This at once enables us to see why it is said 
 that hades delivered up its dead ; it plainly denotes that 
 the wicked inhabitants of that department of the spiritual 
 world were brought to judgment : and hades is said to 
 have been cast into the lake, to signify the miserable con- 
 dition of the wicked which resulted. 
 
 In another place, John says, " 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, 
 the old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound 
 him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless 
 pit."* Here we are expressly informed that an angel 
 
 1 Rev. XX. 13, 14. 2 Rev. xx. 12. 
 
 8 Rev. XX. 1, 2, 3. By the dragon, the serpent, the devil, and 
 Satan, are not simply meant individual wicked spirits, but the complex of 
 all those, who at the time of the judgment treated of were principled in 
 evil loves and false persuasions. 
 
96 
 
 THE LAST JTOGMEITT, AXD 
 
 came down from heaven ; heaven, therefore, conld not have 
 been the scene of his action ; he finds the dragon, not in 
 the bottomless pit, for he was to cast him into it : where 
 then could have been this dragon at the period of the 
 angel's visit ? Is it not plain that it must have been an 
 intennediate region between heaven and hell ; and does 
 it not clearly follow that that must have been the scene of 
 judgment ? Again, John " saw under the altar the souls 
 of them that were slain for the word of Grod, and for the 
 testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud 
 voice, saying, How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost Thou 
 not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the 
 earth ? And it was said unto them that they should rest 
 for a little season, until their fellow-servants also, and their 
 brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be 
 fiilfilled."* Here the apostle plainly says, that he saw the 
 souls of departed martyrs, and heard them asking for a 
 judgment. What department of the spiritual world could 
 have been the scene of these remarkable occurrences ? 
 That it was neither heaven nor hell is manifest ; it seems 
 therefore certain that it must have been an intermediate 
 region. 
 
 Other passages pointing to the same conclusion could 
 easily be selected from that wonderful book, the " Reve- 
 lation ; " indeed, a very considerable portion of it treats of 
 appearances which were presented to the vision of John 
 in this intermediate region of the spiritual world. Every 
 one who has read it with care and discrimination must 
 have observed that the extraordinary scenery and circum- 
 stances which are related to have been seen, were such 
 as could not belong to the pure and peaceful kingdom of 
 heaven, or to the entirely corrupt and abandoned condi- 
 1 Rev. vi. 9-11. 
 
SECOKD COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 97 
 
 tion of hell. Nevertheless, they were scenes and occur- 
 rences in some department of the spiritual world : about 
 this there can be no reasonable doubt: how plain then does 
 it become that it must have been that " gulf which exists 
 between them;" where, consequently, judgment is performed, 
 and from which the good are elevated into "eternal life," 
 and the evU removed into " everlasting fire." The extraor- 
 dinary things which are recorded to have appeared, were 
 symbols of the spiritual states of those who dwell there : 
 they were representative surroundings, and projections of 
 the collective life and character of those Avho had gone 
 thither from the natural world. Without the admission of 
 the existence of such a place, and the belief of such a 
 principle on which to account for the wonderful appear- 
 ances displayed therein, the whole book becomes a dark 
 enigma ; but concede that they were spiritual realities, and 
 all the phenomena become a wonderful philosophy unveiling 
 to the world some of the peculiarities which distinguish the 
 passage of men hence to their eternal destiny. 
 
 Moreover, the visions of the prophets consisted, for the 
 most part, of sights into this first receptacle for departed 
 men : and the singular thiags which they are stated to 
 have seen were the outbirths and representations of the 
 spiritual life of its inhabitants ; thus revealing the interior 
 condition of the Church and of the world, with which they 
 had been connected. And as the phenomena described are, 
 in many cases, such as cannot be reasonably supposed to 
 be connected with the final residences of the lost, or of the 
 blessed ; it must follow, as an indisputable result, that they 
 were connected with a world which exists between them. 
 
 The soul does not go directly to its everlasting home : 
 that state cannot be entered tiU after judgment ; it must, 
 then, as before remarked, have a place in which to dwell, 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 THE LAST JITDGTMKNT, AND 
 
 and wTiere tlie true assize is held ; and wliat imagination, 
 aided by the suggestions of the Scriptures, can point out 
 another place than that which the idea of an intermediate 
 world supplies ? Men cannot go from one place to another 
 without passing through the space which intervenes. 
 Neither can they rise fi'om one state to another without 
 passing through that which exists between them. Between 
 two opposites there must be an intermediate. This seems 
 to be a universal fact. It is observable between fire and 
 ice ; light and darkness ; height and depth : also, between 
 vice and virtue ; ^visdom and folly ; industry and idleness : 
 likewise between mind and matter ; reason and instinct ; 
 love and hatred : why, then, should any one hesitate to 
 acknowledge the existence of an intermediate world be- 
 tween heaven and hell ? 
 
 But we are not left to the mere logic of the case for this 
 conclusion : there are some statements in the prophets, by 
 which it is clearly sustained. Ezekiel, speaking of being 
 in "the spii-it," said, "The hand of the Lord fell upon 
 me, and the spii-it lifted me up between the earth and the 
 heaven. " ' And Zechariah relates that he saw, when his 
 spiritual eyes were opened for the purpose : " Two women, 
 and the wind was in their wings, for they had wings like 
 a stork : and they lifted up the ephah between the earth 
 and the heaven."^ These passages plainly declare that 
 there is a place in the spiritual world which is neither heaven 
 nor hell. It is true that the terms employed are " between 
 the earth and the heaven : " but the earth there does not 
 mean the natural world ; but those states of men that are of 
 the " earth, earthy : " the prophets were lifted above this 
 state, in the vision which they experienced, and yet their 
 elevation did not reach the heavenly world ; this, therefore, 
 ' Ezek. viii. 1, 3. » Zech. v. 9. 
 
SECOTTD COMING OT* THE LOED. 
 
 99 
 
 is a demonstration that an intermediate place must have 
 been the scene of those appearances. 
 
 We might, indeed, dwell upon other evidences, and ex- 
 tend oui" reasonings over a considerable space, but we will 
 only advert to one other circumstance in proof of our posi- 
 tion. This, however, is of great weight and importance in 
 the argument. It was predicted, concerning the Lord, that 
 His soul should not be left in sheol, that is liades} It has, 
 we thint, been clearly shown that those terms denote the 
 world of spirits ; but if there were any doubts respecting 
 this, a httle attention to the narrative, in which the predic- 
 tion is considered to have been fulfilled, will sufficiently 
 remove them. The circumstance that the Lord, after His 
 resurrection, was not to be left in hades, clearly shows that 
 He must have been there at least for a period, and that 
 that was the scene of His operations, prior to his ascension. 
 Now, where was this ? Our answer is known : but look at 
 another proof of it. There is a clause in a popular creed 
 which says of the Lord, that " He descended into hell : " 
 but there is no Scriptural statement to that effect, if that 
 term be understood to mean the miserable abodes of those 
 who are irretrievably lost ; and yet there is a distinct nar- 
 ration of His having been in some department of the 
 spiritual world which is not properly heaven. The Apostle 
 Peter, as we have seen, tells us that the Lord, being quick- 
 ened by the Spirit, went and taught some spirits who had 
 been detained there from the days of Noe. 
 
 But apart from this fact, the Lord, by His resurrection, 
 passed away from the ordinary sight of men in the natural 
 world : He was no longer seen by their physical eyes : and 
 when the disciples were privileged to behold Him, it was 
 by means of some specific sight opened in them for the 
 * Psalm xvi. 10 ; Acts ii. 27. 
 
 E 2 
 
100 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEKT, AND 
 
 purpose. Hence we read of their eyes being liolden that 
 they should not know Him : and again of their eyes being 
 opened and they knew Him : and He vanished out of their 
 sight.^ Several cases of His having so appeared to them 
 are recorded. Where was the scene of those appear- 
 ances ? Surely it was not hell ! for although the creed 
 adverted to says, " He descended into hell," it limits the 
 period of His duration there to the third day. Neither was 
 it heaven, for of this none of the surroundings which at- 
 tended those appearances give us any indication. More- 
 over, it was seven weeks after the time of His resurrection 
 that He ascended into heaven ; that event is related in the 
 " Acts : " where then was the scene of His sojourn ? It 
 was not specifically either heaven or hell : how plain, then, 
 is it that it was that slieol of the Old Testament ; that 
 hades of the New ; that intermediate region of which those 
 terms are significant ; and which He entered to complete 
 the judgment for which He originally came. 
 
 Another argument, powerfully tending to the same con- 
 clusion, is presented by two remarkable passages in the 
 Lord's discourse with His disciples. Before His passion, 
 He said unto them, " These things have I spoken unto you, 
 heing yet present with you : and after His resurrection, He 
 said unto them, " These are the words which I spake unto 
 you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be ful- 
 filled, which "vyere written in the law of Moses, and in the 
 Prophets, and in the Psalms, concei-ning me. Then opened 
 He theu' understanding, that they might understand the 
 Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus 
 it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third 
 day."^ The passion, to which He refers in this passage, 
 was that about which He had fi-equently spoken to the dis- 
 1 Luke xxiv. 16-31. ' John xiv. 25. « Luke xiiv. 44-46. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE liOED. 
 
 101 
 
 ciples, vrhon He was present witli them.* By tlie plu'ase, 
 "being present with you," He, of course, meant His per- 
 sonal presence in the natural world ; but when, after His 
 passion, he reminded the disciples of His conversation on 
 the subject, by saying, "While I was yet present with you," 
 it is evident that He was not then present with them in 
 the natural world as He had previously been. Indeed, if He 
 had been so. He might have been seen by any one ; but we 
 find that He only appeared to His disciples, and that for 
 them to see Him it was necessary that their eyes should 
 be opened that they might know Him.^ As, then. His pre- 
 sence with the disciples before the passion was in the 
 natural world ; so His presence with them after His resur- 
 rection, and when He reminded them of His conversation 
 on the subject, was not in the natural world : neither was 
 it in heaven or hell ; how irresistible, then, is the conclu- 
 sion that it must have been in. the world of spirits ! Seeing 
 then that the Lord, in the process of ascending into that 
 heaven, from which He had descended, was pleased to pass 
 into this intermediate region, is it not reasonable to suppose 
 that the spirits of all flesh do the same when passing onto their 
 final destination ; a destination, decided by the quahty of the 
 life they have led and the faith they have cherished ? But 
 the Scriptures furnish us with special cases which illustrate 
 this reasonable conclusion. All the passages in the New 
 Testament which speak of judgment, invariably treat of 
 that event as taking place at a time when the subjects of it 
 are no longer in the natural world ;^ where, then, can they 
 be but in some department of the spiritual world ? That, 
 therefore, must be the scene of judgment, and living souls 
 
 ' Matt. X7i. 21 ; XTii. 22, 23 ; xx. 17 ; Mark viii. 31 ; ix. 30 ; x. 33 ; 
 Luke ix. 22-44; xviii. 31, etc. 
 
 « Luke xxiv. 31, s gee Matt. yii. 21-23 ; xxii. 11-13 ; sxv. 46. 
 
102 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 must be the subjects of it. God is not the God of the dead, 
 but of the living. 
 
 The Lord, in treating of the judgment which He exe- 
 cuted during His residence on earth, said, " Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, the horn* is coming, and now is, when the 
 dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they 
 that hear shall live."^ In this passage it is distinctly 
 said, not only that the hour is coining, but that it tiotv is, 
 v^hen the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. 
 He also said, " The word that I have spoken, the same 
 shall judge him in the last day."- Now, who were the 
 dead who are spoken of as then hearing the voice of the 
 Son of God? Doubtless they were not only those who 
 were insensible to His Divine teachings in the world ; but 
 those, also, who had passed out of it by natm-al death, — 
 those Hving souls, who, being immortal, could not die, and 
 who were then in the process of experiencing their judg- 
 ment ; hence, the scene of that event must have been the 
 world of spirits. 
 
 The Lord said to the penitent malefactor, when dying 
 upon the cross, " VerQy I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou 
 be with me in paradise."^ Now where was this ? Doubt- 
 less it must have been some department in the spiritual 
 world for the reception of souls emancipated from their 
 bodies : both Jesus and the penitent were to enter it that 
 very day. The promise certainly implied that the penitent 
 would still continue to be a conscious living human being, 
 notwithstandiug the death of his material botly : and where 
 could that existence be enjoyed ? The Lord spoke of it 
 under the name of paradise, a name which only occurs in 
 two other places thi-oughout the Word :'' in one, the apostle 
 
 ' John V. 25. • John xii. 48. ' Luke xxiii. 43. 
 
 « 2 Cor. xii. 4 ; Rev. ii. 7. 
 
SECOND coMnra op the lobd. 
 
 103 
 
 says, lie knew a man who was caught np into paradise, but 
 leaves the place without a description ; and in the other it 
 is called the paradise of God. In this latter case, it is, no 
 doubt, employed as a designation for heaven ; and although 
 an idea of heaven must have been included in the promise 
 with which the penitent was encouraged, yet it could not be 
 the full enjoyment of that kingdom, which he was about to 
 realize on that day. The Lord, who had so frequently made 
 tise of a word signifying heaven, would surely not have em- 
 ployed another term on so peculiar an occasion, if He had 
 not intended by it to express some distinct idea : hence we 
 believe that the paradise promised for that day, is that posi- 
 tion in the world of spu-its, where the faithful are gathered 
 with a view of raising them to heaven. Surely the malefactor 
 did not pass on to the final residence of the blessed without 
 the experience of a judgment. Besides, the Lord on the 
 third day after the crucifixion, told Mary that He Himself had 
 not yet ascended ; ' and, therefore, it appears plain that the 
 paradise spoken of could not have been the full enjoyment 
 of the angelic kingdom, but rather that position ia the 
 intermediate spiritual world where the good are gathered 
 together for their judgment, and whence they ai'e raised 
 into heaven. There, indeed, the Lord was ; there, also, 
 was the penitent, and there he would have to remain until 
 the period of his judgment ; for without that he could not 
 pass on to his final destination : how plain is it, then, that 
 the world of spirits must be the scene of its execution. 
 John, indeed, expressly tells us that it is so. He saw the 
 souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and 
 for the testimony which they held ; and they were living 
 in the hope of judgment, for they cried with a loud voice, 
 saying, " How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not 
 ' John sx. 17. 
 
104 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGSTENT, AJTD 
 
 judge and avenge our blood on them ttat dwell on the 
 earth ? and it was said unto them, that they were to rest 
 for a little season." This passage was before cited in 
 evidence of the existence of an intermediate region in the 
 spiritual world : it is now again produced because it clearly 
 proves that region to have been the scene of judgment; 
 for white robes w-ere given to the parties treated of as an 
 assiirance that their judgment would result in future 
 happiness. 
 
 Again ; the Lord, speaking of His judgment, said, " Mar- 
 vel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all 
 that -are in the graves shall hear His voice. The phrase 
 " is coming," evidently contemplated the event as near ; 
 certainly not as one to be postponed for some thousands of 
 years : doubtless it came within the meaning of His state- 
 ment, "now is the judgment of this world, "^ that being 
 one of the purposes for which He came.* And where 
 could have been the scene of such an occurrence ? It did 
 not transpire in the natural world ; and, therefore, it must 
 have been the spiritual. By "the graves," of which the 
 Lord spoke, are not to be understood material sepulchres. 
 He employed the term with another meaning. When 
 denouncing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, He said unto 
 them, " Ye are as graves which appear not, and men walk 
 over them and are not aware of them."* The graves, 
 therefore, signify of those states of mind in which good- 
 ness lay interred. He also spoke of such as " whited 
 sepulchres, wliich indeed appear beautiful without, but are 
 within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." * 
 So that external professions which do not agree with the 
 internal states, and which at the same time conceal them, 
 ' John V. 27, 28 s John xii. 31. s John is. 39. 
 
 * Luke xi. 4i. » Matt, ixiii. 27. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 105 
 
 are tlie graves to whicli tlie Lord refers ; and this may be 
 evident from the circumstance that those who are spoken 
 of are to hear His voice. Dead corpses in natural graves 
 do not hear. The body that has been mingled with its 
 kindred earth for unnumbered years — -from which every 
 trace of its organization has disappeared, and which has 
 been converted into other forms and put to other uses, has 
 no capability of hearing. When, therefore, the Lord said, 
 that those who "are in the graves shall hear His voice," 
 He did not merely speak of the conversion of those who 
 were dead in trespasses and sins, but of those also who 
 had passed into the world of spirits, but whose external 
 professions of good did not agree with their internal state 
 of evil. They, in that world, and at the time of judgment, 
 would be sui-e to hear His voice : for it is there, and then, 
 that " there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed ; 
 neither hid, that shall not be known;" where "whatso- 
 ever has been spoken in darkness wiU be heard in light, 
 and that which has been spoken in the ear, in closets, will 
 be proclaimed upon the housetops."^ It is in that world, 
 and not in this, where those terrifying disclosures will be 
 made : it is there where those who have known and pro- 
 fessed, but have not loved and lived, wOl say unto " the 
 mountains and rocks. Fall on us and hide us from the face 
 of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of 
 the Lamb. Tor the day of His wrath is come ; and who 
 shall be able to stand ?"^ He said, "Many will say unto 
 me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in 
 Thy name ? and in Thy name have cast out devils ? and 
 in Thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will 
 I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, 
 ye that work iniquity."^ Such persons have buried their 
 ' Luke xu. 2, 3. 2 Rev. vi. 16, 17. » Matt. yii. 22, 23. 
 
106 
 
 THE lAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 real character in tie grave of a profession ; their grave, 
 when they die, they take with them into the world of 
 spirits ; and it is in this grave that they hear the voice of 
 the Judge, and learn their sentence. The word that He 
 speaketh, the same will judge them in the last day. 
 
 The external character, which does not agree with a 
 man's internal life, is spoken of in the Scripture as a gi'ave. 
 Not only is this the case with those who simulate a virtue 
 which they do not possess, but also with those who are 
 beset with unfavoui'able surroundings and yet have within 
 them nobler sentiments and a pm-er love. Thus when 
 David was delivered from some affliction which distressed 
 him, he exclaimed, " O Lord, Thou hast brought up my 
 soul from the grave and here it is important to notice 
 that it is the rescue of the soul, and not the body which is 
 spoken of. When the Israehtes were endming captivity 
 in Babylon, that also is spoken of as a grave ; for the Lord, 
 in promising deliverance, said, " Behold, O my people, I 
 will open youi" graves, and cause you to come up out of 
 youi' graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And 
 ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened 
 youi* gi'aves, 0 my people, and brought you up out of your 
 graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live."' 
 Hence it is quite plain, that there are other graves besides 
 those of pits in the earth, or holes in the rocks, in which 
 dead bodies are.interred. 
 
 This fact will aid us in understanding a very remarkable 
 case, which is related to have occurred at the time of the 
 Lord's resurrection. It is written, " that the gi-aves were 
 opened ; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 
 and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."' 
 
 , Psalm sxs. 3. - Ezek. sxxrii. 12-14. 
 
 J Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 107 
 
 It is usual to consider this as a risible occurrence, of wHch 
 the natural city of Jerusalem was the locality : but a 
 little reflection will show this to be a mistake. Those who 
 believe that view of the case know it to be full of difficul- 
 ties ; they suppose many things, in order to avoid them, 
 and yet acknowledge that conjectm-e is but a poor inter- 
 preter. "We hold that the natural world could not have 
 been the scene of the transaction, and that the carnal 
 Jerusalem was not " the holy city." There are no 
 parallels between this case, and the raising of Lazarus and 
 the widow's son. These were restored to their friends, 
 and were known to their enemies ; and they died again. 
 They were the subjects of wonder among men, and testified 
 to the love and the power of Him by whom their raising 
 was effected. But at the coming of the saints out of their 
 graves, which is a much more extraordinary occurrence 
 than either of these, no astonishment whatever is recorded. 
 Matthew is the only evangelist by whom it is related ; it is 
 not alluded to in any of the epistles, nor in any other portion 
 of the Scriptures. It is simply mentioned as an incidental 
 occurrence connected with the resurrection of the Lord, 
 and left without remark or reflection. Surely this could 
 hardly have been the case, if many who had been dead and 
 buried had walked out of their sepulchres into Jerusalem, 
 and were seen by many ! It cannot be reasonably sup- 
 posed that such an amazing event would have been ob- 
 served in silence : there could have been no motive for 
 secrecy ; the obvious result of such an occurrence must have 
 been great excitement and publicity. The apostles must 
 have been acquainted with it ; and, doubtless, they would 
 have made use of it as an ararument in favour of the mis- 
 sion in which they were engaged, had it been a transaction 
 in the natural world, to which they could have referred ; 
 
108 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AWD 
 
 and yet ttey have failed to notice it. Matthew tells us 
 that " when Jesus was come to Jerusalem, all the city was 
 moved, saying. Who is this And if that circumstance 
 could produce such a commotion among the people, surely 
 the appearance in the city of many who had been dead 
 and bni'ied must have given rise to great commotion and 
 inquiiy. And yet nothing of the kind is mentioned ; all 
 appears to have been as quiet as if no such phenomenon had 
 happened. But the reason for this silence ; the reason for 
 the absence of all reference to the effect of such a cii'cum- 
 stance upon the people ; and the reason why it took place 
 after the Lord's resurrection, — is, because the scene of it was 
 not in the natural but in the spiritual world. It was an 
 event kindred to this which is related by Peter, where 
 he says, that the Lord, after His resuiTection, " went and 
 preached unto the spirits in prison:"- in this case the 
 subjects are called spirits in prison ; in the other, which we 
 are considering, they are spoken of as saints in their graves. 
 But both i\ie prison and the graves refer to certain external 
 dismal surroundings, from which the internal chai'acters of 
 good spirits were delivered at the time of the Lord's resur- 
 rection. He thereby had taken to Himself His gi'cat power, 
 and so provided the means for its accomplishment. " The 
 bodies of the saints," were not the carcases of xoi-tuous men 
 on earth, but their living souls in the world of spirits : 
 " There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body ; " 
 and the spiritual body is the human soul. It is the soul 
 which loves and feels and cares, and incurs responsibility 
 for what it does. The natural body is simply an instru- 
 ment by which the spiritual body perfonns its purposes in 
 the world of nature : this dies and returns to the dust from 
 which it came ; but the soul, being a spiritual body, lives 
 1 Matt, xxi. 10. s 1 Pet. iii. 19. 
 
SECOND COMIKa OF THE LOED. 
 
 109 
 
 for ever : fhis, therefore, must be tlie subject of the judg- 
 ment ; and the world of spii'its into which it passes, when 
 the natural body dies, is the place of that experience. And 
 these bodies are said to have slept, not to have been dead ; 
 because sleep expresses a condition of obscurity which had 
 been induced upon them by certain unfavourable influences 
 which had surrounded them during their residence in the 
 world. It was in reference to such obscui-ity that the 
 apostle said to the Ephesians, " Awake, thou that sleepest, 
 and arise from the dead, and Chi'ist shall give thee light. 
 Those bodies of the saints are said to have come out of 
 their graves, to inform us that they were delivered from 
 the external restraint which had beset them ; and by their 
 going into the holy city a revelation is made of their 
 elevation into heaven, for that is the holy city which is 
 meant ; and there they are said to have appeared unto 
 many, because there they would become associated with 
 many who were grounded in similar principles to them- 
 selves. The removal of those external disorders which an 
 unfavourable influence had hung about their character, 
 and which did not agree with the internal sanctity of their 
 lives, constituted that final act of judgment by which they 
 were brought into the liberty with which they could enter 
 into heaven. And this proves to us that it is the soul 
 which is the proper subject of the judgment, and that the 
 world of spirits is the only scene for its accomplishment. 
 
 Under this view of the narrative all its difficulties vanish, 
 and the whole phenomenon is brought within the reach of 
 reasonable intelHgence. When the manners and opinions 
 of an age become corrupt, men of honest minds and devout 
 purposes do not escape their dangerous seductions. The 
 external character and general conduct of such are brought 
 » Eph. V. 14. 
 
110 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AJTD 
 
 into some conformity with the misleading circumstances 
 by which they are surrounded ; but their interior character 
 and sentiment are guided by higher views of life and 
 duty. Theii" motives and desires may be sincere, good, and 
 earnest, but the period may be inimical to their right 
 development. Excellence of interior character has not 
 unfrequently existed in corrapt times, and men yearning 
 to do right have been seduced into courses that were wrong. 
 The apostle has put this fact in a striking light. " The 
 good," says he, " that I would, I do not ; but the evil which 
 I would not, that I do."^ So far, then, as such persons 
 are interiorly good, they possess the qualifications for 
 heaven ; but the corrupting circumstances ynth which they 
 have come in contact on the earth, have exercised an un- 
 favourable influence upon their characters, and this, on the 
 death of their body, they will take with them into the world 
 of spii'its ; it is as a ])rison to their inner hfe, and, for a 
 time, it will be to them as a grave, in which their more 
 interior excellence will be entombed. This is the srrave 
 out of which they will have to come before they can enter 
 into " the holy city." To bring theu* interior love of good- 
 ness into freedom, and to efiect its separation from that 
 with which it disagrees, is the work of judgment. They 
 then, who will carefully reflect upon these considerations, 
 will find no diSiculty in rationally understanding what is 
 related concerning the bodies of the saints. But without 
 admitting the existence of an intermediate spiritual world, 
 and viewing it as the place of judgment, the whole narra- 
 tive is entirely beyond the reach of any satisfactory ex- 
 planation. 
 
 We might dwell upon other evidences, and prolong 
 this investigation to a greater length ; but we think suflfi- 
 ♦ Rom. vii. 19. 
 
SECOND COMIlir& OP THE liOED. 
 
 Ill 
 
 cient has been said to induce serious reflection upon the 
 subject. And here we might end the discussion ; but 
 there is one other circumstance which it may be useful 
 to notice. 
 
 Although immediately after natural death every one 
 passes into the world of spirits, it is not to be supposed 
 that before the time of judgment the good and the evil 
 mix up together and form, as it were, an indiscriminate 
 crowd. Men with marked differences of character naturally 
 separate from each other, even in this Ufe ; and this ten- 
 dency of their spirits they will necessarily carry with them 
 into the other life, and so induce, even there, certain ar- 
 rangements of spiritual society. Although the good and 
 faithful, and the wicked and depraved, aU pass, by natural 
 death, into the world of spirits, yet who can hesitate to 
 beheve that, on their arrival there, their dissimilarity of 
 character will maintain the separation which they have 
 effected here ? Doubtless the faithful will be attracted 
 towards that position in the intermediate region which is 
 nearest heaven, and which may be described as " under 
 the altar ;" and "paradise ! " while the faithless will betake 
 themselves to that opposite quarter, which is nearest hell, 
 and which may be described as the residence of " Abaddon," 
 and "ApoUyon;" that is the destroyer — the destroyer of 
 everything that is good and true which may still remain 
 among them. And is it not reasonable to suppose that 
 others, whose characters are less decided, will occupy some 
 more central position until the time of judgment ? It so 
 appears to us ; and here we leave the matter to the reflec- 
 tion of the reader. 
 
 "We feel assured that the provision of an intermediate 
 spiritual world, for our reception immediately after death, 
 is a most merciful display of the Divine wisdom and good- 
 
112 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 ness ; because it is an adaptation to those mixed condi- 
 tions of our spiritual life, wluct have arisen out of the 
 fallen state of our race, and which regeneration here seldom, 
 if ever, completely separates. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DEATH OF THE NATURAL BODY, AND THE RESURRECTION OF 
 
 MAN. 
 
 The Aegument. — Resurrection implies a death. — Death, the one gi-eat 
 certainty, so far as the natural side of existence is concerned. — The 
 fear of death the common inheritance of men. — Death not feared hy 
 animals.— This fear contrary to the Divine intention. — The source 
 of this fear, and how it is to be avoided. — Death, a term only appli- 
 cable to the natural body. — Man lives after the body dies. — The 
 soul and body never designed for a perpetual conjunction. — The 
 body not immortal. — The death, which is a consequence of dis- 
 obedience, is sin. — Natural death in the world before man entered 
 into it. — Illustration.- — Sin, that which renders death a painful 
 experience.- — The separation of the soul from the body not an 
 evil. — This separation must be effected before entering upon the full 
 enjoyment of true spiritual life. — Death lays aside the natural body, 
 never to be resumed. — The cause of the difficulty of believing that 
 the soul will hve without the natural body, explained. — The soul, 
 the real man and the spiritual body which passes into the world of 
 spirits when the natural body dies. — Illustration from historical 
 parts of Scripture, showing that resurrections must have taken place 
 without the resumption of the natural body. — Other arguments, 
 showing the impossibility of raising natural bodies after death.—- 
 What is meant by the assertion that all things are possible with 
 God.— Passages from the Old Testament, once supposed to treat of 
 a natural resurrection, are not considered to do so by modern 
 critics. — Orthodox admissions on the subject. — Passages from the 
 New Testament examined, and shown not to treat of the resur- 
 rection of the natural body.— The argument of Paul, 1 Corinth- 
 ians sv., examined. 
 
 If it be true, as we believe, that it is tbe soul wbich is the 
 subject of Divine judgment, and that the world of spirits 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 THE LAST JTrOGMEin', AITD 
 
 is the scene of its execution ; then it will follow that the 
 resurrection of the material body is no necessity, and that 
 the doctrine which prevails concerning it must be a mis- 
 take. We will, however, proceed to inquire into the na- 
 ture of death and the phenomenon of the resurrection, with 
 a view to ascertain what the Scriptures teach, and what 
 philosophy sanctions upon those subjects. 
 
 Resun-ection implies a death ; to have a clear idea of the 
 first we must have some definite information concerning 
 the second. Our conceptions respecting the coming of the 
 Lord to judgment will be considerably enlightened by 
 means of true views upon these points. 
 
 In this life death is the one great certainty. Every day 
 is furnishing us with examples of the mortality of the body, 
 and thus forcibly teaching us that this world is not our 
 abiding place. Those who have gone into the other life 
 have only started upon the journey a little while before us : 
 and the Divine providence, by sparing us here, is mercifally 
 giving us the opportunity to make further preparation for 
 a state of blessedness hereafter, in which we may live for 
 ever. Still we know not what a day may bring forth, and 
 we are told by Him who is " the resui-rection and the life " 
 to be ready, for the Son of man cometh in an hour which we 
 think not.' Death is the term which denotes that natural 
 mode by which we are removed hence ; the coining of the 
 Son of man expresses the spiritual side of that momentous 
 event. Death is that stem fact which most men fear : they 
 fear it because they have not sufficiently cultivated a know- 
 ledge of spiritual life ; because their faith in immortality 
 is not enlightened ; because their beUef in the life hereafter 
 is lamentably obscure ; because their reliance upon the 
 Divine teaching is feeble and hesitating ; because they have 
 1 Lake sii. 40. 
 
SECOITD COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 115 
 
 not arrived at that inward conviction from whicli it may be 
 seen that death, in reality, is the prelude to a transference 
 of life from the natural to the spiritual world. 
 
 The fear of death is man's common inheritance ; it has 
 grown up in him with the increase of his darkness concern- 
 ing Divine things, and it has fixed itself upon him as a 
 terror, in proportion to his evils and unbelief. The mere 
 animals know nothing of this fear : they do not dread the 
 cessation of their life : they gambol in the very place of 
 slaughter, and never have a thought of death or a here- 
 after : thus the animals, which death really kills, do not 
 fear it ; Avhereas vian, whom it cannot kill, lives in dread 
 of its approach. Death, which is a reality to animals, 
 occasions no alarm to them ; but by men, who are immortal, 
 and to whom therefore death is an impossibility, it is looked 
 upon as "the cup of trembling." 
 
 Now this fear of death is a painful experience, which 
 never could have been originally intended by the Divine 
 providence. God is too good and merciful to have designed 
 that man should hve in the perpetual di'ead of an event 
 which is one of the natural consequences of his existence 
 in the world. " It is appointed unto aU men once to die, and 
 after that the judgment." We cannot doubt that it has 
 always been the Lord's aim and endeavour to buoy us up 
 with the hope of happiness and light ; to give us joy with 
 the sunshine of His teachings ; to bless us with a true con- 
 ception of our never-dying nature ; to assure us that this 
 world is the scene in which He has been pleased to place 
 us, to give us the opportunity of preparing for a better : 
 that this world is a school, iu which He would be our 
 schoolmaster, and in which we are to learn to love and to 
 know the realities of His kingdom, and so to be educated 
 for entering into its uses and enjoyments. No other 
 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 THE LAST JTrDGMENT, AlTD 
 
 view than tliis, it seems to us, can be consistent witt the 
 Divine character ; and, therefore, man's fear of an event 
 which is the natxiral consequence of his existence in this 
 world, must be a feeUng entirely opposed to the Divine 
 intention. Men have declined from that primeval character 
 in which the purposes of Providence, above adverted to, 
 were thoroughly understood. If men loved God more 
 truly, they would know the beautiful laws of His pro- 
 vidence with more certainty ; and, in that case, death 
 would not be feared as an evil, but be regarded as the 
 orderly means for transferring the " living soul " from the 
 material body to the spii'itual world. " There is no fear in 
 love ; but perfect love casteth out fear ; because fear hath 
 torment."^ Fear is a feeling which has fixed itself 
 upon men, in consequence of transgression and the evil 
 into which they are now born : it is the partner of con- 
 scious guilt : the innocent do not feel it : it does not haunt 
 the infant, or the wise and good : true religion, with its 
 Hght and life, removes this " torment" from the mind, 
 and gives an antepast of those spiritual things which it has 
 been revealed to teach. 
 
 The Lord has most encouragingly said, "K a man keep 
 my saying, he shall never see death;"" and again, "Who- 
 soever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."' Those 
 who thus obey, who Uve and believe, know and feel the 
 fact of their immortality so well that the fear of death is 
 with them an impossibility. Their bodies may suffer dis- 
 ease ; they will surely experience separation from their 
 " earthly house," but they " never die ;" and therefore they 
 never see death ; they are never distressed by the idea that 
 the event so called will be an extinction of their life ; they 
 will regard it only as that necessary occurrence by which 
 ' 1 John iv. 18. * John viii. 51. ' John si. 26. 
 
SECOITD COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 117 
 
 the real man passes from one stage of being to another. It 
 is said that the obedient and faithful shall "never see death," 
 " never die," because all such are delivered from condemna- 
 tion, and gifted with the blessings of "life eternal." 
 
 Death, as denoting the extinction of life, is a term appli- 
 cable only to the natm-al body. It takes place when the 
 disarrangement of its organization, by disease or other 
 causes, unfits it for the habitation of the soul. Death then 
 means that event by which the soul, as the real spii'itual 
 man, is separated from the body, vrhich is merely its 
 earthly covering. The body, which dies, is constituted of 
 material substances, and therefore it is liable to all their 
 mutations. It is not properly the man ; it is only an in- 
 strument annexed to him, in order that the end of his crea- 
 tion may be promoted by a residence for a season in this 
 world of nature. When the material body comes into such 
 a condition that it is incapable of serving the soul's pur- 
 poses as such an instrument, pian is said to die : not that 
 the man suffers an extinction of his life, but by that circum- 
 stance he is only separated from that outward covering by 
 which he communicated with this world and its concerns, 
 and has his existence transferred to the spiritual world. ' 
 The man lives, though his earthly tabernacle is dissolved. 
 The natural body dies, vrhether it belongs to the sinner or 
 to the saint ; still, in all cases, the real being survives the 
 catastrophe ; for it is said of the wicked that " their worm 
 dieth not,"^ and of the good that they "shall never see 
 death."' The death of the natural body cannot for a mo- 
 ment interrupt the life of the soul : if it did so we must at 
 once relinquish all belief in its immortality ; for that which 
 dies, even for a moment, cannot be immortal. 
 
 1 Burial Service of the New Church Liturgy. 
 « Mark is. 44. 3 John viii. 51. 
 
118 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AOT) 
 
 It is remarkable with wliat frequency the Scriptures 
 declare that death is no predicate of the real man. They 
 set forth life as his eternal inheritance in terms too plain 
 for the slightest evasion. Besides the passages just cited, 
 the Lord said, " He that believeth on me hath everlasting 
 life " Every one vrhich seeth the Son, and believeth on 
 Him, may have everlasting life ; ""^ " I am the living bread 
 which came down from heaven : if any man eat of this 
 bread, he shall live for ever ; " Whoso eateth my flesh, and 
 drinketh my blood, hath eternal life " He that eateth of 
 this bread shall Live for ever.'" It is, indeed, true that 
 those promises of eternal hfe are made to depend upon 
 conditions ; the reason is because the plu'ase, " eternal 
 life," is intended to signify eternal happiness. But the life 
 of the wicked is equally enduring ; their worm dieth not, 
 their fire is not quenched ; he that is unjust will be unjust 
 still, and he that is filthy will be filthy still;"* "these 
 shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous 
 into life eternal."'' 
 
 Death, then, is no destruction of that which is properly 
 human life : it is simply the laying dovm of the material 
 body, when it is no longer capable of being a habitation for 
 the soul. The soul leaves the body to its own world : it is 
 of the dust, and to dust it will return ; but the soul itself, 
 which is the real man, will pass on to another sphere more 
 suited to its spiritual and liberated nature. The body is 
 said to die ; in truth the body never properly lived, since 
 it is the soul which lived in it, and gave to it all the ani- 
 mation by which it appeared to live. Wlien that animation 
 ceases we see that the man is gone : this fact proves 
 
 1 John vi. 47. * John vi. 40. » John vi. 51. 
 
 * John vi. 54. * John vi. 58. * Rev. xsii. 11. 
 
 ' Matt. XXV. 46. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 119 
 
 to us that tlie body is not the man, and that it is simply 
 the habitation in which he dwells so long as it is fitted for 
 the purposes of such a dwelling. 
 
 This separation— this withdrawing of the soul from the 
 natural body — which we call death, is commonly supposed 
 to have been induced by sin ; and it is thought by many 
 hat the soul would have retained its natural body for 
 ever, if man had continued in his original integrity and 
 innocence. But these are ideas which the Scriptures do 
 not teach. We do not read in the Bible anything about 
 the immortality of the body, which those ideas necessarily 
 involve. "God," it is written, "formed man of the dust 
 of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
 life, and man became a living soul."^ It is then the soul of 
 man that lives ; and this was said of him before " the fall." 
 An everlasting connection between the material body and 
 the " living soul " would necessai'ily have confined man to 
 the territories of this world, and so have prevented him 
 from entering into heaven, which is not a kingdom of this 
 worid,^ and where, the apostle expressly tells us, flesh and 
 blood cannot enter.* It follows, therefore, if the soul had 
 been iutended to live in perpetual conjunction with the 
 natural body that it must have prevented the soul from 
 enjoying the heavenly inheritance. For how could the 
 soul have entered upon the felicities of heaven, if it had 
 been inseparably ujiited to a material substance which 
 Divine order has excluded from that kingdom ? The sup- 
 position, then, that at the period of man's original creation 
 God intended to maintain an everlasting connection be- 
 tween the soul and the body involves consequences which 
 prove it to be a misconception. It seems evident, that to 
 enjoy the felicities of a kingdom which is not of this world, 
 ' Gen. ii. 7. • John x\-iii. 36. ' 1 Cor. xv. 50. 
 
120 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEIfT, AND 
 
 it must always have been designed to separate tlie soul, as 
 the immortal man, from the body as his mortal covering. 
 Hence this separation, which we call death, must have 
 been among the merciful designs of the Omnipotent, at 
 man's original creation. There is no law in revelation, no 
 fact in nature, by which to show that integrity of mind is 
 capable of maintaining a pei"petual connection with the 
 body. The most eminent saints have died ; and the apostle 
 plainly says, " whilst we are at home in the body, we are 
 absent from the Lord," and intimates that to be "absent 
 from the body" is "to be present with the Lord."^ The body 
 is the instrument created for the soul's residence and mani- 
 festation in the world of nature ; it is fearfully and won- 
 derfully made ; but it has not, nor is there any evidence 
 that it ever had, any of the elements of immortahty, and, 
 therefore, it never could have been designed for inheriting 
 a spiritual kingdom. As a material substance, it must ne- 
 cessarily be excluded from heaven, because that is an im- 
 material world ! 
 
 Still, it may be said that the Scriptures represent death 
 as a consequence of sin. Certainly the Lord said to 
 Adam, " Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 
 thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eatest 
 thereof thou shalt surely die." ' Now Adam did eat of the 
 forbidden fruit, and yet he did not naturally die on the 
 day of his transgi'ession : he continued to live for a con- 
 siderable period", and, therefore, it is plain that natural 
 death is not the subject of the narrative. It is said that 
 he would die in the day of his transgression, to indicate 
 that he would siii by so offending. Death is spoken of in 
 the sense of sin ; this death did take place in the very day 
 he sinned, and was the obvious result of his disobedience. 
 ' 2 Cor. V. 6-8. « Gen. ii. 17. 
 
SECOND COMHTG OP THE LOED. 
 
 121 
 
 Hence it is plain that the subject treated of in that narra- 
 tive is sin, anol not that separation which takes place be- 
 tween the soul and the body, and which we now call 
 death. 
 
 It is true that the apostle says, " By one man sin 
 entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death, 
 passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." * But it is 
 evident that by the death which is here spoken of as the 
 result of sinning, is not meant natural death, but the spirit- 
 ual consequence of transgression ; and this is not the dis- 
 solution of the body, but calamity to the soul. The decease 
 of the body, as a natural event, is no adequate equivalent 
 for the sin of the soul, a spiritual circumstance. Death is 
 frequently spoken of in the Scriptures as the symbol of 
 man's separation from God. Thus, " sin, when it is finished, 
 bringeth forth death :" ^ " To be carnally minded is death ; 
 but to be spiritually minded is life and peace : " He that 
 heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, 
 hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation ; 
 but is passed from death unto life."* Hence it is certain 
 that the death which is spoken of as the consequence of 
 sin is condemnation — the separation of the soul from 
 spiritual enjoyments, — its association with darkness and 
 despair, and not the separation of the soul from its earthly 
 tabernacle ; for, surely, those who are now in heaven do 
 not regret having been separated from their earthly bodies ; 
 nor can we reasonably suppose that they regard such 
 separation as a calamity. We hold it to have been an 
 orderly appointment from the commencement of our race, 
 and not, as it is commonly believed to be, an evil resulting 
 from the fall. 
 
 1 Bom. V. 12. » James i. 15. ' Kom. viii. 6. 
 
 * John V. 24. 
 
122 THE LAST jrDGMEIfT, AST) 
 
 To suppose tliat death woxild not hare come into the 
 world, if man had remained in his integrity, is to suppose 
 that the animals wonid have been immortal, and that vege- 
 tation conld never have decaved. These things have not 
 offended any law of their creation, and yet they die. Is it 
 supposed that men were to see death seizing upon the 
 thousand objects by which they were surrounded, and yet 
 themselves be free from its approach r K natural death 
 came to man through his transgression, how did it reach 
 the beasts, who have always obeyed the endowments of 
 their nature ? Death reigned in the world myriads of 
 years before man came upon the scene of being : this is 
 proved by fossil remains which geological investigations 
 have discovered ; and decay and death are unavoidable at- 
 tendants upon all physical organization. 
 
 Although, then, sin could not have been the origin of the 
 separation of the soul fixjm the body, and produced that 
 result which we now call death, yet sin is that perversion 
 of the original design of creation which has rendered this 
 separation a fearful and a painful experience. It was sin, 
 and its consequent ignorance, which gave origin to all those 
 diseases and sufferings by which death is now frequently 
 attended and brought about ; it is sin which has induced 
 all those states in which men have been led to fear it, and 
 to regard it as an evil. The separation is not an evil, con- 
 sidered in itself; if it were, then the spirits of just men are 
 not made perfect, because they must be experiencing that 
 separation as an imperfection in their condition. But this 
 cannot be maintained. It is the sufferings which now 
 attend this separation, that render the approach of death 
 so painful, and which cause it to be regarded as an evil. It 
 is the breaking-up of the ten-estrial attachments of men 
 which makes them dread it. If they were pure and inno- 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOHD. 
 
 123 
 
 cent, and lived as angels do ; if their delights Tvere hea- 
 venly, and their knowledge of spiritual truth were clear 
 and certain, they would look forward with satisfaction to 
 their deliverance from the trammels of mortality, and re- 
 gard death as an orderly means of increasing their enjoy- 
 ment. This is the reason why, even now, the death of the 
 righteous is observed to be tranquil and resigned, and also 
 why we are taught to pray for an end like theirs. 
 
 But will the body which death lays aside be at some 
 fature day resumed? This is a very general belief; it is 
 associated with the idea that God never designed the sepa- 
 ration which death eflFects ; that this separation was intended 
 as one of the punishments of sin ; and that God will, at least, 
 in part, carry out His original purpose by the future resur- 
 rection of the body, and so effect its perpetual reunition 
 with the soul. But as the premises are erroneous, the con- 
 clusion cannot be maintained.^ 
 
 The resurrection of which the Scriptures speak is that 
 which takes place immediately after the death of the body. 
 It is the passage of the soul from the world of men to the 
 world of spirits, there to undergo its judgment, which will, 
 be determined by the nature of the faith that has been 
 loved, and the quality of the works which have been done. 
 " It is appointed unto all men once to die ; and after that 
 the judgment." This passage does not contemplate any 
 
 1 " When you talk of a man, I would not have you tack flesh and 
 blood to the notion ; no, nor those limbs neither which are made of 
 them ; these are but tools for the soul to work with, and no more a 
 part of the man than an ase or a plane is a piece of a carpenter." — 
 Collier. 
 
 It is somewhere said that when Socrates was asked where he would be 
 buried, that his reply was " Anywhere, provided I do not shp out of your 
 bands ; " and then turning to his auditors said, " I can never persuade 
 my friend that this body is not Socrates." 
 
124 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGITEXT, AND 
 
 waiting for the resumption of the body ; it seems to view 
 one event as directly following the other in orderly sequence. 
 The idea of the resurrection of the Iwdy assumes that it will 
 have immortahty conferred upon it ; for that must be the 
 obvious consequence of its eternal reunition with the soul. 
 But, certainly, this is nowhere taught in the Scriptures ; 
 from them we learn that immortality was conferred only 
 upon the soul. God breathed into the nosti*ils of man, and 
 he became a " Hving soal." The body is of dust ; and the 
 dust shall " return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall 
 return unto God who gave it."^ 
 
 Men have felt a difficulty in reahzing the idea of a future 
 life, and of Uving without the natural body, in consequence 
 of the materialism which has grown up among them ; and 
 specially because they have not had any very definite know- 
 ledge concerning the soul in a state of separation from the 
 body. " The Church" has not taught her people any intel- 
 ligible doctrines upon the subject ; it occupies no place in 
 her catechism, or articles of faith ; and the populace are 
 left to vague conjecture respecting it. Indeed, with the 
 multitude, the "soul" has become a word without a corre- 
 sponding reality in the mind ; and the result is a difficulty 
 in conceiving how men can exist after death without the 
 resumption of their natural body. It is believed that man 
 is to Uve for ever ; but because the soul is thought of as a 
 breath, a vapour, or a phantom, which might float away to 
 nothing, if it were not fixed in a physical body, the Church 
 has invented the doctrine of the future resurrection of the 
 material body. 
 
 But this conceit cotild never have found acceptance and 
 a resting-place with men, if they had duly reflected on the 
 fact that it is the soul which really constitutes the man. 
 1 Eccles. xii. 7. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 125 
 
 Tlie material body is simply the house in which he lives 
 for a time, and wherein it is the Divine purpose he should 
 be educated to participate in the uses and enjoyments of 
 the heavenly kingdom. When the soul leaves the body, it 
 may at once be seen that the body is not the man ; and if 
 it is not the man when the soul has passed away from it, 
 how can it have been the man when he was present in it ? 
 It is simply the man's temporary residence, the material 
 instrument for his operations in the material world. Hence 
 Peter says, " I am in this tabernacle to stir you up, by piit- 
 ting you in remembrance ; knowing that shortly I must put 
 off this my tabernacle." ^ Paul also writes, " We know, 
 that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, 
 we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens." ^ These passages no more contem- 
 plated the resumption of the earthly tabernacle which death 
 puts off, than the Deity intended that the butterfly should 
 return to the chrysalis from which it has emerged ; the 
 reason is, because the soul is the true and proper man, 
 and this being the case, the resumption of the natural body 
 is not necessary for his existence in the future life. The 
 soul is not an aerial, unsubstantial something, which notion 
 of it is very closely allied to the idea of nothing ; if it is 
 anything, it must be a spiritual substance in the human 
 form; if it were not so, it could have no human entity. 
 How plain is this. If the soul exist, it must be a substance ; 
 and if a substance, it must have a form ; for existence wdth- 
 out both substance and form is impossible. Hence we con- 
 clude that the substance of the soul is spiritual, and that its 
 form is human. It is present in the physical structure 
 during its manifestation in the world, somethiag like a 
 hand within its glove ; hence the death of the body by no 
 1 2 Pet. i. 13, 14. = 2 Cor. v. 1. 
 
126 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, A5T) 
 
 means impairs the ftmctions or mutilates the form of the 
 soul, because its nature is definitely distinct from matter, 
 and perfectly independent of it. This is why the Scriptnres 
 so frequently speak of it as the subject of " everlasting 
 Hfe ;" for this fact necessarily excludes the possibility of 
 any interruption to its being. 
 
 The soul is that vrhich the apostle designates the " spirit- 
 ual body." "There is," says he, " a natural body and there is 
 a spiritual body ;" ^ not that there is a natural body which 
 is to become a spiritual body at some future time, but that 
 they are two distinct coeval existences." The natural body 
 he sometimes calls '"the natural" and the "outward man;"' 
 and the spiritual body he sometimes calls the " inner " and 
 " the inward man and that he regarded the former as for 
 ever put aside by death, and the latter as for ever a h\ing 
 spiritual reality, is evident from his statement, " Though 
 otir outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed 
 day by day."' It is the spirit that re,ally lives ; mere natu- 
 ral substance is always dead ; and although, when in certain 
 organizations it appears to live, it is only gifted with that 
 appearance for a time by the spirituality that is within it. 
 It is of the soul that the Lord said it should " never see 
 death," " never taste of death," shoold "never die," should 
 " have everlavSting Ufe." The soul is the spiritual man, and 
 is that which, luiving once begun to live, can never die. 
 Man cannot put himself out of existence ; he may, if he be 
 stifficiently wicked or insane, put his natural body to death, 
 but the soul will Uve in defiance of every efibrt at such 
 1 1 Cor. XV. 44. 
 
 * See this subject discnssed at large in the author's work on The 
 PeculiaritieB of the Bible, chapter iii. 
 
 s 1 Cor. IT. 44. ; 2 Cor. iv. 16. * Eph. iii. 16. ; Rom. vii. 22. 
 
 5 2 Cor. iv. 16. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 127 
 
 destruction. It is created with capacities to know God and 
 to love Him ; tjhese capacities are God's dwelling-places in 
 the human race ; and therefore it is plain that the soul to 
 which they belong cannot perish. This explains to us the 
 Divine declaration, "Because I live, ye shall live also."' 
 
 But although the soul is a spiritual body, endowed with 
 immortality, we must always remember that it does not 
 live of itself ; it is simply an imperishable organism created 
 for the reception and manifestation of life from the Lord. 
 It is "in Him we live and move and have our being: "'^ 
 " there is a spii-it in man ; and the inspiration of the Al- 
 mighty giveth him understanding:" "the Spirit of God 
 hath made him, and the breath of the Almighty hath given 
 him life."' It is easy to see this difference between the soul 
 of man and the life by which he lives ; moreover, it is 
 beautifully distinguished in the original Greek by two 
 different words, namely, psyche and zoe, both of which are 
 sometimes rendered " soul :" but hj psycheis properly meant 
 the spiritual organism of the soul, and by zoe the life from 
 God by which it Kves.* 
 
 * John xiv. 19. 2 Acts xvii. 28. ' Job xsxii. 8. ; xxxiii. 4. 
 
 * " The teiin soul is made use of, in the literal sense of the Scriptures, 
 with at least seven different significations. It is this variety which led 
 Cruden to say that the word is very equivocal (Concordance, Soul) ; 
 nevertheless he has enumerated five different meanings of it. Hence, 
 with only one idea attached to the word, it is easy to get confused when 
 speaking of the soul of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures assign 
 to Him a soul different from that soul which is signified by ' the life ' 
 which He is. For instance, He said, ' My soul is exceeding sorrowful 
 even imto death.' ' Now is my soul troubled.' But in these passages 
 the original term is '^vxr) (psyche) which is well known to denote the 
 anima o f the body ; yet the same word is sometimes rendered ' life ; ' as 
 ' I lay down my {^vxi) li^^ for the sheep ; ' and thus the translators of, 
 our English version, in departing from a uniform rendering of the 
 
128 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEJJ^T, AlfD 
 
 From these considerations of spiritual philosophy, and 
 the indications of revelation, we learn that the human soul 
 is a spiritual body ; that it is this which constitutes the 
 man, and which is distinguished by immortality : also, that 
 death is simply the removal fi'om him of his earthly cover- 
 ing, when he passes into the spiritual world, a spirit among 
 spirits ; and where, until the judgment, he continues to 
 live, not a phantom or a vapour, but as a real man, possess- 
 ing all the faculties and powers which had ever belonged 
 to him as such, with the mere exception of his material 
 covering ; and which, because he has performed in it his 
 probationary uses, he can want no more, and will, there- 
 fore, never be resumed. 
 
 This conclusion is supported by some historical facts of 
 revelation. Were they not the spu-itual bodies of Moses 
 and EUas that were seen by the thi-ee disciples at the 
 Lord's transfiguration ? Those remarkable men had long 
 departed from the natural world ; we do not read anything 
 about their having resumed their material bodies, and yet 
 they were distinguished by all the forms proper to humanity 
 and necessary for their identification. They evidently were 
 
 original term, have introduced what must be a source of much perplexity 
 to the merely English reader, who attaches to the word soul no other 
 idea than what it commonly bears in his own language. The original 
 Greek word which properly means the Lord's ' life,' is ^torj (zoe). This 
 is the word employed when it is said, ' In Him was life ; and the life was 
 the light of men,' and also, when of Himself He said, I am ' the life.' 
 Hence it is easy to perceive the distinction between the soul which was 
 ' the life ' of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the soul which was the anima 
 of His manifested body. The soul which was exceeding sorrowful even 
 unto death, which was troubled, and which was laid down, was ilrvxrj, 
 the anima of the manifested body derived from the mother, and not ^(orj, 
 the Lord's principle of Diwne and eternal life." See the author's work. 
 The Deity of Jesus Christ Asserted. 
 
SECOND COMINa OP THE LORD. 
 
 129 
 
 among the spirits of just men made perfect, performing the 
 uses and enjoying the advantages belonging to their state 
 and character. 
 
 The like fact is taught by what the Lord said of the 
 three patriarchs of the Jewish nation ; namely, " That the 
 dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he 
 calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of 
 Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For He is not the God of 
 the dead, but of the living : for aU live unto Him." Here 
 it is plainly affirmed that those persons are (not shall 
 be) raised from the dead, and that they were then living 
 unto the Lord ; and this fact is said to have been proved at 
 the bush, by the statement that He was their God, and that 
 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Unless 
 they were then living, this passage could have had no point; 
 for the Lord referred to it as a proof of their resurrection, 
 in answer to the Sadducees, by whom the doctrine of resur- 
 rection was denied. And it seems that even they admitted 
 the argument to be unanswerable, for it is written, " that 
 they durst not ask Him any question at all."^ 
 
 The Lord said unto the dying penitent, " This day shalt 
 thou be with me in paradise." Was not this plainly telling 
 him, that notwithstanding the death of his natural body, he 
 would soon be raised into the spiritual world, and there find 
 himself to be a living, thinking man, in a spiritual body ? 
 
 John informs us that he was about to worship one in the 
 spiritual world, who " said unto him, See thou do it not : I 
 am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the 
 testimony of Jesus : worship God."^ The magnificence in 
 which this angel appeared shows that he had been raised 
 into the enjoyment of some distinguished glory ; and yet 
 we have no evidence that any earthly body had been re- 
 1 Luke xs. 39, 37, 40. 2 Rev. six. 10. 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMENT, AOTJ 
 
 sumed. He also tells us that lie saw " the souls of them 
 that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony 
 which they held : and doubtless they presented all the 
 appearances of living men, although they had not resumed 
 their material covering. Indeed he declares that he saw 
 in the spiritual world " a great multitude, which no man 
 could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and 
 tongues, standing before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, 
 and palms in their hands. These, it is said, had come 
 out of great tribulation ; they had passed, by death, from 
 the earth into the spiritual world, without resuming their 
 natural bodies, and yet they were living people, with all 
 the forms, faculties, and powers which are necessary to 
 praise God for the salvation they had experienced. The 
 book of Revelation is abundant in narratives which show 
 that men continue to live as men, independently of the 
 " earthly tabernacle " which has died and passed into all the 
 elements of nature. We, who yet remain on this side of 
 the eternal world, as it has been said, call the separation of 
 man from his natural body, death ; but, by this sepai'ation, 
 the man is liberated from the trammels of mortality ; and 
 may not the angels who dwell upon the other side, see that it 
 is the promised resurrection ? Surely every one, as he be- 
 comes the subject of it will feel that it is so : he will ex- 
 perience that it is a transference of all that is proper to his 
 living humanity, firom the natural to the spiritual world. 
 To us it is amazing that any other view should have ob- 
 tained currency among mankind, when the Scriptures are 
 so explicit in their statements on the subject, aud so replete 
 with examples to confirm it. Still such other view prevails. 
 It is said that justice requires the body to be raised, that it 
 may share the consequences of the deeds in which it has par- 
 ' Rev. vi. 9. * Rev. vii. 9. 
 
SECOND COMING OF OUB LOBD. 
 
 131 
 
 ticipated. This view, liowever, supposes tlie body to be an 
 active agent, whereas it is only a passive instrument. It 
 is the soul which has impelled it to do whatever it has 
 done, and, therefore, all its doings are of the soul. Besides, 
 they who place the matter on the supposed justice of the 
 case, should, to be consistent, maintain that the body ought 
 not to die any more than the soul ; but, as the body does 
 die, and is obviously, for unnumbered years, deprived of the 
 consciousness and everything else that the soul possesses, 
 it is plain, that equal participation in the consequences of 
 that which it has been instrumental in doing, is impossible, 
 and that the argument on the ground of justice is an evi- 
 dent fallacy. 
 
 The resuiTection of the material body may be a theme 
 for the poet, but it affords no grasp for the consideration of 
 philosophy, and it vanishes before the light of revelation. 
 Look for a moment at the condition in which bodies are 
 placed by death. Some, indeed, may be quietly mouldering 
 into dust : but others have been burnt, driven into vapours, 
 scattered by the winds, devoured by beasts, converted into 
 vegetables ; some have been eaten by cannibals, and so 
 been incorporated into the bodies of other men ; while the 
 limbs of some have been deposited in one portion of the 
 world, and their bodies in another. Moreover, the natural 
 body is continually changing ; indeed, it is said that at the 
 end of one period of seven years we have not the same 
 body that we had at its commencement. It is quite certain 
 that the body of the infant is not the body of the man. 
 On this doctrine of physical mutations, a man who has 
 lived seventy years will have changed or renewed his body 
 ten different times ; in each and all of which some good 
 and evil have been done. Which body is, then, to be 
 raised ? If the argument that the bodies in which vice and 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMETTT, AND 
 
 virtue have been wrouglit, must in justice be raised to parti- 
 cipate vnth the soul in tbe consequences of its acts, is of 
 any value, then the resurrection of aU that has been put 
 off -vviU be necessary, and, if so, vre shall have men forty 
 or fifty feet high, with proportionate breadth ; for that, 
 under such circumstances, will be the bulk of one who has 
 lived to the age of promise. All this is sufficiently per- 
 plexing, the reason is because the premises, out of which 
 it arises, are not true. 
 
 It may be said, " With men this is impossible ; but with 
 God all things are possible."^ This indeed is true ; but 
 when it is said with God all things are possible, the mean- 
 ing is, all those things which are consistent with His 
 Wisdom and His Love. If it could be shown that He has 
 taught the doctrine of a physical resurrection, that would 
 be a sufficient inducement for us to accept it. But this we 
 have not seen, and certainly we cannot find it in the Scrip- 
 tures. The revival of the dead man who was brought into 
 contact with the bones of EUsha,' the raising of Lazanis,* 
 and the restoration of the widow's son,* do not bear upon 
 the subject ; they were miraculous events for special ends; 
 and though the bodies of the parties were returned to life 
 they were not decomposed, and they died again. 
 
 But it will be proper to advert to some of the leading 
 passages in which this doctrine is supposed to be taught.* 
 > Matt. six. 26. 2 2 Kings mi. 21. » John xi. 
 
 * Luke vii. 12 — 15. 
 
 ^ It is not intended to notice all the passages which are nsually forced 
 into the service of this doctrine ; nor is it purpc^sed to enter into a long 
 discussion or an elaborate criticism of those which we think it useful to 
 examine. Our main design is only to touch upon leading passages and 
 salient points. The readers who are wishful for a more extensive ex- 
 position, are referred to " Anastasis," by Professor Bush : to the section 
 on the Resurrection, in the Rev. S. Noble's " Appeal on Behalf of the 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 133 
 
 It is quite true that the Scriptures, in many places and in 
 a variety of ways, treat of the resurrection ; but they do 
 not, in any instance, that we are aware of, speak of the 
 resurrection of dead material bodies, nor do they in any 
 case make use of language that countenances such a notion.^ 
 Before biblical criticism became a science it was custom- 
 ary to cite several passages from the Old Testament which 
 were supposed to prove the resurrection of the body, but 
 it is now admitted that they do not apply to the subject. 
 There may, indeed, linger a disposition in the mind of the 
 populace to retain them in the service, but the learned know 
 that they have been wrested to maintain an idea which 
 they were never intended to express, and therefore they 
 have been placed, by orthodox critics, outside the pale of 
 genuine evidence upon this point. Dr. Kitto, whose autho- 
 rity is respected, and whose " orthodoxy " is undoubted, 
 says,^ " It is admitted that there are no traces of such a 
 doctrine in the earlier Hebrew Scriptures. It is not to be 
 found in the Pentateuch, in the historical books, or in the 
 Psalms ; for Psalm xlix. 15^ does not relate to the subject, 
 neither does Psalm civ. 29, 30,^ although so cited by 
 
 Doctrines of the New Church:" to "The Scriptural KesuiTection 
 Asserted and Defended," by the Hev. Dr. Bayley : to "A Lecture on the 
 Scriptural Doctrine of the Kesurrection," by the Kev. W. Woodman, 
 etc., etc. 
 
 ' See this view ably treated by Locke in his correspondence on the 
 subject with StiUingfleet, Bishop of Worcester. Locke's Works. 
 
 = " Biblical Cyclopaedia " — Art. Resurrection of the body. 
 
 3 *' God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave ; for He 
 shall receive me." 
 
 * " Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their 
 breath, they die, and retm-n to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, 
 they are created ; Thou renewest the face of the earth." 
 
134 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AJTD 
 
 Theodoret and others. The celebrated passage in Job xix.^ 
 has indeed been strongly insisted upon in proof of the early 
 belief of this doctrine ; but the most learned commentators 
 are agreed, and scarcely any one at the present day disputes, 
 that such a view of the text arises either from mistrans- 
 lation or misapprehension, and that Job means no more 
 than to express a confident conviction that his then diseased 
 and dreadfully corrupted body should be restored to its 
 former soundness ; that he should rise from the depressed 
 state in which he lay, to his former prosperity, and that 
 God would manifestly appear (as was the case) to vindi- 
 cate his uprightness." Again, the same authority remarks, 
 " Isaiah may be regarded as the first Scripture writer in 
 whom such an allusion can be traced. He compares the 
 restoration of the Jewish people and state to a resurrection 
 from the dead (chap, xxvi 19)," and in this he is followed 
 
 » " I know tlMt my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the 
 latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this 
 body, yet in my flesh shall I see God," 25, 26. The terms worms and 
 body are not in the original : and that Job never meant to teach the 
 doctrine of a physical resurrection is plain, for he distinctly says, " He 
 that gocth down to the grave shall come up no more," vii. 9. 
 
 » " Thy dead jnen shall live, together with my dead body shall they 
 arise." This is not an accurate translation. Bishop Louth has shown 
 that the terms which are rendered " together with my dead body," simply 
 mean deceased : and that the whole passage ought to read thus, " Thy 
 dead shall live : my deceased they shall arise." And this view of the 
 passage at once removes its supposed teaching. But at the fourteenth 
 verse of the same chapter it is written, " They are dead, they shall not 
 live ; they are deceased, they shall not rise." If, therefore, the former 
 passage is to be understood as teaching the resurrection of the natural 
 body, the latter is equally strong in declaring that no such resurrection 
 shall take place. The passages, if taken in their literal sense, stand in 
 opposition to each other, and it is for those who so interpret them to 
 reconcile their seeming disagreement. To us they present no such 
 
SECeflTD COMIXG OP THE LOED. 
 
 135 
 
 by Ezekiel, at the time of the exile (chap, xxxvii.).^ These 
 passages, however, are not very clear in their intimations." 
 Certainly not; the first and only passage in the Old 
 Testament which is considered to bear on the point, is 
 cited from Daniel : " And many of them that sleep in the 
 dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and 
 some to shame and everlasting contempt."^ But a little 
 reflection will show that the prophet is not treating of the 
 general resurrection of the body. His phrase, many of, 
 plainly excepts some. How, then, can it be employed to 
 uphold a doctrine which demands the resurrection of all ? 
 The exceptions which are implied plainly show that the 
 material resurrection is not the subject of his teachings. 
 
 aspect. The fourteenth verse speaks of those who, being in the death of 
 Bin, will not rise into the life of righteousness ; and the nineteenth verse 
 treats of those who, though in the death of sin, are willing to be regenerated, 
 and thus will rise into the life of righteousness. Hence the two passages 
 beautifully harmonize with each other, and each presents us with a fact 
 for the deepest consideration. 
 
 ' This chapter describes the vision of dry bones : it refers to the 
 deliverance of the Israehtes from their bondage in Babylon ; and 
 not the collection of scattered particles of matter, their reorganiza- 
 tion and revivification by the re-introduction of the soul into them. The 
 people had been complaining of their hard bondage, and saying, " Be- 
 hold our bones are dried, and our hope is lost : we are cut off for our 
 parts" (ver. H). These bones are said to have been the whole house of 
 Israel, and their deliverance from captivity is spoken of, as causing them 
 to come up out of their graves, and bringing them into the land of 
 Israel (ver. 12) . The subject treated of then, is not the resurrection of the 
 dead bodies of all men, but the restoration of a particular people from the 
 grave of their captivity, and their re-introduction into their own land. Dr. 
 Faber, in commentating on some passages of a similar import in Hosea, 
 makes use of these words, in which we agree, namely, "to express the 
 political revivification of the house of Israel, Hosea, like Isaiah and 
 Ezekiel, uses the allegory of a resurrection." 
 
 * Dan. lii. 2. 
 
136 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMENT, ATTD 
 
 But there is another point leading to tlie same conclusion. 
 It is not said that many of the dead shall rise ; but that 
 many of those that are asleep shall awake, and sleeping is 
 not death, nor is awaking a resurrection of the body. The 
 sleep which is spoken of is a natural state of the mind 
 that is not yet sensible of spiritual things. It was to such 
 a condition that the apostle referred when he said, " Awake 
 thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
 give thee light. To sleep in the dust is to be immersed 
 in all manner of worldly loves ; and doubtless some of those 
 who have been so circumstanced have awaked to everlast- 
 ing life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt ; so 
 that the passage has no reference whatever to the actual 
 death and resui-rection of the material body. 
 
 From this we will pass on to the New Testament, and 
 there we have not been able to find any evidence of such a 
 view. Of course the subject of rising from the dead and 
 resurrection, is frequently spoken of, but this is not the 
 point ; the question is whether these things arc, in any case, 
 affirmed of the material body. We have no hesitation in 
 sa^-ing that there is no instance of this sort. We "will, 
 however, notice a few of the strongest passages commonly 
 advanced to favour that opinion. 
 
 The Lord said, " If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it 
 out, and cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that 
 one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole 
 body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand 
 offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee : for it is profit- 
 able for thee that one of thy members should perish, and 
 not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."" Al- 
 though the body is here referred to as being that which may 
 be cast into hell, it is not said that it is the material body ; 
 ' Eph. V. 14. 8 Matt. v. 29, 30. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE XOKD. 
 
 137 
 
 and as we know that there is a spiritual body, why may it 
 not refer to that ? Besides, it is stated that certain mem- 
 bers may be cut oiF and perish, so that they at least wiU 
 not rise. So that supposing a natural resurrection to be 
 treated of, some are contemplated as rising and going to 
 their final destiny, without their right eyes and right hands. 
 But as no one can reasonably think that the actual pluck- 
 ing out of the one, or cutting off of the other, was iutended 
 to be taught ; so it wiU follow that by the " whole body " 
 is not to be understood the natural body, but rather that 
 spii'itual body from which offending thought and offending 
 love ought to be removed. 
 
 Again, the Lord said, " Fear not them which kill the 
 body, but are not able to kUl the soul ; but rather fear Him 
 which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'" 
 Now, if killing the body means killing the natural body on 
 earth, then, to destroy both body and soul in hell, must 
 mean absolutely to destroy them : but as it is certain that 
 no such destruction is meant, it is plain that by the body 
 referred to, as being the subject of such destruction, cannot 
 be meant the natural body. But is it possible not to fear 
 those who would compass our death ? Surely the Lord 
 never intended to teach us that it was a Christian virtue 
 not to fear the assassin who would kill us. Men may have 
 courage to die, but it can hardly be said they should have 
 no fear of those who would inflict a murderous death. On 
 this, however, we need not dwell. Supposing the body 
 mentioned in the first instance to mean the natural body, 
 it does not follow that it is the natural body which is meant 
 in the second instance : it certainly is not so said. Each 
 must be taken with the signification which is given to it 
 by its surroundings. As killing is only predicable of the 
 ' Matt. X. 28. 
 
138 
 
 THE lAST JTTDGMENT, AITD 
 
 natural body on earth, so destruction can only be predicable 
 of the spiritual body in bell ; destruction meaning the de- 
 privation of all heavenly life. So that the body which may 
 be killed in the world is not the same body as that which 
 may be destroyed in hell. In the one case it is the natural 
 body, in the other it is the spiritual body. 
 
 Upon another occasion the Lord said, " Verily, verily, I 
 say unto you. The hour is coming, and now is, when the 
 dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they 
 that hear shall live. Marvel not at this : for the hour is 
 coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear 
 His voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, 
 unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, 
 unto the resurrection of damnation."* If the Lord had 
 intended by this to assert the resurrection of dead material 
 bodies as some distant event. He certainly would not have 
 said concerning it. The hour now is. But such bodies do 
 not hear ; the body which is dead in its natural grave can- 
 not hear. It is the soul which hears : this cannot die, 
 neither can it be buried. The passages say nothing about 
 such bodies, nor is their resurrection referred to. That 
 which is treated of is the revival into spiritual life of those 
 who have been dead to the Divine purposes, and a deUver- 
 ance of them from that grave of sensuality into which they 
 had descended : and the hour for these results is not only 
 coming, but it now is. 
 
 Jesus said, " This is the will of Him that sent me, that 
 every one which sceth the Son, and believeth on Him, may 
 have everlasting life : and I will raise him up at the last 
 day."' Now the sight and the belief are here not spoken 
 of the material body, and therefore it cannot be that 
 body to which the promise, " I will raise him up," appUes. 
 1 John V. 25, 28, 29. « John vi. 40. 
 
SECOITD COMING OP THE lOED. 
 
 139 
 
 Besides, nothing is said of such a body, and the raising 
 spoken of refers only to those who see and believe. More- 
 over that would be a strange sort of everlasting life which 
 is inteiTTipted bythousands of years of natural death, towhich 
 the material bodies of myriads must certainly be exposed. 
 The raising spoken of is the elevation of the souls of 
 believers into the enjoyment of heavenly life. It is the 
 spirit which quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth nothing. The 
 soul is raised ; the body is buried. 
 
 Other passages might be quoted, but these are among 
 the most pointed, with the exception of the celebrated 
 chapter in the epistle of Paul to the Corinthians.^ And it 
 is amazing that, with the marked distinction which he 
 draws, the positive assertion which he makes, the striking 
 illustrations he has furnished, and the figurative language 
 he has employed, that his argument should ever have been 
 construed into an exposition setting forth the resurrection 
 of the material body. It commences the argument by 
 referring to the fact that "Christ rose from the dead;"^ 
 hence he contends for the resurrection of man, and says, 
 " Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first 
 fruits of them that slept : for since by man came death, by 
 man, also, came the resurrection of the dead."^ From this 
 to the thirty-fourth verse, nothing whatever is said about 
 that body which is the subject of resurrection ; but at the 
 twenty-third verse he expressly tells us that " in Christ all 
 shall be made alive : but every man in his own order : 
 Christ the first fruits ; afterwards they that are Chi-ist's,* 
 1 1 Cor. XV. 2 1 Cor. xv. 12. s 1 Cor. xv. 20, 21. 
 
 * It is interesting to notice that the resurrection treated of throughout 
 the whole of this chapter, is only the resurrection of " them that are 
 Christ's ; " the resurrection of the wicked is not at all referred to. Hence 
 it is that the apostle, throughout the whole argument, connects the resur- 
 rection with regeneration. 
 
140 
 
 THE LAST JtJDGMETfT, AND 
 
 at His coming." Here he plainly calls attention to tte dis- 
 tinction whicli tliere is between the resurrection of Christ 
 and the resurrection of ordinary men. Christ is called the 
 first fruits, not to indicate that He was the fii'st who had 
 been raised since the death of Adam, for patriarchs and 
 prophets had been raised before,^ but to inform us that He 
 was the Chief, the Head, the Author of tliis astounding phe- 
 nomenon. And when the apostle tells us " that every one is 
 made alive in his own order," he plainly intends to point 
 out a distinction between the resurrection of the Lord and 
 the resui'rection of ordinary men. Doubtless there is a 
 divinity about the quality of the Lord's resui-rection-body 
 which cannot belong to man's. Oui's " may be fashioned 
 like unto His glorious body but there is the same distinc- 
 tion between His and oui*s as there is between the likeness 
 and the original. There cannot be any true paralleUsm 
 between the Lord's resurrection and man's : there being 
 no equality between their essential natui-es, there can be 
 no equality between their ultimate appearances. Jesus, 
 because He was " the first " — the essential life, became 
 also, " the last "• — the ultimate of formal life, by rising in 
 a Divine Humanity, and which, therefore, must be difi"erent 
 from that which distinguishes the bodies of risen men. He 
 who is the Resurrection and the Life, must needs present 
 an appearance in His resurrection which cannot pertain to 
 the bodies of risen men. He was "the Holy One " who 
 did not " see corruption." Man is not holy, and his body 
 sees corruption ; therefore it may be evident that, however 
 much the resuiTCction of the Lord may prove the resurrec- 
 tion of man, there are circumstances and character- 
 istics attending the former which afford no parallel 
 from which to argue concerning the resurrection body of 
 ' See Luke xx. 37 ; Matt. xxii. 32. » Plul. ii. 21. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 141 
 
 the latter. Still, the Lord's rising almost immediately 
 after the crucifixion, may be taken as strong presumptive 
 proof that man's resurrection must follow immediately 
 after his natural decease. And thus the doctrine which 
 puts off the resurrection to some distant day abandons the 
 parallelism which it ventxires to assert. Moreover, such a 
 postponement appears to us to be unfavourable to virtue. 
 When the wicked are taught that the punishment of their 
 crimes is a long way ofi", the motive is weakened which 
 micht otherwise induce them to desist from their miscon- 
 duct : and when the good learn that the rewards of their 
 faith and virtue are to be postponed to some indefinite 
 period, they cannot but feel discouraged in the pursuit of 
 those heavenly graces. And who does not see that such a 
 delay would be really an indulgence to the wicked, and, 
 also, that to the good it would be an injustice. How cer- 
 tain is it, then, that the doctrine of a material resurrection 
 must be a mistake. Some, indeed, will say that the body 
 will be changed : this at once relinquishes the whole posi- 
 tion ; if it is changed it ceases to be material, and cannot 
 be the same. 
 
 But the apostle having argued for the resurrection of 
 man, from the resurrection of the Lord, contemplated a dis- 
 tinction between the two phenomena ; for he said, " Some 
 will say, How are the dead raised, and with what body do 
 they come ? And his reply is at once strong in its terms 
 and striking in its philosophy. " Thou fool," says he, 
 " 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, it may chance of wheat or 
 some other grain : but God giveth it a body as it hath 
 pleased Him, and to every seed his own body." He then 
 1 1 Cor sv. 35. 
 
142 
 
 THE XAST JTrDGMENT, AlfD 
 
 goes on to declare, " There are also celestial bodies and 
 bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and 
 the glory of the terrestrial is another : " thus there is an 
 essential distinction between the quality of the bodies of 
 which he speaks, — the one plainly belonging to nature and 
 subject to its mutations, and the other as plainly belonging 
 to the spirit. And it is of importance to notice, that 
 he expressly tells us "we sow not that hody which shall be;" 
 that God giveth it a body as it pleaseth Him, to every seed 
 his own body ; thus, to that which is natural He giveth a 
 natural body, and to that which is spiritual He giveth a 
 spiritual body. He likens the resuiTection to the sowing 
 and germination of wheat or some other grain, and tells us 
 that what is sown is not quickened except it die, and 
 that so also is the resurrection of the dead. Thus, death 
 is not only the necessary prelude to the resurrection, but 
 the death of one body is indispensable to the raising 
 of the other. When the grain of wheat dies it does not 
 rise again : it is the germ, the kernel, the soul of the 
 wheat which lives and rises ; and the resurrection of the 
 one is concurrent with the death of the other. " Thou 
 sowest not that body which shall be." Can anything be 
 plainer ? Is it not evident that man's resurrection body 
 is a spii'itual body ? A natural body is sown, a spiritual 
 body is raised. " There is a natural body, and there is a 
 spii-itual body." The facts, the arguments, and the illus- 
 trations of the apostle all go to show that the resurrection 
 body of which he treats is not that material covering 
 which had experienced disease, death, and burial. The 
 real resurrection follows these events with as much close- 
 ness as a dream succeeds to sleep. In sleep the body 
 passes into a condition of insensibility to all the phe- 
 nomena of the outer world ; and yet, in the dream which 
 
BECONT) COMING OF THE lOED. 
 
 143 
 
 sometimes follows, the mind is awakened to many experi- 
 ences before unknown. It is somewhat similar with death 
 and the resurrection ; death lays down the natural body to 
 an eternal sleep, and the soul rises up into a condition of 
 spiritual wakefulness. The natural body is for the uses of 
 this world ; the spii'itual body is for those of the next : the 
 one dies, the other is immortal. The natural is as a taber- 
 nacle in which the spiritual may be educated, and when 
 the end is accomplished the means are no longer necessary. 
 That which is natural can no more enter into the spirit- 
 ual, than a stone can be thrust into the mind. When the 
 natural body dies it is consigned to its kindred elements, 
 and we, who remain on this side of the eternal world, call 
 it death ; but by this death the soul is liberated from the 
 trammels of mortality, and they who dwell upon the other 
 side behold it as the resurrection. It is thus that we pass 
 from death unto life : " And they that have done good shall 
 come forth unto the resurrection of life, and they that have 
 done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." The Lord 
 said, " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he 
 which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is right- 
 eous, let him be righteous still : and he that is holy, let 
 bim be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly ; and my 
 reward is with me, to give every man according as his 
 work shall be." 
 
 >Eev. xsii. 11, 12. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE EARTH ABIDETH FOR EVER. 
 
 Thk Argument. — The supposition of the end of the world, the result 
 of poetry rather than of revelation. — If the world is to be destroyed, 
 God must have some reason for destroying it. — This reason not to be 
 found in the transgression of men, or in their supposed millennial 
 condition. — Passages in which the destruction of heaven and earth 
 is mentioned. — The heaven and earth spoken of not the physical 
 things of nature, but the spiritual things of the Church. — Illustra- 
 tions.— The Church a divine institution, about which the Scriptures 
 teach. — Some Churches that have existed in the world, are said to 
 have been terminated by events which seem to imply the destruc- 
 tion of the universe. — Heaven and earth the internal and 
 external states of religious life with men. — The end of the antedi- 
 luvian Church said to be the destruction of the earth. — The signifi- 
 cation of the flood. — Peter's remarkable statement in reference to 
 the old world and the flood considered. — Predictions which treat of 
 the end of the Jewish Church cited and explained. — The prophecy 
 of Joel, and Peter's interpretation of it. — The disciples' inquiry 
 concerning the time of the end of the world and the Lord's reply 
 examined. — The language of this reply eminently figurative. — The 
 darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars ex- 
 plained. — Peter's celebrated passage on this subject examined, and 
 shown to refer to spiritual and not to natural occiurences. — " Ele- 
 ments," as understood in Peter's time, do not "melt." — The de- 
 scription of ruinous events that were to precede the first advent 
 similar, in many respects, to what are related in connection 
 with the second coming. — The inconsistency which results from 
 taking the language referring to those events in its literal sense. — 
 The inconsistency of going to the book of Revelation for proofs of 
 the destruction of the natural worid.— The supposed tendency of 
 the constitution of the world to dissolution considered. — Points in 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 14-5 
 
 speculative astronomy adverted to. — Destruction, contrary to the 
 character of ,God, who is not only the Creator but the Preserver. — 
 Passages from the Scripture which declare tlie perpetuity of crea- 
 tion. — Destruction not conformable with the Divine Providence. — 
 The earth must abide for ever. 
 
 If it be true that there is a region in the spiritual world 
 between heaven and hell, and that the souls of all enter 
 into it on the dissolution of their natural bodies ; if it be 
 further true that the world of spirits is the scene of judg- 
 ment, and that no resurrection of the material body will 
 be effected, then the doctrine that contemplates the end of 
 the world, which event is commonly associated with such 
 a resurrection and judgment, can have no foundation in 
 necessity, or in the teachings of the true Christian religion. 
 The object of this chapter will be to show that " the earth 
 abideth for ever and to reconcile this Divine statement 
 with those passages of the Word from which an opposite 
 conclusion has been drawn. 
 
 The idea of the destruction of the world has fixed itself 
 upon the mind of the populace with remarkable firmness ; it is 
 a sort of floating thought, somewhat curiously mixed up with 
 the notion of a physical resurrection. The cause of this may 
 be traced to the poetry of men rather than to the revela- 
 tion of Grod. It is certainly no part of His divine teaching ; 
 it contravenes a variety of express statements to be found 
 in His word, and is utterly inconsistent with His character 
 as the Creator, and His purpose in creation. Those who 
 assign to Him the performance of so terrible an event, 
 should be enabled to show some reasonable cause for its exe- 
 cution. God does not act from caprice, but from wisdom, 
 Now, is the crimiaality of men to be regarded as a reason- 
 able cause for the destruction of the world ? Those who 
 ' Ps. cxix. 90. Eccles. i. 4. 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 THE liAST JUDGMENT, XSD 
 
 think so cannot have any very elevated views of the Divine 
 character : they must regard Him as being revengefiil, and 
 forget that He is infinitely merciful and wise. "Will He 
 resent the moral rebellion of men upon the insensible part 
 of His creation, on that part to which no moral responsi- 
 bility has been attached, and which has undeviatingly 
 obeyed the laws implanted in it since the first hour it was 
 ushered into existence ? Is it not enough for the purposes 
 of Divine wisdom to remove men from the earth ? Why 
 then destroy all animated nature ? Why bring ruin upon 
 " the world," which the Lord said " is mine and the fulness 
 thereof"?^ For God to put a torch to the universe, because 
 some who inhabit a mere speck of it have oflPended against 
 His laws, would be something like the conduct of a king 
 who would sink an island in the sea because some of his 
 subjects had set his authority at defiance. Sui'ely, in such 
 a case, it would answer all the purposes of a reasonable 
 man to remove the rebels, for no advantage could result 
 from the destruction of the island. It cannot then be said 
 that the transgression of men affords a reasonable cause for 
 God to set fire to the universe. We will, therefore, look 
 upon another side of this question. If such a catastrophe 
 is to occur, is it to be preceded by the millennium, when, as 
 it is supposed, pure religion wUl have reached its highest 
 intelligence and virtue ? Where would be the reasonable- 
 ness of such a course ? It supposes God to undertake the 
 destruction of the world at the very moment when its in- 
 habitants had attained the regenerated purpose for which 
 they were redeemed, and, consequently, to bring upon them 
 a terrible disaster at the very time they were obeying and 
 enjoying the fulness of His religion ! It seems impossible to 
 defend such an idea and at the same time maintain the 
 ' Ps. 1. 12. 
 
SECONT) COMrNG OF THE LOHD. 
 
 147 
 
 merciful character of God. To us it appears plain tliat the 
 whole idea respecting the dissolution of the universe is 
 founded in error and mistake. God has estabUshed the 
 earth ; He formed it to be inhabited, and created man for 
 His glory, i 
 
 It is true that there are some passages in the Word in 
 which the destruction of heaven and earth is spoken of ; but 
 what are the "heaven" and the "earth" of which they 
 speak ? Do they mean the physical things of nature, or the 
 spiritual things of the Church ? We think it is the latter 
 idea to which they are intended to refer. But let us turn 
 our attention to the passages themselves. The strongest, 
 perhaps, will be found in Isaiah and the Revelation. Isaiah 
 says, " Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon 
 the earth beneath ; for the heavens shall vanish away Hke 
 smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and 
 they that dwell therein shall die in like manner."^ AU who 
 will carefully look at these statements will readily see that 
 they were not intended to speak of natural phenomena ; 
 the context forbids such an interpretation ; indeed, the very 
 terms "vanish away like smoke," "the earth shall wax old 
 like a garment," show that it is the spiritual things of the 
 Church which are treated of ; hence the verse closes with 
 these remarkable words, " My salvation shall be for ever, 
 and my righteousness shall not be aboKshed." The heavens 
 mean the internal Hfe of the Church which then existed, 
 and the earth its external observances ; when these are 
 perverted they perish ; still the Church of the Lord, in 
 which there are salvation and righteousness, will remain. 
 Hence, in another place it is written, " Behold, I create new 
 heavens and a new earth ; and the former shall not be 
 remembered, or come into miad."^ How clear is it that 
 1 Isa. slv. 18. ; xliii. 7. ^ Isa. li. 6. ^ jga. kv. 17. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMENT, AND 
 
 these words do not refer to the creation of another universe 
 more magnificent than this we now inhabit, but to the 
 creation of a new condition of internal Hfe and duty among 
 mankind. This, of course, impHes the bringing into exist- 
 ence of a new Church, to supply the place among men of 
 that which had perished by the perversion of their prede- 
 cessors. It was to this effect that John wrote, " I beheld, 
 and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, and the heaven 
 departed as a scroll. I saw a great white throne and Him 
 that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven 
 fled away, and there was found no place for them." ' Who 
 can reaUy doubt that these things are said of the cor- 
 rupted life and conduct of a perverted Church ? Judgment 
 is the subject treated of, as every one may see who will 
 consult the chapter ; and as that event cuts off a consum- 
 mated Church from all connection with the Lord, it is said 
 to perish. So when the apostle subsequently said, " I saw a 
 new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the 
 fii'st eai-th were passed away the meaning is that a new 
 Church, vnth. a new interior life and faith, would be formed 
 among mankind, and take the place of that which had 
 passed away, in consequence of its coii-uptions. No one can 
 reasonably suppose such passages to relate to the dissolution 
 of one universe and the creation of another ! What use 
 could that promote ? Would such a creation display God's 
 " glory more than the preservation of this by which we ai-e 
 suiTounded ? Could one more beautiful be constructed ? 
 Has God made an imperfect thing ? Was He indifferent 
 about His work, or did He refuse to put forth all the ener- 
 gies of His wisdom in its production ? As these things 
 caimot be admitted, how plain is it that no such destruction 
 as some suppose, is intended. 
 
 ' Rev. vi. 13, 14 ; XX. 11. ^ Eev. xxi. 1. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 149 
 
 The passages on whicli the idea of the earth's destruc- 
 tion has been founded, relate to changes in the Church, 
 and this fact is the key by which they are to be inter- 
 preted. With this key, all their difficulties may be un- 
 locked and explained. It is of the Church, as a Divine 
 institution, respecting which God has been pleased to make 
 a revelation. Mind is the real subject on which it treats ; 
 and material things are used only as the vehicle to repre- 
 sent it. The Church is a mental and spiritual condition of 
 mind among the people. Several Churches have existed in 
 the world, the histories of which are recorded in the Word. 
 The Lord planted them ; men have corrupted them ; hence 
 one has passed away and another has come. These Churches 
 are called, in the Word, heaven and earth : heaven, in refer- 
 ence to the spiritual life they were intended to possess ; 
 and earth, in reference to the natural duties they were 
 required to perform. It was the consciousness belonging 
 to such life and daties which the Lord addressed when He 
 said, " Hear, O heaven ; and give ear, 0 earth ; for the 
 Lord hath spoken."^ The starry firmament and the solid 
 earth have no capacities to listen to His instruction.' 
 How plain is it tliat the exhortation, " Sing, 0 heaven ; 
 and be joj^l, 0 earth ; break forth into singing, 0 
 mountains; for the Lord hath comforted His people,"^ 
 is language not addressed to stellar and terraqueous 
 worlds, but to men, to whom the life and obligations of 
 the Church are subjects of delight and gladness. The 
 psalmist, speaking of the Lord, said, " The heavens are 
 Thine, the earth also is Thine ; as for the world and the 
 fulness thereof. Thou hast founded them.'" Although this 
 is true in regard to the natural universe, the main purpose 
 of the passage is to remind the Church, that all the good 
 » Isa. i. 2. 2 Isa. xlix. 13. « Ps. Ixxxix. 11. 
 
150 
 
 THE lAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 tilings of spiritual life and duty are the Lord's ; that the 
 world in which these graces dwell and the fulness of it 
 are founded by Him. " Every good gift and every perfect 
 gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of 
 lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of 
 turning."^ Of these truths it is important that the Church 
 should be informed. Unless they be acknowledged, the 
 heavens and the earth will pass away : i.e., all the good 
 that is in love, and all the truth which is in faith, would 
 perish. Such acknowledgment is essential to their creation 
 and perpetuity. A multitude of other passages could be 
 easily selected in proof of these positions, but as they would 
 admit of a similar interpretation, we will regard these to 
 be sufficient. 
 
 Every one knows that the "heaven" about which the 
 Scriptures treat is a spiritual state of light and love, of 
 joy, purity, and goodness. No man will enjoy its blessed- 
 ness in the future life unless he has first possessed it here. 
 The kingdom of God is within you. Hence it is that the 
 term heaven is made use of in the Word to denote a state 
 of blessedness in the spiritual man ; and of course that state 
 is proper to the spiritual life of the Church. 
 
 So with regard to the term " earth." This is the correla- 
 tive of heaven ; for, as heaven denotes the internal and 
 spiritual life of the Church, so the earth denotes its exter- 
 nal or natui'al life. This is the reason why those two 
 terms occui* so frequently together. The earth is called 
 upon to hear the word of the Lord," which plainly means 
 that the Church should obey. To hear signifies to obey ; 
 and obedience is an external act. It is said that the earth 
 should be full of the goodness of the Lord that the earth 
 should be full of the knowledge of the Lord ; ■* and that the 
 
 ' Jas. i. 17. » Jer. xxii. 29. » Ps. xxsiii. 5. * Isa. xi. 9. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 161 
 
 earth should rejoice;^ because all these blessings are within 
 the external of. the Church of which the earth is signifi- 
 cant. So that whatever is said about the heavens and the 
 earth is really said about the Church as to its life and 
 character. "We read that " the host of heaven shall be 
 dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a 
 scroll;"" that the Lord will shake the heavens;' that the 
 heavens shall be clothed with blackness;^ also, that the 
 earth feared; the earth trembled;' that "the foundations 
 of the earth do shake, the earth is utterly broken down, 
 the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. 
 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall 
 be removed like a cottage."^ But every thinker knows 
 that these things are not said of the natural world around 
 us ; and how easy is it to see that their true reference is to 
 the agitations and dangers which occur within the pale of 
 a declining Church. When, therefore, we read in the Word 
 of the heavens and the earth passing away, the meaning is 
 that the spiritual life and natural obedience of the Church 
 are about to perish ; consequently, those passages which 
 speak of the creation of a new heaven and a new earth 
 must mean the establishment of a new Church. 
 
 We will, however, proceed to illustrate these conclu- 
 sions by referring to some special occurrences. It is written 
 in an early chapter of Genesis, that " God saw that the 
 wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every 
 imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 
 continually." And He said, " The end of all flesh is come 
 before me ; for the earth is filled with violence through 
 them ; and behold I will destroy them with the earth."' 
 
 1 Ps. xcvii. 1. 8 Isa. xxxiv. 4. ^ Isa. xiii. 13. 
 
 * Isa. 1. 3. 6 Ps. Isxvi. 8. ; xovii. 4. 
 
 « Isa. xxiv. 18—20. "> Gen. vi. 5, 13. 
 
152 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMENT, AND 
 
 Here it is distinctly said that the earth should he destroyed ; 
 but how -was the prediction fulfilled ? Certainly not by 
 the destruction of the earth ; that still remains, and is full 
 of fertility and beauty. It may be replied that the state- 
 ment only means the overflowing of the earth with water ; 
 well, but that abandons the literal sense, and so far it goes 
 ■with us in showing that such forms of expression are not 
 to be understood with critical exactness. But did the 
 water really overflow the earth, and so effect the destruc- 
 tion which is supposed ? Every one who knows anything 
 of the modern science, learning, and literature expended 
 upon this question is aware, not only of the diSiculties of 
 the narrative, but of the impossibility of such an occur- 
 rence at the time and in the way described ; and, therefore, 
 sees that the material destruction supposed to have been 
 effected by such an overflow was not accomplished. The 
 subject referred to in those passages is not a mundane 
 deluge, but a spiritual flood, such as that of which David 
 spoke when he said, "I am come into deep waters, where the 
 floods overflow me. . . . Let not the waterflood overflow 
 me, neither let the deep swallow me up."' The earth, then, 
 which the Lord saw to be corrupt and filled with \aolence, 
 was the Church as it then existed ; this indeed came to its 
 end, and this was the circumstance referred to in the words 
 " I will destroy the earth." 
 
 The Apostle Peter has some remarkable statements upon 
 this subject. He says, " By the woi-d of God the heavens 
 were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and 
 in the water: whereby the world that then was, being over- 
 flowed with water, perished : 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 per- 
 ' Ps. Ixix. 2, 15. 
 
SECOITD COMIXG OF THE lOED. 
 
 153 
 
 dition of ungodly men."^ Althoiagli the Apostle in these 
 words speaks in general terms, according to the letter of 
 the Mosaic narrative, yet he recognises the spirit of it with 
 great plainness ; indeed, in another epistle he treats it as 
 figurative.'^ It is important to notice that he grounds his 
 statements on the idea that the phenomena referred to 
 were the results of the word of God. He declares that 
 " the heavens which were of old, and the earth " were " by 
 the word of God : " and goes on to say that " the heavens 
 and the earth, which are now," are " by the same word." 
 This perfectly agrees with the exclamation of the psalmist, 
 " By the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all 
 the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth. "^ But 
 what are the heavens and the earth which the Word creates ? 
 Are they the natural things of the universe, or the spiritual 
 things of the Church ? About the origin of physical things 
 we can know nothing ; we know that they are, and believe 
 that God created them, but beyond this the Scriptures do 
 not furnish us with any information. That, in our opinion, 
 is not the subject of Revelation. The assertion that the 
 natural universe was made by a word, expresses an idea not 
 to be comprehended. But about spiritual creation we can 
 know something. The Scriptures provide us with a variety 
 of statements concerning this important subject. That being, 
 as we believe, the subject of the first chapter of Genesis, 
 the assertion that the Church was made by the word of 
 God is easily understood. Hence the creations effected by 
 the "Word are the living things of the Church. How plain is 
 it to see that it was the word of God which created the 
 Israelitish and Christian Churches ; and doubtless it was 
 the Divine word which created the religious dispensations 
 that existed during the Adamic and Noetic periods. The 
 1 2 Pet. iii. 5—7. « 1 Pet. iii. 21. » Ps. xxxiii. 6. 
 
154 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEITT, AlfD 
 
 Apostle spoke of tliem as "the heavens and the earth, which 
 were of old," because that is the prophetic style ; but by the 
 heavens he meant the internal things of love and peace, 
 and by the earth the external things of faith and duty ; 
 these he immediately combines, and speaks of as " the 
 world." The world, then, which was overflowed with 
 water, was the Adamic Church overwhelmed with per- 
 versity and falsehood, — falsehood being represented by a 
 flood ;^ this is evident, for the Adamic Church has passed 
 away ; but the natural heavens above us are as pui-e and 
 bright as they ever were, and the natiu'al earth remains 
 as solid and enduring as it ever was. 
 
 We will now turn our attention to other considerations. 
 It is well known that a great variety of passages occur in 
 connection \nth the Israelitish history, which speak of com- 
 motions in the heavens and convulsions in the earth ; and 
 it may be plain to the ordinary reader that such statements 
 were never intended to be understood in their literal sense. 
 For instance, the prophet says, "Behold, the day of the Lord 
 Cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the 
 land desolate : and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out 
 of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof 
 shall not give their light : the sun shall be darkened in his 
 going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to 
 shine."" "The moon shall be confounded, and the sun 
 ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount 
 Zion."' The Lord turneth the earth upside down.^ "The 
 earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dis- 
 solved."* Every one may, on consideration, see that these 
 prophetical passages were representative and sigixificant of 
 
 • See the author's " Antediluvian History, and Narrative of the Flood." 
 2 lea. xiii. 9, 10. » Isa. xxiv. 23. * Isa. xxiv. 1. 
 * Isa. xxiv. 19. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 155 
 
 spiritual tilings. They have never received any natural 
 fulfilment, hence it may be evident that they were written in 
 reference to certain times and circumstances of the Jewish 
 Church ; and there can be no doubt that in the affairs of 
 that dispensation they have all been thoroughly accom- 
 plished. All that had been accepted as light and beautiful 
 in that dispensation became dark and deformed ; it was 
 rendered of none effect by the traditions of men ; all that 
 was considered solid and enduring in it, has " moved," 
 " dissolved," and vanished away. So again the prophet 
 represents the Lord as saying, " Behold, I create new 
 heavens and a new earth : and the former shall not be 
 remembered, or come into mind;"^ but certainly this 
 cannot mean that some old natural firmament and world 
 would be removed, and that some new natural sky and 
 earth would be created in their place. The old ones 
 could not have perpetrated any offence ; and in what 
 respect could the new be better ? The heavens and the 
 earth that were not to be remembered, are the internal and 
 external things of a corrupted Church, hence the new 
 heavens and the new earth that were to be created were the 
 internal and external things of a succeeding dispensation. 
 The events thus predicted were accomplished when the 
 Jewish Church was brought to an end and Christianity 
 established. The statement that " the earth shall wax old, 
 like a garment," cannot mean that it will be worn out by 
 its use and duration : it is now indeed incalculably old, but 
 every year it displays rejuvenescence and seems as young, 
 as vigorous, and as beautiful as at any former period of 
 its existence. Nevertheless, all those earthly things that 
 men have forced into the Church, and which have not God 
 for their author, will wear away like a garment, and sink 
 into age, decrepitude, and death. 
 
 ' Isa. 1x7. 17. 
 
156 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMElfT, AXD 
 
 The Lord said by the prophet Joel, " I will pottr otit my 
 Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters 
 shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your 
 young men shall see visions : and also upon the servants 
 and upon the handmaids in those days Tvill I pour out my 
 Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the 
 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 Lord come."^ The 
 extraordinary events thus described seem to involve such 
 convulsions and changes in the ordinary course of natui'e 
 as to endanger the safety of the universe ; but that was 
 not the meaning of the prophecy. It had reference to cir- 
 cumstances which were to attend the breaking-up of the 
 Jewish Church and the commencement of Christianity. 
 About this conclusion there can be no doubt. The Apostle 
 Peter most distinctly tells us that the prediction received its 
 fulfilment in the phenomena that occurred upon the day 
 of Pentecost. Then, as it is well known, all the afiairs of the 
 natural universe continued in the same orderly courses in 
 which they had always run. There were no very remarkable 
 appearances in the sky or disasters upon the earth. The sun 
 maintained his brightness and the moon her shining. The 
 Apostle quotes the very language to which we have just 
 referred, and applying it to the phenomena of the cloven 
 tongues like as of fire, says, "This is that which was 
 spoken by the prophet Joel."* It is therefore plain that 
 those extraortlinary descriptions of the prophet were never 
 understood by the Apostles to have any reference to the 
 destruction of the universe ; they clearly regarded the 
 predictions as pointing to the circumstances which would 
 attend the advent of the Lord Jesus Chi-ist; namely, 
 > Joel ii. 28-31. « Acts ii. 16. 
 
SECOITD COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 157 
 
 the destruction of Judaism and tlie commencement of 
 Christianity. Hence we find the Apostle Paul saying, 
 "Now once in the end of the world hath Christ appeared."* 
 In the end of what world ? certainly not of the natural 
 world, for that remains ; it seems clear then that what is 
 referred to is the termination of the Jewish world, i.e. the 
 Church, for it was at the end of that, as a Diyine dispensa- 
 tion, that" Christ appeared." Hence we learn that the end 
 of the antediluvian Church was treated of under the figui'e 
 of the destruction of the earth, and that the termination of 
 the Jewish dispensation is spoken of in language which 
 seems to imply the dissolution of the imiverse ; and, there- 
 fore, we conclude that similar descriptions, found in tbe 
 Word and refen-ing to historical Christianity, ought to be 
 similarly interpreted. As the figures are alike, theii" signifi- 
 cation cannot be different ; they, consequently, must point 
 to the end of cormpted Christianity, and not to the disrup- 
 tion of the natural universe, as it is commonly supposed. 
 This we will also endeavour to illustrate. 
 
 The disciples, after having been told that the buildings 
 of the temple would be thrown down, went unto the Lord 
 privately, saying, "Tell us, when shall these things be? and 
 what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of 
 the world From the answer they received it is clear 
 that the Lord did not regard them as having inquired 
 about the destruction of the earth, for He proceeded to de- 
 scribe events which are utterly inconsistent with such an 
 idea. He speaks indeed of " the end,"^ but He does not add 
 "the world" to it: that He contemplated as stiU remaining, 
 for He admonished those who were in Judea to flee into 
 the mountains, and to pray that their flight might not be 
 in the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day ;^ what personal 
 
 1 Heb. ix. 26. ^ Matt. xxiv. 3. s Matt. xxiv. 13, 14. 
 
 1 Matt. xs. 16-20. 
 
158 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 safety could such, a fliglit secure if a universal ruin were 
 intended ? From such a catastrophe there could be no 
 escape. He also said, " Two shall be in the field ; 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." ^ 
 This most plainly shows that " the end " of which He was 
 speaking could not refer to the destruction of the earth, 
 for we find that the fields and the mills are to remain, and 
 that persons are to be left in the pursuit of theii" usual 
 occupations. These things never could have been said if 
 the destruction of the earth had been the subject of the 
 Apostle's question and the Lord's discourse. Besides, the 
 original, which, in the Apostle's inquiry, is translated " the 
 world," properly means " the age," so that the phrase " end 
 of the world " simply denotes the termination of the age. 
 Dr. Campbell renders it " conclusion of the state;" Dr. A. 
 Clarke says it denotes the " end of the Jewish economy ;" 
 and Elsley considers it to import " the whole of any dura- 
 tion ;" " so that nothing is deducible from the terms of the 
 Apostle's inquiry to favour the supposition of the destruc- 
 tion of the earth ; neither is there anything in the Lord's 
 answer which admits of such a construction, or that favours 
 such a view. 
 
 It is true that the Lord, when speaking of the trials that 
 had to be endured, said, "Immediately after the tribulation 
 « Matt. xxiv. 40, 41. 
 
 * " Two Greek ■words (;^(5o-/uor and alasv) are rendered in the com- 
 mon English version by the same word, namely, " world." Only the 
 former, however, is ever employed to denote this material structure, and 
 the latter is uniformly employed to denote a period or dispensation. In 
 every instance where the phrase "end of the world" occurs, the word 
 al(ov, or period, and cannot possibly be mode to mean the economy 
 of material things." — Rev. E. H. Sears. Foregleams of Immortality. 
 Art., " The Judgment Day." 
 
SECOOT) COMING OF THE XOED. 
 
 159 
 
 of fhosc days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon 
 shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from hea- 
 ven, and powers of the heavens shall be shaken : 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. This, to a superficial reader, may 
 sound something like a description of the destruction of the 
 universe, but a very little reflection must convince him that 
 it is the sound and appearance only, and not the sense of 
 it. If such terms, when made use of by the prophets, have 
 a purely figurative sense, it is clear that when the same 
 terms are employed by the Redeemer, they must have a 
 similiar significance. In both cases the author is essen- 
 cially the same, and the images are alike : how reason- 
 able then is the conclusion that they ought to be similarly 
 interpreted. As the descriptions previously adverted to, 
 referred to the affaii'S of the Church with which they were 
 connected, so does this of our Lord. The learned admit 
 that it cannot mean what it seems to express. The sun 
 may be darkened, and the moon may not give her light ; 
 but these are circumstances which frequently occur in the 
 ordinary course of nature : eclipses take place without en- 
 dangering the safety of the universe, or interrupting the 
 pursuits of men. Meteoric phenomena presenting all the 
 appearance of falling stars are common to every observer, 
 but they do not occasion inconvenience or alarm. 
 
 These, of course, cannot be the phenomena to which the 
 Lord referred as the prelude to His second coming. And 
 when we remember that the sun is some millions of times 
 larger than the earth, and that there are some earths in the 
 ■universe a thousand times greater than this which we 
 ' Matt. sxiv. 29, 30. 
 
160 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMEITT, AITD 
 
 inliabifc, it seems impossible to discover any connection 
 between tbe ruin of tliose immense bodies and tlie trans- 
 gression of men, upon so small a planet as we inhabit. And 
 with respect to the falling of tbe stars, how could tbat occur ? 
 where are they to fall to ? This earth, certainly, could 
 not be the spot upon which they would fall. Those bodies 
 which are pojDularly called the stars, are of two sorts : first 
 the planets ; these are earths, some of which are immensely 
 larger than this we inhabit, and all of them doubtless, 
 have inhabitants as responsible for their conduct to the 
 Creator as oui'selves. These may be distinguished in the 
 sky by the steadiness of their splendour. Secondly, we 
 have the stars proper ; these are suns like that which con- 
 stitutes the centre of our system, and of these there are 
 myi'iads, all haviug systems of their own. These are fixed, 
 and, in our latitudes, may be distinguished in the sky by 
 the twinkling light which they emit. How then can it be 
 supposed that such a number of bodies with magnitudes 
 so incalculably great, — with all their systems too, for all 
 this would be involved, — could fall from the sky to the 
 earth ? The thing is no more possible than it would be to 
 force the ocean into a nutshell. Besides, the distance of 
 the stars is so great that the diameter of the earth's orbit, 
 one hundred and ninety-one millions of miles, is but a 
 point in comparison with it : from w^hatever situation in 
 this orbit a star be viewed, no difierence in its appearauce 
 is presented, nor is any sensible parallax to be discovered. 
 Astronomers, therefore, have not been enabled to assign to 
 any star a distance, however immense, that it may not 
 surpass. Casini, from some observations which he made 
 upon Arcturus, calculated that its distance from the earth 
 was twenty thousand two hundred and fifty times greater 
 than that of the sun. Now the distance of the sun from 
 
sEcoiTD comhtg of the loed. 
 
 161 
 
 the eartli is ninety-five millions of miles : if, therefore, this 
 be multiplied by twenty thousand two hundi-ed and fifty, 
 we shall have a result which will require upwards of six 
 hundred thousand years for the star Arcturus to reach this 
 earth, supposing it to fall at the rate of a mile a second. 
 There are also other stars situated much more deeply in 
 space than' this ; this is gathered from the difference of 
 their apparent magnitudes ; how unreasonable then is it to 
 suppose that the falling of the stars, in the prediction which 
 has been cited, can have any reference whatever to such 
 a natural occurrence. It is evident, therefore, that the 
 Lord's statements were never intended to convey any such 
 idea as that of the destruction of the universe. What 
 they refer to is some spiritual catastrophe affecting the 
 Church. Hence, John, in the Revelation, states that he 
 saw the occurrence of such phenomena in the spiritual 
 world; thus he said, "I beheld, and, lo, the sun became black 
 as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood ; and 
 the stars of heaven fell unto the earth :" and again, " the 
 third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the 
 moon, and the third part of the stars ; so as the third part 
 of them was darkened."' Every one knows that these 
 descriptions do not refer to mundane things : they are 
 images of the judgment that follows the corruption of the 
 Church. And so it is with those which are mentioned in 
 the Lord's prediction. By the sun being darkened, is meant 
 the perversion of love ; by the moon not giving her light, 
 is denoted the obscuration of faith ; and by the stars falling 
 from heaven, is signified the separation of knowledge from 
 spiritual life ; and by the powers of heaven being shaken, is 
 denoted that all the principles of goodness would be en- 
 dangered : for goodness is the power of heaven, and this is 
 1 Rev. vi. 12 ; yiii. 12. 
 
162 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 certainly in peril when the preceding portions of tlie pre- 
 dictions occur. The Lord's words, then, refer not to the 
 destruction of a beautiful world, but to the termination of 
 a corrupted Church. 
 
 But we may be reminded that Peter has said, " The day 
 of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in which the 
 heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements 
 shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works 
 that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all 
 these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons 
 ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 
 looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
 God, wherein the heavens being on fii-e shall be dissolved, 
 and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? Neverthe- 
 less we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and 
 a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."' There can 
 be no doubt that this passage contains a collection of state- 
 ments on the subject made by the Lord, or that it is a para- 
 phrase of them. He had said, " Heaven and earth shall 
 pass awaij, but my word shall not pass away."" Now the 
 perpetuation of the word clearly proves that the heavens 
 and the earth that were to pass away, were not the sky 
 which we see, and the globe which we inhabit, but the 
 internal and external things of a perverted Church, which 
 men have produced ; the word is to continue as the 
 foundation and light of its successor, described as "the 
 new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
 ness." The Lord had also spoken of His " coming as a 
 thief," and " at an hour when ye think not."' He had 
 said the powers of the heavens shall be shaken,* and this 
 the Apostle repeats when he mentions the passing away of 
 
 1 2 Pet. iii. 10-13. » Matt. xxiv. 35. s Luke xii. 39, 40. 
 4 Matt. sxiv. 29. 
 
SECOKB COMINO OF THE LOBD. 
 
 163 
 
 the lieavens -witla a great noise. The sentences, " the heavens 
 being on fire," and the " melting of the elements with 
 fervent heat," are derived fr-om the Lord's statement that 
 His second advent should be as the lightning coming 
 out of the east and shining even unto the west while 
 the Apostle's declaration that the earth and the works 
 therein shall be burnt up, appears to be founded upon the 
 Lord's words, when treating of judgment, namely, " As the 
 tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in 
 the end of this world. But the original for " the end of 
 this world," as it has been seen, simply means the termi- 
 nation of the state of things treated of: so that all the 
 Apostle's statements are founded upon parallel passsages in 
 the Lord's discourses. Now, as Peter has simply repeated 
 the sentiments of his Divine ]\Iaster, he never could have 
 intended to convey, by his expression of them, any other 
 ideas than those which they were originally designed to 
 communicate ; and as it is plain that they are all pui'ely 
 figurative in their original form and connection, that, also, 
 must be the sense in which the Apostle has employed 
 them. Therefore, to accept his statements in a merely 
 literal sense, would be a gi'eat mistake. They were never 
 intended to be so understood : indeed their own form is 
 singularly figurative. The very introduction of the matter, 
 namely, that the Lord would come as a thief, shows this 
 with great clearness. The passing away of the heavens 
 cannot be taken as a literal declaration that the blue 
 expanse above us will be dissolved. Of what does that 
 expanse consist, and of what utility would be its destruc- 
 tion ? Besides, passing away does not mean dissolution, 
 but removal; and where could the natural heavens be 
 removed to ? How plain is it that such expressions are 
 1 Matt. ssiv. 27. « Matt. xiii. 40. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMElfT, AOT) 
 
 figures significative of some disasters whicli were con- 
 templated as overtaking the Churcli ? And what else can 
 be the melting of the elements with fervent heat ? The 
 terms express no idea which natural philosophy can re- 
 cognise. What are "the elements" ? In the time of the 
 Apostles they were spoken of as earth, air, fire, and water. 
 And who does not see that melting is utterly inapplicable 
 to the majority of them? 'No one who is at all acquainted 
 with the nature of these things would ever talk about the 
 melting of air, fire, and water. And what is fervent heat ? 
 Fervour belongs to mind, and not to matter ; and conse- 
 quently, fervent heat refers rather to mental vehemence 
 than to natural burning ; hence the Apostle speaks of being 
 fervent in spirit, of a fervent mind, of fervent prayer, and 
 fervent charity. Is it not plain, then, that Peter is em- 
 ploying figurative language, and that the subject of his 
 discourse is not the destruction of the physical objects of 
 nature, but the dissolution of the spii'itual things of a per- 
 verted Church ? Hence his exhortation, "What manner of 
 persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godli- 
 ness?" His declaration, that the earth and the works that are 
 therein shall be burnt up at the second coming of the Lord, 
 is a figure, quite as decided as that of the prophet Malachi, 
 who, when treating of the first advent, said, " Behold, the 
 day Cometh, that shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud, 
 yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble : and the day 
 that Cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts."' 
 When the Lord came in the flesh, there was no such na- 
 tural burning as those terms seem to indicate ; and there- 
 fore, when similar expressions are employed in the case of 
 His second coming, it is clear that they were not designed 
 for a literal interpretation. Surely he who had quoted 
 ' Mai. iv. 1. 
 
SECOITD COMrtTG OF THE LORD. 
 
 165 
 
 sucli strong language from the prophet Joel, respecting 
 wonders in the heavens, signs in the earth, blood and fire, 
 and vapour of smoke ; the turning of the sun into dark- 
 ness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable 
 day of the Lord came ; and had told the multitude to 
 whom he was preaching, that those predictions had re- 
 ceived a fulfilment in the events of Pentecost, could 
 never have intended by the use of similar language, to ex- 
 press the occuri'ence of natural phenomena. The language 
 of the Apostle is purely figurative, and those who would 
 insist upon a hteral interpretation of it, may, with equal 
 consistency say, that the Lord is a vine and a door ; and 
 that to enter into heaven we must eat Sis flesh and drink 
 His Wood. In both cases the things are expressly said, but 
 in neither are they strictly meant. No doubt there is a 
 sense in which those statements of the Lord are distinctly 
 true, but that sense does not consort with physical things. 
 Nor does Peter's description, which is supposed to refer 
 to the dissolution of the universe. His terms are taken 
 from the Lord's discourses ; they point to those corrup- 
 tions by which all the vital things of Christianity would 
 be destroyed ; and those corruptions are constantly spoken 
 of as the occasion for that second coming by which the 
 Church is to be restored. It would be easy to dwell upon 
 discussions of this kind, but we cannot give more time to 
 details : it is principles that must for the future chiefly 
 engage our attention. 
 
 Careful readers of the Word will have noticed, as we 
 have before remarked, that the events described as im- 
 mediately preceding the Lord's first advent, are very 
 similar to those which are described as the precursors of 
 His second coming. In both cases we read of the darken- 
 ing of the sun, the obscuring of the moon, the passing away 
 
166 
 
 IKE LAST JrDGMEXT, AJTD 
 
 of the heavens, and of convulsions in the earth. There 
 may be some little differences in the detail, but the main 
 drift of the prophecies, in both cases, is to indicate a dissolu- 
 tion of the things to which they refer. Now the alarming 
 prophecies of the Old Testament wliich are associated with 
 the first coming, received their fulfilment at the time of 
 that occurrence ; but how were they fulfilled ? Certainly 
 not by the disruption of the universe, for all things continue 
 as they were ; how then ? Clearly by the dissolution and 
 end of the perverted things which belonged to the pre- 
 vailing religion : for none of those things continue as they 
 were. This fact, then, is the key by which to interpret 
 similar prophecies in connection with the Lord's second 
 coming. They were not intended to furnish us with any 
 information concerning the destruction of the physical 
 objects by which we are suiTounded, but point to a ter- 
 mination to those corruptions which would, in the process 
 of time, fix themselves upon the Chui'ch. How plain 
 is this conclusion! The Lord, when treating of those 
 times, said, " Many shall come in my name, saying, I am 
 Christ ; and shall deceive many." " Many false prophets 
 shall rise, and deceive many. And because iniquity shall 
 abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall 
 endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.'" Who can- 
 not see that these words treat of the perversion of truths 
 which had been taught ? Such is most certainly the sub- 
 ject of them; and, therefore, "the end," which is spoken 
 of is not the termination of a beautiful world, but the ces- 
 sation of a corrupted Church. 
 
 Besides, the language commonly cited as referring to "the 
 end," if taken Uterally, shows inconsistency in the procedure. 
 Although destiTiction is the main point in all the descrip- 
 ' Matt. sxiv. 5, 11—13. 
 
SECOm) COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 167 
 
 tions, yet tlie manner of it is different. Jokn, in one place 
 describes the heavens as being rolled away like a scroll ;i 
 and in another, as the stars of heaven falling to the earth.^ 
 Peter, in one place, says they are to " pass away with a great 
 noise ;" and, in another, that " being on fire they shall be dis- 
 solved." Now if the heavens are to be on fire, how can they 
 be rolled away like a scroU ? If they are to be rolled away 
 like a scroll, how can the stars be said to fall from heaven to 
 the earth ? and if they so fall, how can they be said to pass 
 away ? These difficulties necessarily arise from the literal 
 interpretation of terms employed only in a figurative 
 sense, and which terms really point to different parts of 
 that general judgment to which they all refer. 
 
 It is no uncommon thing for those who believe in the 
 destruction of the earth, to seek in the book of Revelation 
 for evidence to support it ; but how inconsistent is this. It 
 is very true that there are phenomena therein described 
 which seem to involve the universe in ruin ; but then it is 
 equally true that visible nature is not described to be the 
 scene of them. That book, from its commencement to its 
 end, is occupied, for the most part, with the relation of 
 events which transpired in the spu'itual world ; and these 
 are all written in language singularly figurative. This fact 
 can hardly have escaped the most cui'sory reader ; how 
 futile, then, must be the efforts to find evidences for the 
 destruction of nature in those narratives which were 
 written only with the view of revealing occurrences in the 
 other life. They cannot be explained or understood of 
 the visible world ; and they become intelligible only so 
 far as they are understood of the interior things of the 
 Church, of the judgments executed upon those by Avhom its 
 holy teachings have been perverted, and of the restoration 
 of heavenly light and life to the souls of men. 
 
 1 Rev. fi. 14. 2 Rev. vi. 13. 
 
168 
 
 THE LAST JITDGMEIfT, AlTD 
 
 We may be told that tliere is a tendency in nature to- 
 wards dissolTition,and tliat this, of itself, may be regarded as 
 evidence of the final destruction of all things. But where 
 is the proof of such a tendency ?^ The idea is a mere in- 
 vention to support a doctrine which we shall presently see 
 Revelation has denied. It is true that matter is continually 
 
 1 Dr. Cumming, in a lecture at Manchester, asserted that " Hitch- 
 cock said experiments had heen made in thousands of places, and it 
 had been found that the heat of the earth increased rapidly as they de- 
 scended below that point in the earth's crust to which the sun's heat 
 extended. The mean rate of increase had been stated by the British 
 Association to be one degree of Fahrenheit's thermometer for every 
 forty-five feet they bored. At this rate of increase, at sixty miles below 
 the surface of the earth, rocks would melt. The earth was 8000 mfles 
 in diameter, and its circumference nearly 24,000 miles. About sixty 
 miles down — the crust being very small in comparison with the 7,940 
 miles that remained — everything which was in the earth was liquid fire. 
 The earth was literally ahugh bombshell; the sm-face upon which they 
 lived was somewhere about sixty miles thick, and all below was one vast 
 surging ocean of liquid fire." 
 
 These views are mere imaginations. How do they agree with the 
 " orthodox " interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis? Surely that 
 must be abandoned. It does not seem to have occurred to the writer to 
 ask how an " ocean of liquid fire," 7800 miles in diameter, could exist, 
 shut out from air by a crust of earth sixty miles in thickness. 
 
 Supposing the earth to have cooled as is here conjectured, why 
 should it burst at a later rather than at an earlier stage of that process ? 
 Substances are diminished in bulk by cooUng ; that process must be still 
 going on ; there need therefore be no fear of danger from that source. 
 " Bombshells " do not happen to contain any fire, and hence there is no 
 analogy between what is supposed of the contents of the earth, and what 
 is known of such shells. The experiments of Cordier, related in the 
 NeiD Edinburgh Philosophic Journal, with numerous details with 
 regard to the temperature of springs and mines, go to support the idea, 
 not of a central heat, but of a source of heat independent of that derived 
 from the sun, situated in the critst of the earth. — " Arctic Geology. Nar- 
 rative oj Discovery, etc., in the Polar Seas." By Sir John Leslie and 
 otliers. Fourth edition. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE lOBD. 
 
 169 
 
 undergoing some change, and so are all created things ; 
 but this mutability, instead of tending to their destruction, 
 assists their perpetuity. If change implied dissolution, then 
 the angelic heavens might be destroyed, for the angels, as 
 finite beings, will necessarily experience variations of state. 
 Change is not destruction ; to the mind of the philosopher 
 it is the means of renewal, that by which nature effects her 
 renovation. Physical science tells us that the earth has 
 experienced a variety of changes ; but it also tells us that 
 every change has contributed something to its preservation. 
 From the earliest strata to which geology calls attention, to 
 the latest when man came upon the scene, the changes 
 have been in favour of perfection, and thus towards the 
 attainment of greater security. Other changes may occur, 
 and convulsions be experienced, but such things do not 
 imply that destruction which theologians suppose to be 
 involved in the conflagration of the universe. Changes are 
 but successions in the operations of natui-e, and destruc- 
 tion is utterly foreign to her existence. Winter is not the 
 destruction of summer, it is only one of those mutations 
 through which the year passes ; summer comes again. The 
 decay of flowers is not the destruction of their sweetness : 
 in fading, their seed has been ripening, and so provision is 
 made for its continuance. Animals die, but others succeed; 
 the matter which composed their bodies is not destroyed, 
 its form is changed but its elements remain, and these con- 
 tribute to other uses ; yea, to the building up of similar 
 forms in the economy of nature, and so mutations per- 
 petuate existence. 
 
 There are various intimations in speculative astronomy, 
 such as the apparent diminution of certain stars, and the 
 actual appearance of others from the stellar vault, together 
 with the presumption that the earth is making nearer ap- 
 
170 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEITT, AJ!n> 
 
 proaclies to the sun, wliicli have sometimes been ad- 
 verted to as collateral evidence to support the theological 
 theory of the earth's destruction; but it will be time 
 enough to inquire into the bearing of the supposed phe- 
 nomena upon that subject, when the scientific world are 
 agreed about their meaning. We feel quite confident that 
 they will never disturb the conclusion we are attempting 
 to establish. 
 
 Desti'uction is contrary to the character of God and His 
 purpose in creation. He does not create to destroy, but to 
 preserve. Indeed, preservation is continual creation ; and 
 why should that which He has preserved for unnumbered 
 years not be maintained for ever ? Whoever thought of 
 making anything with the intention of destroying it ? The 
 architect does not build a city, with the view of setting it 
 on fire. The potter does not make his vessels, for the pur- 
 pose of dashing them to pieces. The efibrt of all wise 
 workmen is to impart duration to what they make ; to do 
 otherwise would not be an act of wasdom. Why then 
 should an intention be attributed to God which would be 
 considered derogatory to man ? God declared creation not 
 only to be good, but " very good." How then can He bring 
 ruin upon a work which He has distinguished by such an 
 epithet ? God is essential love and wisdom ; and who can 
 doubt that He has made the world with as much perfection 
 as those infinite attributes could devise ? how unreasonable 
 then is it to suppose that He will terminate its existence ! 
 Could perfect wisdom produce anything that should exclude 
 the presence of itself ? Surely something of the cause must 
 be in the effect, and this, to some extent, is clearly vosible 
 in the frame of nature by which we are surrounded ; to 
 destroy it, therefore, would imply a censure upon the wis- 
 dom which brought it into being. It was love that moved 
 
SECOKD COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 171 
 
 God to create tlie world, and by wisdom He created it ; 
 how reasonable then is the conclusion that a perpetual 
 existence must be the end of such a work ! To destroy it 
 God would have to change His nature. He could no longer 
 have pleasure in that which He creates and in the with- 
 drawal of His love, its infinity would cease. "We feel as- 
 sured that God has not created the physical exponents of 
 His existence for the purpose of destroying them. Regard- 
 ing Him as the creator, we believe Him to be the preserver 
 of that which He creates. 
 
 But there are many passages recorded in the Word, in 
 which God has declared the perpetuity of His creation. 
 Thus He said, " Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will 
 not lie unto David : his seed shall endure for ever, and his 
 throne as the sun before me ; it shall be established for ever as 
 themoon."^ He hath "laid the foundations of the earth that 
 it should not be removed for ever."* " They that trust in 
 the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, 
 but abideth for ever."* "One generation passeth away, 
 and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth for 
 ever."^ "He built His sanctuary like high palaces, Uke 
 the earth which He hath established for ever."" And after 
 calling upon the sun and moon and all created things to 
 praise the Lord, it is added, "He hath also established them 
 for ever ; He hath made a decree which shall not pass." 
 We also read of " the everlasting hills,"* and of a kingdom 
 which shall never be destroyed — a kingdom that shall 
 stand for ever.' Surely these evidences upon the subject 
 
 1 " Thou art worthy to receive glory and honour and power : for Thou 
 hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created '' 
 (Key. iv. 11). 
 
 2 Ps. Ixxxis. 35—37. » Ps. civ. 5. * Ps. csxv. 1. « Eccles. i. 4. 
 6 Ps. Ixsviii. 69. ^ Ps. cxlviii. 6. s Gen. xlix. 26. f Dan. ii. 44. 
 
172 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEITT, AISD 
 
 ouglit to be conclusive. Tliose who do not think so, but 
 still adhere to the common interpretation of that other class 
 of passages to which we have adverted, must at least ac- 
 knowledge that there is other testimony quite as decided of 
 a contrary nature : which will they accept ? It is not easy 
 to believe two opposite statements. If they adhere to those 
 which are supposed to teach the dissolution of the earth, 
 they must give up those which declare that the earth abid- 
 eth for ever ; and so they are driven into the dilemma of 
 turning away from one portion of the Word in order to 
 maintain a theory denied by another. But with the ex- 
 planations we have given, both are seen to be in perfect 
 harmony with each other, and to culminate in estabhshing 
 the fact "that the earth endureth for ever." 
 
 It is quite true that the sun, the moon, and earth, in the 
 above passages, have, as in the other cases cited, a spiritual 
 signification. They properly refer to the enlightening sen- 
 timents and principles which belong to the Church, and 
 these will be preserved amidst every vicissitude. Still, this 
 does not interfere with the argument which applies them to 
 the perpetuation of the world, because if the Chui'ch is to 
 endure for ever, the earth must necessarily remain for ever : 
 the existence of the former without the latter is not a 
 possible conception. 
 
 It cannot be supposed that the Lord would destroy 
 the earth without a motive ; and what motive is conceiv- 
 able ? The earth never had any moral responsibihty ; it 
 has never transgressed any laws that are proper to its 
 being, or necessary to its position in the universe. Why 
 then should it be suddenly arrested in its career, and 
 brought to an end ? Such a catastrophe would certainly 
 be of no benefit to mankind : it is not easy to conceive what 
 blessing it could confer upon the angels ; and the Scrip- 
 
SECOOT) COMrNG OP THE LORD. 
 
 173 
 
 tures lead us to believe tliat all the operations of tlie Divine 
 Providence are with a view to promote the happiness of 
 humanity, both in heaven and on earth. Such an event 
 then does not comport with such a Providence ; and no one 
 can suppose that God would do it for His own pleasure or 
 caprice. The earth is what the Lord has created it to be : 
 can He become dissatisfied with the work of His own 
 hands, or will He in the course of ages, discover some im- 
 perfection in the wisdom by which it was created ? Ideas 
 like these cannot be entertained for a moment. WTiy then 
 should it be supposed that He will withdraw His preserv- 
 ing care, and provide for the overthrow of that which has 
 required the activity of infinite love and wisdom to pro- 
 duce ? We feel assured that every act of the Divine Pro- 
 vidence is an act of mercy intended to confer some advan- 
 tage upon mankind : to think otherwise would compel us 
 to believe that God is not a Being of infinite love ; how 
 then can this advantage be promoted by an act which is to 
 involve the universe in flames ? Surely if those arguments 
 be duly weighed, the notion must be rehnquished. It can- 
 not be maintained without abandoning all consideration of 
 use ; closing the eyes against the benevolence of Providence ; 
 denying express statements of the Word; regarding God as 
 the destroyer of that which He creates ; and charging Him 
 with change, notwithstanding He changes not, and is the 
 same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. The same love which 
 led to the creation of the world, has superintended its pre- 
 servation ; and, as there is no reason to believe that this 
 love will ever be diminished or withdrawn, the conclusion 
 is evident that it must endure for ever. 
 
 We might pursue this argument to a greater length, but 
 it is hoped enough has been said to induce some reflection 
 on the subject. We therefore commend the whole argu- 
 
l74 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 ment to the careful and candid consideration of all serious 
 inquirers after truth. More will be said in the next chapter, 
 by which the general pui'pose of this will be supported ; for 
 if it be true that the earth abideth for ever, then it would 
 seem to follow, as a logical consequence, that the human 
 race will never cease. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PERPETUITY OF THE HUMAN EACE, AND THE DIVINE PUK- 
 POSE IN THEIR CREATION. 
 
 The Argument. — The subject a new position to orclinary theology. 
 — The earth abiding for ever, implies the pei-petuation of man- 
 kind. — The creation of a new earth, which is to remain, an indication 
 that the human race will be continued. — The earth fonned to be 
 inhabited ; the footstool of the Lord ; and the basis of heaven ; inhabi- 
 tants, therefore, cannot cease. — The earth the seminary in which 
 men are to be educated for heaven. — The common belief respecting 
 the origin of angels and devils founded in a misapprehension of Scrip- 
 ture passages. — Man the highest object of God's creation. — Angels 
 the spirits of just men made perfect. — Angels spoken of as men. — 
 All angels once men. — The end for which mankind was created. — The 
 immensity of heaven, and the happiness of its inhabitants promoted 
 by numerical increase. — Illustrations. — Man the chief work of the 
 Supreme Being, and how the purpose for which he is created is to 
 be accomiilished. — The gi-eat number of inhabitants on the earth, 
 and daily births and deaths. — This process has been going on from 
 the remotest time. — The space they would occupy comparatively 
 small. — That the numerous earths in the universe are inhabited, 
 and for what pm-pose. — The inhabitants of this earth not numerically 
 sufficient to supply the purposes of Infinite love. — The notion that 
 men were created to occupy in heaven the places of the apostate 
 angels, shown to be fallacious. — If mankind were to cease, there 
 must be some cause for it ; no such cause stated in the Scriptures. 
 — Man having fallen to the lowest condition, God did not then turn 
 away His face, but made provision that man might continue. The 
 nature of the Divine love being infinite does not permit those 
 rational beings to cease who are created for its reception. — Passages 
 considered in which mankind are stated as remaining in the world 
 after the period of the last judgment. — Daniel's prediction that the 
 Lord's kingdom should never be destroyed, shown to mean that men 
 
176 
 
 THE LAST JTTD GHENT, AlfD 
 
 are to be perpetuated. A special argument for the continuance of 
 the human race drawn from the circumstance of the Lord's assump- 
 tion of humanity, and the redemption of mankind. 
 
 In tlie preceding chapter we have endeavoiired to show 
 from the Word, and from considerations in relation to the 
 Divine cliaracter, that the earth wiU endure for ever. We 
 now proceed to follow up that conclusion with evidence 
 and argument to show that the human race will never 
 cease. The two points are intimately connected, and ne- 
 cessary to be understood before we can form a right esti- 
 mate of what is written concerning the last judgment and 
 the second coming of the Lord. 
 
 The non-cessation of mankind is, no doubt, a new posi- 
 tion to ordinary theology, but is an old one in the catalogue 
 of truth. If it be a fact that the earth is to remain for 
 ever, there must be a Divine purpose for it ; and what pur- 
 pose is so worthy of a wise and merciful God as that of con- 
 tinuing the existence of a race whom He has created to 
 be an image and likeness of Himself. The two points are 
 closely associated. If the earth were dissolved, man- 
 kind must certainly perish ; but if the earth is to be pre- 
 served, it is reasonable to conclude that their existence will 
 be continued. An examination of the Word, and wisdom 
 which is implied in the merciful attentions of God to that 
 which He has created, will aid us in establishing this view 
 upon no uncertain basis. 
 
 It will be useful at the outset to observe that those who 
 afl&rm the world will pass away, are compelled to ad- 
 mit that a new earth will be created ; but there is not the 
 slightest intimation that this new earth will be destroyed. 
 This, then, may be taken as evidence of God's intention to 
 perpetuate our race ; for why continue a new earth if it 
 were not for such a purpose ? But this is not left to inference 
 
SECOND COMIITG OF THE LOED. 
 
 177 
 
 merely : Peter plainly said, we look for a new eai-tli wherein 
 dwelleth righteousness :^ this implies the continuation of 
 mankind ; for how is righteousness to dwell upon the earth, 
 if they are to be taken away from it ? About this there is 
 no information. But the Lord has expressly said, " As the 
 new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall re- 
 main before me, so shall your seed and your name remain."^ 
 The notion then that the human race will some day cease, 
 receives no countenance from the Scriptures ; it breaks 
 down in the hands of those who expect the destruction of 
 the old earth ; because we find that man's dui'ation is to be 
 co-extensive with the new one ; and about the destruction 
 of this new earth no one will pretend to find any evidence 
 in the Scriptures. 
 
 It is written, " Thus saith the Lord that created the 
 heavens ; God Himself that formed the earth and made it ; 
 He hath established it, He created it not in vain. He formed 
 it to be inhabited."^ From this we learn that the Lord would 
 have ree:arded the earth as a vain thing if it had not 
 been created as a dwelling-place for the human race. That 
 being the end for which it was created, must also be the end 
 for which it is to " abide for ever." Whether those terms 
 be understood of the natural earth or of the Church, it 
 amounts to the same thing ; for the existence of the Church 
 requires the existence of the earth, and the continuation of 
 the Church involves the continuation of man. 
 
 The Lord said, " The heaven is my thi'one, and the earth 
 is my footstool."^ The heaven here referred to is not 
 the blue expanse above us, but the habitation of the 
 angels ; His throne is His government among them ; and 
 the earth spoken of as His footstool is not the physical 
 
 1 2 Pet. iii. 13. - Isa. kvi. 22. s Isa. xlv. 18. 
 
 * Isa. Ixvi. 1. 
 
178 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 world in which we live, but the Lord's Church among 
 mankind ; and this natural heaven and natural earth can- 
 not cease unless He were pleased to thrust away His foot- 
 stool, and so destroy that lowest plane of responsible life 
 to which His government descends. This passage reveals 
 some of the grandest ti-uths of the Word : it informs us 
 that the Church is the basis of heaven ; that heaven rests 
 upon it as a house upon its foundation ; and, consequently, 
 if the foundation were to give way, the house would be de- 
 stroyed. The earth is the seminary in which mankind are to 
 be educated and prepared for heaven ; the Lord's Word is as 
 it were the school-book out of which they are to be taught, 
 and all the inhabitants of the kingdom of heaven are fi-om 
 the regenerated of the human race : those who dwell in the 
 opposite kingdom are from the faithless and disobedient 
 portion of mankind. 
 
 It is well known that the common belief concerning the 
 origin of angels, is, that they were created such at once ; 
 and that the devil, with his crew, arose out of a rebelUon 
 in heaven, from which they were expelled, and who then 
 founded the kingdom of darkness. But these are fictions 
 of the poets, not the teachings of revelation. We are 
 aware that there are some passages to which persons resort 
 in order to support those imaginations ; but all who will 
 examine them with any discrimination may know that they 
 were never written to propagate such a view ; and that 
 so to apply them is either to mistake their meaning or 
 to pervert their sense. 
 
 The Scriptui'es represent to us that man is not only 
 the first but the highest object of responsible creation. 
 They record nothing about angels or devils until after man 
 had been brought upon the scene of existence ; and the 
 angels who are mentioned present no other characteristics 
 
SECOKD COMrtTG OF THE LOED. 
 
 179 
 
 than those which may reasonably be supposed to belong to 
 the beatified spii-its of departed men. lEence the poet has 
 beautifully said — 
 
 " Angels are men of a superior kind ; 
 Angels are men in lighter habit clad. 
 
 ***** 
 And men are angels, loaded for an horn-." 
 
 Surely they are the spirits of just men made perfect. God 
 has nowhere told us that He has created two different races 
 of accountable creatures. All the angels of whom the 
 Scriptures speak appeared as human beings. The wings 
 with which they are sometimes depicted are the inventions 
 of poets and painters : they have no such appendages as- 
 signed to them in the "Word. 
 
 Man, we are told, was created in the image and likeness 
 of God, and he was declared to be very good. That which 
 is an image of God is a recipient of His wisdom ; and that 
 which is a likeness of God is a recipient of His love. The 
 goodness of man arose out of liis reception of those quali- 
 ties. He must then have been the highest object of Divine 
 creation. What can be higher than that which is an 
 image and likeness of the Highest ? They who possess 
 those excellences during their lifetime in the world are em- 
 phatically described as men ; and when they pass with this 
 high condition into heaven, they do not lose their character- 
 istics as men ; and though, from their new condition and 
 superior dwelling-place they are called angels, yet they are 
 also designated men. Thus they who have been good and 
 wise in the world become angels in heaven. These two 
 different titles arise out of two distinctive conditions of 
 life. The state of an angel is superior to the condition of 
 a man, because man, during his Hfetime in the world, is in 
 the process of being regenerated, and is confined to a 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 material body, in which his spiritual mind can only think 
 of spiritual things after a natui'al manner ; but when the 
 mind is liberated from its mortal covering, it then begins 
 to think spii'itually of spiritual things : and when this is 
 the case, man becomes an angel, and understands things 
 which were not comprehended by him in his previous con- 
 dition as a man. Thus an angel is a holy man raised into 
 a purer and higher stage of being. 
 
 Nor can it be shown from the Scriptures that there is, 
 or ever was, an angel in heaven who had not first been a 
 human inhabitant of the natural world. This world was 
 created for man to dwell on, and there to receive that edu- 
 cation which is necessary to form the angelic disposition. 
 Holy discipline of the mind and heart is the means by 
 which, according to the Scriptures, the Lord forms angeUc 
 pi'inciples and character in man. And what evidence is 
 there that He provides inhabitants for His kingdom in any 
 other manner ? Wliatsoever He does is done by Him in 
 the best and wisest way ; no other would consort with the 
 perfection of His purposes, and, therefore the angels of 
 His kingdom must have been gathered from the good and 
 faithful of the human race. How else can the fact be 
 accounted for, that the angels, who ai-e stated in the Word 
 to have ajipearcd to favoured individuals, are spoken of as 
 men ? The three angels who appeared to Abraham in the 
 plains of jNIarare are afterwards called three men ; so like- 
 wise are those who were seen by Lot. Jacob is described 
 to have wrestled with an angel, who is also called a man. 
 The angel seen by Joshua is stated to have been a man ; 
 and so is he who appeared to Manoah and his wife. The 
 angel Gabriel is expressly called the man Gabriel. The 
 two angels who were seen at the sepulchre after the resur- 
 rection of the Lord are said to have been two men ; 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 181 
 
 and John, in the Revelation, speaking of the measure of a 
 man says, "that is the angel;" he also states that when 
 he fell down to worship at the feet of the angel, the angel 
 said unto him. See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-ser- 
 vant, and of thy brethren the prophets a passage which 
 expressly affirms an angel to have been of the human 
 race. 
 
 Indeed, the end for which man was created was, that by 
 the reception of holy influences from the Lord, he might 
 be happy throughout eternity. What other end could the 
 Divine love propose by such a creation ; and what else 
 could the Divine wisdom produce ? It is plain that the 
 Divine love is unceasingly engaged in efforts to make men 
 sensible of the blessings it has to bestow. And who can 
 reasonably doubt that the intention of God in the creation 
 of humanity, was that He might have a rational object on 
 whom to confer His blessings ? And as these cannot be 
 confined to this world only, but must be carried on to that 
 which is eternal, it is obvious that the final intention of 
 God in the creation of man must have been the formation 
 of an angelic heaven from the good of the human race. 
 This indeed is the reason why, from the very beginning, 
 His image and likeness were implanted in them. 
 
 All things that are orderly in men are received from the 
 Lord, and the natural tendency of every grace is towards 
 its som-ce. Like good and obedient children clinging to 
 the protection afforded by their father's house, regene- 
 rated men acknowledge the Divine blessings, and hope to 
 become residents in the Lord's kingdom. The Lord gives 
 the graces by which they are led into its enjoyments ; by 
 those graces He attracts them on to heaven ; and, doubt- 
 
 ^ See Gen. sviii. 2 ; xix. 5-8 ; xxsii. 24 ; Josb. v. 13, 14 ; Jud. siii. 
 6, 10, 11 ; Dan. is. 21 ; Luke xxiv. 4 ; Rev. xxi. 17 ; xix. 10. 
 
182 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 less, He intends that the faithfal shall be the inheritors of 
 His glory. The regenerate love what God loves, and as 
 both love the beatitudes of heaven, it is plain that its popu- 
 lation is derived from the faithtul among mankind. It is 
 the obvious consequence of a good man's life, that he 
 should find a place in heaven ; to bring about this result, 
 there is a connection from first principles to last — from the 
 Lord as the first, with every good that can be found in man 
 as the last — wherefore it is written, " K a man love me, he 
 will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we 
 will come and make our abode with him."^ In such a case 
 there is a uniting^ togrether, nor can the connection be bro- 
 ken, for it is as a cause and its effect. Hence the angelic 
 heaven is closely associated with regenerated men : the 
 anofels communicatinof their influences, and men receiving 
 them. The one subsists from the other : men without 
 heaven, would be as a foundation vrithout a superstructure ; 
 and heaven without mankind, would be like a house -with- 
 out a foundation. Thus heaven is connected with man, 
 and man with heaven ; if, therefore, a separation were 
 to be effected, the end would be destroyed for which the 
 connection is made, and God would depart from the pur- 
 poses of His order and the designs of His mercy. This, 
 however, is impossible ; for addressing mankind He has 
 said, " I have loved you with an everlasting love " I 
 have created man for my glory."' The connection subsist- 
 ing between heaven and the world is clearly pointed out 
 by the Lord's declaration, " Heaven is my throne, and the 
 earth is my footstool." As mankind furnish the inhabitants 
 of heaven, they are the bases upon which that kingdom 
 rests ; and, therefore, if their existence were to be brought 
 to an end, it would be like removing the Divine footstool, 
 1 John xiv. 23. Jer. xxxi. 3. s iga. xliii. 7. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOKD. 
 
 183 
 
 and leaving lieaven mthont its resting-place ; tbis, too, 
 would put a stop to that government, of " the increase " of 
 which it is said there shall be no end.' Moreover it is 
 written that "the righteous is an everlasting foundation;"^ 
 how then shall the foundation he destroyed ? 
 
 These considerations, then, point very decidedly towards 
 the conclusion at which we aim. We learn from them not 
 only that the Divine purpose in the creation of humanity 
 was to provide inhabitants for heaven, but they also show 
 us that mankind must be perpetuated, or that heaven •\70uld 
 lose its basis ; and, consequently, its inhabitants would be 
 deprived of those enjoyments which arise out of their con- 
 tributing to the spiritual necessities of men. " Are they 
 not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those 
 who shall be heii's of salvation ? What afBiction is ex- 
 perienced by a united household when one who has been 
 beloved is snatched away, and towards whom, therefore, no 
 further affection can be displayed : one of the employments 
 of love is thus iuterrupted ; and so heaven would be 
 brought into distress if mankind were to cease ; an object 
 of love would be taken from the angels, and so their uses 
 and delights would be diminished ; but as this cannot 
 be imagined, it is clear that the preservation of men is re- 
 quisite for the continuation of angelic enjoyment. 
 
 All that God has created is with a view to the existence 
 of spiritual life ; who cannot see that such an immense 
 provision of means must be proportionate to some suitable 
 end ? And what end is more conformable to the Divine 
 character than that of providing for the creation of an 
 unlimited number of human beings, to be impressed with 
 the love and knowledge of their Maker ? 
 
 Every one who believes in the existence of heaven, also 
 1 Isa. is. 7. 2 Prov. x. 25. 3 Heb. i. 14. 
 
184 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEITT, AST) 
 
 believes tliat it exists as a habitation for tbe good of the 
 human race. As God began the creation of such good 
 among men and laid down laws for then* enjoyment of it, 
 who can reasonably think of its termiaation ? Such an idea 
 would be limiting the activity of infinite love. But the 
 Divine Word, which contains the law for the cultivation of 
 this good, is not to pass away ; and, therefore, it is evident 
 that the people for whose use it is designed must remain. 
 
 Every one who will carefully consider that heaven is 
 the residence of the Infinite, must at once see that its im- 
 mensity is such that it cannot be filled to eternity. "Wlio 
 can think of it as a place of limited dimensions ? Who can 
 believe that its doors must be closed, and the human race 
 be discontinued, either for the want of love, or the want of 
 room ? But if there be both room and love, doubtless the 
 Divine Being will provide inhabitants on whom to bestow 
 them. The room in heaven, however, is like that of the 
 human mind, the more that enters into it the more exten- 
 sive it becomes. Hence it never can be filled, because the 
 good by which men obtain admission is infinite in its origin 
 and unbounded in its operations, and therefore the ci'eation 
 of subjects for its reception can never cease. 
 
 Besides, the perfection and happiness of that kingdom are 
 promoted by numerical increase. A human mind, which is 
 principled in goodness, retains tliat goodness when its pos- 
 sessor enters into heaven : it is not only the means for procur- 
 ing access, but it is necessary for maintaining in that king- 
 dom a permanent abode. Every one who enters carries with 
 him some specific form of goodness ; this constitutes his 
 individuality, and, therefore, it is a form of good, and con- 
 sequently a means for happiness which did not before exist. 
 " One star differcth from another stai- in glory," and every 
 one contributes something by which to increase the general 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOKD. 
 
 185 
 
 happiness and light. The state of heaven is like that of the 
 human mind when in an orderly condition, and as the per- 
 fection of the mind is increased by successive receptions of 
 intelligence and wisdom, so the felicities of heaven are 
 augmented by continued accessions to the number of its in- 
 habitants. Thus, to be admitted into heaven is not simply 
 to receive a blessing, it is also to carry into it some graces 
 ■which we have been enabled to cultivate and love ; its 
 felicities arise out of the mutual and reciprocal action of 
 purity and virtue. The Lord tells us that there is joy in 
 heaven over the sinner who repents ; the reason is because 
 when a man is repenting, good is being implanted ; that 
 good is from heaven ; it brings the indi^ddual who receives 
 it nearer to the Lord's kingdom, and it provides occasion 
 for a joy that did not previously exist. Heaven, in the ab- 
 stract, is wisdom and virtue with all their uses ; in the con- 
 crete it is those excellences implanted in the human soul. 
 These things, in their essence and their origin, are the 
 Lord's, and are, therefore, infinite ; but they are capable of 
 indefinite modifications and development in the finite 
 recipient : each one receives them differently, and they 
 become a peculiarity in the individual ; consequently, every 
 additional variety must contribute something to the perfec- 
 tion of the whole. A society whose only object is to do 
 good, must, by every addition to its numbers, have its 
 power to do good increased, and thereby the enlargement 
 of its excellence and happiness will be promoted. Now 
 the inhabitants of heaven are such a society, and this 
 in a pre-eminent degree ; therefore, every one who is 
 added to their number will carry with him something by 
 which to increase the happiness of all. Can anything 
 which is capable of promoting such a purpose have a ter- 
 mination ? or can any conceivable means be considered 
 
186 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AJfD 
 
 too great for its accomplisliment ? Here, then, we reach 
 a great principle, wkicli demands for its realization the per- 
 petuity of tlie human race ; without this, a time must ar- 
 rive in which one of the means for increasing the felicities of 
 heaven will be taken away, and the number of its inhabitants 
 will have reached a limit ; but neither of these results is 
 compatible with the infinite nature of the Divine love. The 
 design for which the world was created was that men should 
 live upon it. The preservation of the means involves the 
 perpetuation of the end. The earth is to remain for ever, 
 just because it is the Divine intention that it should be 
 for ever a residence for men, in order that, from the good 
 among them, provision may be made for increasing the in- 
 habitants of heaven, the immensity of which is such that 
 it will admit of accessions throughout eternity. 
 
 Every Divine work has respect to infinity and eternity. 
 The reason why there is such an immense variety in all and 
 everything of creation is, because they derive then* origin 
 from the Divine principles, which are infinite, and, there- 
 fore, a sort of image of infinity is everywhere displayed, to 
 the end that all may be viewed by the Supreme Being as 
 His own work ; and, also, that they may have respect to 
 Him as the Supreme Cause. This fact may be illustrated 
 by what is known to be the results of seeds, which are sus- 
 ceptible of increase without end. From a gi-aiu of wheat 
 may be raised, in the course of a hundred years, a sufficient 
 quantity to cover the surfiice of the whole earth ; and, con- 
 sequently, the produce of a succeeding year would be enough 
 for twenty earths with similar magnitude. This sufficiently 
 shows that the Divine works contain within them an image 
 of infinity. 
 
 But man is the chief of God's works ; he is the master- 
 piece of the Supreme Workman, and the purpose for which 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 187 
 
 he tas been created is that he may become an inhabitant 
 of heaven. He, however, cannot enter into that kingdom 
 unless he become a recipient of the principles of goodness 
 and truth ; and these, because they are Divine, are per- 
 petually expanding in the human mind, and they will go 
 on for ever increasing in their purity and loveliness. In 
 this we may perceive another image of the Divine infinity 
 and eternity ; but heaven itself is this image in a pre-emi- 
 nent degree. As the Divine residence, it is infinite, and, 
 therefore, it must be adapted for the reception of an indefi- 
 nite number of inhabitants ; and because it is so adapted, 
 it is reasonable to conclude that the purpose will be realized. 
 All the adaptations of God are with a view to special ends ; 
 and, doubtless, He has given immensity to heaven in order 
 to provide for the reception and happiness of an immense 
 population. How plain is it that all things of heaven must 
 have respect to what is infinite and eternal, and thus to 
 multiplications without end ! This result is consequent 
 upon the fact of heaven being the essential dwelling-place 
 of God. If, then, the human race were to cease, the Divine 
 work would be limited to a certain number, and thus all 
 proof of the Lord's having respect to infinity would be 
 absent. 
 
 This earth is inhabited by some hundreds of millions of 
 the human family, and it is well known that many thou- 
 sands are born into it and are removed from it every day. 
 Births and deaths are momentary occurrences. This evi- 
 dence of increase and mortality has being going on from the 
 earliest times. Indeed, a whole generation of mankind 
 passes into the spiritual world in somewhat less than fifty 
 years : and surely, from amongst these, during every fifty 
 years, a vast number will find a place in the heavenly king- 
 dom. How immense must be the number thus accumulating. 
 
188 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AJTD 
 
 John expressly tells us that he " beheld, and, lo, a great 
 multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and 
 kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the 
 throne."' From this it may be reasonably supposed 
 that the procreation of the human race ■will never cease. 
 For, if we were to calculate on some given data, the 
 number who have departed from this earth since the 
 begianing of creation, and assign to each a definite extent 
 for his habitation, we should find that the space required — 
 which could be easUy measured — would be as nothing in 
 comparison with the infinite. It seems, therefore, as if the 
 supply of inhabitants which heaven obtains from this earth 
 alone would not be sufficient for the occupation of that im- 
 mensity by which it is distinguished. How futile, then, is 
 the imagination that the human race will have an end. 
 
 But if we look abroad into the universe what do we 
 see ? — stars and planets. Science tells us that the stars 
 are suns like that of our universe, and that each has a 
 system of corresponding worlds : it demonstrates that the 
 planets are earths similar to this which we inhabit. When 
 seen through a telescope, planets no longer appear as stars, 
 shining by virtue of a flame, but as earths, reflecting the 
 light of the sun. Many of them very much exceed in 
 magnitiade the globe on which we live ; some are smaller, 
 and they all are subject to similar Aricissitudes. Somewhere 
 about fifty of these belong to our own solar system ; they are 
 carried round the sun, make their progress in the zodiac, 
 and thus have their seasons and years. The winter of Mars 
 has been most carefully observed and marked. Biiel and 
 Miiedler, two Prussian astronomers, have not only prepared 
 maps of the geogi-aphy of that planet, but they have 
 watched and recorded the progress of winter at its poles by 
 ' Bev. vii. 9. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 189 
 
 the accumulation of its ice and snows. They have seen 
 them gradually depart from the north as that pole advanced 
 into summer by plunging into light ; while the opposite pole 
 became subject to similar phenomena as it passed into ob- 
 scurity. These observations prove most decidedly that the 
 geographical regions of Mars are fac-similes of those of our 
 own planet. And who can doubt that something similar 
 distinguishes every other planet in the universe ? They all 
 rotate upon then- own axes, and thus experience the vicis- 
 situdes of day and night : some of them have satellites 
 which revolve around them in stated times, as the moon 
 circulates round the earth. These facts are as clearly known 
 to science as any subject connected with the physical con- 
 dition of our own world. Who, then, being acquainted with 
 these things, and rationally reflecting upon theii- teachings, 
 can suppose that all these bodies, so vast and n*umerous, 
 are -w-ithout inhabitants ? Such an immense provision of 
 means must be with the view of promoting some adequate 
 end : that end cannot be merely the use of the inhabitants 
 of this earth ; and how reasonable is the conclusion that 
 the other worlds must be for the residence of other races of 
 humanity, as responsible to God for their existence and 
 conduct as ourselves. The Lord said of this earth, that 
 '■ He created it not it vain. He formed it to be inhabited." 
 Thus we have Divine avithority for stating that this earth 
 would have been a vain thing without inhabitants. That, 
 then, which would have been true of this earth, if it had not 
 been inhabited, would be equally true of every other earth, 
 if it were without inhabitants. Hence it may be evident 
 that all other earths have been brought into existence for a 
 purpose similar to this. With this idea before us, how un- 
 tenable is the thought which supposes that the human race 
 will have an end ! 
 
190 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 Wliat, indeed, could be the use of such enormous bodies, 
 if they were not intended for the residence of men ? If 
 man builds a house, he intends that it should be inhabited ; 
 and when God creates a world, He designs it for a similar 
 purpose ; He has expressly said so. All that God has 
 created in outward nature is with a view to the ultimate 
 manifestations of human life. He said, " Because I live, 
 ye shall live also." All natui'e lives, though each department 
 of it lives by a condition of life regulated by its distinctive 
 forms. Minerals grow ; vegetables live and grow ; animals 
 feel, live, and grow. The design for creating the lower is 
 that it may contribute something to the advantage of the 
 higher ; and the highest, which is man, is designed to re- 
 ceive the ■«"isdom of God : hence He said, " I have created 
 man for my glory." This is the end for the sate of which 
 the former exist. Man was the last object of the Divine 
 creation, all that preceded was for his sake, that he might 
 acknowledge the Lord and enjoy the privileges conferred 
 upon him. These facts, which are so pecuUarly visible in 
 reference to the end for which this earth was created, 
 must be conceded to have equal force in reference to every 
 other planet ; hence they exist as the very basis for human 
 habitations. Without this we must imagine that those enor- 
 mous earths, some of which would make a number of worlds 
 greater than oui" own, are mere wandering solitudes in 
 the great expanse, and that they exhibit little else but 
 the frightful aspects of desolation, stillness, and death. 
 But this is utterly inconsistent with what we know of the 
 order, activity, and manifestations of the Divine wisdom. 
 Doubtless that wisdom brought them into being that 
 rational life might exist upon them ; and the munificent 
 end of all such creation is the rearing of an indefinite 
 number of human beings in the possession of intelligence 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOUD. 
 
 191 
 
 and vii'tue, tliat thereby provision may be made for add- 
 ing to the population of the kingdom of heaven, the im- 
 mensity of which is such that it can never be filled. The 
 cii'cumstance of those worlds being inhabited may suggest 
 a vast idea ; so also may the purjDose for which they are 
 inhabited; but what are they to Him who made them all, 
 and whose understanding is infinite ? As a thousand years 
 in His sight are but as yesterday, so a thousand worlds in 
 His presence may be considered as a unit ; and surely a 
 never-ceasing population must be conformable to His love. 
 If it be true that the other earths of the universe are inha- 
 bited, and we think that the conclusion is established by 
 evidence little short of demonstration, then it wiU foUow 
 that the inhabitants of this earth never could be numerically 
 adequate to supply the purposes of the Divine love. 
 Therefore the idea of their cessation is utterly dispersed. 
 
 But why should they be discontinued ? Some, indeed, 
 assert that men were originally created merely to supply 
 the vacancies which had occurred in heaven by the ex- 
 pulsion of rebel angels. This being accomplished, it is 
 supposed that the .Divine purpose in their creation will 
 be fulfilled, and, as a consequence, the human race will 
 have an end. This, however, is mere fiction, which owes its 
 prevalence and popularity more to poetry than to history 
 or to fact.^ Moses, in his description of the origin of the 
 
 ^ " He, to be avenged, 
 And to repair His numbers thus impaired, 
 Whether such virtues spent of old now failed 
 More angels to create (if they at least 
 Are His created), or to smite us more, 
 Determined to advance into our room 
 A creature formed of earth, and him endow 
 With heavenly spoils (our spoils)." 
 
 Milton. 
 
192 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AST) 
 
 world, gives no account of the creation of angels before 
 tlie existence of man ; he does not furnish the slightest 
 hint respecting the apostasy supposed, nor is anything of the 
 kind related in any other portion of the Scriptures. This 
 conceit, then, affords no answer to our question. Besides, 
 it forces its abettors into the most difficult conclusions. It 
 implies that the creation of man was not originally the design 
 of the Omnipotent, but that it was planned and executed 
 in consequence of pride and disobedience having grown up 
 among an order of beings superior to man ; so that, accord- 
 ing to this view, mankind are indebted for their existence 
 to an incident in heaven, to rebellion among its inhabitants, 
 and to an after-thought on the part of the Almighty, by 
 which He intended to avenge the wickedness of certain 
 angels, and to repair the numbers of which His kingdom 
 had been deprived by their expulsion. It also supposes that 
 men, who are acknowledged to be less perfect in their con- 
 stitution than the angels, are, by that imperfection, more 
 capable of carrying out the DiA-ine purpose, and that the 
 places of the angels are to be supplied by a race of beings 
 totally different both in their nature and their origin. All 
 this, of course, is sufficiently perplexing, and need not oc- 
 cupy our time with a view to its refutation. It certainly 
 furnishes no reasonable answer to the inquiry we have 
 before us. 
 
 If aU mankind are to be swept from the earth, there must 
 be some reason for it, and this must have its gi'ound in some 
 Divine purpose, concerning which it is natural to expect 
 something would be said in the Word ; but we find that the 
 "Word is sUent upon the subject. What it does say leads 
 to a directly opposite conclusion. Righteousness is to dwell 
 in the new earth which is to be created ; and as that earth 
 is to remain for ever, the inference is clear that mankind 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 193 
 
 are to be equally enduring. It cannot be rationally ima- 
 gined that God will destroy those beings whom He has 
 created to be the manifestations of those virtues of which He 
 is Himself the Author ; and, supposing the people were to 
 become apostates, it can hardly be concluded that He will 
 turn aside His face, and so permit them to pass away. 
 That would be contrary to all that is written of His love. 
 He has said, " I have loved you with an everlasting love :" 
 does not this imply that there will always be men who can 
 be made sensible of that love ? 
 
 Mankind have fallen into the lowest possible degradation, 
 but God during that process did not withhold His love, and 
 refuse to save them. In every stage of that catastrophe God 
 watched over them with an unabated love. Jesus said, " How 
 often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen 
 gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not." ^ 
 The Divine love cannot be diminished by human wicked- 
 ness ; the creature cannot so act upon the Creator ; that 
 which is infinite cannot be decreased. From the first 
 symptom of human degeneracy, God made efforts to arrest 
 its progress. He could not see His people straying from 
 His fold like lost sheep, and refase to put forth His hand to 
 stay and save them ; He followed them to the very verge of 
 ruin, and snatched them from the precipice. Love is the 
 essential characteristic of the Divine Being. "God," says 
 the Apostle, "is Love." This does not simply mean that 
 God is a being who loves, but it is a sentence declaratory of 
 His very nature : " God is love." Thus it is a principle of 
 Divine life perpetually active in all creation. Everything 
 that God has created must be an object of His love ; that 
 is the principle out of which they originated, and their pre- 
 servation is an evidence that its intensity has never been 
 1 Matt, xxiii. 37. 
 
 0 
 
194 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMETTT, ATfD 
 
 diminislied. Man being the only subject of respon- 
 sible creation, and a finite resemblance of liis Maker, it is 
 clear that He mnst have a superlative regard for him. 
 How then can it be said that He will terminate the dura- 
 tion of a creature for whose prgservation He has displayed 
 so many mercies, and towards whom He has manifested so 
 profound a love ? 
 
 The essential nature of the Divine love is such that it 
 is not willing to be the property of itself; its tmceasing 
 activity is to love others out of itself, and make them happy. 
 Mutual love among mankind is a blessing communicated to 
 them from the Lord ; it is a Hving principle, manifested by 
 the individual, and having as its tendency the transferring of 
 its blessings to others. "Behold how good and pleasant a 
 thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Mutual 
 love is the amiable source of all that is wise and holy, beau- 
 tifal and happy, in the human character ; its reign is the 
 administration of peace and blessedness. The Di\-ine love 
 is the primary source of all those blessings, and, therefore, 
 it must contain within itself all their essential qualities. It 
 desires nothing so intensely as the happiness of mankind. 
 It is as a sun from which issue the heat and light that are 
 shed abroad in the intellectual universe, and from which all 
 things derive their life and blessedness. It is as a Divine 
 magnet, acting, without intermission, upon every variety and 
 condition of human character, to the end that men may 
 be finally crowned with honour and glory. The salvation 
 of mankind is, as it were, the consolation of the Lord, be- 
 cause this is the purpose of all His mercies and of every pro- 
 vidence. " He maketh His sun to shine upon the evil and 
 the good, and sendeth His rain upon the just and the un- 
 just." And who can reasonably think of all the mercies 
 which love confers, and not see that they involve the per- 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 195 
 
 petuity of the beings on wliom they are bestowed ? Surely 
 the displays of an attribute that is Divine are not for 
 a day and for a few ; that which is infinite must have re- 
 spect to all time, and be for the enjoyment of an imceasing 
 people. 
 
 It is because the Divine love is such as to love others out 
 of itself, that mankind were created, and gifted vnih capaci- 
 ties for its reception : thereby an object of love has been 
 provided : and will God deprive Himself of that which He 
 has created for such a purpose ? He has preserved man- 
 kind, notwithstanding the enormities of which they have 
 been guilty ; with what propriety, then, can it be said that 
 He will cause the race to cease ; and what reason can be 
 assigned for such a cessation ? As the iniquity into which 
 they fell did not bring about that terrible disaster, and as 
 the Divine mercy promised to tide them over a period of 
 which it is said, " except those days should be shortened 
 there should no flesh be saved," it seems plain that their 
 perpetuity is intended ; and we can discover no cause why 
 it should be otherwise. Transgression has not produced 
 their extermination ; has not the worst been done that can be 
 done in that respect ? may we not therefore rest assured 
 that the destruction of rational creatui*es cannot be intended 
 by Him who made them. 
 
 It must be admitted that love was a motive in the crea- 
 tion of mankind, and that it has been continually active in 
 their preservation ; indeed, preservation may be considered 
 as a contiaual creation : this being so, the human race can- 
 not terminate unless that motive were to cease ; and can 
 anything that has once existed in the Divine character cease 
 its activity ? If the principles remain by which man 
 was originally brought upon the scene of life, it follows 
 that he must also be continued : they are as cause and 
 
 0 2 
 
196 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMEKT, AJUD 
 
 effect ; tlie activity of the one perpetuates the other. 
 The idea of putting a period to their existence for no dis- 
 coverable reason, but in the face of every argument which 
 pleads for their contuiuance ; the idea that rational crea- 
 tures are to be extirpated; that God will stop that flow 
 of rational life of which He is the Author, and refase it 
 ultimation ; that He will no longer permit wisdom to be 
 learned, nor virtue to be cultivated ; that there shall be no 
 more candidates for His kingdom, but that heaven wiU be 
 shut, and creation become a blank, — these ideas are so 
 many crudities, which no reasonable faith can accept, and 
 which all sensible reflection rejects. Men are spiritual 
 subjects of the Divine creation ; they occupy a position 
 apart, and are distinguished from every other existence by 
 the gift of immortality : this, like light from the sun, is a 
 communication from God, and to this something of a 
 natm-al origin has been added, that they may at the same 
 time become matured and fixed ; and this with a view to 
 unlimited procreation as the first end ; the second being 
 that of for ever providing inhabitants for heaven. 
 
 Are not those purposes worthy of the Divine Being ? 
 What can be conceived more in consonance with all that 
 He has been pleased to make known concerning His wisdom 
 and benevolence ? To us it seems amazing that any other 
 idea should ever have obtained any credence in the Church. 
 He has created man an image, and thus a finite exponent of 
 Himself, with capabilities to know, love, and acknowledge 
 Him ; will He then break a vessel which He has created 
 for such a purpose ? " Know ye not," said the Apostle, 
 " that ye are the temple of God ? will He then destroy 
 His temple ? Sui'ely the notion must be abandoned. God 
 has taken care of man's existence under circumstances 
 1 1 Cor. iii. 16. 
 
SECOm) COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 197 
 
 which seemed to threaten his extirpation, conducted him 
 safely through the deepest dangers, and, ia the redemption 
 which He accomplished, provided against the possibility of 
 their recurrence. Donot thesemerciful providences show that 
 humanity will for ever have a place in nature ? And is not 
 the same lesson taught in the great fact of our immortality ? 
 He who has once began to live can never die, and why 
 may not this be applied to the whole human race ? Surely 
 the immortality of the individual may be taken as a revela- 
 tion of the perpetuity of his species. Other objects of 
 animated nature have died out,^ because they have not had 
 this priuciple ; but as man possesses it, he cannot be the 
 subject of a similar extinction. He was redeemed to the 
 end that he might be continued : about this there can be 
 no dispute. Some, indeed, may say that this continuance 
 is to last only up to that period when the number of the 
 elect shall be accomplished ;^ but that is no teaching of 
 the Scriptures, and the statement is sufficiently met by the 
 arguments we have used. We feel assured that the ulti- 
 mate design of that merciful work was to perpetuate human 
 life in the world, and thus for ever to continue the existence 
 of the human race which He has formed to love and serve 
 Him. 
 
 The Lord, in treating of the last judgment and of His 
 second coming (from which narratives it has been inferred 
 that all things will have an end), admonishes those who 
 are in Judaea to flee into the mountains, and him that is in 
 the field not to return for his clothes. By this He doubt- 
 less intended to provide for the continuation and safety 
 of the people who obeyed ; if not, there could be no advan- 
 
 1 Most works on geology give some account of the extinct species. 
 
 2 See prayer in tlie " Book of Common Prayer :" " The order for the 
 Burial of the Dead." 
 
198 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMENT, AND 
 
 tage in such a fligtt, nor any benefit by remaining in the 
 field ; for if tbe time for the dissolution of aU had then 
 arrived, the place of the disaster could be of but little 
 consequence. 
 
 But notwithstanding the appalling events by which His 
 judgment is to be distinguished, the Lord proceeded to 
 declare that " His Word should not pass away." Does not 
 this clearly prove that mankind will remain upon the earth 
 after that judgment has been executed ? The Word is for 
 the special edification of men, but the circumstance of its 
 being continued in the world would be of no use if there 
 were no men to be edified. Indeed it is not easy to see 
 how the Word could remain without them ; for as unto them 
 have been committed the oracles of God,^ to whom else are 
 they to be entrusted ? J£ men are to cease, then the puir- 
 poses for which the Word has been provided in the world 
 will have been accomplished ; but the Word is not to pass 
 away; hence those purposes are not to terminate, and there- 
 fore we conclude that the perpetuity of mankind is evident 
 and certain. 
 
 Ao-ain : the Lord said, " Two shall be in the field ; the one 
 shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be 
 grinding at the mill ; the one shaE be taken, and the other 
 left."- This very clearly shows that the last judgment is 
 not intended to put an end to the human race. The circum- 
 stance that some people are to be left in the pursuit of their 
 respective occupations after the event in which it is com- 
 monly supposed all will be swept away, not only proves the 
 error of that opinion, but strongly intimates that mankind 
 will always be preserved. 
 
 It may be said that those passages have reference to the 
 invasion of Judtea and the terrible destruction of Jerusalem. 
 1 Rom. iii. 2. 2 Matt. xxiv. 40, 41. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOUD. 
 
 199 
 
 No doubt tliis is one aspect of the case : but every student 
 of this prophecy is aware that it has a double signification ; 
 one relating to the disasters which were about to overtake 
 the Jewish people, and the other to events which properly 
 belong to the last judgment. There is, therefore, notliing 
 gained by this suggestion, since the passages equally apply 
 to both occurrences ; and, consequently, the force of our 
 argument remains. 
 
 Daniel, in reference to the same eventful period, haa 
 written of the Lord that " His dominion is from generation 
 to generation ;" that it is an " everlasting dominion which 
 shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not 
 be destroyed."^ It is manifest that those statements refer 
 to the Divine government, not only in heaven, but also upon 
 the earth. As, then, His dominion is not to pass away, 
 mankind must be continued ; and as His kingdom is not to 
 be destroyed, it is plain that the human race will be pre- 
 served. If they were to cease, over whom would He reign, 
 and what would be the use of maintaining a kingdom in 
 which there are no people to accept His laws nor to be 
 benefited by His government ? It is wonderful to see 
 under what a variety of circumstances' evidences appear 
 to show that it is no part of the Divine economy to put 
 an end to the human race. To us those evidences which 
 have been adduced seem conclusive. There is, however, 
 one other fact which has a special bearing upon the subject, 
 and to this we will now advert. 
 
 To redeem mankind from the overwhelming power of 
 those wicked influences which had set in upon them from 
 the infernal world, the Lord was pleased to assume a man- 
 hood and to become a man among men. It is written that 
 " He took not on Him the nature of angels ; but He took on 
 ^ Dan. iv. 3 ; vii. 14. 
 
200 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, AITD 
 
 Him tlie seed of Abraliam. Wherefore in all things it 
 beliored Him to be made like unto His brethren;"^ " made 
 of a woman, made under the law.'" In the manhood thus 
 assumed the Lord fought against the spiritual enemies of 
 our race, and by conquering them has consecrated for us a 
 new and living way,' whereby " He is able also to save them 
 to the uttermost that come unto God by Him."* As the 
 Captain of our salvation, He was made " perfect through 
 suffering and He said, " Ought not Christ to have 
 suffered these things, and to enter into His glory ?"^ 
 The glory into which He entered by these means was the 
 Deification of His Humanity, by which He became the 
 Saviour for evermore. It was the humanity so distinguished 
 which appeared at the Transfiguration, the ResuiTection, 
 and the Ascension, and of which the Apostle speaks as the 
 Lord's "glorious body.'" In this " He ever liveth to make 
 intercession for us,"* and " is alive for evermore."® Now is 
 it reasonable to suppose that this Humanity would have 
 been assumed to accomplish redemption, to become the 
 object of this glory, and to be ever living to make in- 
 tercession for us, if it had been intended, ft any time, to 
 stop the continuance of the human race, and when, of 
 course, there would be no one for whom to intercede ? Is 
 it probable that the Divine would have assumed a medium 
 by which to redeem mankind, and to become a Saviour for 
 evermore, if a time is to come when there will be no more 
 men for whom to intercede, and no more people to save ? The 
 idea strikes us as being without any foundation in truth, 
 and as incapable of any reasonable defence. Surely God 
 has not made provision to continue for ever a Divine Hu- 
 
 1 Heb. ii. 16, 17. « Gal. iv. 4. s Heb. x. 20. 
 
 * Heb. vii. 25. « Heb. ii. 10. « Luke xxiv. 26. 
 
 ■> PMl. iu. 21. 8 Heb. vu. 25. » Rey. i. 18. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 201 
 
 manity -wliicli a contingency in the history of our race is to 
 render superfluous ! * He is alive for evermore, and there- 
 fore there will always be people for the reception of His 
 
 ^ A notion, indeed, prevails in the professing Church, which supposes 
 that the mediatory office of the Lord will cease. This view is expressed 
 in the commentaries : it is drawn from a statement of the Apostle's, 
 namely, " Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the 
 kingdom to the Father, — then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto 
 Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. xv. 24-28). However this 
 passage may appear to teach such a doctrine, that certainly could not 
 have been the Apostle's meaning. Peter has told us that Paul said 
 some things hard to be understood (2 Pet. ui. IG), but the suggestion of 
 a difficulty does not mean an impossibility. He who said of the Lord, 
 " He ever liveth to make intercession for us," could never have intended 
 to teach that the Idngdom and power of Jesus were to continue only for 
 a limited time. Those who so interpret the above passage make him in- 
 consistent with himself, for of two opposite statements one only can be 
 true. Besides, such a view supposes that the Saviour, after having saved 
 the human race, is to be deprived of the glory belonging to His work, 
 and made to retire from His connection with the Godhead ! What is 
 to be His position when so separated, no one professes to know. Well 
 may Dr. A. Clarke, in summing up his strange remarks upon the passage, 
 say, "How this shall be we cannot tell, nor know." Certainly not: 
 but the difficulty is created by an untenable doctrine, and not by a 
 correct interpretation of the Apostle's meaning. Speaking of the Lord, 
 he said, " This Man for ever sat down at the right hand of God " (Heb. 
 X. 12) ; that is. His manhood is for ever endowed with omnipotence to 
 save. No man goeth to the Father but by Him ; He is the Way, He has 
 all power both in heaven and in earth. The Apostle was too wise to 
 indicate so strange a thought as that of subduing the Omnipotent. The 
 " end " of which the Apostle speaks is the Divine purpose of the Lord 
 towards mankind ; this end is their salvation ; the means to it are truth 
 and goodness. The Lord, as the Son, is the Truth, and as the Father, 
 He is the good : He and the Father are one (John x. 30). In Him 
 dwelleth all the fuhaess of the Godhead bodily (Col. ii. 9). Men at first 
 receive the truth, and submit to its diiection ; but in the process of their 
 regeneration, the truth which they receive leads them on to goodness, 
 until goodness is established in its full dominion. Thus the Son 
 
202 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 blessings. He said, " Because I live, ye shall live also 
 as tlie existence of His life is given as a Divine reason why 
 we live ; so the perpetuity of that life is a Divine reason why 
 mankind should be continued. The Lord most plainly 
 came into the world to provide for the continuance of man- 
 kind ; and how reasonable is the conclusion that He then 
 glorified His humanity to the end that there always should 
 be a people to instruct and save. The circumstance, then, 
 of God having become flesh and dwelt among us, ought to 
 be accepted as affording one of the most distinguished 
 arguments in proof of the Divine intention to maintain for 
 ever in the world a race of rational beings, with whom He 
 has mercifully associated Himself, by the assumption and 
 glorification of their nature. 
 
 delivers up the kingdom to the Fatlier ; — truth delivers up its rule 
 to the government of goodness, that goodness, or the Father, may 
 be all in all. These are some of the ideas which underlie the Apostle's 
 teachings in the above passage, and not the marvellous imagination of 
 the Sa\noar's ceasing to be a Saviour, which is obviously involved in the 
 notion that His mediatoiial office is to cease. 
 ^ John xiv. 19. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE COMMON OPINIONS RESPECTING THE LAST 
 JUDGMENT AND THE SECOND COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 The Abouuent. — ^The subject spoken of in several parts of the Scrip- 
 tures. — The disciples' inquiry. — The destruction of the temple, and 
 the end of the world, refer to the termination of the Church as to 
 its internal life and external faith. — The double sense of the 
 Lord's prediction admitted. — A view of what is supposed to lay 
 behind the literal form of that prediction. — Teachers in the past 
 times of the Church have not extracted from the Word all that it is 
 important for us to know. — The promise of the Lord's coming, not 
 necessarily the promise of a personal coming. — Calamities in 
 various forms spoken of as the prelude to the Lord's coming. — 
 Calamities of such a character have frequently occurred in the 
 history of Christianity, and yet the Lord's second advent has been 
 delayed. — The calamities predicted referred not to natural things 
 in the world, but to the spiritul life of the Church. — The sun, moon, 
 and stars, signify the Lord, faith in Him, and intelligence concern- 
 ing Him. — Difficulties with respect to the Lord's being seen in the 
 sky by all the tribes of the earth. — Not space enough on the whole 
 surface of the earth for those to stand on who have lived on it. — 
 The main feature of Matthew's narrative of the second coming and 
 judgment, figurative. — The statements in the Eevelation on the 
 same subject, of a similar character. — The Lord, by His personal 
 advent accomplished all the purposes which He intended by that 
 advent, another of the same nature is therefore not to be expected. 
 — The humanity which the Lord took from the mother distinguished 
 from His Divine hurnanity. — The promise of the Lord's coming to 
 be understood not of His coming to the bodies of men, but to their 
 minds, by means of His Word. — The Apostles not fully informed 
 upon the future of Christianity. — Their view as to the time of the 
 second coming not realized. — This not detrimental to their au- 
 thority. — The world of spirit, and not the world of nature, the scene 
 of the last judgment. 
 
204 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEITT, AITD 
 
 The last judgment and the second coming of tie Lord, are 
 spoken of in the Scriptures as coeval events. They are 
 referred to in several places in the Gospels, the Epistles, 
 and the Revelation ; but in the twenty-fourth chapter of 
 Matthew, they are treated of at greater length and with 
 more discrimination and detail than in any other portions 
 of the Divine "Word. That wonderful narrative was de- 
 livered by the Lord to His disciples upon the mount of 
 Olives. He having said unto them concerning the temple, 
 " There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that 
 shall not be thrown down," "they came unto Him pri- 
 vately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be ? and 
 what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of 
 the world ? It is to be observed that the inquiry was 
 made "privately," and that the answer was given to the 
 disciples only. These were remarkable occurrences, in- 
 tended to suggest that the information involved in the dis- 
 course did not so much belong to the outer publicity of the 
 world, as to the inner experience of the Church. The 
 prediction about the temple, and the inquiry respecting its 
 fulfilment, are the key to the whole subject. The temple, 
 it is well known, was a type of the Church, and doubtless 
 its destruction by the enemies of the rehgion which it re- 
 presented, was a symbol of the ruin which would be brought 
 upon the Church by a perversion of its principles. How- 
 ever much, therefore, the Lord's discourse may seem to 
 treat of the calamities which were about to overtake Jeru- 
 salem, there lay behind the whole narrative a distinct 
 reference to some other disasters, by which the Church was 
 to be destroyed. That was the primary subject respecting 
 which the Lord intended to speak ; the other was simply 
 
 1 Matt. xxiv. 2, 3. Mark xiii. 3 informs us that the disciples present 
 on the occasion were Peter, James, John, and Andrew. 
 
SECOKD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 205 
 
 the figure and vehicle selected for its communication. And 
 here we may notice that other point about which the dis- 
 ciples inquired, namely, When shall be " the end of the 
 world ? " This phrase in their language did not mean that 
 wreck of the physical creation which it signifies in ours. 
 This may be plain from the circumstance of the Apostle 
 saying, "now once in the end of the world hath Christ ap- 
 peared." ^ Here it is certain that " the end of the world " 
 did not mean what the terms are commonly understood to 
 signify ; but the termination of a period in the history of 
 the Church, or the consummation of the age. If, then, this 
 fact be connected with what has been indicated respecting 
 the temple, we shall at once perceive the relation of each 
 porut to the other. Thus the destruction of the temple 
 referred to the termination of the internal life of thev 
 Church ; and the end of the world to the consummation of 
 those external things, by which the Church was represented 
 among mankind. These, it seems to us, were the events 
 involved ia the disciples' inquiries, and to which the Lord's 
 discourse is the recorded answer. 
 
 The chapter is generally considered as a double prophecy, 
 which means that it treats of two events under one 
 description. Thtis that the literal form of it refers to a 
 display of the Divine power, together with the judgment 
 and destruction brought upon Jerusalem and Judaea, when 
 those parts were invaded by Titus, the Roman general, about 
 forty years after the prediction was delivered ; and, that 
 "the end of the world" denotes the termination of the 
 Jewish economy. The fulfilment of the predictions, so 
 far as they related to the calamities which befel the Jewish 
 people, is considered to be complete. The history of the 
 Jewish wars, by Josephus (who, though living near the time 
 1 Heb. k. 26. 
 
206 
 
 THE LAST JITDGTSIENT, AKD 
 
 of the Lord's ministration in the world, does not appear to 
 have known anything of His person or predictions), is 
 generally viewed as an historical testimony to this fulfil- 
 ment ; and, indeed, to be an undesigned commentary in 
 which the prophetical narrative is wonderfully illustrated.^ 
 Some have thought that the calamities endured by the 
 Jews at that time included all that the prophecy intended, 
 and thence infer " the second advent of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ to be a past event.""'' This, however, is not a view 
 of the subject commonly accepted, and, therefore, we shall 
 not attempt its refutation ; nor is it our purpose to dwell 
 upon those points of Jewish history in which the prophecy 
 may have received some external fulfilment. No doubt the 
 Lord, in His answer to the disciples' inquiry, did refer to that 
 terrible invasion by which the Jewish policy was subverted 
 and overthi'own ; but we feel assured that that was not 
 the primary object of His teaching in the discourse before 
 us. This, indeed, is no uncommon idea respecting it ; for, 
 as it has been said, the narrative is popularly accepted as 
 containing a description of two events, so similar in their 
 general character as to admit of being described in the 
 same words, and thus afibrding a very special instance of 
 that which Biblical students have designated double pro- 
 phecy. On this, however, wo need not dwell, since it would 
 divert attention, from our more serious point. 
 
 The view generally supposed to lie behiad the literal, 
 or historical, interpretation to which we have adverted 
 is, that the Lord Jesus Christ will make a second per- 
 sonal advent into the natural world ; that He will appear 
 in the clouds with remarkable attendants and phenomena ; 
 that every eye will see Him, even those who pierced 
 
 1 See Dr. A. Clarke's Commentary. 
 ' Towaley on the second advent. 
 
SECOm) COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 207 
 
 Him ; that He will gather His elect from the four winds, 
 from one end of heaven to the other ; judge and bless them ; 
 and that He will cut asunder the faithless, and appoint them 
 their portion with the hypocrites, where there shall be 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is supposed that the 
 material world will be the scene of those events, and the 
 phrase " end of the world " is interpreted to mean the dis- 
 solution of the universe and all that it contains. Some, 
 indeed, do not think this latter catastrophe will follow im- 
 mediately after the other purposes of His advent are com- 
 pleted, because they suppose that the Lord will reign a 
 thousand years upon the earth. These are called millena- 
 rians.^ Christians in general have been so long accustomed 
 to receive the above views as the correct interpretation of 
 the Lord's teachings, that we shall not wonder if any should 
 be startled when their accuracy is called in question. The 
 influence of traditional opinions on theological subjects is, 
 not always favourable to the clearest sight or to the 
 greatest freedom ; and any difficulties surrounding them, 
 which reason may discover, are summarily disposed of by 
 the assertion that they are holy mysteries to be impHcitly 
 received in faith. But there is a class of minds rising up 
 in all the Churches by which this course is felt to be un- 
 satisfactory and distasteful. The common course is to 
 assume, that " the Fathers" have done for us all the re- 
 quisite thinking on those important subjects, and that our 
 duty is simply to accept as a finality that on which they 
 have decided. Thus prejudices have been formed, inquiry 
 has been hindered, and progressive thought has been 
 brought to a stand-still. With this we confess we have no 
 sympathy. We do not think that teachers in past ages of 
 the Church have extracted from the Word all that it is 
 ^ See Evaus's Sketch. 
 
208 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 important for us to know ; nor can we believe that tlie 
 treasures of its spu'itual instruction will ever be exbausted. 
 Tbe Word is God in His revelation ; and, not only will tbe 
 prospect of its wonderful contents become wider as the 
 mind of society advances, but the mistakes of our pre- 
 decessors concerning it will be relinquished as piety be- 
 comes enlightened. 
 
 It is very manifest that the last judgment and the second 
 coming of the Lord ai'e events in the Divine Providence, 
 described in a figurative style. This is a characteristic of 
 all prophecy. But the doctrines commonly held upon 
 those subjects, as indicated above, are founded upon what 
 is supposed to be the literal sense of the predictions. The 
 natural world is contemplated as the scene of those mar- 
 vellous occurrences. The Lord coming as the Son of man, 
 is not distinguished from His coming as the Son of God ; 
 and His coming into the natural world is insisted upon as 
 an event refeiTcd to in the narrative, notwithstanding the 
 many instances recorded in the Scriptures (of which we 
 shall speak hereafter) in which a Divine coming is pre- 
 dicted, and in the fulfilment of which no personal appear- 
 ance was displayed. The wars, pestilences, famines, and 
 earthquakes, which are spoken of as the direct precursors 
 of such an advent, are interpreted to mean physical calami- 
 ties ; but of these there have been a great many instances 
 during the history of the Christian Church, and yet none 
 have been immediately followed by the expected coming. 
 Surely these facts are calculated to suggest some doubts as 
 to the soundness of such interpretations. False prophets 
 have risen up and deceived many, iniquity has abounded, 
 and the love of many has waxed cold, and still the expected 
 advent has been delayed. May not, then, the calamities pre- 
 dicted refer more dii-ectly to the tribulations of men's 
 
SECOTfD comhtg of the lord. 
 
 209 
 
 spiritual life, and to their connection with the Church, than 
 to their bodily sufferings and to their circumstances in the 
 world ? Such at least is our opinion. 
 
 It is written, that " immediately after the tribulation of 
 those days, the sun shall 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 ; but who, 
 remembering the prophecy of Joel,' delivered in very simi- 
 lar language, with the apostle Peter's interpretation, and 
 his application of it to the events of Pentecost, can for a 
 moment regard the terms of this prophecy in any other than 
 a figurative sense ? The sun, moon, and stars referred to 
 are not those natural lights which the terms commonly 
 express, but those spiritual luminaries in the mind of the 
 Church which refer to the Lord, to faith in Him, and know- 
 ledge concerning Him. " The Lord is a sun," and this sun 
 is darkened when obscure doctrines prevail respecting Him. 
 "The moon" is faith derived from Him; but this moon 
 cannot give her light when that sun has ceased to shine. 
 " The stars " are spiritual knowledge of various kinds, and 
 these are said to fall from heaven when they are separated 
 from heavenly teaching. Hence those things which are 
 " immediately" to follow the calamities related, are not to 
 be understood of natui-al phenomena in the world, but of 
 spiritual occurrences in the Church. This is a view of the 
 prediction which we think is adapted to commend itself to 
 the acceptance of all sober thought ; while the literal fulfil- 
 ment of it does not seem necessary to the purpose of the 
 Divine coming, or possible in the nature of things. Of 
 course, by this latter observation we do not mean to ques- 
 tion the omnipotence of God, but as we believe the omnipo- 
 tence of Grod to be an orderly activity of His wisdom, we 
 ' Matt. xxiv. 29. 2 joel ii. 28. 
 
 P 
 
210 
 
 THE IjXST JTJDGMETTT, AJTD 
 
 cannot suppose that He has created the universe -with so 
 much beauty in its appearance, with so much harmony in 
 its operations, and with so much use in its existence, for the 
 purpose of ultimately desti'oying it. We believe He has 
 created it to be preserved, and not to be ruined or destroyed. 
 
 Again, it is said that " all the tribes of the earth shall 
 mourn, and they ^all see the Son of man coming in the 
 clouds of heaven."^ The original words rendered "of the 
 earth" properlymean of the Za«(^; that is, in a strictly literal 
 sense, the land of Judsea. This fact, then, confines the 
 event and the observers of it to a small locahty. And if the 
 Jewish tribes are to be the only mourners and spectators of 
 the occurrence, where is the universality of the judgment ? 
 and if the judgment is to be universal, why are terms em- 
 ployed in the description which imply a limit ? "Why should 
 all be represented as mourning, when some are to hear the 
 gracious invitation, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
 the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
 world " ? If " the tribes" mentioned meant all mankind, 
 and that they are to see the Son of man coming in the 
 clouds, at what elevation must His coming be displayed in 
 order that His advent may be seen ? Would not the height 
 required for seeing Him, only a few score miles in every 
 direction, necessarily place Him beyond the reach of our 
 present power" of vision ? Could a man be distinguished 
 at a height of five miles from the earth? "We know thatupon 
 the top of a mountain much less than that height, he can- 
 not be seen, even as a spot or a line. But, supposing such 
 difficulties to be overcome, how are those to see Him who 
 reside at the antipodes of the place of His appeai-iug ? in- 
 deed, how are any to experience the sight who may dwell 
 ninety degrees beyond the place of such an advent ? The 
 ' Matt. xxiv. 30. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 211 
 
 thing cannot be accomplished by any possibility that is 
 known to men. 
 
 But we may be told that objections of this kind need not 
 be pressed, because they are sufficiently answered by sup- 
 posing that all men will be gathered together in the land ; 
 and thus within a locality capable of seeing Him. This, 
 however, only suggests matter for new embarrassments. 
 The " elect" are the only parties who are to be called " from 
 the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other but 
 orthodoxy requires that all mankind who have lived, up to 
 the period of this advent, shall become the subjects of the 
 great assize. This idea is thought to be stated in the 
 Revelation, where it is written that " the dead, small and 
 great, stand before God ;" and that " they were judged 
 every man according to their works. And also in the fol- 
 lowing narrative, " When the Son of man shall come in 
 His glory, and aU the holy angels with Him, then shall He 
 sit upon the throne of His glory ; and before Him shall 
 be gathered all nations ; and He shall separate them one 
 from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the 
 goats ; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand but 
 the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them 
 on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
 the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
 world; " and to those on the left hand, "Depart from me, 
 ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and 
 his angels."' Now, supposing this to be a description of 
 the judgment which is to take place upon all men who have 
 existed since the commencement of the race, a very remark- \^ 
 able difficulty at once occurs. It has been calculated that 
 the number of persons who have lived on this earth since 
 the creation, has been 36,627,843,275,075,855, a number in- 
 1 Matt. ssiv. 31. s Rev. sx. 12, 13. s Matt. xsv. 31-34, 41. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 
 
 THE LAST JXTD GHENT, AKD 
 
 conceivably great;' but, supposing each person to be allowed 
 a single square yard of sj^ace on which to stand, there would 
 not be room enough on the surface of the whole earth for 
 
 1 The Population of the Earth. — A professor of the University of 
 Berlin has recently published the result of his researches as to the popu- 
 lation of the earth, according to which Europe contains 272 millions ; 
 Asia, 720 miUions ; Africa, 89 millions ; America, 200 millions ; and 
 Polynesia, 2 millions — making a grand total of 1,283 millions of inhabi- 
 tants. As iu places where deaths are accurately registered the annual 
 mortality is, at least, one in forty, the number of deaths must be about 
 32 millions every year, which gives 87,761 per day, 3653 per hour, and 
 61 per minute, so that every second witnesses the extinction of one 
 human life. Another calculator states that the number of persons who 
 had lived on the earth since the creation, is 36,627,843,275,075,855. 
 3,097,600 square yards in a mile. 
 
 200,000,000 square miles on the surface of the earth. 
 
 619,520,000,000,000 
 
 36,627,834,275,075,855 persons who have lived. 
 
 619,520,000,000,000 square yards for their occupation. 
 
 36,008,314,275,075,855 more persons than there is space for. 
 
 " For the benefit of those who discuss the subject of population, war, 
 pestilence, famine, etc., it may be well to mention that the number of 
 human beings at the end of the hundi-edth generation, commencing from 
 a single pair, doubling in each generation (say in thirty years) and allow- 
 ing for each man, woman, and child an average space of four feet in 
 height, and one foot square, would form a vertical column having for its 
 base the whole surface of the earth and sea spread out into a plain, and 
 for its height 3674 times the sun's distance from the earth. The num- 
 ber of human beings thus piled one on the other would amount to 
 460,790,000,000,000."— Sir John Herschel, in the Fortnightly Review, 
 1865. These figures may appear somewhat discrepant from the argu- 
 ment adopted in chapter vii., in which it is contended that inhabitants 
 from this earth only, could never become numerically adequate to supply 
 the purposes of infinite love ; but it is not really so, for what is the 
 greatest array of figures to that wliich is infinite ? 
 
SECOND COlrtNG OF THE LOED. 
 
 213 
 
 sncli a multitude to assemble, and tHis difficulty is being 
 increased every day ; the total number of inbabitants is 
 about 1,283 millions, and one soul passes into the spiritual 
 world every second ; this adds every day 87,761 persons 
 for whom space has to be provided, but for which the sur- 
 face of the habitable world is not sufficient. Those who 
 interpret the narrative in such a way as to create this 
 difficulty, may not have seen it, but there it is, and it is for 
 them to deal with it. Some may try to evade this difficulty 
 by supposing that the judgment will be executed only upon 
 a certain number at once, for whom there may be room, and 
 that this will go on, successively, until that process has 
 been completed upon all : but, surely, they will "not contend 
 that this is a scriptural representation of the subject ; hence 
 we need not stop to investigate a notion the consequences 
 of which entail indescribable labour upon the xllmighty ; 
 we therefore pass on. 
 
 The Lord in speaking of His second coming said, " 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." This certainly is a symbolical 
 description of the event. It does not announce the personal 
 coming of the Son of man, but the appearance of His sign ; 
 and what is that ? It cannot mean the exhibition of some 
 natural phenomena in the sky, for the sky is not the heaven 
 about which the Scriptures treat ; and every one who will 
 carefully reflect upon the subject must see that what are 
 called the " clouds of heaven" are not the vapours of the 
 earth. If some extraordinary display in the atmosphere 
 had been the sign referred to, surely the word "heaven," 
 which is a term expressing a purely spiritual idea, would 
 not have been employed to indicate the scene of it. The 
 
211 
 
 THE LA.ST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 terms of God's Revelation have been selected with precision, 
 and whatever literal meaning men may attach to them, it 
 is plain that they were intended to be the exponents of 
 spiritual thought. The objects of natui'e are commonly 
 made use of to signify things belonging to spiritual life, but 
 so far as we have observed, the converse of this has never 
 been adopted ; spiritual things are never made use of to 
 signify natural phenomena.' It is, therefore, a mistake to 
 suppose that the sign spoken of as appearing in heaven, is 
 some remarkable display in the atmosphere of the earth. 
 
 In the following verse it is vsTitten, " And He shall send 
 His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall 
 gather together His elect from the foui' winds, from one end 
 of heaven to the other." Here again it seems plain that 
 the whole statement is figurative of what is intended to 
 be a spiritual occurrence. Who doe^ not see that this must 
 be the character of a narrative which speaks of angels going 
 forth " with a great sound of a trumpet " ? Whether the 
 angels here referred to be considered as a race of intelli- 
 gent beings more exalted than men, or as the spirits of 
 just men made perfect, it seems plain that, in either case, 
 they are separated from all visible connection with the 
 natural world. It is clear that by the trumpet, the great 
 sound of which is to arouse the attention of mankind, 
 cannot be meant that musical instrument which the word 
 naturally suggests to our minds. Certainly both the in- 
 strument and its sound must have been employed as the 
 symbols of some spii'itual phenomena. What else than a 
 spiritual idea can be the character of a statement which 
 
 ' Mosos was shown tlie pattern of the tabernacle in a vision on the 
 mount (Exod. xxv. 40 ; Heb. \-iii. 5) ; but this was not the expression 
 of one thing to signify another, but the actual pattern of the thing in- 
 tended. 
 
SECOHD COM:rN'0 OF THE LOBD. 
 
 215 
 
 speaks of the Lord gathering together His elect from the 
 four winds, from one end of heaven to the other ? It is to 
 be noticed, that they are to be gathered from the ends 
 of heaven, and not from the ends of the earth ; thereby 
 clearly placing the scene of the transaction out of the natu- 
 ral world. Besides it is only the elect who are contemplated 
 as recognising the angelic music ; if, however, the occur- 
 rence is to take place among mankind on earth, how are the 
 non-elect to be prevented from attending to the trumpet's 
 voice ? The hearing of sounds does not depend upon the 
 virtues nor the vices of mankind : the bad as well as the 
 good can hear, and both kinds at the Lord's coming are to 
 be subject to the judgment. Conjecture may attempt to 
 answer those inquiries ; but it is with the literal interpre- 
 tation of the terms of the narrative, and not with the 
 glosses for defending it, with which we have now to do. 
 Again, who, knowing anything about the great variety of 
 points from which the wind blows, cannot see that neither 
 the number nor the winds themselves can be naturally 
 meant ? Men do not live in the winds ; the winds are not 
 literally four ; why then speak of gathering men from 
 those sources if some other ideas were not intended to be 
 conveyed by the terms ? What those other ideas are 
 we shall speak of in another place. Our purpose now is 
 simply to show that the narrative is not to be understood 
 in a literal sense, and that great embarrassments necessarily 
 result from such an interpretation. Commentators tell us, 
 that the " four winds " mean the four quarters of the globe, 
 east, west, north, and south ; and that the sentence, "from 
 one end of heaven to the other," denotes from all parts of 
 the earth. Thus the four winds are turned into so many 
 geographical localities, and the heaven is changed into the 
 earth ! This, certainly, concedes the figurative character 
 
216 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, ASTD 
 
 of the narrative, though it is not a very satisfactory ex- 
 planation of the symbols. It converts the terms expressive 
 of spii'itual thought into natural ideas ; and this, so far as 
 we have observed, is not the scriptm'al method of convey- 
 ing revelation to the w^orld. On the contrary, the Apostle 
 informs us that " the invisible things of Him from the crea- 
 tion of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the 
 things that ai'e made." ^ Surely the natural " heaven " is 
 employed in Scripture to signify a spiritual idea ; and there 
 can be no doubt that the natural " winds " are made use of 
 for a similar purpose. In the orig-inal tongue both spirits 
 and ivinds are expressed by the same word ; thus, " The 
 wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
 thereof, but canst not teU whence it cometh, or whither 
 it goeth ; so is every one that is born of the Spirit."' 
 
 But surely it cannot requii-e much argument to convince 
 those who will think in freedom upon the subject, that the 
 description of the Lord's coming in the clouds of heaven, 
 with angels and the sound of a trumpet, and gathering- 
 mankind from the four winds, is pm'ely figurative of some 
 spiritual events in connection with the Lord's Church and 
 the souls of men. And this being so, the common opinion 
 upon the subject requires a careful revision, because it is 
 founded upon a merely natural interpretation of terms 
 which plainly have a spiritual significance. 
 
 In the Revelation, the Lord is spoken of as coming to 
 judgment upon a white horse, with eyes like a flame of 
 fire, having many crowns upon His head, being clothed 
 with a vesture dipped in blood, and the armies of heaven 
 following Him upon white horses.* But it is easy to see 
 that this was never intended to be understood as a literal 
 description of the Lord's advent to eff'ect His judgment. 
 1 Rom. i. 20. 2 John iii. 8. » Rev. xis. 11-14. 
 
SECOND COHING OF THE LORD. 
 
 217 
 
 The special siirroundings of tlie narrative, tlie style, and 
 the general structure of the whole book, may, indeed, in 
 some measure account for this. We see no more reason 
 for accepting the idea of the Lord's coming upon a natu- 
 ral cloud than we do for His coming upon a natural 
 horse. Upon what reasonable ground can it be supposed 
 that the angels who, in the one case, are spoken of as 
 attending the Lord's advent, with a great sound of a 
 trumpet, are to be literally thought of; and that the 
 description of the armies of heaven, who, in the other 
 case, are to attend His coming upon white horses, is not 
 to be so understood ? The questions cannot be satisfac- 
 torily replied to, and no distinctions can be drawn which 
 are not of a purely arbitrary character. The fact is, that 
 they are both symbolical narratives, and neither of them 
 refers to events of which the natural world is to be the 
 scene. 
 
 Although it is true that the Lord said "I will come 
 again," the reflecting will see that this does not necessarily 
 imply a personal coming, and a second sojourn amongst 
 mankind in the world. By the work which He accom- 
 plished at His first advent, He can now come into the 
 world with His benefits and blessings, in a way more in- 
 fluential than before. It must be admitted that He did for 
 mankind at His first coming all that it was possible or 
 necessary for Him to do by means of a personal appearing. 
 If He did not, how can it be supposed that His work was 
 completed ? and, if it were completed, where is the neces- 
 sity for another personal advent ? He has come once in 
 person, and He came also for judgment. This He has ex- 
 pressly told us ; and, therefore, we conclude He must have 
 accomplished all the work which came within the purpose 
 of such an advent, and that another of the same kind is not 
 
218 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, AJjTD 
 
 to be expected. His promise to come again when troubles 
 should set in upon the Church, when false Christs and false 
 prophets would arise, and deceive, if it were possible, the 
 very elect ; when it would become doubtful whether faith 
 could be found in the earth, refers, so far as men in the 
 world are concerned, to His re-coming into their minds 
 by opening the interior truths of His word for their 
 perception and acceptance. Hence, in connection with 
 those remarkable predictions, it is expressly written, that 
 the Son of man shall be revealed.^ 
 
 Besides, the Lord, in order to come personally into the 
 tv^orld, took upon Himself a natural humanity. The 
 humanity in which He was then seen by the common sight 
 of His contemporaries, was taken from a human mother. 
 That humanity, considered in itself, was not Divine, nor 
 do we see how, by any subtleization or process of absorp- 
 tion, it could be taken up into the infinitude of the Divine 
 nature. The Lord, during the whole period of His sojourn 
 in the world, was engaged in putting off His natural 
 humanity, and putting on another within it from Himself : 
 and this is that Divine Humanity in which He now is, and 
 in which He must ever be approached by those who love 
 Him. It was this Divine Humanity which was revealed 
 to the spiritual sight of the three disciples upon the Mount 
 of Ti-ansfiguration, which was seen by His followers after 
 His resui'rection, and at the period of His ascension. This 
 Divine Humanity is not adapted to the ordinary sight of 
 men in the world, and none were permitted to behold it 
 but those who had followed Him, and in some measure 
 believed what He had taught. From the time of His 
 resurrection. He was never seen by the natural eyes of any 
 one ; the reason being because He then no longer possessed 
 > Luke x\-ii. 30. 
 
SECOITD COMINQ OF THE LORD. 
 
 219 
 
 a natur.al but a Divine Humanity. The work was finished 
 for the doing of which the natural humanity was provided ; 
 and provision was then made for a new or more spiritual 
 intercourse with men, tlirough the assumption of a Hu- 
 manity that is Divine ; and, therefore. He cannot reappear 
 in the world of men without a re-incarnation, or in some 
 other way reassuming a natural humanity, about which 
 nothing is written in the Word ; consequently, any future 
 manifestations which He may make will not be to the 
 natural eyes, but to the spiritual experience of mankind. 
 Hence it appears to us that the promise of His coming 
 ought to be understood as a coming to the spirits, and not 
 to the bodies, of mankind ; a coming to the perceptions of 
 their minds, rather than to the sight of their eyes ; and thus 
 as a coming into the mental world by some enlightened 
 teachings of His Word, and not as a corporeal appearing 
 upon the clouds of the sky. 
 
 But what were the views entertained by the Apostles 
 upon this subject ? To answer this question correctly, we 
 must not forget that the truths of Christianity which they 
 finally adopted were gradually communicated to them. It was 
 here a little, and there a little, and as they were capable of 
 accepting them. The justice of this remark is clearly evident. 
 The Lord laid down the principle of it when He said unto 
 them, " I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot 
 bear them now and it is important to notice with what 
 frequency they were at fault in rightly comprehending the 
 teachings of their Divine Master. We are aware that this 
 is deUcate ground on which to step ; but the opinions of 
 men, not the facts of the case, have made it so. No one 
 can carefully read what is written in the Word on this 
 subject, without being satisfied with the truth of this 
 1 John xyi. 12. 
 
220 
 
 THE lAST JrDGMEXT, A3fl) 
 
 remark. We will select a few instances, for the purpose 
 of confirming it. Tlie Lord fi-equently recognised the 
 Apostles' imperfect apprehension of that which He had 
 taught them. When He said unto them, "The Son of man 
 is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him ; 
 and after that He is killed, He shall rise again the third 
 day ;" it is immediately added, " They understood not that 
 saying, and were afraid to ask Him."^ Upon another 
 occasion, when He treated of His passion more at large 
 than He had previously done, we read that " they under- 
 stood none of these things ; and this saying was hid from 
 them, neither knew they the things which were spoken." " 
 Surely these are striking evidences that the disciples were 
 not at this time fully enlightened upon some of the most 
 conspicuous subjects of their Master's historj- and teach- 
 ings. The reason was because they were not able to 
 bear it. 
 
 But it may be observed, we ought not to expect from 
 them a complete understanding of those things, until they 
 were gifted with that Spirit which was to guide them into 
 all truth. This is a very proper conclusion. The promise 
 of this gift is generally considered to have been fulfilled 
 upon the day of Pentecost ; when, no doubt, a more en- 
 lightening influence was poured out upon them than that 
 which they had previously experienced. Before this, the 
 Lord had breathed on them, and said unto them, " Receive 
 ye the Holy Spirit."' But, notwithstanding those advan- 
 tages, it is CA^dent that they still continued in much ob- 
 scurity upon many points of great spiritual interest ; and 
 it is important to remark that they do not state any prin- 
 ciple or propound any doctrine that the Lord Jesus Chi-ist 
 had not Himself previously announced. They frequently 
 1 Mark ix. 31, 32. » Luke xviii. 34. ^ John xx. 22. 
 
SECOND COMrtfO OF THE LOED. 
 
 221 
 
 repeat some of the general sentiments which He h<ad de- 
 livered concerning His passion and some other subjects ; 
 but they do not present any explanations concerning them, 
 to show that they understood them better then than at the 
 time when it was said of them, " they understood none of 
 these things." Moreover, we find some of the disciples 
 disputing about the duty of preaching the gospel to the 
 Gentiles, and Peter was gifted with a vision as a means 
 for terminating the strife.^ Paul, who was born out of due 
 time, and who tells us that he was not a whit behind the 
 very chiefest Apostles,^ declares that they saw through a 
 glass darkly ; that they knew but in part, and prophesied 
 but in part, and that they looked forward to a period when 
 that which was more perfect should come.* About these 
 facts there can be no reasonable dispute ; and who can 
 doubt that the more perfect period contemplated was that 
 of the second coming of the Lord ? But how did they 
 understand that event ? Let us turn our attention to this 
 inquiiy. 
 
 It is well known that the disciples commonly interpreted 
 the Lord's teachings respecting the future glory of His 
 kingdom as referring^ to a reinstatement of the Jewish 
 monarchy in its former glory. Several instances of such 
 interpretation are recorded. The apphcation of James and 
 John to obtain specific appointments in His kingdom, afibrd 
 a very conspicuous instance;'* for theotherten were indignant 
 at this attempt to forestall them in the dignities they were 
 all expecting. But notwithstanding the explanation which 
 the Lord gave upon the subject, we find that the old idea 
 still adhered to them ; for in the interview which they had 
 with the Lord just previous to His ascension, and which 
 
 ^ Acts X. 11 ; si. 5. - 2 Cor. xi. 5. ' 1 Cor. siii. 9, 12. 
 * Mark X. 35-37. 
 
222 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, ATTD 
 
 they seem to hare regarded as a fulfilment of the promise 
 of His coming, they said unto Him, " Lord, wilt Thou at 
 this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ?" The reply 
 is deserving of particular remembrance : " It is not for you 
 to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath 
 put in His own power.'" This perfectly agrees with what 
 the Lord had taught upon the same general subject on 
 another occasion, namely, " Of that day and hour knoweth 
 no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father 
 only."^ Not^vithstanding those forcible statements, we 
 find instances in the epistles of the Apostles, in which they 
 speak of the Lord's coming as an event near at hand, and 
 to be expected in their own time. 
 
 Doubts, indeed, may be raised as to whether that is the 
 actual meaning of the terms they use ; it may be said that 
 prophetical language frequently speaks of things distant as 
 if they were present ; and so it may ; but it does not ap- 
 pear that the Apostles were prophesying in the case before 
 us ; it seems plain that they are' stating their impressions 
 concerning the Lord's declarations on the subject. At all 
 events, the structure of their language and the effect of it 
 upon those to whom it was originally addressed, show very 
 clearly that they thought the second coming was a pheno- 
 menon about to be realized in theu' o^vn time. This is no 
 special opinion of oui's ; it is a conclusion at which some of 
 the most distinguished commentators have arrived. 
 
 It may, however, be useful to notice a few of the evi- 
 dences on which the conclusion rests. Jesus plainh' taught 
 that certain calamities would prevail as a prelude to the 
 event. The Apostle declares that it would not come except 
 there came a falling away first.* It is also spoken of as the 
 "last times" and "days." John writes, "Little children, 
 > Acts i. 6, 7. * Matt. xsiv. 36. ' 2 Tbess. ii. 3. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 223 
 
 it is the last time ; and as ye liave heard that antichrist 
 shall come, even now there are many antichrists ; whereby 
 we know that it is the last time." ^ Peter also said, "The 
 end of all things is at hand;"^ and that scoffers should 
 come in the last days, saying, "Where is the promise of His 
 coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep all things con- 
 tinue as they were from the beginning of the creation;" 
 and then he goes on to say that the day of the Lord will 
 come as a thief in the night, and exhorts the people to all 
 holv conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening 
 unto the coming of the day of God.' James, likewise, con- 
 templated the event as being near, for he said, "Be patient, 
 therefore, brethi-en, unto the coming of the Lord — for the 
 coming of the Lord draweih nigli. Behold, the Judge stand- 
 eth before the door."^ Paul to the Philippians said, "The 
 Lord is at hand;"° and to the Hebrews, "Exhort one 
 another ; and so much the more as ye see the day approach- 
 ing."* To the Romans, also, he said, " The night is far 
 spent, the day is at hand."^ But his epistles to the 
 Thessalonians are remarkable both for the frequency and 
 strength of observations tending to show that he con- 
 sidered the Lord's coming as an event nigh at hand. 
 " Ye," says he, " turned to God from idols to serve the 
 living and true God ; and to wait for His Son from 
 heaven."* "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of 
 rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ at His coming ?"^ " The Lord make you to 
 increase and abound in love one toward another, and to- 
 ward all men, even as we do toward you : to the end He 
 may stablish your hearts tmblamable in hoKness before 
 
 1 1 John ii. 18. = 1 Pet. iv. 7. ' 2 Pet. iii. 3, 4, 10, 12. 
 
 * Jas. T. 7—9. Phil. iv. 5. e Heb. x. 25. 
 
 7 Rom. xiii. 12. * 1 Thess. i. 9, 10. 9 1 Thess. ii. 19. 
 
224 
 
 THE LAST JITD GHENT, AST) 
 
 God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Clirist with all Sis saints."^ "Ye, brethren, are not in 
 darkness, that that day should overtake jou as a thief 
 and yet the Lord expressly says that such would be the 
 manner of His coming. " I pray God youi' whole spirit 
 and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ."^ " The Lord dii-ect your hearts 
 into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for 
 Christ.''"^ To Timothy, also, Paul writes, "I give thee 
 charge that thou keep this commandment without spot, un- 
 rebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.''^ 
 
 This array of passages, which could easily be extended, 
 seems to show with great certainty that the impressions and 
 expectations of the Apostles concerning the Lord's second 
 coming were such as led them to speak of that event as 
 about to occur within the limits of their own age. Indeed, 
 Paul leaves no room for hesitation on this point, for he 
 plainly says, " "We which are aUve and remain unto the 
 coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are 
 asleep."'' Dr. Doddi'idge tells us that this passage "hath 
 been interpreted by many as an intimation that the Apostles 
 expected to be found alive at the day of judgment ; and on 
 that interpretation, some have urged it as an instance of 
 their entertaining, at least for a while, mistaken notions on 
 that head, as if the day of the Lord were nearly appearing." 
 Dr. Macknight informs us that Grotius, Locke, and others, 
 have taken this view of the case. So also did "Wliiston. 
 And surely that is the unforced meaning of the passage, 
 notwithstanding the feeble arguments which have been 
 employed for the purpose of refuting it. Some of the Thes- 
 salonians to whom it was addressed appear so to have 
 
 1 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13. - 1 Thess. v. 4. '1 Tliess. r. 23. 
 
 * 2 Thess. iii. 5. ^1 Tim. vi. 13, 14. c i Thess. iv. 15. 
 
SECOND COMINa OF THE LOBD. 
 
 225 
 
 understood it, and they ouglit to be credited with a fair 
 interpretation. We find that they discontinued their 
 ordinary employment, " working not at all,"^ in expectation 
 of the event. Dr. A. Clarke notices this circumstance as a 
 reason for the Apostle's writing this second epistle. He 
 remarks : " It appears that the person who carried the first 
 epistle returned speedily to Corinth, and gave the Apostle a 
 particular account of the state of the Thessalonian Church ; 
 and, among other things, informed him that many were in 
 expectation of the speedy arrival of the day of judgment, 
 and that they inferred from his epistle already sent, chap, 
 iv. 15, 17, and v. 4, 6, that it was to take place while the 
 Apostle and themselves should be yet alive. And it appears 
 probable, from some parts of this epistle, that he was in- 
 formed, also, that some, expecting this sudden appearance 
 of the Lord Jesus, had given up their secular concerns as 
 inconsistent with a due preparation for such an important 
 and awful event ; see chap. iii. 6 — 13. To correct such a 
 misapprehension, St. Paul would feel himself constrained 
 to write immediately, and this is a sufficient reason why 
 these epistles should appear to have been wi"itten at so 
 short a distance from each other." ^ There is then both 
 critical and practical evidence to show that the language of 
 the Apostles respecting the second coming of the Lord, very 
 fairly admits of the interpretation that we have given it. 
 There can be no reasonable doubt that they all so spoke 
 of the event as to imply that they expected its occurrence 
 within the period of their own lifetime in the world. 
 
 But is not such a view detrimental to the authority of the 
 Apostles ? Certainly not. The Lord had said to them, " Of 
 that day and hour knoweth no man ; " it was one of those 
 
 1 2 Thess. iii. 11. 
 2 Preface to the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 many tilings wliicli He had to say, but wliich they could not 
 bear, and about whicli He bad very plainly said unto tbem, 
 "It is not for you to know tbe times and the seasons." To 
 say tben, tbat tbey were not clearly acquainted witb the 
 time and nature of the Lord's coming to judgment, is simply 
 to repeat what the Lord Himself has said upon the subject. 
 It was information not essential to give efficacy to the 
 mission on which they were employed : they were the 
 Apostles of the first advent ; when, therefore, they spoke of 
 the second, it could only have been from some general im- 
 pression gathered from what the Lord Himself had de- 
 clared upon the subject. This, indeed, is very strilcingly 
 illustrated in the case of Paul's language to the Thessalo- 
 nians. He introduces the statement which we last con- 
 sidered with these remarkable terms : Now " this I say 
 unto you by the word of the Lord : " ^ which means that 
 this is not any new revelation upon the subject, but that 
 wliich the Lord had spoken concerning it while He was in 
 the world, and which had been recorded by the evangelists. 
 The Master of the household had delivered the prediction, 
 and the servants reproduced it from general recollection, with 
 acknowledgment. The words, indeed, are not cited, but a 
 paraphrase is given. The words of Matthew are, " The 
 Son of man sliall come in the clouds of heaven with power 
 and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great 
 sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His 
 elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the 
 other." - Those of the Apostle are, " 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 : then we which are alive and remain 
 shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to 
 1 1 Thess. iv. 15. " Matt. xxiv. 30, 31. 
 
SECOITD COMr^a OF THE LOED. 
 
 227 
 
 meet the Lord in the air." ' Here, as in the original pre- 
 diction, the Lord's coming is declared, the attendant 
 angels, the trumpet, and the clouds are plainly spoken 
 of. The gathering together of the elect in the Lord's 
 narrative, is put by the Apostle as "the dead in Christ 
 rising first ; " and the circumstance of the elect being 
 gathered from the winds, in the former, is spoken of in the 
 latter, as meeting the Lord in the air. It is, therefore, 
 most plain that the Apostle, when writing to the Thessalo- 
 nians, was not delivering to them original information on 
 the point, but simply stating, in his own way, that which, 
 he had been informed the Lord had said upon the subject. 
 He was not present when the discourse was delivered, and 
 every one knows how terms suffer and become changed by 
 traditional handling : this being so, the figurative character 
 of the Lord's description is not at all disturbed by the 
 Apostle's paraphrase ; and, consequently, any effort to con- 
 strue it natui-ally, is to do violence to its proper significa- 
 tion, and to create in the imagination the idea of phenomena 
 which appal reason, defy philosophy, and which never can 
 be realized. 
 
 As, then, it is most true that the Lord's description of 
 His second coming to judgment is given in purely figura- 
 tive language, and as the opinions which are commonly 
 entertained upon this subject are drawn from that descrip- 
 tion, interpreted in a merely literal sense, it follows that 
 such interpreters have not perceived its true signification. 
 What that is we shall endeavour to discuss and elucidate 
 in another chapter. In the meantime we may observe, that 
 in our view of the case the prediction was never designed 
 to receive any literal fulfilment on the plane of our natural 
 earth, and that the actual scene of the occurrence was to be 
 1 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMEHT. 
 
 the world of spii-its. It will not, on this account be any- 
 less real, because we view the world of spirits, not as a 
 mist or a vapour, but as a substantial and enduring reality. 
 Still, although we believe that the second coming of the 
 Lord and the execution of His judgment will take place 
 there, we also believe that the evidence that they have 
 actually occurred will in due time be made manifest in the 
 world of men ; and that it will be found in the great 
 changes which will take place in men's thoughts and 
 actions in regard to spiritual things, and especially in the 
 provision of materials for securing the freedom and enlarg- 
 ing the intellect of the Church. At all events, we affec- 
 tionately urge upon the reader a careful remembrance of 
 the facts, arguments, criticisms, and suggestions which 
 have now been adverted to. They have been put forth in 
 no other spirit than that of the love of truth, and in the 
 humble hope of exciting the attention of those who will 
 look at the subjects with intelligence and candour. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE OCCASION A^D PUKPOSE OP THE LORd's SECOND COMING. 
 
 The Argument. — Eeference to preceding chapters, the expositions in 
 which were necessary to prepare for the discussions in this. — The 
 Lord's descriptions of the occasion and purpose of His coming 
 cited. — Those descriptions not to be understood of natural occur- 
 rences : reasons for this. — Natural calamities the rei^resentations of 
 spiritual disasters.— Summary exposition of what is spiritually 
 signified by the Lord's descriptions. — The events so signified have 
 occurred ; therefore the second coming of the Lord could not have 
 been delayed without danger to Christianity and the world. — Chris- 
 tians so called because they worshipped Christ as God. — This 
 apostoHc doctrine soon disputed, so that in the fourth century 
 .Jesus Christ ceased to be the sole object of faith in the Christian 
 Church.— The disputations which prevailed. — The Arian contro- 
 versy. — The Nicene council : its consequences. — The Athanasiah 
 doctrine, and its results. — Mosheim cited, to show what the state of 
 the Church was in the fifth century, and just before the Reforma- 
 tion. — Results which the triumph of false principles had produced. 
 — The Reformation provided a check to their progress. — The publi- 
 cation of the Word. — Its beneficial influences retarded by the 
 teachings of the old creeds being retained. — Justification by faith 
 only, " the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place." 
 — Those errors among the causes of the Lord's coming, and their 
 correction, evidences of its accomplislmient. — How are men to know 
 when the Lord's advent has been effected, if none of the physical 
 evidences commonly expected as the prelude are to take place ? — 
 This inquiry answered. — An admitted canon for the interpretation 
 of prophecy accepted and applied. — The Son of man cometh in 
 an hour when men think not. — He comes when the Chm-ch do 
 not expect Him, and therefore do not see the evidences of His 
 advent. — There are always some persons who perceive coming 
 portents of change in the state of the Church. — Illustrations. — 
 
230 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AHT> 
 
 Doctrines that are mysterious cannot teach. — The difficulty of a 
 corrupted Church seeing its con'uptions. — The inquiry, How is 
 such a Church to be informed of its condition ? rephed to. — The 
 external continuance of such a Church no proof that it possesses 
 spiritual Ught and vitality. — Illustrations. — The continuance of the 
 Jewish Chuich. — Divisions, characteristics of a fallen Church. 
 — None of those divisions acquainted with the true nature of the 
 inspiration of the Word. — The animosities which exist between the 
 two great divisions of the Church. — The mysterious doctrines which 
 are taught by both. — The occasion of the second coming of the 
 Lord to be sought for in the corruption of those doctrines which 
 He taught at His fii-st advent. — Judgment upon a fallen Chmch 
 requisite to prepare the way for the excellences of its successor. — 
 lUustratious. — The professing Christian Church, as to light and 
 purity, at an end. — The second coming of the Lord begun. — Resume 
 and conclusion. 
 
 Seeing that the doctrines concerning the destruction of the 
 earth, the cessation of the human race, and the resurrection 
 of the material body are not founded in the teachings of 
 the Divine Word, nor countenanced by any known prin- 
 ciples of natural philosophy ; seeing, also, that there is a 
 region in the spiritual world which is the first common 
 receptacle for the souls of all who die, and, that that region 
 is the scene in which the Lord executes His final judgments 
 upon them, — ^ye are prepared to enter more directly upon 
 the consideration of the subject of the Lord's second com- 
 ing than we should have been without such information. If 
 those several doctrines had not been considered with a view 
 to a new explanation of them, the popular opinions respect- 
 ing them would have been continually rising up in the minds 
 of orthodox(?) readers, and interposing obstacles to the right 
 understanding of our views and arguments, by suggesting 
 some seeming evidences against them. These having been 
 anticipated and removed, the way is now open for a freer 
 exposition of our subject. We, therefore, proceed to 
 
SECOND COMHiTG OF THE LORD. 
 
 231 
 
 consider tlie occasion and purpose of the Lord's second 
 coming. 
 
 Of these the Lord has given ns a remarkable description 
 in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. He therein 
 states as the occasion of His coming, a variety of calami- 
 ties which would, in the process of time, set in upon the 
 Cliurch He was then engaged in planting. The disciples 
 asked Him what should be the sign of His comingr. His 
 answer follows : " Take heed that no man deceive you. 
 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and 
 shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and 
 rumours of wars : see that ye be not troubled : for all these 
 things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For 
 nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against king- 
 dom : and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and 
 earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning 
 of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, 
 and shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for 
 my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and 
 shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And 
 many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 
 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall 
 wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same 
 shall be saved. 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."^ This is the first general 
 group of facts by which the Lord replied to the disci- 
 ples' question; and it seems to us that their significa- 
 tion is not to be sought for in those outer events of the 
 world which the letter apparently declares, but rather 
 ^n those inner experiences of the Church, concerning 
 which it is the main object of the Word to treat. Na- 
 ' Matt. xxiv. 4-14. 
 
232 
 
 THE LAST jrD GHENT, AND 
 
 tural calamities, similar to those described, liave taken 
 place, almost in every century tkrough which Christianity 
 has passed ; and this fact of itself is sufficient to shoyr that 
 such natural events never could have been intended as the 
 prelude to the predicted advent. The circumstances that 
 they have been so regarded; that persons, on the occurrence 
 of such disastrous phenomena, have been led to expect the 
 Divine coming, and the destruction of the universe ; and 
 that such interpretations have turned out to be mistakes, 
 — may be taken as very strong evidence touching the un- 
 certainty of such a view of the subject. The fact is, the 
 calamities predicted refer to the spiritual afflictions of the 
 Church rather than to the physical diseases of men, or 
 political convulsions of the world. This may be clear from 
 the introductory clauses, " Take heed that no man deceive 
 you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Chi-ist ; 
 and shall deceive many." Thus it is of the recognition of 
 Himself that He discom-ses ; consequently of the Church 
 in which He is acknowledged, and not of the world by 
 whom He is but little cared for. This, also, was the con- 
 clusion which the Apostles drew from the Lord's teachings 
 upon the subject. John writes, that when auticlirist is come 
 we know that it is the last time ;^ and Paul stinkingly ob- 
 serves, " Let no man deceive you by any means : for the day 
 of the Lord shall not come unless there come a falling away 
 first."^ In general terms, then, the occasion for the Lord's 
 second coming, as described by Himself, is to be found in 
 the corruption of the Cliui-ch, and in the spii'itual disasters 
 they would bring about. These spiritual afflictions are 
 described under the figures of natural calamities, because 
 such outer phenomena are the representations of such inner 
 experience. This we will endeavour to illustrate. 
 
 ' 1 John ii. 18. = 2 Thess. ii. 3. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 233 
 
 By " many shall come in my name, saying, I am Clirist ; 
 and sJtall deceive mani/," is meant the introduction into tlie 
 Churcli of false doctrines concerning Him, by wliicli tie 
 faitli of tlie peojDle would be led astray. Wars and rumours 
 of wars, denote disagreements and disputes concerning tbose 
 truths which belong to the Church, from which falsifica- 
 tions will arise and be established. And by nation risiny 
 against nation, and Jcinydom ayainst kinydom, is signified evil 
 contending with evils, and falsehood with falsehoods. In 
 the perverted Church evils are as a spiritual nation, and 
 falsehood as a spii'itual kingdom ; among these there can- 
 not be any concord, and this is the reason why the Church 
 has been divided, and why so many heresies have existed. 
 Famines, lyestilences, and eartliquahes, denote the depriva- 
 tion of truth and goodness, the presence of falsehood, and 
 thereby the disruption of the Church. Hence those parti- 
 culars are described as the beginning of sorrows. It is also 
 said that tlie disciples are to be delivered up to he afflicted anct 
 he killed. By the disciples are meant all the principles of 
 genuine faith and life which lead a man to acknowledge 
 and follow the Lord ; to afflict them is to pervert them, and 
 to kill them is to deny their efficacy and use. The Lord 
 said they should he hated of all nations for my name's sake, 
 because of the aversion and contempt with which spiritual 
 truth and goodness would be treated. For many to he afflicted, 
 to hetray one another, and hate one oAiother, denotes the en- 
 mities which would exist on account of such perversions of 
 the Word. To be offended, means to turn away from true 
 doctrine concerning the Lord : of this it is expressly written 
 that it would be " for a stone of stumbling and a rock of 
 offence to both the houses of Israel."^ To hetray, denotes 
 the teaching of what is false ; and to hate, the manifesta- 
 1 Isa. yiii. 14 ; Kom. ix. 33. 
 
234 
 
 THE LAST JUDGITEXT, AND 
 
 tion of what is evil. The raising of many false prophets and 
 their deception, signifies the invention of numerous false 
 doctrines and their seductions. The abounding of iniquiti/, 
 is the multiplication of falsehoods in lieu of faith ; and 
 the love of many ivaxing cold, is the cessation of charity. 
 Each keeps pace with the other, and they live or expire to- 
 gether : where there is no true faith, there can be no genu- 
 ine charity ; and when there is not this charity, there can- 
 not be that faith. Hence it is so strongly written, "Because 
 iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." 
 He, however, " that shall endure ttnto the end, the same shall 
 he saved;" that is, those who resist such temptation will be 
 blessed with all that light and virtue which may be neces- 
 sary for their salvation. The declaration, that when " this 
 Gospel of the kingdom shall he preached in all the world for a 
 tL'itness unto all nations, then shall the end come," denotes 
 that when these truths shall be made known to the Church 
 and be brought home as a testification of the evils which 
 prevail therein, then shall the Son of man be revealed. Of 
 this revelation we shall treat in another place. 
 
 From this summary of the signification of that first group 
 of events which the Lord described as the occasion for His 
 second coming, we may easily perceive that they refer to 
 conditions which would arise in the Chui'ch, and which 
 would aid in the overthrow of its genuine teachings. We 
 might have dwelt upon those expositions, and extended 
 them to a considerable length by illustration and argument, 
 but we think there is sufficient evidence in the summary 
 which has been adduced, to carry some conviction to the 
 minds of the thoughtful. "We shall, therefore, pass on to 
 that other group of circumstances to which the Lord also 
 referred as the occasion for His second coming, and treat 
 them with an exposition equally brief. 
 
SECOND comhtg of the lord. 
 
 335 
 
 The Lord proceeded to say, "When ye therefore shall see 
 the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the pro- 
 phet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him un- 
 derstand) : then let them which be in Judfea flee into the 
 mountains : let him which is on the housetop not come down 
 to take anything out of his house : neither let him which is 
 in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto 
 them that are with child, and to them that give suck in 
 those days ! But pray ye that your flight be not in the 
 winter, neither on the sabbath- day : for then shall be great 
 tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the 
 world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except 
 those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be 
 saved : but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 
 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or 
 there ; believe it not. For there shaU arise false Christs, 
 and false prophets, and shall show great signs and won- 
 ders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive 
 the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore 
 if they shall say unto you. Behold, He is in the desert ; go 
 not forth : behold, He is in the secret chambers ; believe it 
 not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and 
 shineth even unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the 
 Son of man be."^ It is interesting to observe that this por- 
 tion of the Divine narrative, like the former, begins with a 
 statement which can only apply to certain conditions of 
 the Church ; and that they are both terminated with pre- 
 dictions by the realization of which the Church is to be 
 affected. Therefore, the intermediate portions of the pre- 
 diction, however much they may appear to treat of other 
 things, properly refer to events which the Church is to 
 experience. 
 
 1 Matt. sxiv. 15-27. 
 
236 
 
 THE LAST JtrDGMDNT, A2fD 
 
 It is plain that the " abomination of desolation standing in 
 tTie holy place," denotes the presence of some corrupting 
 principle in the Church. The Church is, undoubtedly, the 
 " holy place," and the introduction into it of false doctrines 
 concerning the Lord, and what should be the life and faith 
 of its members is plainly an abomination, -which is sure to 
 bring desolation upon the truth it was designed to teach. 
 Well, therefore, might it be said, " Wlioso readetJi, let him 
 understand ; " that is, they who study the "Word ought to 
 perceive these truths. But, amidst all such darkness, some 
 light will be preserved. Hence, those who are in Judcea are 
 taught to flee into the mountains. This means that those 
 who are of the Church must take refage fi-om such calami- 
 ties by resorting to the love of God and of their neighbour. 
 To be in J udcea, is to be in an affection for the good things 
 of the Chui'cli ; and the mountains in which safety is to be 
 found, are those two eminent loves, on which, indeed, hang 
 all the law and the prophets. To be on the house top, is to 
 be in charity, for this is the summit of om' spiritual house ; 
 and not to come down to take anything out of it, denotes 
 that no inferior condition should ever be prefen-ed. To be 
 in the field, is to be in good, of any degree ; and that none 
 should go hack to the mere knowledge of truth, is taught 
 by the declaration that such are not to return to take their 
 clothes. Truth is the garment which goodness leaves behind 
 during the process of its advancement, and to return to 
 it would be to relapse and fall away fi'om the progress 
 made and the advantages obtained. They who are with 
 child, and they who give suck in those days, denote those in 
 whom tlie love of goodness has been quickened, and those 
 who are capable of communicating truth. These are to 
 experience woe in the disastrous times of the Church which 
 are treated of, because of the dangerous influence by which 
 
SECOKD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 237 
 
 this love and capability would be surrounded. Flight in 
 the winter-, signifies removal from the Church in consequence 
 of the obscm-ity of truth induced by indilFerence and cold- 
 ness ; and flight on the Sabhath-dai/, denotes removal fi'om 
 the Church, in consequence of the sanctities of religion re- 
 taining nothing but their outward forms. To prat/ against 
 these things, is to make efforts to prevent them. " For 
 then shall he great trihulation, such as tvas not since the begin- 
 ning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be," denotes 
 that the highest degree of perversion to which the princi- 
 ples of the Church can be exposed will then be realized. 
 This perversion is its great affliction, and the profanity of 
 its character being completed, it is described to be such as 
 had never been experienced in the Christian Church ; for 
 this is the " world " respecting which the prediction is de- 
 livered. " And," therefore, " except those days should be 
 shortened, there should no flesh he saved : but for the elect's sake 
 those days shall be shortened." The shortening of those days, 
 denotes the removal of those perversions, without which it 
 may be evident the means of salvation would be destroyed ; 
 but for the elecfs salce they shall be shoHened ; that is, for 
 the sake of those who live well, those evils will be removed. 
 Those who love truth and goodness are called the elect. 
 The means by which those blessings are to be accomphshed 
 involves the contemplated coming of the Lord ; thereby He 
 will cause discovery to be made that evils and error^j have 
 entered into the Church, and, by promoting their expulsion, 
 He will provide for the continued salvation of all who live 
 righteously and well. To such the Lord said, " If any man 
 shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not^' 
 to guard them against the acceptation of what is false. 
 False Christs are false doctrines concerning Him, and false 
 projjhets are those who teach them. Of these it is predicted 
 
238 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEKT, A>T) 
 
 tliat they sliould slioic signs and tconders ; insomucli that, if it 
 were possible, they shall deceive the very elect : by signs, are 
 meant tlie pei-suasive reasonings by which errors would 
 be defended ; and by wonders, the seductive influence 
 they would exercise. To deceive, if it were possible, the 
 elect, signifies that those arts would become so subtle and 
 refined as to render it difficult even for the virtuous to de- 
 tect and avoid their mischiefs. Hence the Divine exhort- 
 ation to prudence, Behold, I ha ve told you before. If there- 
 fore they shall say. Behold, Se is in the desert ; go not forth : 
 behold, Se is in the secret chambers ; believe it not. By the 
 desert, is meant faith in which no wisdom can be discovered ; 
 by the secret chambers, are denoted those charities in which 
 selfishness abounds ; and, because these things are not the 
 faith and charity which the Word inculcates, they are not 
 to be followed or believed. 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. Thus the perverted Chm-ch will 
 regard all the Diviue teachings concerning the Lord's 
 second coming merely as a flash of intellectual light, to be 
 instantly dissipated as a thing of nought. The Lord fore- 
 saw this fact, and has therefore related it. How many 
 beautiful truths upon this and kindred subjects have been 
 taught to the professors of common Chi-istiauity ! How 
 frequently have they been accepted as brilliant thoughts 
 for a moment, and then as suddenly rejected ! The light, 
 indeed, came from the east, that is, from the Tjord and His 
 Word ; but in attempting to shine unto the west, that is, 
 in a direction opposite to itself, it became extinguished by 
 the fiilsehoods which there prevailed. Such is the treatment 
 which the Son of man, at His coming, is to receive from 
 the perverted Church, whensoever it may please Him to 
 accomplish His predictions of that event. This is the cor- 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 239 
 
 rupted state of the Cliui-cli which is contemplated as the 
 occasion for the second coming of the Lord ; and, there- 
 fore, He closed His description by speaking of it as a 
 carcase, as a thing spiritually dead, around which the 
 eagles — the sharp-sighted, the selfish, and those who feed on 
 corruption — will be gathered together. If, under those 
 circumstances, the Divine Providence did not interfere to 
 arrest the progress of such perversions, the result would be 
 the entire rejection of the Word, and, as a consequence, the 
 denial of all revealed religion. This we beheve to have been 
 the state to which religion was reduced a little more than 
 a century ago ; and that, therefore, the second conaing of 
 the Lord could not be delayed without danger to the exist- 
 ence of Christianity. Every one who knows anything about 
 the history of Christianity at that period, is aware of the 
 infidelity which prevailed in our own country and through- 
 out the European continent. In France, the government 
 declared the Word to be a fraud, Cliristianity a superstition, 
 and the Sabbath to be abolished. But those results did 
 not spring out of the study of the Word, or of Cliristianity, 
 considered in themselves, but out of those perversions which 
 the Church have taught concerning them. But we will 
 again refer to this point. It will be useful to our present 
 purpose to note the beginnings and progressions of those 
 events which had conduced to such disasters. 
 
 The early Christians were so called because they wor- 
 shipped Christ as God. This was the light in which the 
 Apostles regarded Him, and in which they spoke of Him. 
 They knew that He is omnipotent, for He has all power in 
 heaven and in earth : ^ that He is omniscient, for He knew 
 all things^ : that He is OMNIPRESENT, for He said, Lo lam with 
 you alioay, even unto the end of the world.'^ They spoke of 
 ' Matt, sxviii. 18. 2 John xsi. 17. ^ jjatt. xxviii. 20. 
 
240 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 Him as eternal, being " the same yesterday, and to-doy, 
 and for ever; also as tlie Creator, for "all things were 
 made by Him, and without Him was not anything made 
 that was made; likewise as the Redeemer, He "having 
 obtained eternal redemption for us;'" and the Saviour, 
 " For He shall save His people from their sins. They 
 knew that He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life ;" = 
 " the Hearer of prayer ;* the Divine Being, whom the angels 
 worship, and without whom man can do nothing ; " * He 
 being the only wise God* — " God manifest in the flesh," "* 
 in whom " dwelletli all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." " 
 This was the grand doctrine of early Christianity concern- 
 ing the Lord, and such are the scriptural terms in which 
 it is expressed. But this doctrine, in its simplicity and 
 truth, did not long continue to be acknowledged. It began 
 to be questioned even in the apostolic ages ; for we find in 
 the epistles intimations that antichrist had come, and that 
 this fact originated an expectation that the second advent 
 was at hand. That event, however, did not then take 
 place ; the coiTuptions which conduced to it were begun, 
 but as yet they were not completed. Disputations increased, 
 subtleties were invented, animosities were engendered, until 
 the foui-th century, when the central truth of Christianity 
 was authoritatively abandoned, and Jesus ceased to be 
 the sole object of the Church's faith. 
 
 About those facts there can be no controversy. In the 
 second century, the love of dominion in the Church began 
 to be displayed among its leaders, and thereupon altercations 
 arose about its government and laws. Heresies also broke 
 
 ' Heb. xiii. 8. 2 John i. 3. » Heb. ix. 12. 
 
 < Matt. i. 21. 6 John xiv. 6. « John xvi. 24. 
 
 ' Heb. i. 6. » John xv. 5. s" Jude 25. 
 
 10 1 Tim. iii. 16. " Col. ii. 9. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 241 
 
 but in a variety of forms, and added to the gro^ang embar- 
 rassment of tlie times. Several disputes concerning the 
 doctrines of the Church took place among the bishops 
 of this period : that of Stephen the First of Rome, with 
 Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage ; and that occasioned by 
 the heresy of Paul of Samosata, during the pontificate of 
 Dionysins, are well known to those who are acquainted 
 with early ecclesiastical history. But the most remarkable 
 heresy, because the most influential in its consequences, 
 was that defended by Arius, the Bishop of Alexandria. 
 This, whatever might have been its character at first, finally 
 went so far as to reject the Divinity of the Savioui*. Arius 
 succeeded in obtaining many followers, but caused much 
 agitation and many divisions in the Church. This state 
 of things checked the activity of charity, and faith suffered 
 amidst the animosities which prevailed. In the time of 
 Pope Melchiades differences were peculiarly rife ; during 
 his pontificate Constantine took possession of Rome, and 
 some time after he accepted the teachings of Christianity ; 
 but in which of the several forms under which it was then 
 presented, neither Eusebius or the other historians who 
 have written upon the subject inform us. Information 
 upon this point might have been useful, but the want of it 
 is no detriment to the point before us. In all probability 
 his reception of it was vague and general, having no small 
 dash of political considerations. 
 
 The Arian disputes at length extended themselves 
 throughout all Christendom : the puerilities which were 
 produced, and the enmities which were created, excited the 
 scorn and satire of disbehevers ; and Christians themselves 
 were found to sacrifice charity upon the altars of debate 
 and controversy. On this account Constantine interposed 
 his authority, and caused a council of bishops to assemble 
 
 E 
 
243 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEIfT, AITD 
 
 at Nice, a city in Bitliynia. This took place in the year 
 324 ; they were required to deliberate on and determine 
 the doctrine which the Church ought to accept concerning 
 God. Three hundred and eighteen bishops assembled, and 
 Constantine himself acted as the moderator of the meeting: ; 
 they determined, by a majority of votes (296 to 22, accord- 
 ing to Philostorgins), that there are tkree persons consti- 
 tuting the one God, as that idea has been expressed in the 
 Nicene creed originally drawn up by Hosius of Corduba, 
 and also in that which bears the name of Athanasins. 
 
 That council- then, as the creeds declare, separated the 
 Dignity into three persons, and the Lord and Saviour into 
 two ; they passed by Jesus Christ as the supreme head of 
 the Church, and taught men to look up to God the Father, 
 as to another person, with merely the mention of Christ's 
 name upon their tongues as an inducement for the Father 
 to have mercy upon them. Hereby the head of the Church 
 was removed from its body, the door of the temple was 
 taken off its hinges, and an attempt was made to- enter into 
 the sheepfold by some other way than by Him who had 
 declared Himself to be " the Way, the Truth, and the 
 Life." 
 
 From this time an incredible number of heresies came 
 forth, and the head of antichrist was displayed. This was 
 the necessary consequence of not immediately .approaching 
 the Lord Jesus Christ as the sole God of His Church. The 
 council adverted to declared, by its authority and creeds, 
 that the Chui'ch has three heads, and that these deliberate 
 together concerning who shall Ije saved, and the means for 
 doing it ! By this all spiritual perception about theological 
 truth has been overshadowed as vdih a dense cloud ; reason 
 has been renounced, as a thing not to enter into the pre- 
 cincts of this doctrine ; fallacies have been invented to 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 243 
 
 shelter its deformity; and "mystery," wliich is one of the 
 names that falsehood takes, is found to reign. Every one 
 may readily see that those events in the Church, associated 
 as they were with the love of rule and dominion among its 
 leaders, must have thrust aside aU orderly communication 
 with the Divine author of its truth, and thrown down that 
 plane of the human mind on which spiritual progress is 
 ejffected. Hence arose the vicarship of the Pope,^ the ca- 
 nonization of the dead, the invocation of saints, the sale of 
 indulgences, the obligations of the confessional, the divi- 
 sion of the Eucharist, and finally the dark ages with all 
 their evils. All these things are entirely apart from the 
 teachings of true Christianity ; but being thrust into it, their 
 existence therein fulfils some of the predictions which we 
 have seen are to be the prelude of the Lord's second com- 
 ing. Certainly they prove the necessity for such an occur- 
 rence ; for by what other power could their mischiefs be 
 arrested ? 
 
 But the main evil in those corruptions is that which has 
 turned the Church away from the direct acknowledgment 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ as the true God and eternal life, 
 — the only wise God our Saviour. It is true that those 
 who say there are three persons in the Godhead, and that 
 each is by Himself God and Lord, also say that there is but 
 one God. But these are words to which no sensible ideas 
 can be attached ; and they are employed simply to guard 
 against what otherwise might expose them to the derision 
 of mankind. Still, every one sees that the statements 
 involve obvious contradictions. This, at least, is well 
 known to all who think ; and therefore it has been said to 
 be a mystery, not for comprehension but for faith. The 
 
 ^ The fourth general council, held at Chalcedou in 455, was the first 
 to offer to the Bishop of Rome the title of Universal Bishop. 
 
 E 2 
 
244 
 
 THE LAST jrDGMENT, A1<'D 
 
 fhith whicli had its origin in this doctrine is to be directed 
 towards God the Father, because He is supposed to impute 
 to believers the righteousness of God the Son ; and towards 
 God the Son, because He is supposed to have suffered the 
 penalty of guilt in man's stead, and so to intercede and 
 mediate with God the Father for the safety of mankind ; 
 and towards God the Soli/ Ghost, because He is considered 
 to inscribe the imputed righteousness of the Son upon 
 the hearts of believers. This proves that a trinity of Gods 
 is substantially acknowledged, however much it may be 
 verbally denied. Moreover, this doctrine enters into and 
 mystifies the sentiments concerning charity, repentance, 
 free will, election, the sacraments, and all others which 
 have their place in the Church. The result of those falla- 
 cies which were established by the council of Nice was 
 continued disturbances among the professors of Chris- 
 tianity. Mosheim, speaking of the doctrines of the Church 
 during the fifth century, says, " The sacred and venerable 
 simplicity of primitive times, which required no more than 
 a true faith in the Word of God, and a siacere obedience 
 to His holy laws, appeared little better than rusticity and 
 ignorance to" the subtle doctors of this quibbling age. 
 Instead of leading men into the path of humble faith and 
 genuine piety, they bewildered them in labyi-inths and con- 
 tention. Hence arose new matters of animosity and dis- 
 pute, of bigotry and uncharitableness, which flowed like a 
 torrent through succeedincr ages, and which all human 
 efforts seemed unable to vanquish." The same authority, 
 in treating of the state of the Chui'ch just before the time 
 of the Reformation, says, " Not only private persons, but 
 also the most powerful princes and sovereign states, 
 exclaimed loudly against the despotic dominion of the 
 pontiffs ; the frauds, violence, avarice, and injustice that 
 
SECOIfD COMEtfG OF THE LOSD. 
 
 245 
 
 preyailed in the councils ; the arrogance, tyranny, and 
 extortion of the legates ; the unbridled licentiousness and 
 enormous crimes of the clergy and monks of all denomi- 
 nations ; the unrighteous severity and partiality of the 
 Roman laws ; and demanded publickly, as their ancestors 
 had done before them, a reformation of the Church in its 
 head and in its members." At the commencement of the 
 sixteenth century, in which the Reformation was effected, 
 Alexander the Sixth filled the pontificate. Of him Mos- 
 herm also writes, and in this other historians agree, that 
 " Humanity disowned him ; he is rather to be considered 
 a monster than a man ; whose deeds excite horror, and 
 whose enormities place him among the most execrable 
 tyrants of ancient times. The world was delivered from 
 this papal fiend in the year 1503, by the poisonous draught 
 which he had prepared for another." 
 
 These facts of history are no one-sided representations ; 
 they are concurred in by all parties, even by those who 
 belong to the Catholic religion. They show very clearly 
 the desperate condition into which the triumphs of a 
 false principle had plunged that Divine Christianity which 
 the Lord had planted and which His apostles taught. 
 Thus true charity was abandoned, and as a consequence 
 genuine faith was lost. These, then, were among the 
 disastrous events to which the Lord referred as being the 
 occasion for His second coming. Hence, of the temple, He 
 said, " There shall not be left one stone upon another that 
 shall not be thrown down." The temple was the Church, 
 and the stones to be thrown down were the truths to be 
 overturned. How clearly has this prediction been ful- 
 filled. 
 
 But the progress of those painfal events received a check 
 by means of the Reformation. As yet, the Word had not come 
 
246 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AWD 
 
 into the possession of tlie people : to eflPect this was one of 
 the grand purposes of the Reformation. The art of print- 
 ing had been recently discovered, and by means of it the 
 sacred books were mercifully rescued from the seal and 
 secrecy of the priesthood, and handed over to the people 
 for them to learn and to publish. By renouncing some of 
 the errors and the grosser vices which had fixed themselves 
 upon the Church, many opportunities were provided for 
 the enjoyment of those advantages which the Church offers 
 to mankind. The blessing which arose from the possession 
 of the Word was the most conspicuous. Still, there were 
 influences at work which impeded the legitimate efiect of 
 its Divine teachings. The Reformation retained, as the 
 fundamental principles of its existence, those very creeds 
 which had laid the foimdation of, and contributed so cer- 
 tainly to the desolation of, the early Chi-istian Church ; 
 and from the errors of those creeds, the reformed Churches 
 engendered others. Among the most conspicuous of these 
 is that which has separated charity from faith, and declared 
 that justification is by faith only : thus that charity may 
 be an ornament, but is not a necessity for salvation. This 
 is another of those circumstances to which the Lord 
 referred as the occasion for His second coming. He spoke 
 of it as the " abomination of desolation standing in the 
 holy place." He so spoke of it because its tendency is to 
 dissipate the truth, and render of none effect the com- 
 mandments of God. blights the morals and coiTupts 
 the intelligence of the Church. That which it requires is 
 faith, not virtue ; belief, not obedience ; it therefore breaks 
 down the barrier to criminal indulgence, and offers salva- 
 tion to any villain who can accept its terms. This may 
 seem strange, but it is impossible to deny its truth ; and 
 the reason such a view has been so extensively received, is 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOHD. 
 
 247 
 
 because of its adaptability to captivate man, who, in his 
 fallen nature, is so prone to accept what is false. The 
 notion exercises a persuasive influence over the mind, and 
 incHnes it to yield in a direction which its reason would 
 condemn ; therefore, all reason is excluded from the process 
 of this faith. When a man is told, as this doctrine tells 
 him, that the condemnation of the law is taken away by 
 the sufferings of Christ, and that His merits ai'e imputed 
 to behevers, he naturally concludes that no virtues are 
 necessary to be loved, and, that if any vices are pei'petrated 
 by him, they are no hindrance to his salvation. Who, then, 
 does not see that this doctrine in the professing Church 
 is "the abomination of desolation standing in the holy 
 place " ? It paralyses all the reasonable activities of 
 Christianity. The graces of spiritual regeneration, the 
 growth of practical holiness, the development of heavenly 
 justice, the unfolding of genuine intelligence, and the 
 displays of living charity, can have no place in the minds 
 and hearts of those on whom this abomination has fixed 
 its desolating hold. In this then we discover the fulfil- 
 ment of another prediction which was to be an occasion for 
 the Lord's second coming. This general feature of the 
 prophecy includes most of the unhappy particulars which 
 follow ; all of which are in opposition to that lightning from 
 the east, which will manifest His coming whensoever that 
 may be. 
 
 Every one must see that the second coming of the Lord 
 is to be preceded by a variety of corruptions taking place in 
 the Chui'ch, and that these will foi'nish occasion for Him 
 to fulfil His promise to come again. It is equally evident 
 that the purpose of that coming must be to restore to the 
 Church that life and heht of it which human inventions 
 ^nd authority have perverted. Hence we are enabled to 
 
248 
 
 THE LAST JUBGMEKT, AST) 
 
 see generally, and in a small compass, both the occasion 
 and purpose of the Divine advent which is predicted. And 
 we have seen, in a former part of this work, that principles 
 of this kind are involved in all the jiredicted comings of 
 the Lord. The Divine comings in all cases are specialities 
 in the Divine Providence, having, for theii* occasion, some 
 disorders on the part of the Church, and for their pur- 
 pose some beneficence for the liuman race. 
 
 But how are men to know when this advent shall be 
 brought about ? It will not be announced by the destruc- 
 tion of the earth, for that abideth for ever ; it will not be 
 proclaimed by putting a stop to the procreation of the human 
 race, for that will never cease ; it will not be indicated by 
 the resuscitating of dead bodies from the earth, the air, and 
 the gases with which they have been mingled ; for no such 
 phenomena are predicted. None of the signs which have 
 been commonly associated with that event, and regarded as 
 evidences of its accomplishment, are taught in the Scrip- 
 tures ; they are simply the results of misinterpretation. 
 The true answer to our inquiry is not to be found, as before 
 observed, in the occurrences of physical nature, but in cer- 
 tain states and requirements of the Church. Whenever 
 its perversions are such as to answer to a just interpreta- 
 tion of the terms in which the narrative describes the oc- 
 casion for the Lord's coming, then the fulfilment of that 
 prediction may be reasonably expected. The manner of 
 the fulfilment may be very difierent to that which is com- 
 monly expected — a mistake upon that point may be among 
 the corruptions of the times : still we may rest assured that 
 one of its evidences will be an increased interest in the 
 teachings of the Divine Word, and also some improved 
 information concerning its inspiration and structure. 
 
 It is an admitted canon of intei-pretation that the ti'ue 
 
SEcoiTD coirrrTG of the loud. 
 
 249 
 
 sense of prophecy is scarcely ever discoverable until tlie 
 time of its fulfilment. The reality lightens up the obscurity 
 of the letter in which it is expressed, and causes its real 
 significance to appear. The terms are then seen to tally 
 with the facts, and each illustrates the other. Yet it is 
 distinctly written that " the Son of man cometh at an hour 
 when ye think not."^ The event will transpire at a period 
 when men are least expecting it. This is a characteristic 
 of the fulfilment of all prophecy. Still society has generally 
 experienced some premonitions of those changes which that 
 fulfilment is intended to effect. These, however, have very 
 seldom been carefully observed. In all times of a per- 
 verted Church, men have evinced an unwillingness to be- 
 lieve that they were hving in an age when prophecy was 
 being fiilfilled. The signs of danger which prevailed in the 
 days of Noah were unheeded by the people ; " they were 
 eating and dinnking, marrying and giAdng in marriage, and 
 knew not until the flood came and took them all away ; so 
 shall also the coming of the Son of man be."^ Men of the 
 professing Church may hear murmurs of dissatisfaction pro- 
 ceeding from various quarters ; they may participate in the 
 common sentiment that some errors are extant, and that 
 much selfishness prevails ; they may feel something of the 
 obscurity which infests religious thought, and amidst the 
 turmoil resulting from the banishment of charity from the 
 Church, they may yearn for some reUef ; yet no relief 
 will be accepted by them, but that which they themselves 
 invent, and suppose to be the remedy. How should it be 
 otherwise ? How can a corrupted Church be capable of 
 perceiving its own failings ? As well may we expect a 
 blind man to see the irregularity of his own gropings. It. 
 has always been a characteristic of a fallen Chm'ch to de- 
 1 Matt. xxiv. 44 ; Luke zii. 40. Matt. xxiv. 38, 39. 
 
250 
 
 THE LAST JrDGilENT, AST) 
 
 clare itself to be tke true one : it will not strip itself of tlie 
 pretensions under which its depravity has grown, and it 
 will be vain to expect from it any declaration of its own 
 apostasy. It will not accept the signs occurring within 
 itself as the inauguration of a new era ; and it will treat as 
 heresy any explanations which may be presented from with- 
 out. Hence it is to be expected that the second coming of 
 the Lord will be denied by the declining Church, whensoever 
 it may occur, just as the Jews denied His coming at the 
 first. It wiU not see when the good cometh ; that must be 
 declared to it by some other means : and in time some wiU 
 be enabled to acknowledge the prevalence of its errors. 
 
 There may be, there always have been, some in the 
 Church in whom a spiritual apprehension has been quick- 
 ened to perceive, in the sun'ounding events of extraordi- 
 nary times, some portents of a coming change. Wlien the 
 Adamic dispensation fell, Noah and his family were enabled 
 to see something of the evils which prevailed, to make pro- 
 vision against the catastrophe that was impending, and to 
 become the instruments for the introduction of another era 
 of religious life to men. When the Noetic Church became 
 corrupt, Abraham and his descendants were enabled to dis- 
 cern somewhat of the enormities around them, to guard 
 against the perils which were threatened, and to become 
 the depositories of information for a superior age. When 
 the Jewish economy rendered the Word of God of none 
 effect by the traditions of the elders, there were wise men 
 in the east, Zachariaa in the temple, and some pious among 
 the people, who not only knew something of the perversity 
 of the times, but were gifted with a perception that a de- 
 liverance was at hand ; they also became the instruments 
 for bringing to the notice of the world the commencement 
 of a new condition of .spiritual existence. When ancient 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 251 
 
 Christianity became cornipt, there were Luther and others 
 who beheld the abominations which were put forth under 
 that sacred name ; they broke down many of the inventions 
 which had been set np, and opened a pathway for the trans- 
 mission of some freer thought. When Protestantism be- 
 came selfish in its aims, and dilatory in the performance of 
 its duties ; when courts and the nobihty became sensual 
 and voluptuous in their practices, and the common people 
 deeply sunk in vice and degradation, there were Wesley 
 and others who were gifted with the penetration to notice 
 some of the evils which had been permitted to grow up with 
 so much luxuriance and danger ; and they became the in- 
 struments of bring-ing into society a superior influence by , 
 which to prepare the mind for nobler ends. God has never 
 left His Church without a witness to His excellence. But 
 all those premonitions of danger, and experiences of change 
 in the Christian Church, are only so many fluctuations at- 
 tending its decline. Error, with its kindred evils, had been 
 the source of its difficulties, and the revivals which had been 
 effected were little else than the occasional flickers of an 
 expiring lamp. The reason was because those reforma- 
 tions left the fundamental principles of ancient heresy un- 
 touched. The doctrines which the Church accepts con- 
 cerning God and the means of salvation, are held to be 
 mysteries which cannot enter into rational thought ; and 
 so long as such doctrines remain, darkness and danger will 
 always be imminent. True doctrines about God and the 
 means of salvation are essential things of His Church. 
 Doctrines which cannot be reasonably understood cannot 
 edify. With such doctrines men are no wiser with a 
 revelation than they would be without it. The Word is 
 light, and its purpose is to make men the children of Ught ; 
 therefore any darkness in the Church must come fi'om 
 
252 
 
 THE LAST JrT)G5rE>"T, i>T) 
 
 some otlier source. False Ckrists and false prophets will 
 be attended with wars and rumotirs of wars, that is, dispu- 
 tations and contentions, with all their retinne of spiritual 
 famine, pestilence, and earthquakes. How can an untme 
 idea concerning God, and mistaken teachings respecting 
 His requirements from men, be productive of any other 
 results ? Now, if this be true, is it not plain that the end 
 has come ? The professing Church may not see this ; the 
 perception and acknowledgment of errors by those who 
 are in them are difficult attainments. Corrupted Churches 
 have always clung with pertiaacity to their own inventions ; 
 and how shall corrupted Christianity be exempt from so 
 deplorable a failing ? It may indeed confess, because it 
 will read in the Scriptures that iniquity will abound, that 
 the love of many will wax cold, and that the day of the 
 Lord will not come unless there come a falling away first ; 
 but it will always hesitate to acknowledge that such a 
 period has come upon itself. It will be hard for it to be- 
 lieve that it contains within itself the abomination of de- 
 solation, and it is not to be expected that it will pronounce 
 its own condemnation. What, then, is to be done in such a 
 case ? When the Church has come to an end, how is it to be 
 informed of that fact ? and by what means is a system of 
 pure spiritual theology to be restored and made known to 
 mankind ? Doubtless this can be effected only by some 
 providential interposition of the Lord, and in that provi- 
 dence He will fulfil His promise to come again — to come, 
 not by the manifestation of His person in the world, but by 
 unfolding the true light of His Word to men. 
 
 The doctrines of a genuine Church are drawn wholly 
 from the Word, and they are intended to teaeh mankind 
 how to believe wisely concerning God, His kingdom, and 
 Providence ; and that they should live in agreement with 
 
SECOin) COMING OF THE LOHD. 
 
 253 
 
 His laws, and thus be virtuous. A Church is corrupted 
 so far as it renounces those heavenly principles ; and it is 
 at an end when it accepts the teachings of men in place of 
 the revelation of God. By its " end " we mean the cessa- 
 tion of its light and spiritual ■^'itality ; the obscuration of 
 faith in consequence of the paralysis of charity : thus its 
 termination as to essential principles, and not as to outward 
 appearances. A fallen Church may profess itself to be up- 
 right and true — it may retain its ceremonies with care, 
 defend its errors with ability, and for centuries mistake a 
 languishing existence for a condition of spiritual health ; 
 but such professions and external appearances are no proofs 
 that it has withia it the intelligent, living, and acting princi- 
 ples of a pure and imperishable Church. Every Christian 
 beheves that the Jewish Church was brought to its end in 
 consequence of the people having rendered the Word of God 
 of none ejffect by their traditions. Nevertheless we find 
 that it has its professors, synagogues, priests, worship, and 
 institutions, and that it appears to hve nearly two thousand 
 years after the departure of its vitaUty was announced. A 
 Church may exist as to its externals, upon the same princi- 
 ple that sepulchres may appear beautiful without, and yet 
 have within them dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 
 And so a dead Christianity may profess itself to be a living 
 institution, and, as to externals, may continue to exist long 
 after its spiritual principles have departed. Indeed, such 
 circumstances are to be expected, for as the Church in its 
 dechne recedes from the influences of Heaven, it will inter- 
 weave itself with secular interests and so become a worldly 
 establishment. To know its character as a religious insti- 
 tution it is necessary to look at its doctrines as they are 
 taught by its authorities and accepted by the people. A 
 fallen Church becomes a house of creeds which men have 
 
254 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 made, and forgets the garden wliicli God has planted. 
 And is not this a feature of the Church which now prevails ? 
 Look at the facts. How plain is it that some deleterious 
 principles have found a place within its pale. It is broken 
 up into nearly a himdred different sects, in each of which 
 is to be found a variety of differing speculations ; most 
 concur in declaring their leading doctrines to be inexphca- 
 ble to reason, and all insist that intellect must be kept in 
 subordination to faith. They all accept the Bible as the 
 rule of faith ; and yet which among them knows anything 
 about the laws of its composition, the ground of its inspi- 
 ration, or in what its holiness consists ? The populace are 
 ignorant upon those subjects, and the learned are in fierce 
 contention respecting them. Hence, it is certain they are 
 all destitute of that information concerning theWord which 
 is essential to the existence of a genuine Church. 
 
 Observe, also, the fearful animosities which exist between 
 the two great divisions of the professing Church. Protest- 
 ants, seemingly forgetting their own origin, say that the 
 Catholic dispensation is " the mother of harlots." The 
 Catholic, in return, declares the Protestant to be antichrist ; 
 and thus, while exchanging the epithets of recrimination, 
 they obliterate the sentiment of charity, and consign each 
 other to the dwellings of the lost. A similar hostility 
 exists between the Lutheran and Calvinistic branches of 
 the Protestant Church ; and a like unhappy spirit under- 
 lies every division into which it has been rent. 
 
 As before said, all the doctrines which are regarded as 
 the essentials of the Church are asserted to be holy mys- 
 teries, if reason ventures to remove the sackcloth in which 
 they are dressed, or to disturb the ashes in which they are 
 imbedded. The tripersonality of the Godhead is said to 
 be incomprehensible, also the atonement, and the means of 
 
SECONT) COMIITG OF THE LOHD. 
 
 255 ^ 
 
 salvation thereby. The commnuication of grace, the senti- 
 ments of faith, the nature of the .resurrection, the principles 
 of judgment, the joys of heaven, the torments of hell, and 
 the coming of the Lord, are all pronounced to be mysteri- 
 ous things which reason must not dare to handle, or philo- 
 sophy attempt to touch. Do not these facts prove most 
 convincingly that the dispensation in which they exist has 
 no true intelligence upon the most important subject of 
 revelation ? When mystery begins, there is some reason to 
 suspect that truth has ended. Wisdom is one of the chief 
 attributes of a genuine Church ; if. then, a Church exists 
 which teaches doctrines that cannot be received among the 
 people as principles of intelligence, the conclusion that it 
 has come to its end, is irresistible. Of what intellectual 
 value is any teaching which the understanding cannot 
 accept ? Of what practical use is that which no one is 
 supposed to comprehend ? Is it not plain that the Church 
 which has read the Word with these unfavourable results, 
 must either have mistaken its significance or perverted 
 its meaning ? in either case its darkness is evident, and its 
 night has come. Surely these facts present a strong and 
 reasonable occasion for the Lord to come again. Theii' 
 general features include all the details of the narrative 
 which the Lord revealed as the prelude to that event ; and, 
 therefore. He who is faithful and true will fulfil His 
 promise, nor can He, under such circumstances, delay His 
 coming. 
 
 As, then, it is plain from the Scriptures that the occasion 
 for the second coming of the Lord is to be sought for in the 
 corruptions of the Church which He mercifully founded 
 when He was in the world, it may be equally evident that 
 the purpose of His coming is to execute a final judgment 
 upon it, and, at the same time, to vouchsafe to the world a 
 
256 
 
 THJE LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 new dispensation of spiritual trutli, of ■wliicli His word 
 should be tlie fountain. Judgment upon a fallen churcli 
 is requisite to prepare the way for, and give efficacy to 
 those excellences by which it is to be succeeded. If a 
 judgment had not been executed upon the Jewish economy, 
 Christianity would have had in that which constituted the 
 spiritual life of Judaism, a most formidable hindrance to 
 its progress. It could not have pursued its purpose in 
 light or freedom ; but a Divine judgment removed those 
 hindrances from the spu'itual world, where they were 
 principally active, and so provided a way for the security 
 of both. Judgment upon the past dispensation, and the 
 providing of light and liberty for that which is to follow, 
 are those things to which the Lord referred when treating 
 of the occasion and purpose of His second coming. What 
 they involve will appear in another chapter. The points 
 to which we have arrived enable us to see that when the 
 light and purity of the Church, which the Lord founded 
 while He was in the world, have been corrupted by the per- 
 versities of men. He will come to execute a last judgment 
 upon it, and then, also, that He will open out a new dispen- 
 sation of spii'itual truth for the acceptance of the world. 
 
 Now we hold that this corruption has come upon the 
 professing Christian Church, that the purity and light by 
 which it was oi'iginally characterised have been extinguished, 
 and consequently that it has come to its end ; not, indeed, 
 as to its external form and appearance, but as to that intel- 
 lectual and spiritual life which is proper to its being. That 
 the present state of the Church is not what it was in apos- 
 tolic times is commonly admitted. Its simphcity has most 
 certainly departed ; the spiritual charity in which it was 
 founded, and the sentiments of enlightened faith by which 
 it was influenced, are now no longer apparent. Its truths 
 
SECasri) COMIITG OF THE lOED. 
 
 257 
 
 were soon pervei'ted by the controversies whicli arose ; 
 darkness was created by the subtleties which prevailed, 
 charity was set aside, and creeds were exalted. Councils 
 were called to interpret and decide what was true ; they 
 declared that the things of faith were not the subjects of 
 reason, and that belief is sufficient for salvation. In all 
 the creeds which they framed for the acceptance of the 
 Church, there is not a word about charity ; in all " the 
 Thirty-nine Articles " there is not one upon the subject ; 
 among the Twenty-one Homilies it is only once recognised, 
 and then as a thing of almsgiving. Thus the authoritative 
 documents of the Church have ignored charity as a saving 
 principle ; and how, under such a cii'cumstance, could faith 
 exist ? Charity is the life of faith ; when the fire is ex- 
 tinguished the light goes out. The Lord foretold this con- 
 dition and end of the Church, when He said, " Because 
 iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold ; 
 and again, " When the Son of man cometh shall He find 
 faith in the earth ? " ^ Those desolating principles which had 
 so long reigned in and bewildered the Church, gradually 
 brought on a condition in the spiritual aifairs of Chris- 
 tianity, beyond which it was not permitted them to go. 
 This crisis we believe to have occurred about the middle 
 of the last century. Every one who knows anything con- 
 cerning the history of that period is aware how utterly 
 destitute the Church was of all spiritual life and heavenly 
 character. The improvements which have since taken place 
 within its pale we believe to have been the results of the 
 new influences which were then provided for. That was 
 the period in which we consider the last judgment to have 
 taken place, and consequently it was then that the second 
 comincc of the Lord begfan. 
 
 ' Matt. sxiv. 12. 2 Luke sviii. 8. 
 
 S 
 
258 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEKT. 
 
 Of course we are aware that these will be regarded as 
 extraordinary statements ; we concede that they are so ; 
 bat who can prove that they are not true ? That those 
 two uncommon events should have occun-ed without 
 raising some preternatural commotion in the world, will 
 no doubt be felt by many as contrary to the prejudices 
 which error has created upon those subjects. When, how- 
 ever, it is remembered that the Lord has told us He will 
 come with all the quietude of a thief entering a house, 
 and that in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man 
 Cometh,^ it will be seen that there is some reason to paase 
 before rejecting the view we have now suggested, and about 
 which we shall produce additional evidence in another 
 chapter. Men have been so long taught to expect that 
 those occurrences wotdd be associated with the raising of 
 dead bodies from their graves, the rolling away of the 
 heavens, and setting fire to the earth, that they almost 
 instinctively turn away fi-oni any other exposition. But if 
 it is remembered, as we have endeavoured to show, that 
 those are mistaken views of the subjects, that the second 
 coming of the Lord is not to be a personal advent into the 
 natui'al world, and that the last judgment is a phenomenon 
 of wliich the spii'its of men are to be the subjects, and the 
 world of spu'its the scene, the whole matter will put on a 
 more serious aspect, and commend itself to the careful 
 consideration of those who, with a wise heart, are anxious 
 to know what is the true meaning of the Scriptui'cs upon 
 tliose very sublime and important subjects. 
 
 J Matt. sxiv. 43, 44. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 OF THE LAST JUDGMENT WHICH TS TO ATTEND THE LOED'S 
 SECOND COMING. 
 
 The Arg0Ment. — The expectation that the natural world wiU be the 
 scene of the last judgment not founded on a correct intei-pretation 
 of Scriptui'e. — The end of a Church the occasion for such a judg- 
 ment. — E\-idences among men when such an event has taken place 
 in the world of spirits. — Illustrations. — All men when they die enter 
 at once into the world of spirits, hut they cannot pass on to their 
 eternal destiny until after judgment. — The mixed condition of 
 human character a cause of spirits being detained in the world of 
 spirits. — Judgment consists in the work of removing from the 
 character of spirits all that which is contrary to their ruling love. : 
 consequently it decides between the good and the evU, and separates 
 them. — The Divine Word the test to which the character of every 
 one wUl be brought. — Men are saved or lost as their ruhng loves 
 agree or disagree with the requirements of the Word. — Judgments 
 which have occurred before the last. — The last judgment one 
 which was esecuted upon special classes of spirits. — Detentions in 
 the world of spirits. — Illustrations. — How wicked spirits accumu- 
 late in the world of spirits, and infest the spirits of men in the 
 world : the consequences which follow. — Spuits and men act and 
 react upon each other. — The state of the world of spirits reflected 
 in the condition of mankind. — The last judgment, when accom- 
 phshed, win present to men evidences of the fact in the history of 
 the age in which it occurs. — General views on this point illustrated. 
 Always some peculiar condition in society when distinguished 
 operations of Providence are about to take place. — Judgments in 
 connection with the history of the Christian Church, before the 
 execution of that which is called the ZasJ.— Defections of the 
 Chiistian Church in the apostoUc era : their increase and conse- 
 quences. — The separation of the Greek and Latin Churches. — The 
 dark ages. — Distresses and progress in the Church must have 
 spiritual causes. — The first results of a judgment among men not 
 
 S 2 
 
260 
 
 THE lAST JT7DGMEITT, AiTD 
 
 recognised by those who are contemporaries with its execution. — 
 The reason for this. — The twofold effects of a judgment, affliction 
 and mercy. — Calamities enumerated, and authorities cited. — A blow 
 struck at public disorders in society. — The abatement of evils in 
 the natural world an indication that their spiiitual causes have been 
 arrested. — Improvements in general society which have occmTed. — 
 The source of those improvements. — Conclusion. 
 
 As the cormptions of tlie Churcli Tvould necessarily liiuder 
 it from performing those spiritual uses in the world for 
 which it was established ; and as the Lord has told us that 
 such corruptions would bring it to an end, when a last 
 judgment would be executed, — it now becomes important 
 to the argument we are pursuing, that we should inquire 
 into the nature of that judgment. 
 
 In the preceding chapter it was stated that the conditions 
 of the professing Church, especially about a centuiy ago, 
 were such as to answer all the prophetical descriptions 
 which pointed to its close ; and, therefore, it was concluded 
 that a last judgment had been executed. Those who have 
 been taught to expect that the scene of that extraordinaiy 
 event was to be the natural world, will, most likely, view 
 this conclusion with hesitancy and doubt. But as that ex- 
 pectation was not founded on any correct interpretation of 
 the Scriptures, and as it requires for its fulfilment the ex- 
 istence of phenomena which we have seen the Scriptures 
 do not predict, it may be classed in that catalogue of errors 
 by which the Church has been destroyed. The surprise, 
 thei'efore, which may be felt at our statement, might pro- 
 perly be attached to that expectation. Nature has not to 
 undergo those disruptions at the accomplishment of the 
 last judgment which the Church has commonly supposed. 
 " The eaith abideth for ever;" it is no part of the Divine 
 providence to bring about a cessation of the human race ; 
 nor is the resuiTection of dead material bodies ever the sub- 
 
SECOND COMrNG OF THE LOBD. 
 
 261 
 
 ject of the Divine teacMng. Hence the whole ground upon 
 which " the orthodox " have btiilt their doctrine of the last 
 judgment vanishes away. It is the spirits of men that 
 are to be the subject of that judgment, and the world of 
 spirits is to be the scene of it : the time of its execution is 
 when the spirits there accumulated are of such a character 
 as to hinder the influences of heaven from descendins' into 
 the Church on earth, and when, consequently, the Church 
 must cease to perform the uses for which it was originally 
 established. When clouds interpose and prevent the sun- 
 shine from descending, the earth is brought into shadow 
 and obscurity ; and if those clouds were never to be dis- 
 persed, the residt would certainly be unfavourable to its 
 fruitfiilness, and injurious to mankind. But of this we 
 shall speak again. 
 
 In previous chapters it has been shown that the Lord 
 has frequently come to His Church, in some peculiar way, 
 and that all such comings have been attended with judg- 
 ment and mercy ; the judgment consisting in the removal 
 of those hindrances to human regeneration, which errors 
 in the religious teachings of men had created : and the 
 mercy consisting in the restoration of Divine truth for the 
 acceptance of the people. The judgment has always beenin- 
 dicated by the occurrence of some calamities amongst man- 
 kind ; the mercy has always been shown by the appearance 
 of reformations in society. The flood was the accomplish- 
 ment of a judgment upon the most ancient Church, but 
 that disaster was followed by a revival of spiritual life 
 among mankind, and the consequent establishment of an- 
 other dispensation ; that new dispensation, however, in the 
 process of time, sunk into a condition of depravity, and not 
 only was a judgment executed upon it, but mercy was dis- 
 played in jiroviding a successor. In the establishment of 
 
262 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEKT, AJTD 
 
 the Jewish economy, a Church of another character was 
 fonnded, but that also in the course of ages was perverted; 
 men rendered the word of God of none effect by their tra- 
 ditions, and then the Lord came into the world to execute 
 a judgment upon it, after which the mercy of Christianity 
 was vouchsafed. Jesus, however, foresaw that even Chris- 
 tianity would descend from the eminence on which He 
 planted it ; He, therefore, predicted that a judgment would 
 overtake it, and that a new Church would subsequently 
 arise : the former to be rendered evident by the existence of 
 some unhappy circumstances in the world ; the latter to be 
 made plain by the display of some superior inteUigences 
 among mankind. Thus the Scriptures inform us that 
 Divine judgments have always attended the end of the 
 Churches, and that Divine mercies have always succeeded 
 those judgments. Of these facts, so far as they related to 
 the ancient dispensations, we have already spoken ; and now 
 we will endeavour to exhibit the rationale of that judgment 
 which is predicted in reference to Christianity, and which 
 we believe to have been accomplished. The general prin- 
 ciple which will guide us in this endeavour will be the same 
 as that which has regulated our interpretation of all the 
 cases which have been considered. 
 
 In the first place, the fact must be remembered, that all 
 persons when they die pass from the natural world into 
 the world of spirits : that there is such a world, no Chris- 
 tian can sensibly deny. Men take with them everything 
 that belongs to them as hving, thinking beings : — all that 
 is responsible and aU that is immortixl belonging to their 
 nature. In short, every one rises immediately after death 
 into the world of spirits, with that " spiritual body " which 
 is proper to his existence. That there is such a body the 
 Apostle expressly affirms. 
 
SECOITD COMTNG OP THE LOED. 
 
 26? 
 
 But all wlio die are not fitted to pass immediately and 
 directly to tlieir eternal habitations : if they were, there 
 would be no necessity for a judgment. There are, how- 
 ever, other reasons for their detention in the world of 
 spirits. Heaven is a kingdom of the greatest purity : hell 
 is a condition of the utmost depravity : nothing that is de- 
 filed can enter into the one, nothing that is virtuous can 
 descend into the other. The virtues of none here are so 
 separated from self as to attain the fall standard of that 
 excellence which fits the soul for heaven ; ndr are the 
 vices of any one here so unchecked as to sink them at once 
 into all the atrocities of hell. If, however, any do attain 
 to either of these respective conditions during theii' life- 
 time in the world, they will, of course, at once become the 
 subject of the judgment, and pass on to that destiny for 
 which they are so thoroughly prepared. Such cases, how- 
 ever, are rare ; they are not, they never have been, the 
 general experience of our fallen race. All are, to some 
 extent, a mixture of good and evil ; in some, the good 
 preponderates, in some the evil : the separation of these, 
 and the attainment of a fulness of state by that which is 
 predominant in every individual is the work of judgment. 
 But every one, during his lifetime in the world, forms to 
 himself a character which leans either to the world of woe 
 or to the kingdom of bliss. The good which may adhere 
 to those who are mainly evil, which is only an external 
 good, will hinder them from sinking all at once into the 
 miseries of the lost ; and the evil which may cling to those 
 who are mainly good, which is only an external evil, will 
 prevent them from rising at once into all the beatitudes of 
 the saved. These are the circumstances to which the Lord 
 referred when He said, " Nothing is secret, that shall not 
 be made manifest ; neither anything hid, that shall not be 
 
THE LAST JCDG3tJEU"T, AJTD 
 
 known and come abroad : for -svliosoever liatli, to Mm sliall 
 be given ; and whosoever liatli not, from Mm sliall be taken 
 even that -which he seemeth to have."^ From these consi- 
 derations we learn what it is that detains spirits in the 
 world of spu'its; and, consequently, how it is that they 
 accnmnlate in that region of the departed. The whole of 
 the phenomena of which we have been treating, naturally 
 arise out of what are known to be the characteiistics of 
 mankind, and it is as such that the Lord deals with them 
 in the case of every individual. He does not suddenly 
 strip away the vices which may adhere to the good ; nor 
 does He hastily take away the virtues which may remain 
 with the wicked. Though the final destiny of all is fixed 
 by that which is predominant in them, the Lord regards and 
 treats them as responsible creatures following the bent of 
 their inclinations. This bent, having fixed upon them a 
 condition in which good or evil has obtained the ascen- 
 dancy, will continue with them in the world of spirits, 
 until everything contrary to the ruling love be entirely 
 removed ; and then those who have lived wickedly will of 
 themselves descend into hell, and those who have lived 
 wisely will be elevated into heaven by the Lord. This is 
 distinctly taught by these words, " They that have done 
 good " shall come forth " unto the resurrection of Ufe, and 
 they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damna- 
 tion. "2 The case of those who are inwardly and outwardly 
 good is represented by Lazarus, who, on death, was soon 
 after conducted by the angels into Abraham's bosom : 
 and the case of those who are inwardly and outwardly 
 evil is represented by Dives, who, on death, soon after 
 lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments.' Judgment, 
 under those circumstances, is readily efiected, because the 
 ^ Luie viii. 17, 18. - Jobu v. 29. s Luke svi. 20 to end. 
 
SECOND COMIira OF THE LOED. 
 
 265 
 
 full state of the parties wlio are its subjects are so nearly 
 completed, that they eagerly accept or reject " the Word " 
 which " judgeth," and so pass on to that eternal destiny for 
 which they are prepared. 
 
 Judgment, of course, means discrimination and decision 
 upon what is good and evil, true and false, in the spiritual 
 life of man. These are effected by comparing human cha- 
 racter with the Divine law, by which right is declared and 
 wrong is denounced. This being so, all the Lord's judg- 
 ments will be conducted upon the principle of comparing 
 the interior lives of those who are judged with the Word 
 He has revealed. Respecting this point. He has spoken 
 with great decision. " He that rejecteth me, and receiveth 
 not my words, hath one that judgeth him : the word that 
 I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day 
 consequently, those who have received " the Word " with 
 willingness and love will have in them those principles of 
 life to which the Lord can be conjoined, agreeably to His 
 own declaration : " If ye abide in me, and my words abide 
 in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto 
 you."^ It is very plain that such persons, on passing into 
 the world of spirits, will soon be elevated into heaven. But 
 those who have not so received the Word, have not those 
 principles of spiritual Ufe to which the Lord can be con- 
 joined ; tlierefore, on their entrance into the world of spirits 
 they will very soon sink down to hell. This also is agree- 
 able to the Lord's saying : " If a man abide not in me, he is 
 cast forth as a branch, and is withered."^ With every one, 
 the process of judgment is the same. Men who have con- 
 formed to the Divine Word will be adopted and saved ; 
 those who have not so conformed will be rejected and lost. 
 But the time they remain in the world of spirits will be 
 ^ John xii. 48. 2 John sv. 7. s John xv. 6. 
 
266 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMENT, ASTD 
 
 moi-e or less extended, as the amount of good and evil in 
 them approaches to a balance ; in this case the power to 
 hold the ascendancy obtained is weakened upon both sides, 
 and this causes the period for a judgment on their destiny 
 to be prolonged. 
 
 But let us look at those points a little closer. It is 
 evident fi-om what has been advanced that the last judg- 
 ment is an event to be experienced by spu'its of a pecu- 
 liar class. Before that time many will have experienced 
 their judgment and gone on to their eternal homes ; of this 
 several cases are related in the Word : those of Moses and 
 Blias, who appeared in glory at the period of the Lord's 
 transfiguration, being illustrious examples. Hence it is 
 evident that those who were subjects of the last judgment 
 had some peculiarity of character. They were not the 
 eminently wise, for these had before gone on to heaven ; 
 they were not the notoriously wdcked, for these had before 
 sunk down to hell ; they, therefore, must have been some 
 other class. The Lord calls them the sheep and the goats. 
 Speaking of this circumstance. He said, "Before Him shall 
 be gathered all nations : and He shall separate them one 
 from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the 
 goats. And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but 
 the goats on the left.'" By " all nations " are meant every 
 variety of good and of evil which can dwell together by 
 the acknowledgment of some common principle, like a 
 nation with a king. These, on being separated by a 
 disruption of the bond that had united them,'' were called 
 
 1 Matt. sxv. 32, 33. 
 ^ " We have read somewhere of a number of individuals wlio broke 
 away from their old ties and hearthstones, went into a new country, and 
 formed themselves into a new community. They had an ideal of a 
 perfect form of society, and this ideal they expected to reduce to its 
 
SECOITD COMIITG OF THE lOED. 
 
 267 
 
 the steep and tlie goats, to teach us that the former were 
 in states of charity without truth, and that the latter were 
 in the possession of truth without charity. The non-pos- 
 session of truth on the part of the sheep woukl, for a time, 
 keep them out of heaven, and the possession of truth on 
 the part of the goats would keep them out of hell, and so 
 both classes would remain in the world of spirits. It was, 
 then, spu-its of this description who became the subjects of 
 the last judgment. The wheat and the tares grew together 
 until the harvest. 
 
 They had for a long period been accumulating in the , 
 spiritual world, owing to the declining influence of a falhng 
 Church, until at last the influences in favour of goodness 
 
 realization. Their external wants and tastes and interests were similar. 
 They had the same notions about property, about laboiu-, about almost 
 everything that pertains to the outward Hfe, and so they expected to 
 open a terrestrial paradise in the wilderness. For a while everything 
 went on charmingly well. The little community grew into an organiza- 
 tion of fair proportions and harmonious workings. It was not long, 
 however, before it began to be manifest that man has an internal life as 
 well as external, and that this in the long run is the more dominant 
 of the two. And they foimd, when brought into close relations with each 
 other, that this internal life showed itself by little and little, and that no 
 considerations of ijrudence and expediency could cover it-up. By-and-by 
 there were conflicts of self with self; opinion jarred against opinion, 
 and interest clashed against interest ; truth and falsehood met together, 
 and did by no means kiss each other : the secret heart of this person 
 and that began to be opened, and to be mutually repellent, and the 
 divers elements of the little community were in a general fermentation 
 and whirl. It was quite evident that, though this might be a good 
 arrangement of body with body, it was a decided mal-arrangement of 
 spirit with spirit. The pressure of spiritual affinities and repulsions 
 from within became greater and greater, and the result was that the 
 whole society broke in pieces ; each went to his own place, and left the 
 prairie wolf to howl over the place of his imagined paradise." — Sears 
 on the Foregleams of Immortality. Art. " The Day of Judgment." 
 
268 
 
 THE LAST JtrDGMEKT, AJH) 
 
 became endangered, and tlien, because they intercepted the 
 liglit of heaven in the process of its descent into the human 
 mind, the crisis came. Other judgments had before taken 
 place, but this is called the last, because it terminated the 
 dispensation with which those spiritual disasters had been 
 connected. The sheep would be elevated into heaven, be- 
 cause, being separated from the goats, the good which they 
 possessed would enable them to accept the truth. The 
 goats would pass off to hell, because, being separated from 
 the sheep, and having no good, they would not be en- 
 abled to retain the truth they had accepted. It was from 
 these that the greater danger came, and it was the spread 
 of their iniquity that brought on the judgment which con- 
 .signed them to their eternal homes. By that event a way 
 has been prepared for the renewal of spii'itual life in the 
 Church, and the promotion of its intelligence among man- 
 kind. This, consequently, is the judgment which we believe 
 to have transpired ; but we will consider the evidences of 
 its occuiTence a little more at large. 
 
 That certain spirits are detained in the world of spirits 
 until the period of a judgment is very clearly taught in the 
 Word. Peter tells us of those who " sometime were disobe- 
 dient, in the days of Noah," and who, from that time, had 
 remained in that region of the departed until the resurrec- 
 tion of the Lord.' John, also, tells us that he "saw under 
 the altar the souls of them that were slain," that they in- 
 quired about the continuance of their condition, and were 
 told that they had yet to rest for a little season.'' The 
 Lord very clearly informs us, in His parable of the tares 
 and the wheat, that some who are good and some who are 
 evil, as to their interior loves, will be detained in the world 
 of spirits until the time of the last judgment should arrive. 
 1 1 Pet. iii. 18-20. 2 Rev. vi. 9—11. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 269 
 
 His words are, "Let both grow together until the harvest; 
 and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather 
 ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to 
 burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn." ^ It is 
 thus plain that both the good and the evil are reserved in 
 the world of spirits until the coming of the great day. To 
 this view of the case no reasonable objection can be urged ; 
 for even those who consider that the last judgment will be 
 attended with a resurrection of material bodies, must see 
 that some place will be necessary in which the souls of all 
 the dead should remain until that event. The reason, 
 however, for such detention is to be sought for in the 
 mixed characters of men at the time of death. And this is 
 a state of things towards which the condition of the Church 
 contributes. For, notwithstanding men are preserved in 
 freedom, and in this freedom form their character, the 
 result is always influenced by the teachings of the Church 
 to which they belong. In proportion as those teachings 
 depart from the purity of truth, so far will the good of 
 the people, which it is established to promote, be dimi- 
 nished. All who ax'e under the influence of such circum- 
 stances will have a prolonged existence in the world of 
 spirits. So that in the process of time a perverted Church, 
 through not encouraging goodness in its people, endangers 
 its equihbrium, and thus causes the detention in the world 
 of spirits of multitudes of those who die within its pale. 
 Hence we read of " multitudes in the valley of decision."^ 
 Errors in the Church permit evils to grow up, and to per- 
 meate society, until at length this first region for the recep- 
 tion of departed men becomes the scene of sad coi-ruptions, 
 1 Matt. xiii. 30. 
 
 2 Joel iii. 14. Doubtless, " the valley of decision "' is the place of 
 judgment. 
 
270 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMEITT, AKD 
 
 which are there because tliey were tlie interior vices of tlie 
 deceased during their life-time here, but wliicli were hypo- 
 critically concealed for the sake of gain, or reputation, or 
 some other selfish purpose. As this goes on, the wicked 
 spii'its in whom those vices exist come to infest society on 
 earth, each acts and reacts upon the other ; and the final 
 result of the accumulation of wicked spirits in the world 
 of spirits is, that they obstruct the descent of heavenly 
 influences to men, and close their minds against the accept- 
 ance of genuine truth and goodness. When this takes place 
 it is plain that the end of the Church has come, and, con- 
 sequently, the time of the last judgment must have arrived. 
 It is spoken of as the last judgment, to intimate that others 
 have preceded it, others both of an indi\'idual and more 
 general kind ; if it were not so, that which is commonly 
 called the last would really be the Jirst. Those others, to 
 which we are now referring, were not those which occurred 
 at the end of the Adamic and Israelitish periods, but those 
 which have been experienced under the Christian dispen- 
 sation. The. end of a Church has always been attended 
 by the execution of a last judgment upon the souls of 
 those who have gone into the world of spirits infected 
 with the worst corruptions of the Church to which they 
 belonged, and so have stood in the way, hindering the 
 beneficence of heaven from operating upon their survivors 
 in tbe world. 
 
 Thus we learn what must be the condition of the world 
 of spirits, when the necessity arrives for a final judgment 
 upon perverted Christianity. The inhabitants of that world 
 will gradually have usurped a power over the minds of 
 men, and have infested them with all sorts of disordei'ly 
 persuasions. They will have hindered spiritual light in 
 the process of its descent, beclouded its character, and so 
 
SECOJTD COMUfa OF THE lOED. 
 
 271 
 
 have prevented its reception among mankind. Hence the 
 sun will he darkened, the moon will not give her Hght, and 
 the stars will fall from heaven ; for the prediction of these 
 things denotes the obscuration of love, the termination of 
 faith, and the destruction of intelligence proper to the 
 Church. 
 
 Every one may see, as this state of things goes on from 
 generation to generation, that the intensity of its mischiefs 
 will be successively increased, and that it must result in a 
 crisis which will necessitate a judgment to disperse the evil 
 spirits which have been its cause, and so prepare the way 
 for the amendment of society in the world. 
 
 As spu-its and men mutually act and react upon each 
 other (a doctriue of the Scriptm-es admitted upon all hands) 
 it will follow that the state of the world of spirits, will, in 
 some measm-e, be reflected in the condition of the world of 
 men. K all things were orderly and enlightened in society 
 on earth, it would not be reasonable to infer that all things 
 were uregular and obscure in the spiritual world with 
 which it is associated. But if men are found to be in a 
 coiTupted condition, careless about heavenly things, and 
 pursuing all kinds of selfish and sensual loves with relish 
 and dehght, it would be reasonable to conclude that some- 
 thing very similar prevailed in the world of spu"its, with 
 which such society is connected ; for it is a great law that 
 they act upon, and reflect the condition of each other. 
 
 When, then, we assert that a disastrous condition of the 
 world of spirits had been arrived at, about a century ago, 
 and that then was the period in which the last judgment 
 was performed, the truth of these assertions does not rest 
 merely upon any verbal authority which may be claimed 
 for them ; if true, there must be some corroborative evi- 
 dence in the history of professedly Christian society at that 
 
272 
 
 THE LAST JTDGMEIfT, AST) 
 
 period. A general law upon this subject has been clearly 
 revealed in Scripture history. "When the last judgment 
 took place upon the most ancient Church, " the -wickedness 
 of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of 
 his heart was only evil continually." * "Wlien the last 
 judgment was executed upon the Jewish dispensation, its 
 professors in the world had sunk into the deepest hypocrisy ; 
 they were of their father, the devil, and the works of their 
 father they would do. ^ So it is found that when the time 
 came for executing the last judgment upon perverted 
 Christianity, the condition of society was a reflex of its 
 spiritual corruptions. This is in strict accordance with 
 the Divine predictions on the subject : for although these 
 predictions, in their internal sense, refer to a cessation of 
 those graces which are projier to the Church, it is plain 
 that such cessation would be manifested in the outer lives 
 and characters of the people : for spiritual causes produce 
 natural eifect in correspondence with themselves. 
 
 There are, then, and always have been, pecuUar condi- 
 tions in society, when remarkable providential epochs were 
 about to occur. Extraordinary circumstances taking place 
 amongst men, have, by the observant, always been regarded 
 as the indications of something: remarkable occurrinsr in 
 their spii-itual states. The experience of calamities is 
 commonly interpreted as the visitation of a judgment, and 
 this view is not entirely destitute of truth : they may, 
 
 ' Gen. vi. 5. 
 
 - If any should instance the peaceful condition of the Roman empire, 
 and from thence object to this general argument, they are reminded that 
 that peace was little else than the awful stillness which jirecedes an 
 earthquake. It was the mere appeai'ance of a peace where there was no 
 peace. The empire fell by the atrocities resulting from its ambition, and 
 it has bequeathed to posterity a variety of evidence, proving that peace 
 was no element of its character. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 273 
 
 howerer, be also regarded as symptoms of its necessity 
 and premonitions of its occurrence. 
 
 That about a century ago, the principles of true religion 
 and the sentiments of genuine morality had not simply 
 come to a standstill, but were in a state of disruption in 
 all ranks of society, is a fact which no one acquainted 
 with the history of the times will venture to deny. ^ That, 
 as we have said, we consider to have been the time, and 
 that disruption, to have been the occasion, for executing 
 that last judgment which is predicted in the Gospels and 
 represented in the Revelation. But before going farther 
 into these explanations, it may be useful to refer to other 
 judgments which have taken place under the Chi'istian dis- 
 pensation, prior to that which is designated the last : and. 
 these, no doubt, contributed to postpone the accomplish- 
 ment of this final catastrophe : they checked the progress 
 of events, which were accelerating the end, and, like the 
 circumstance represented by the shadow going back on the 
 sun-dial of Ahaz, deferred the time of consummation. 
 
 The state of the Lord's Church, with men is the test of 
 the world's morality. The Church is the channel for the 
 
 ^ As an illustration of this, we cite the following allusion, made by 
 Lord J. EusseU, in his speech in the " Debates on the Corporation and 
 Test Act." "Every one knows there is a church in this town called 
 ' the quahfying olfice.' Here they attend, many of them not as if they 
 understood what they were going to do. Some of them are sent for out 
 of taverns, or worse places, when the service is ended, and then (that 
 gentlemen may not have the fatigue of waiting, and may have the pre- 
 ference), the clerk says aloud, ' Gentlemen, you that come to qualify, 
 draw neai' ; ' upon which they advance, receive the sacrament, pay their 
 fees, and there is an end of it." Could anything more shocking be in- 
 vented by which to unfold the fallen condition of a Church than that 
 which made " the blood of the covenant " an unholy thing? And yet, 
 at the time, the clergy strongly resisted the proposed abolition of a bill 
 which had resulted in this profane proceeding. 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AlfD 
 
 orderly descent of all spiritual instruction and life to men. 
 When this channel is stopped, which it may be by the love 
 of dominion, greatness, riches, or any other worldly delight, 
 these blessings are interrupted in their course ; and then 
 some judgment^ to remove the cause, must be executed 
 before that channel can be reopened for their descent. 
 Now such a stoppage and such a removal have occurred 
 more than once during the history of the Christian Church. 
 The phenomena attending all such remarkable events are 
 represented to us by that wonderful scenery in the world 
 of spii-its which is described in many chapters of the 
 Apocalypse. 
 
 Every one knows that defections in the Church broke 
 out in the apostohc era. They are spoken of several times 
 in the epistles, with a view to their correction. And John, 
 in his addresses to the seven Chm-ches in Asia, enumerates 
 the faults and backslidings of which each were guilty ; nor 
 are there any indications that those failings were removed. 
 This falling away was accompanied by the increase of a 
 variety of errors, while the love of dominion, during several 
 generations, grew with amazing luxuriance and strength. 
 The dogmata which had been enacted by the Council of Nice 
 in the fourth century, were, in the fifth, succeeded by a 
 new distress. A quarrel, which for some time had been 
 fermenting, now broke out between the Patriarch of Con- 
 stantinople and the Bishop of Rome. The object of this 
 dispute was, who should be the greatest : each had his 
 partisans, and each had large territories to govern, with 
 extensive jurisdiction. The Emperors of the cast sup- 
 ported the Patriarch, those of the west maintained the 
 pretensions of Rome ; and the result was that first great 
 division, known in the history of Christianity as the separa- 
 tion of the Greek from the Latin Church. In doctrine they 
 
SECONT) COMIKG OF THE LOED. 
 
 275 
 
 were nearly identical ; but in order that the ambitions in 
 each might reign with diminished force, the Divine provi- 
 dence permitted them to divide ; this or a greater calamity 
 was the only alternative. The Patriarch cast out the Pope, 
 and the Pope excommnnicated the Patriarch. In those 
 contentions violent passions were evoked, and multitudes 
 were affected by the mischiefs they produced ; truth was 
 sacrificed upon the altar of mutual recrimination, and 
 charity, without which there can be no useful religion, was 
 dragged from her pedestal and lost amidst the confusion 
 which prevailed. This separation was followed, not by any 
 abandonment of the animosities which had been raised, but 
 by the restoration of a political quiet. Doubtless these facts 
 indicate the execution of a judgment : by that means the 
 Lord, in His providence, dispersed certain ambitious prin- 
 ciples and projects which had been carried into the spiritual 
 world, through the decease of a succession of ecclesiastical 
 tyrants and their abettors. 
 
 What are called " the dark ages " followed. Those 
 periods continued to provide for the world of spirits a 
 multitude of inhabitants who, with strong love of self and 
 of the world, had but imperfect ideas of God, and faint 
 perceptions of duty towards Him. These, in their turn, 
 would encourage the development.of perversity in men ; and 
 it is well known that it was the successive increase and 
 growth of base principles and scandalous practices in the 
 Church, which led to the adoption of those enormities 
 against which Luther and his compatriots so heartily pro- 
 tested. By the defiant attitude which they assumed, and 
 the noble exertions which they made, the whole Chi'istian 
 world was thrown into a commotion, aiming at better things. 
 The result was a restoration of some of the advantages 
 which had been lost ; for besides the liberty of pro- 
 
 T 2 
 
276 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMEKT, ATTD 
 
 testantism that was evoked, a wholesome restraint was 
 imposed upon the despotism of Catholicism which re- 
 mained. 
 
 Now, who will venture to say that the Divine providence 
 had nothing to do with those events ? Can any evil be 
 thrown down which Infinite Mercy has not helped to over- 
 throw ? Can there be any blessing in the city which the 
 Lord has not wrought ? From the facts that certain evil 
 influences were then removed from the Church, and that 
 several beneficent advantages resulted, it is plain that some 
 causes of the evil must have been removed, or the efi'ects 
 observable in the blessing never could have been realized. 
 But where did those causes exist and operate ? What- 
 ever places they might have had in the minds of men as a 
 secondary habitation, there can be no doubt that their pri- 
 mary residence was with spii'its in the world of spirits, and 
 therefore, the Lord, in order to afford some relief to the 
 people of His Church, must have removed them by the ex- 
 ecution of a judgment. By whom else could they be re- 
 moved ? by whom else could the blessing which followed 
 the removal be provided ? Do not the existence of these 
 facts prove that a judgment must have been accomplished ? 
 To us it seems impossible to deny this conclusion without 
 first renouncing the Christian principles concerning the ex- 
 istence of a world of spirits, and man's connection with it. 
 Of course we know that it has not been usual to trace such 
 events to so deep a cause, nor to characterize them with so 
 marked a providence ; still every one who will carefully re- 
 flect upon the calamitous periods of the Church, must see 
 that their causes lie in the disordered spiritual life of her 
 people, who, after death, are collected in the world of spirits, 
 and thence exercise an injurious influence on those remain- 
 ing in the world. To bring them to judgment is a subject 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 277 
 
 of great importance to the Churcli below ; because it 
 separates them from that hold which they had taken upon 
 the human mind in the world, and provides for the restora- 
 tion of a purer teaching for the acceptance of mankind.' 
 
 The distresses which have alarmed the Church, and the 
 successes by which she has been encouraged, may be rea- 
 sonably taken as so many evidences in the natural world 
 that some remarkable phenomena have taken place in the 
 spiritual. Such external effects must have had internal 
 causes. It has indeed been usual to ascribe such events to 
 the mental disposition and character of the age in which 
 they have occurred, and to this conclusion no fair objection 
 can be urged ; but beyond this there is a source which the 
 above view does not contemplate. The minds of men are 
 not self-created things, nor are their activities wholly de- 
 pendent upon themselves. The Scriptures certainly lead us 
 to conclude that our evil states are the results of wicked 
 influences to which we have yielded, and also that every 
 favourable condition has been the result of heavenly gui- 
 dance ; and experience confirms what revelation unfolds. 
 What is thus true of individuals is also true of the mass, 
 for multitudes are composed of units : the general state 
 arises from the collective condition of individuals. It is there" 
 fore evident that the moral aspects of mankind are, at all 
 periods of their history, indications of the state and quality 
 of the spiritual world with which they are associated : an 
 epoch of danger and distress in the Church is, therefore; 
 clearly referable to some malevolent influence acting upon 
 
 1 It may be useful to remind the reader that all the spirits who are in 
 this intermediate region are, as to their interior quality, either angels or 
 devils, and consequently that they belong to either heaven or hell ; though, 
 for a time, there are certain external conditions connected with their 
 characters which hinder them from entering into their final abodes. 
 
278 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AlTD 
 
 tlie people ; whilst an era of prosperity and intelligence is as 
 certainly to be ascribed to the operation of sonae beneficent 
 guidance descending from on high. Hence it may be clear 
 that the afihetion by which the Church has been darkened, 
 upon the one hand, and the prosperities by which it has 
 been blessed, on the other, indicate the existence of corres- 
 ponding spiritual influences from the spiritual world ; and, 
 therefore, the abatement of an evil by which it has been 
 distressed, and the display of mercies by which it has been 
 encouraged, may be -viewed as evidences of a judgment and 
 a coming of the Lord ; — a coming of the Lord personally 
 into the world of spirits, in the first place, to execute the 
 judgment, and then spiritually into the natural world to 
 effect the blessings for which that judgment has prepared 
 the way. We cannot tell how far these views may com- 
 mend themselves to the ordinary reader ; but to us they seem 
 to be fuU of reason, full of truth, to have the testimony of his- 
 tory in their favour, as weU as the sanction of revelation. 
 To doubt them, appears to us like questioning the reality of 
 experience, and the depositions of the Word. However, 
 these facts and considerations point to the kind of evidence 
 by which we purpose to show that the last judgment, of 
 which the Scriptures treat, has really been accomplished. 
 But before proceeding more directly to that evidence, there 
 is one cu-cumstance, important to our argument, which 
 should be carefully observed. 
 
 Although the occasion for a judgment in the world of 
 spirits may be sti'ongly indicated by the decline of religious 
 intelligence and virtue among mankind, and although the 
 execution of it will certainly be followed by a resuscitation 
 of spiritual intelligence in the Church, yet the first result 
 of such judgment, with the generation in whose lifetime it 
 occurs, will not be their recognition of the fact, nor 
 
SECOND COJirN"G OF THE LOBD. 
 
 279 
 
 their participation in its advantages. The judgment, in- 
 deed, clears away the malevolent spirits from the hold 
 which they have obtained upon people in the world, but 
 before this, they will have impressed their principles upon 
 them, and these principles will not be suddenly aban- 
 doned by mankind. The branch, when severed from the 
 tree, does not instantly lose its greenness, or relinquish its 
 sap ; it is indeed separated from the stock on which it 
 grew, but some indications of its having possessed vitality 
 wiU be retained for a time. So those persons living at 
 the epoch of a judgment, although cut off by that event 
 from their previous associates in the world of spirits, do 
 not at once renounce the principles they have imbibed, 
 nor forsake the practices to which those principles lead. 
 Therefore, some of the previous disorders will remain with 
 that generation of men ; and, indeed, their reproduction in 
 various forms may be expected in some of their immediate 
 descendants. Hence it was that after the last judgment 
 upon the most ancient Church, great calamities followed in 
 the destruction of the people. After the last judgment 
 upon the Jewish Church, how appalling were the disasters 
 which rolled in upon Jerusalem, Judaea, and the surround- 
 ing countries. So after the judgment which broke up the 
 first league of a terrible ambition in the Christian Church, 
 there ensued, both in the eastern and western branches of 
 it, a great variety of evils, ecclesiastical and national ; and 
 who has not heard of the revolts, invasions, and consequent 
 sufferings, which occurred in Europe, and of the " Thirty 
 Years' War," just preceding that period, when we believe 
 a judgment to have occured, and to have resulted in the 
 Reformation. 
 
 The continuance, then, for some time after the period of 
 a judgment, of disastrous circumstances similar to those 
 
280 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMENT, AifD 
 
 which have been the cause of it, do not at all interfere with 
 the evidences of its execution. Uncommon disorders in the 
 Church, and in the conduct of the people, certainly point 
 to the necessity for such a deliverance, but they prove 
 nothing concerning its accomplishment. The evidence for 
 that is to be sought for in those new advantages which 
 soon afterwards break in upon society, notwithstanding the 
 obstructions which have been thrown in their way by the 
 hereditary evils, disordered loves, national prejudices, and 
 the selfish interests of mankind. 
 
 As all changes in the causes of things must necessarily 
 be attended with new effects, so it will follow that any great 
 changes which may take place in the world of spirits, — and 
 who will say that such changes cannot occur ? — must be 
 succeeded by some corresponding mutations in the world 
 of men. They will primarily affect the interior of men's 
 minds, these being of a spiritual nature ; and subsequently 
 they will act upon the natural affairs of men in the world, 
 that being their ultimate purpose. Consequently, a judg- 
 ment iii the world of spirits must induce a change in its 
 spiritual action upon mankind ; and this must be followed 
 with some alteration in their condition and proceedings in 
 the world, which will display itself in a twofold manner. 
 
 First, — As we learn from Scripture history has been the 
 case under all similar circumstiiuces, — there will be a dis- 
 play of unusual dissensions and troubles, especially among 
 the nations in which the Church has professedly existed ; 
 and Secondly, amidst the absorbing interests which those 
 calamities will induce, there will be the unfolding of a 
 variety of ameliorating circumstances tending to show 
 that there is some beneficent sunlight breaking through 
 those clouds of darkness by which the nations have been 
 distressed. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 281 
 
 That phenomena of this description have occurred within 
 the last century every one must acknowledge. They 
 are matters of common notoriety. N"o doubt the extraor- 
 dinary troubles, which within that time have arisen in 
 Europe, and more or less inflicted suffering upon the whole 
 civilized world, were occasioned by the evils which pre- 
 vailed ; for a long time they had been festering and under- 
 mining the welfare of society ; but then a period came in 
 which their consequences affected the world to an extent 
 and with a fatality unprecedented in the annals of the human 
 race. Surely affairs involving the commission of so much 
 wickedness, and the endurance of so much suffering, must 
 have had an infernal origin. The tree is to be known by 
 its fruit. The malignant principles and sentiments which 
 the inhabitants of the world of spirits had been so long and 
 so forcibly insinuating into the human mind, rushed out into 
 open violence when the time arrived for the judgment of 
 those spirits : and is it not reasonable to conclude that the 
 afflictions which the world experienced represented the 
 miserable condition to which those spirits had been con- 
 demned ? May they not be regarded as the effects of the 
 activities and infestation of a spiritual tyranny which judg- 
 ment over threw ? To what other adequate causes can they 
 be assigned ? To say that they were merely the outbirths 
 of vicious minds is no sufficient answer ; for it is plain that 
 all minds are operated upon in their determination, by in- 
 fluences more interior than themselves, which, however, 
 they have always the freedom to examine and control. 
 
 The principles which led to those terrible results had 
 been growing up in society for a considerable period. The 
 interiors of the whole Christian world had been thrown 
 into a condition of disaster and confusion. In a preceding 
 chapter it was shown that all the circumstances which the 
 
282 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, ATTD 
 
 Lord foretold would be tlie occasion for His second coming 
 liad really transpired : that there was no stone of the 
 temple— no truth of the Church — which had not been 
 thrown down. The Church maintained a profession in- 
 deed, because of the worldly interests that had clustered 
 around it : " For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the 
 eagles be gathered together ; " but it had ceased to be a 
 spiritual institution. Heaven had become dim and distant 
 in their eyes, and the world was regarded as the only 
 reality. Great numbers of the clergy were indifferent 
 spectators of the vices of the people, and sought relaxation 
 in the coarsest pleasures. The courts of Europe were 
 seats of sensuality in every form : most of the kings were 
 infidels ; the national governments were political corrup- 
 tions ; statesmen were place-hunters, dmnkards, and gam- 
 blers ; these vices were not confined to the men ; women par- 
 ticipated in this deplorable profligacy. Libertinism and 
 profane swearing were esteemed the indication of manhood 
 and the characteristics of gentlemen ; and a wide-spread 
 infidelity, both within the Church and without it, finally 
 displayed itself in France, by the public renunciation of 
 Chiistianity, the abolition of the Sabbath, and the exalting 
 of what was called Reason, as a god. The Archbishop of 
 Paris, followed by his clergy, carried the Scriptures, and 
 other works connected with Divine worship, and burnt 
 them in the public market-place. These were only the 
 miserable results of a spiritual iniquity that had long 
 been festering. But space will jiot permit us to 
 dwell upon the decay of all that was good and true 
 in reUgion, life, and manners, which then prevailed. It 
 is written in history, and distinctly spoken of by au- 
 thorities which no one can dispute. Bishop Burnet, in 
 a pastoral charge, in 1713, said, " I see the imminent 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 283 
 
 rin'n hanging oyer the Churcli, and by consequence, over 
 the whole Reformation. The outward state of things is 
 bad enough, God knows ; but that which heightens our 
 fears rises chief from the inward state into which we have 
 unhappily fallen. I will, in examining this, confine myself 
 to the clergy." In 1736, Bishop Butler said, " It is come, 
 I know not how, to be taken for granted, by many persons, 
 that Christianity is not so much a subject of inquiry : but 
 that it is now at length discovered to be fictitious. And 
 assuredly, they treat it as if, in the present age, this were 
 an agreed point amongst people of discernment, and no- 
 thing remained but to set it up as a principal subject of 
 mirth and ridiciile." In 1738, Archbishop Seeker declared 
 that " An open and professed disregard to religion is be- 
 come, through a variety of unhappy causes, the distinguish- 
 ing character of the present age. Indeed, it hath already 
 brought in such dissoluteness and contempt of principle, in 
 the higher parts of the world, and such profligate intem- 
 perance, and fearlessness of committing ci-imes in the lower, 
 as must, if this mighty torrent of impiety stop not, be- 
 come absolutely fatal. And God knows, far from stopping, 
 it receives, through the designs of some persons, and the 
 inconsiderateness of others, a continual increase." In 1731, 
 Dr. Watts remarks, " Nor is the complaint of the dissolu- 
 tion of virtue and piety made only by Protestant dissenters : 
 it is a general matter of mournful observation amongst 
 all that lay the cause of God to heart ; and therefore, it 
 cannot be thought amiss for eveiy one to use all just and 
 proper efibrts for the recovery of dying religion in the 
 world." » 
 
 ^ These extracts are from the report of a speech by Dr. Bayley, 
 delivered at a public meeting in Freemason's Hall, London, August 
 19th, 1851. 
 
284 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 Mr. Paterson, treating: of the " Tendencies of relisrious 
 thouglit in England, 1688—1750," says, " The historian of 
 moral and religions progress is under the necessity of de- 
 picting this period as one of decay of religion, licentiousness 
 of morals, public corruption, profaneness of language — a 
 day of 'rebuke and blasphemy,' — it was an age destitute 
 of depth or earnestness ; an age whose poetry was without 
 romance, whose philosophy was without insight, and whose 
 public men were without character ; an age of ' light with- 
 out love,' whose ' very merits were of the earth, earthy.' 
 Bishop Ken, more than a century and a half ago, in his 
 " Expostularia," speaking of the clergy, said, "Alas, alas ! 
 for your debauched courses ; a holy calling and an unholy 
 life ; servants of God, yet slaves of sin ; reverend in your 
 functions, yet shameful in your practice ; a minister, and 
 yet given to wine ; a priest, and yet lascivious ; in holy 
 orders, and yet in riotous assemblies." The Rev. J. C. 
 Ryle, speaking of the state of preaching in the English 
 Church a century ago, tells us that " The celebrated law- 
 yer, Black&tone, had the curiosity, early in the reign of 
 George the Third, to go from church to church, to hear 
 every clergyman of note in London. He says that he did 
 not hear a single discourse which had more Christianity 
 in it than the writings of Cicero ; and that it would have 
 been impossible for him to discover, from what he heard, 
 whether the preacher were a follower of Confucius, of Ma- 
 homet, or of Christ." The Hon. and Rev. B. W. Noel, 
 writing of the clergy so recently as twenty years ago, says, 
 " The children of patrons and of rich capitalists, of bishops 
 and of clergymen, recruit the ranks of the clergy, not so 
 much because they have given themselves up to the service 
 
 ' The whole of this paper in the " Essays and Reviews " is full of 
 historical interest upon this subject. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LOED. 
 
 285 
 
 of Christ and of their fellow-creatures, as because they have 
 not the ability for law or medicine, nor spii'it enough 
 for the army and navy, nor capital enough for commerce, 
 nor income enough to lead an idle life." ' 
 
 There is, then, unquestionable evidence for the truth of 
 this mournful pictui-e of society and of the Church, during 
 the preceding century, which we have attempted to draw. 
 The broad outUne might have been filled in with more de- 
 tail, and the whole might have received a more distinctive 
 colouring, but the general sketch presented is sufficient for 
 our pm-pose : it points out some of the principles which 
 underlay the history of the times to which we are referring. 
 
 The evils, however, which then prevailed, and which 
 were uprooting the welfare of mankind, have been long 
 abating ; some of their most flagrant forms have passed 
 away, and there can be no doubt that an extraordinarv 
 change has taken place among the people since that period. 
 Every one who will take up the history of the last century 
 and compare it with the annals of the jjresent, will at once 
 perceive that some mighty change has been accomplished ; 
 that some desolating cause has been removed, and some 
 new influences set to work. We do not here so much refer 
 to those common advantages which are everywhere sur- 
 rounding us, as to that blow by which it is certain a gx-eat 
 variety of public evils have been struck down ; — evils which 
 were rampant in society, and generally connived at by our 
 ancestry a few generations ago. The vices which distin- 
 guished the reigning courts ; the tyranny of governments ; 
 the corruption of Parliaments ; the intemperance of states- 
 men ; the sanguinary character of the laws ; the corruption 
 of the Church, the looseness of its clergy, their open simony, 
 
 ' Speech of Rev. T. Davies, of Darwen, reported in the Preston Guar- 
 dian, March 17th, 1866. 
 
 ! • 
 
286 
 
 THE LAST JITDGMES'T, AlTD 
 
 and utter neglect of the education of the people ;^ the cmel 
 discipline of prisons ; the villany of the slave trade ; the 
 wild iniquity of the navy ; the coarse indulgences of the 
 army ; the savage sports of the people ; the common infi- 
 delity, the general drunkenness, the profane swearing; with 
 many other enormities which could be named, — all belonged 
 to that hideous inventory of public degradation by which 
 the safety of all spiritual life was endangered. But all 
 those shameful things have received a blow : they may not 
 all be dead, but they are all now held up to public scorn ; 
 and wherever any of their progeny are discovered, an at- 
 tempt is made to restrain their wickedness. 
 
 ' The Quarterly Beview, speaking of the corruptions of the Church, 
 says, " It is marked plainly in the hase nepotism and worldliness of the 
 greater number of the ecclesiastics, in their miserable cringing to the 
 minister of the day, in their occasional mendacity as to his gifts, and 
 too frequently in what appears to have been their utter unconscious 
 neglect of the spiritual functions of their apostohc ofiBce. For these 
 were the days in which the custom of visiting but once in his episcopate, 
 was estabhshed by the Bishop of Winchester ; of confirming but once 
 in his archiepiscopate, by the metropolitan of York ; and of never 
 residing in his diocese, by the Bishop of Llandaff. It is marked, as 
 might be expected in the clergy who served under such bishops, by low 
 tastes, low manners, and not a little of openly dissolute living among 
 the mass of paid priests. It is marked, both among bishops and clergy, 
 by a neglect of the people committed to their charge, which, as we now 
 look back upon it, appears to be almost incredible. Mr. Bloomficld 
 gives us some instances of this degraded standard of episcopal duty. 
 The chaplain and son-in-law of Bishop North (1781-1820) examined 
 two candidates for orders in a tent on a cricket-field, he himself being 
 engaged as one of the players. Bishop Pelhnm (1807-1827) performed 
 the same duty, on one occasion, by sending a message by his butler to the 
 candidate to write an essay. The chaplain of Bishop Douglas (1787- 
 1807) did it whilst shaving, and stopped the examination when the 
 examinee had construed four words. The laxity of Bishop Bathurst, of 
 Norwich (1805-1837),known to his Wliig admirers as " The Good Bishop," 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 287 
 
 Such, then, being the case, we ask by whom this blow 
 was struck, where was the scene of it, and by what means 
 has the blow produced those extraordinary results ? 
 Some will say, men began to see the evils because they 
 began to feel their consequences, and thereupon they deter- 
 mined to apply a remedy. Certainly, but what enabled 
 them to take such cognisance of their position ? A philan- 
 thropist here, and a moralist there, drew attention to the 
 misfortunes which prevailed, and suggested means of im- 
 provement. True ; but whence did these men draw their 
 inspirations ? and by what power was the effort after 
 amendment carried out ? No one who professes to be a 
 Christian will for a moment suppose that those abilities 
 were self-created things ; all know that every good and 
 perfect gift cometh down from the Father of light : the 
 Lord is the primary source of every advantage that is en- 
 joyed by mankind : He therefore must have restrained those 
 causes which had induced that disordered condition of 
 society to which we have referred, and, by removing them, 
 His final judgment of them must have been declared. But 
 what were those causes ? The answer has been given ; and 
 we repeat our belief that they were evil spirits in the world 
 of spirits, who had, as it were, intrenched themselves in 
 
 in regard to ordination, is well known. Let any man read the early life 
 of John Wesley, if he would gain any due estimate of the then current 
 state of things. Or, if he would see how, even among the best bishops, 
 down almost to our own days, all living consciousness that they were the 
 spiritual instructors of the people, had well-nigh faded out of sight, let 
 him weigh the fact that, with London multiplying all but visibly imder 
 his eyes. Bishop Porteus bequeathed a princely fortune to a nephew, 
 but never built or endowed a single church to the vast metropolis en- 
 trusted to his charge ; whilst so little was he a preaching bishop, that he 
 could reply to the request for a charity sermon, " I only give one a year, 
 and the nest is promised." 
 
288 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, XHTD 
 
 the evil dispositions of mankind, and urged tliem on to 
 those enormities which history has recorded. The cessation 
 of effects can only be accounted for by a withdrawal of 
 their causes. When, therefore, those evils are in the pro- 
 cess of being abated, it is plain that their causes are re- 
 moved ; and, to effect this, they must have been subjected 
 to a judgment. The evils which remain may be regarded 
 as echoes of the disruption that has been accomplished. 
 Society does not acknowledge nor connive at them ; the 
 public face is utterly against them ; and the reason is be- 
 cause theii' spiritual causes have been removed. The sen- 
 sual may shake their heads over these facts ; professors of the 
 Chui'ch may turn away from these conclusions ; the world 
 may hesitate to accept them ; but all this scepticism leaves 
 the Christian logic of the case in full possession of the field. 
 
 No one who accepts the Bible for his guide will ever 
 venture to affirm that any moral results can take place 
 among mankind which have not their origin in some spirit- 
 ual cause. And we explain the abolition of the public 
 evils which prevailed throughout the Christian world a 
 century ago, by asserting that their causes were broken up 
 in the spiritual world by the Lord having then executed 
 a judgment upon them. We affirm that this event trans- 
 pired about the middle of the last century ; that the world 
 of spii'its was the scene of it ; that the spii'its of departed 
 men, who were there collected, became the subjects of it ; 
 and that some of the results of that phenomenon have since 
 been manifested in the Avorld of men. The results are 
 certain : the existence of men as spirits in the world of 
 spirits after natural death is equally certain ; and the 
 circumstance that those spirits exercise an influence of 
 some sort upon their survivors upon the earth is plainly 
 taught us in the Word. It is clear, then, that when those 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 289 
 
 causes liave brouglifc about a dangerous crisis in the affairs 
 of men, the perils which they threaten can only be pre- 
 vented by means of a judgment. And surely, when events 
 transpire in society which show that evil causes must have 
 been dispersed, we have demonstration that a judgment must 
 have been performed. This, then, is the case submitted to 
 the consideration of the reader ; the judgment which we 
 believe to have taken place about the middle of the last 
 century consisted in the removal of abandoned spii-its from 
 the world of spirits, and thus in a breaking up of the 
 malevolent influences which they exercised on men. We 
 appeal to the altered condition of society as a proof of that 
 occurrence. 
 
 This judgment was declared to have taken place before 
 any evidences of such a fact could transpire among man- 
 kind, and in the very midst of circumstances requiring such 
 a remedy. Since that time the evidences have come ; and 
 does not this also prove the preternatural origin of that 
 announcement ? If reasoning can conduct to a satisfactory 
 conclusion, surely this may be accepted. Men have been 
 accustomed to look forward to this judgment as an event 
 which was to overthrow the universe, because that has 
 been the opinion of the Church. The prophecies upon the 
 subject have been darkened by that misrepresentation, and 
 hence mankind have been led to expect what the Scriptures 
 were never intended to teach. This event, though very 
 extraordinary in itself, was not intended to destroy the 
 natural world, but to restore order in the spiritual world. 
 It was, as it were, the removing of a cloud that had dairk- 
 ened the Church, and providing a sunshine by wliich to 
 illuminate its future progress. And this, like all the orderly 
 providences of God, was accomplished without being 
 immediately recognised in the world of men ; though it 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 THE LAST JTJD GHENT, AST) 
 
 rendered tliem partakers of the advantages derived from 
 it. Of this idea the prophet has furnished ns with a re- 
 markable illustration. It is written, " My people are gone 
 into captivity, because they have no knowledge : and their 
 honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up 
 ■with thirst. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and 
 opened her mouth without measure : and then- glory, and 
 their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall 
 descend into it. And the mean man shall be brought down, 
 and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the 
 lofty shall be humbled : but the Lord of hosts shall be 
 exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sancti- 
 fied in righteousness."^ Here it is declared that the cor- 
 ruptions of the Church had brought it into desolation ; 
 knowledge had gone, honour had perished, and the result 
 was that hell, tJiat is hades, became enlarged ; thereupon a 
 judgment was to be executed; and the exaltation of the 
 Lord would follow. This is the order of such events, as 
 presented to us both by the Scriptures and history. 
 
 The Lord distinctly taught that His second coming would 
 take place as a thief in the night, thus that it would not 
 be a phenomenon among men, having the publicity of day- 
 light, yet if would be one that would cause itself to be 
 acknowledged by results which would follow. So that the 
 accomplishment of this event implies a twofold purpose 
 in the Divine coming ; first, His manifestation in the world 
 of spirits by the judgment which occurred; and second, 
 His manifestation in the world of men by the improved 
 condition of society. Thus, personally in the one, but 
 influentially in the other. 
 
 Among the earliest evidences which the world had of 
 this judgment — evidences indicating the desperation of the 
 1 Isa. V. 13-16. 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 291 
 
 evil spirits — were those fearful hostilities which broke out, 
 not only in Europe, but in every other portion of the world 
 where a community of professing Christians existed. In 
 those fearful events the Churches took an odious part, and 
 infidelity avowed its wretched principles. Wars, indeed, 
 had previously been waged during the history of Christi- 
 anity ; and no doubt they were indications of some spiritual 
 wickedness in high places. Wars could not exist, if wicked- 
 ness did not promote them. But those wars which followed 
 upon the last judgment were not upon that hmited scale 
 which distinguished their predecessors ; they afiected with 
 their desolations every portion of the Christian world.^ 
 Wherever Christianity was professed, there war placed 
 his iron foot, and trod out some of the nations from the 
 earth. " Nation rose against nation, and kingdom against 
 kingdom, and there were famines, pestilences, and earth- 
 quakes in divers places ; the distress of nations, men's 
 hearts failuig them for fear.'" Professing Christians let 
 loose upon each other the demons of military carnage : in 
 
 1 The year in which the last judgment is considered to have taken 
 place is 1757. In that year the " Seven Years' war" commenced ; and 
 " in 1758 the war raged in all quarters of the world." — History of 
 England. Student's Hume. 
 
 - In 1770, famine and pestilence destroyed 168,000 persons in Bohe- 
 mia ; 20,000 persons in Russia and Poland ; and occasioned a weekly 
 mortality of 1000 persons daily in Constantinople. Two years after- 
 wards, from the same causes, 133,229 persons perished at Moscow, and 
 80,000 at Bassorah. Other fearful instances could be cited. Of earth- 
 quakes a great number might be mentioned. In 1759 there was one in 
 Syria which destroyed 20,000 persons ; in 1773, the city of St. Jago, in 
 Guatemala, was buried, and 8000 persons perished in the ruins. Others 
 occurred in Smyrna, Calabria, St. Lucia ; in Tuscany, throughout Cam- 
 pania, in Asia Minor, Quito, and in many other places ; so that those 
 who insist on such external evidence by which to interpret the prophecies 
 may have them in abundance. But by famine, pestilence, and earth- 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEKT, AJTD 
 
 their violence they seemed to have forgotton that there is 
 a Prince of peace ; they disregarded His injunction, and 
 gave up all practical interest in the peaceful principles of 
 the Gospel. Surely events like these must have originated 
 in some great convulsion taking place in the world of 
 spirits — a convulsion which was consigning the wicked to 
 their terrible destination, and manifesting the fact to the 
 natural world in the calamities referred to. 
 
 Distresses like these have always been among the first 
 evidences to men that a judgment has taken place. A 
 judgment was executed by the Lord at His first advent, 
 and how fearful were the suffei-ings which befel the people 
 who professedly had formed the Church ! Before that time 
 instances of a similar character had transpired, and who 
 can doubt that they were all intended to teach us principles 
 by which to interpret the predictions in which the last 
 judgment is announced ? When, however, those visita- 
 tions have accomplished their vastating purposes among ' 
 mankind, we find that a new and improved condition has 
 followed. Amendment of society and useful progress are 
 among the secondary evidences by which men may be 
 assured that a judgment has been accomplished. To what 
 other intelligible cause can be adequately referred the 
 advantages which distinguish the age in which we live ? 
 pjach class of evidence is spoken of in the Scriptures in 
 connection with the judgments they reveal. We believe 
 they were intended to teach us how to interpret the last 
 judgment that is predicted, as well as how to understand 
 the origin of the phenomena by which we arc, in the pre. 
 sent day, surrounded. The extent of the distresses which 
 
 quakes in divers places, are not properly meant that such things would 
 tike place in the naturiil world, but events corresponding thereto in the 
 spiritual 
 
SECOND COMIWO OF THE LOED. 
 
 293 
 
 were experienced upon tlie one hand, and tlie universality 
 of the advantages which are in course of beinar deve- 
 loped upon the other, are well known and extraordinary. 
 Those wars, in accordance with the natural tendency of 
 evil, wore themselves out. Following every convulsion, 
 a milder spirit endeavoured to find its way into the minds 
 of men, and when peace came, the new era that had begun 
 manifested to the world that henceforth goodness would be 
 supreme. The escutcheon of the period was, and still may 
 be, tarnished with disastrous stains, but those stains have 
 been, and we believe always will be, local in their origin 
 and operations ; nor can they ever extinguish the light 
 which a wise Providence has mercifully enkindled.^ 
 
 Thus the circumstances which distinguished Christen- 
 dom, both before and after the period to which we assign the 
 last judgment, were very similar to those which have taken 
 place at the close of all preceding dispensations. They 
 were necessary to indicate the catastrophe, and were re- 
 quisite to exhibit to men the evidences of its execution. 
 
 This judgment is called the last, to express the idea that 
 it is the final general judgment by which a corrupted 
 Chui'ch was brought to its end. Other judgments wiU, of 
 course, follow upon all who subsequently pass into the world 
 
 ' After the judgment there is not to be expected any great changes 
 in the natmal world as to its external forms. There will be treaties of 
 peace and also wars as before, and other things which relate to the 
 general and particular government of societies. But the state of the 
 Church will be changed ; it may be as to external appearances, similar to 
 that which it had been, but it will be dissimilar as to its internal. The 
 man of the Church wiU be in a freer state of thinking about matters of 
 faith, consequently about spiritual things which belong to heaven, be- 
 cause spiritual freedom is restored. Swedenborg's Last Jildgtnent, 116. 
 How truly are the facts thus related being experienced ; and does not 
 this realization prove the spiritual insight of the writer ? 
 
294 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 of spirits, but the last judgment has provided against the 
 possibility of spirits remaining and accumulating there as 
 they had done before. The characters of men since that 
 period have been formed vmder the influence of greater 
 freedom ; and one result of this will be that, when they 
 pass from hence, their judgment will be more speedily 
 accomplished. 
 
 Such are some of our views, and some of the reasons 
 which have led us to adopt the, perhaps, astonishing con- 
 clusion we have been attempting to explain. While the 
 generality of Christians are looking forward to the last 
 judgment as an event which is to bring ruin upon the uni- 
 verse, we believe that it has already been accomplished, 
 and that its purpose was to lay a foundation on which the 
 regeneration of the world is to be achieved. 
 
 And now we commend these subjects to the careful con- 
 sideration of the pious and intelligent. We desire that 
 they should be reflected upon wisely and justly, and that 
 nothing should be accepted unless it approves itself to 
 reason, enlightened by a knowledge of the Scriptures, and 
 to conscience, guided by the love of spiritual truth. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN 
 WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. 
 
 Argument. — Effects by which a judgment in the world of spirits is dis- 
 played in the world of men. — The second coming of the Lord a 
 Di\-ine influence from Him operating through His Word. — DifiSculties 
 connected with the literal interpretation of Matthew xxiv. 30. — 
 Other modes related of the Divine coming besides that described in 
 Matthew. — All the Divine appearances were made under different 
 names. — The second coming to he under a name different from any 
 of the rest. — The vision of transfiguration. — The Lord seen after His 
 resurrection by the spiritual sight of His disciples. — The narrative 
 of His ascension explained. — The appearing of the sign of the Son 
 of man in heaven, and His coming in the clouds of heaven. — The pri- 
 mary scene in which those appearances occurred. — How they are to 
 be understood in the world of men. — Mind associated with spiritual 
 influences. — Illustrations. — The second coming of the Lord to men, 
 His Divine influence upon them for good. — How this influence is to 
 be recognised. — The Lord always comes as the Word, to effect some 
 beneficial change upon mankind. — No personal appearance of the 
 Lord could instruct us concerning Him so well as His Word 
 does. — The sign of the Son of man a testification of the Word re- 
 specting the Lord. — Of the tribes of the earth mourning, and the 
 tribes of the earth who are to see the Lord coming in the clouds of 
 heaven. — Various illustrations. — The signification of " power and 
 great glory."— The realization of this Divine prophecy a renewal of 
 the Church, effected through an improved understanding of the 
 Word. — The medium through which this understanding has been 
 effected. — Brief recapitulation of the effects of judgment manifest 
 in the world. — The new advantages enjoyed by society an evidence 
 that a new spiritual influence is at work. — We are now living in the 
 time of the second advent. — Illustrations. — Within the last cen- 
 tury a new activity developed in every department of civilization 
 
296 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 and knowledge. — The source of this new activity. — The Lord's 
 Church, through His Word, more or less directly the source of all 
 man's advantages. — Tbe new freedom with which men think and 
 speak on spiritual things. — A characteristic of the second advent to 
 make all things new. — Illustration of this, in philanthropic pur- 
 suits, moral observance, reUgious influences, and in all departments 
 of science and philosophy. — Appeal to the reflecting. 
 
 We now come to treat of tlie second coming of tbe Lord. 
 Much tliat has been said, in preceding chapters, -will have 
 prepared the reader for an interpretation of the prophecies 
 concerning it, somewhat different from that to which he 
 may have been accustomed. The phrase, " second coming 
 of the Lord," Hke that of " the last judgment," is not a 
 scriptural, but a populai* method of speaking of that event. 
 It is quite clear from what is written upon the subject that 
 the second advent of the Lord is an occurrence intimately 
 associated with the last judgment. Doubtless the Lord 
 came to effect a judgment ; but the execution of that phe- 
 nomenon in the world of spirits was to be followed by a 
 manifestation of the Divine glory in the world of men. 
 That judgment, as we have attempted to show, consisted 
 in testing the lives of all those who were in the world of 
 spirits with the requirements of the Divine Word, iu 
 raising into heaven those whose characters were in con- 
 formity with the demands of truth, and in removing into 
 the opposite kingdom those Avhose characters were con- 
 trary tu its teachings. By these means Divine order was 
 restored, especially in the intermediate region of the 
 spiritual world ; and so the way was cleared by which the 
 influences of heaven wore enabled to reach mankind with- 
 out interruption from the hindrances which had previously 
 existed. The clouds which liad Ions been gatlierin<r were 
 finally removed, and the sunshine which had been obstructed 
 
SECOKD COMINO OF THE LORD. 
 
 297 
 
 was enabled to descend. The first indications observable, 
 when a certain class of natural clouds is about to be dis- 
 persed, are the flash of the Hghtning, the roU of the 
 thunder, the descent of the rain, and other attendants of a 
 tempest, by which life is endangered and property destroyed. 
 After a while, however, the storm subsides, a calm sets in, 
 the blue sky appears, and the sun once more shines forth 
 with brilliancy and beauty. Something similar to this 
 occurs in connection with the last judgment and the 
 second coming of the Lord. The earliest evidences given 
 to the world that these clouds of spiritual darkness, which 
 had been so long overshadowing the Chuxch, were being 
 removed, are to be found in those unhappy commotions 
 which distressed every nation in which Christianity was 
 professed. Wars, with their attendant calamities, inflicted 
 great suSering upon the people. But in the process of 
 time these disasters subsided, and then a new era began 
 to dawn upon the world, fraught with advantages to man- 
 kind, unparalleled in the history of our race. The first part 
 of this marvellous drama revealed to us the judgment by 
 which wicked spirits had been consigned to their dii-e 
 abodes : The second jiart disclosed the judgment by which 
 good spirits had been elevated into heaven ; and by those 
 two judgments the way was prepared for the second 
 coming of the Lord. This coming, however, is not to be 
 understood as a personal advent upon the earth, but as a* 
 Divine influence proceeding from the Lord through His 
 Word, and operating beneficially upon the minds of men.' 
 It was by means of His Word that He efiected His judg- 
 ment in the world of spirits, and it is by means of His 
 Word that He is to come with power and gi'eat glory to 
 ' " There are some among us who are looking for the speedy coming 
 of Christ. They expect, before another year closes, to see Him in clouds, 
 
298 
 
 THE LAST JITDGMEITT, AKD 
 
 the world of men. These are some of the points to which 
 we will now direct our attention. 
 
 The Lord Jesus Christ plainly said, "I will come 
 again. In other portions of the Gospels, besides John, 
 the same fact is spoken of with much precision, and the 
 expectation of its fulfilment has been cherished in all ages 
 of the Christian Church ; but the way in which this 
 promise is to be accomplished is not so clearly expressed : 
 hence much obscurity has prevailed concerning it. The 
 Lord's words upon the subject are, " 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." ^ No one who thinks upon the term of 
 this prediction with any exactness, can suppose that by 
 " the sign of the Son of man in heaven," is meant some 
 remarkable appearance in the sky, or that by His coming 
 in the clouds of heaven is signified His descending in the 
 vapours of the earth ; and surely His " power " will not be 
 exhibited in the production of disaster, nor His "glory" 
 
 to hear His voice, to stand before His judgment-seat. Those illusions 
 spring from misintei7)retation of Scripture language. Christ, in the New 
 Testament, is said to come whenever His religion breaks out in new 
 glory, or gains new triumphs. He came in the Holy Spirit on the day 
 of Pentecost. He came in the destruction of Jerusalem, by which He 
 ^ subverted the whole ritual law, and, breaking the power of the worst 
 enemies of His religion, ensured Him new ^^ctories. He came in the 
 Reformation and in Protestantism. He came this day four years ago, 
 when, through His religion, 800,000 men were raised from the lowest 
 degradation to the rights and dignity and fellowship of men. Christ's 
 outward appearance is of little moment compared with the higher mani- 
 festations of His Spii-it." — Address by Dr. Channing, delivered at Lenox, 
 3Iassachusetts, on August 1st, 1842, the anniversary of Negro Emanci- 
 pation in the British West Indies. 
 
 ' John xiv. 3. • Matt. xxiv. .SO. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE lORD. 
 
 299 
 
 displayed in worldly ma^ificence. All such interpreta- 
 tions of tlie prophecy are utterly unworthy of so profound 
 a subject, and they are rather adapted to terrify the igno- 
 rant than to instruct the thoughtful.' The very fact that 
 " the sign of the Son of man " is to appear in heaven seems 
 sufficient to show that He never designed that statement 
 to be understood as a declaration that He would person- 
 ally come again upon earth. The prediction that all the 
 tribes of the earth are to see Him coming in the clouds of 
 heaven cannot mean that all the people of the world are 
 to behold Him descending in the clouds of the air. That 
 would be impossible. The clouds, at theii" greatest eleva- 
 tion, are not far from the earth. When high and large, they 
 can only be seen at a very inconsiderable distance, and 
 
 1 A large part of the Christian world is of opinion that the second 
 coming of the Lord is stiU to be looked for. It appears that in former 
 times this belief was more vivid than it is now ; before the year 1000, 
 men were eagerly expecting it when that year should begin. In 
 Michelet's " History of France," it is recorded how the whole Christian 
 world looked with awe and terrible expectation to that time. The churches 
 were everywhere crowded, and the business of life was almost at a stand- 
 still; while mankind waited, as the population of a city threatened by an 
 earthquake wait, for the sounding of the archangel's trumpet ; but that 
 day of terrible anxiety passed away, and is now forgotten by all but the 
 students of antiquity. Mosheim corroborates this view. He says, "All 
 Europe was alarmed with the dismal apprehension that the day of judg- 
 ment was at hand and the world approaching to its final dissolution ; 
 for, among other effects of this panic terror, the churches and monas- 
 teries were suffered to fall into ruin, or at least to remain without repair, 
 from the notion that they would soon be involved in the general fate of 
 all sublunary things." — Eccles. Hist., Cent, xi., chap, iv., sec. iii. Since 
 that period, a year has scarcely passed without some persons announcing 
 the end of the present dispensation ; but belief in their prediction grows 
 weaker and weaker, and now such announcements excite but little alarm. 
 The time is passing away in which such misinterpretations of the pro^ 
 phecy can be accepted. 
 
300 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMEIfT, AlfD 
 
 any object upon them no bigger than a man could not be 
 discerned for half a dozen miles around. How utterly 
 untenable, then, is the idea of such an object being a 
 spectacle for all the inhabitants of the earth. What could 
 the people of America see of any atmospheric occui'rence in 
 Europe ? At night we cannot see the sun, although he is 
 shining upon the other side of our globe : how, then, could 
 oar antijjodes see any event which may take place in 
 the clouds with us ? However reluctant people may be 
 to give up the common interpretation of the above passage, 
 it is quite clear that it cannot be maintained. The mistake 
 has originated in fastening natural ideas upon figurative 
 terms, and it can be rectified only by a knowledge of that 
 spiritual philosophy which recognises the connection be- 
 tween spiritual and natural things. Of tins we shall give 
 an example when we come to show what is the true mean- 
 ing of the expression, " the clouds of heaven." There is 
 no more reason for supposing that the Lord ^vill make 
 His appearance in the natural clouds, than there is for 
 believing He will come with natural fire, and be sur- 
 rounded with a natural tempest, or that He mil come to 
 judgment riding upon a natural horse. David said, " Our 
 God shall come : 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."' And John writes, " I saw heaven opened, 
 and behold a -w hite horse ; and He that sat upon him was 
 called Faitliful and True, and in righteousness He doth 
 judge."- Every one sees that the Lord coming in fire, 
 with tempest, or riding upon a horse, does not mean that 
 He will come according to these descriptions, understood 
 in a natural sense. The fire, the tempest, and the white 
 1 Ps. 1. 3, 4. 2 Rev. six. 11. 
 
SECOKD COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 301 
 
 horse are symbols representing the various ways in which 
 the Divine displays Himself to the differing necessities 
 and conditions of mankind. 
 
 None of the Divine predictions concernuig the second 
 cominf of the Lord were ever intended to teach us that He 
 would again personally come into the natural world. Every 
 one may see that He did for man, at His first advent, all 
 that it was possible for Him to do by means of such a 
 coming. There were, at that time, circumstances in man's 
 spiritual condition which required the assumption of 
 humanity and the consequent presence of the Lord in the 
 natural world, in order to remove the evils with which 
 they were associated. He thereby made provision against 
 the possibility of their recurrence : and, therefore, the 
 necessity for a personal coming could no more arise. Every 
 case which is recorded of the Divine appearing is different, 
 because, at the time of its occurrence, there has always 
 been something different in the condition of the world 
 which has required it. On this principle it is plain that 
 • His promise to " come again" will be fulfilled in a manner 
 different from that of any previous coming. Indeed, the 
 Lord expressly said that the occasion for this second com- 
 ing would be such as had not been from the beginning of 
 the world. ^ If, then, the characteristics which are to dis- 
 tinguish mankind at the Lord's second coming are to be so 
 different from all those which have marked previous com- 
 ings, it seems plain that the mode in which that coming 
 will be effected must be different from all the rest. This, 
 indeed, follows from the statement that His second coming 
 is to take place under a title different from that by which He 
 was distinguished at His first advent. He then came as 
 the Son of God ; it was as such that He was received by 
 1 Matt, xxiy. 21. 
 
302 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AU"D 
 
 His disciples, and it was for the assumption of this title 
 that He was rejected by the Jews. But He has nowhere 
 said that that should be the name under which He would 
 come again. Whenever that subject is treated of, He in- 
 variably says that it is the Son of man who is to come. 
 
 It is exceedingly interesting to observe that all the chief 
 manifestations of the Divine Being have been eifected under 
 some distinctive title. Thus, to Adam He appeared as 
 " Jehovah God," to Noah as " God," to Abraham as " God 
 Almighty," to Moses as " I Am," to the seventy elders as 
 the "God of Israel," to Joshua as "the Captaiu of the 
 host of Jehovah," and to Gideon as " the Angel of Jeho- 
 vah." When He became "manifest in the flesh," it was 
 as " the Son of God," but it was as the Son of man that 
 He jDromised to come again. Now, as all the Divine mani- 
 festations, preceding that which is called the second com- 
 ing, differed from each other in their character, as each 
 was suited to the peculiar circumstances of the people to 
 whom it was made, and was indicated by a distiuctive 
 name, it is reasonable to infer that the second coming, 
 which is to be effected under a name different fi'om all the 
 rest, wiU also differ from the rest in its nature. 
 
 ^Moreover, the Lord, when He was in the world, glorified 
 His humanity. The apostle spoke of this as His glorious 
 body. It was, in some measure, revealed to three of the 
 disciples on the mount of transfiguration, but the nature of 
 it was such that it could not be seen with the natural eyes. 
 Hence, " as they came down from the mountain, Jesus 
 charged them saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the 
 Son of man be risen again from the dead."' And why 
 were they told not to speak of it till then ? Plainly be- 
 cause the resurrection body of the Lord would then be a 
 1 Matt. xvii. 9. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOBD. 
 
 303 
 
 Divine Humanity, some characteristic of which they had 
 been permitted to see in vision, and which, after the resur- 
 rection, the other disciples would also be enabled to see, 
 when their spiritual sight should be opened for the purpose. 
 Every one knows that the Lord, at and after His resurrec- 
 tion, was seen by His disciples only ; and when they saw 
 Him it was not with their natural eyes, but with a spiritual 
 vision. Hence, it is expressly said, " Their eyes were 
 opened, and they knew Him." ^ Thus His Divine Humanity 
 is such that it cannot become the object of any natural 
 sight, and therefore it is vain to expect that He will ever 
 again make a personal appearance in the physical world. 
 By glorifying His Humanity He withdi-ew Himself from 
 the natural sight of men, and thus rendered a personal 
 appearance unnecessary to any future ages of mankind. 
 Besides, how could such an appearance be effected without 
 a re-incarnation ? an idea for which no one will contend. 
 It is quite true that after His resui'rection the Lord was 
 seen personally, on several occasions, by His disciples ; but 
 it is equally true that the scene of those appearances was 
 in some region of the spiritual world, and that the sight 
 with which they saw Him was a spiritual sight. If this 
 were not so, why was He not seen by the common people 
 of the times ? Stni, very few pretend that by those ap- 
 pearances He fulfilled that which He meant by His pro- 
 mise to come again. In that promise the idea of a personal 
 appearing was no doubt included. This seems to be the 
 simple and unforced meaning of the terms of it ; but, inas- 
 much as the Divine Humanity in which the Lord now is 
 can only be seen by the spiritual sight of men, it follows 
 that the natural world cannot be the scene of it. This 
 conclusion seems to be distinctly revealed to us in the 
 ' Luke xxiv. 31. 
 
304 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, ANT) 
 
 history of tlie ascension. When that phenomenon was 
 about to be accomplished, the Lord, though then personally 
 visible to His disciples, was not living in the ordinary 
 plane of nature, nor did they see Him with their natural 
 sight : remembering those facts, we turn to the narrative. 
 " When they therefore were come together, they asked of 
 Him, saying. Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again 
 the kingdom to Israel ? And He said unto them. It is not 
 for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father 
 hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, 
 after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And when 
 He had spoken these things, while they beheld. He was 
 taken up ; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 
 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He 
 went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; 
 which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing 
 up into heaven ? this same J esus, which is taken up 
 from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye 
 have seen Him go into heaven."' Hence it is evident that 
 the disciples were not in their normal condition when they 
 witnessed this event. They saw the Lord, which men in 
 their ordinary condition could not do ; they were stead- 
 fastly looking towards heaven, thus not into the sky, but to 
 the dwelling-place of angels, and this is not the privilege 
 of man's natm-al state ; they also saw angels, for this is 
 the admitted meaning of the two men in white apparel, 
 and for this sight their spiritual eyes must have been 
 opened ; they heard the angel speak, and for this tbeir 
 spiritual faculty of hearing must have been awakened. 
 It is therefore certain that the scene of the ascension could 
 not have been upon the plane of the natural world ; the 
 Lord, after His resurrection, was in the world of spirits, 
 ' Acts i. 6-11. 
 
SECOND COMrtfG OF THE LORD. 
 
 305 
 
 and therefore it must have been from thence that the dis- 
 ciples, with their spiritual eyes, looked towards heaven as 
 He went up. When, therefore, the angels said unto them, 
 " This same Jesus, which is taken up from jou into heaven, 
 shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into 
 heaven," it seems plain that they referred to His personal 
 coming into the world of spirits, that, as we have before 
 explained, being the primary scene of all His judgments. 
 It is to the world of spirits where the Lord comes to "sepa- 
 rate the sheep from the goats ;" to give to those who have, 
 and to take away from those who only seem to have ; and 
 where, consequently, He " giveth to every man according 
 to his works." The Lord's promise, then, to come again, 
 seems very clearly to involve the idea of His personal 
 manifestation in the world of spirits to execute a judgment 
 there, and afterwards to reveal that event to mankind by 
 pouring out a beneficent influence upon them ; and espe- 
 cially by causing the true nature of His Divine Word to 
 be more clearly understood. 
 
 The Lord, when speaking of His second coming, said 
 that the sign of it should appear in heaven, and that the 
 Son of man should come in the clouds of heaven. Certainly 
 these terms do not express the idea of His personally 
 coming into the natural world. The scene of the subject 
 treated of is clearly laid in a plane above. He distinctly 
 says that the sign of it should appear in heaven, and that 
 He would be seen coming in the clouds of heaven ; now 
 "heaven" and "the clouds of heaven" do not mean the 
 sky and the vapours which arise from the earth, but the 
 eternal habitation of the spiritually good, and all those 
 obscurities of thought by which the bright condition of 
 the heavenly life is prevented from appearing. Thus the 
 appearance of the sign of the Son of man in heaven 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 THE LAST JTDG3IENT, A>'D 
 
 denotes a manifestation of Divine trntli respecting Him, in 
 tlie hearts of the faitlifal ; and by His being seen coming 
 in tlie clonds of heaven is meant a revelation of Divine 
 tmth respecting Him, to those who are in states of ob- 
 scurity concerning it. All states of obscm-ity concerning 
 the Lord and His kingdom are as clonds which hinder the 
 " Sun of righteousness " from appearing, and the Lord is 
 said to come in those clouds when that obscurity is en- 
 lightened ; because then, by means of that light, the Son 
 of man — the Lord in His Divine Humanity — ^will be ac- 
 knowledged. Thus the sign of the Son of man iu heaven 
 denotes the activity of Divine truth among the angels, and 
 His coming in the clouds of heaven, primarily refers to 
 the Lord's appearing in the world of spirits, and not in the 
 world of nature as is commonly supposed. 
 
 But although the world of spirits Avas to be the primary 
 scene in which the Lord would fulfil His promise to come 
 again, there can be no doubt that the prediction was in- 
 tended to have a striking significance in reference to the 
 world of men. The Lord's personal appearance in the one 
 was designed to have a remarkable influence in the other. 
 
 Whatsoever takes place above must, sooner or later, 
 display itself below. All that transpires in natui-e is from 
 a spiritual origin. It is from the spiritual world that men 
 think and act. It is common to ascribe those results to 
 the mind of the thinker and the actor ; but that arrests 
 inquiry into the origin of thought and act before it has 
 completed its work. What is mind ? Is it not a spiritual 
 faculty associated with a spiritual power otlter than itself ? 
 It does not live of itself; how then can it think or act 
 from itself ? Do we not sometimes experience the sudden 
 sussestion of ideas which we are not conscious of having 
 made any elTort to obtain ? Have not ideas sometimes 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 307 
 
 come into our minds, wliicli liave actually interrupted the 
 progress of a train of thought in which we were engaged ? 
 Are not impulses excited, and inclinations inseminated, by 
 some interior forces which we find to be foreign to our- 
 selves ? Are we not the subjects of temptation, and do 
 we not feel the influence of some dictate to resist it ? 
 Who has not experienced the struggle of two opposing 
 forces within him, and felt that the result would depend 
 upon the way in which he employed his freedom? All 
 these are well-known facts ; and they can only be explained 
 upon the principle that men are in continual association 
 with the spiritual woi'ld, and that they think and act ft'om 
 thence. If this be remembered, no diflBculty need be ex- 
 perienced in seeing that all extraordinary occurrences 
 which take place in the spiritual world must, sooner or 
 later, cause their influences to be felt among men in the 
 natural world. 
 
 This is a point which will admit of many illustrations 
 from the historical portion of the Scriptures. We will, 
 however, only refer to one ; it has been cited before, but it 
 is eminently useful to our purpose now. When the Lord 
 made His first advent. He said, " For judgment am I come 
 into this world;" "now is the judgment of this world;" 
 "the Prince of this Avorld is judged ;" " be of good cheer, 
 I have overcome the world." Now where was the scene of 
 those events ? Nothing then took place in the natural world 
 which answers to these descriptions. Where did they 
 occur ? The only satisfactory answer is that they must have 
 occurred in the world of spirits : the results of those occur- 
 rences were subsequently displayed in the world of men : 
 thus showing the connection subsisting between men and 
 their spiritual associates in the spiritual world. We learn 
 these facts from the Scriptures. All the extraordinary 
 
 X 2 
 
308 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 events Avhicli tliey relate, as having occurred in the spiritual 
 TvorW, in clue time had their iufluence with men on earth. 
 The judgment which the Lord executed in the world of 
 spirits at His first advent, was followed, in the first place, 
 as before remarked, by calamities among mankind ; of this 
 the Jewish wars afibrd sufficient example : but that re- 
 gion of spiritual existence having been reduced to order, 
 we find that beneficial influences were brought to bear 
 upon mankind, and that a new condition of humanity was 
 then commenced. What a change did the establishment 
 of Christianity eSect among the nations ? The external 
 teachiugs of the apostles, if they had not been accompanied 
 by an internal influence fi'om on high, would not have been 
 adequate to produce such results. External teaching and 
 internal influence were both necessary for their accomplish- 
 ment. Hence we read that the disciples " wont forth, and 
 preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and 
 confirming the Word with signs following." * From these 
 considerations it seems evident that whenever the Lord 
 fulfils His promise to come again, it will be indicated by 
 some similar results among mankind. Thus, when the Lord 
 comes personally into the world of spu-its to establish a 
 new condition of order there. He will also come influen- 
 tially into the world of men, to bring about a new state of 
 intelligence with them. Surely a state of order in the one 
 must be followed by some advantages in the other. The 
 Lord does not clear the way and then refuse to send by it 
 the blessings He is wishful to bestow. The ultimate pur- 
 pose of the Divine coming must be to benefit the world by 
 communicating to men some superior information, especially 
 concerning His Word, the Lord working with it, and 
 raising society unto a higher platform of practical and 
 ^ Mark xvi. 20. 
 
SECOND COMrtIG OP THE LORD. 
 
 309 
 
 spiritual knowledge. Wheresoever the Lord is acknow- 
 ledged, it is clear that some advantages must be enjoyed, 
 and the purer that acknowledgment is, the greater will be 
 the blessing. The coming of the Lord to mankind will be 
 like sunshine upon the earth ; men will not only be en- 
 lightened by His wisdom, but they will be warmed by His 
 love, and be made fruitful in those things which make for 
 their peace. Every one who will carefully reflect upon 
 what is written concerning the second coming of the Lord, 
 must see that it means the exercise of a Divine influence 
 with a view to the conferring of some great advantage 
 upon Christianity and the world. 
 
 But how is this Divine influence — this second coming of 
 the Lord — to be recognised and displayed ? We answer, 
 that in the first place, it will be seen in those superior 
 teachings of the Holy Word which it will be sure to un- 
 fold ; and secondhj, it will be displayed in all such improve- 
 ments as will certainly take place in the religious perception 
 and the moral and civil state of the world. 
 
 It is particularly to be observed that the Lord has 
 always come to men through the instrumentality of His 
 Word. In that Word He has had for them some wisdom 
 which He desired to communicate for their acceptance and 
 faith. He came to Moses and the prophets by His Word. 
 This is plainly taught in all those passages in which they 
 said that the Word of the Lord had come to them. We 
 also know that His first advent was as " the Word made 
 flesh." As it is evident that the Lord has always come for 
 the purpose of communicating information respecting His 
 Word, consequently concerning Himself, so it is equally 
 certain that in every case He has made known some new 
 intelligence upon those subjects. Thus, although the Lord 
 has always come to men through the medium of some 
 
310 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEJrT, AJTB 
 
 Divine teaching, it has always been -n-ith some new af?pect, 
 and with the purpose of effecting some new blessings by 
 means of it. We believe this is the way in which He will 
 mpke His second coming, and that the design of it is to 
 px'omote the wisdom and happiness of men. His first ad- 
 vent was as the Word made flesh, and thus as the Word in 
 humiliation. His second advent is to be as the Word made 
 spii'it, and thus as the Word ia its e.caltation. As His first 
 coming was a natural and personal manifestation to men, 
 so His second coming is to be a spiritual and influential 
 revelation among them. He expressly said the Son of man 
 shall be revealed.' All the characteristics of that event 
 are implied in the terms of the prediction respecting it. 
 Those characteristics have been already mentioned, and 
 their meaning in reference to the world of spirits has been 
 indicated ; we now therefore come to notice their signifi- 
 cance in reference to the world of men. 
 
 As the Lord has completed His Word, it may be 
 evident that He will come to men by means of it alone. 
 He expects that they will see Him in that which He has 
 tauo-ht them concerning Himself. We could not know 
 half so much about Him by any natural sight, as we can 
 learn from that which He has been pleased to tell us in 
 his Word ; therein He has mercifully revealed all that can 
 be spiritually and intellectually known concerning Him, 
 and therefore it is unreasonable to suppose that any 
 personal appearing in the natural world is denoted by the 
 predictions which refer to His second advent. 
 
 The heaven of which the Scriptures treat is a state of 
 love, light, and holiness within us, for the Lord said, " The 
 kingdom of God is within you." " The sign of the Son of 
 man" is the testification of the Word concerning Him. 
 * Luke xvii. 30. 
 
SECOIO) COJinfG OF THE LOUD. 
 
 311 
 
 It is plain tliat hj a sign is meant some distinguisMng 
 evidence, and consequently, tlie sign of the Son of man 
 must denote some testimony respecting tlie Lord. Every 
 trntli which informs ns concerning the Lord is a sign, 
 calling our attention to Him and supplying materials for 
 the formation of our faith. Hence the appearance of the 
 sign of the Son of man in heaven is the recognition of 
 the Lord in His Divine Humanity by spiritually minded 
 men. What can be the sign of the Lord's coming to any 
 of us, but an interior perception of Him and of those 
 heavenly truths of His Word which teach us to know and 
 love Him ? Surely this must have been the idea which He 
 desired His disciples to accept as His answer to their in- 
 qidry, " Tell us, what shall be the sign of Thy coming ? " 
 
 But on the appearance of this sign, it is said, " All the 
 tribes of the earth shall mourn." By the earth is signified 
 the Church : hence we read of the earth being " full of the 
 knowledge of the Lord,'" of the earth being full of the 
 riches of the Lord,^ of the earth being full of the mercy of 
 the Lord,^ of the earth rejoicing,* and many other similar 
 statements, in which it is evident that the Church is 
 signified ; and therefore " all the tribes of the earth " do 
 not mean all the inhabitants of the world, but all those 
 who have some spiritual relationship with the Church. 
 This is why they are spoken of as tribes ; for it was among 
 certain tribes, and not among all people, that the rejire- 
 sentative Church was established. Moreover those who 
 are treated of are, properly the tribes (t^s yrjs, tes cjes) of the 
 land, that is, geographically, of the land of Judsea where the 
 representative Church existed. From this it may be seen 
 that by " all the tribes of the earth " are denoted all those 
 
 1 Isa. xi. 9. 2 Ps. civ. 24. s Ps. cxis. G4. 
 * Ps. scvii. 1. 
 
812 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEITT, AITD 
 
 wlio are connected with the Church, through a love of truth 
 and goodness. They are said to mourn when the sign of 
 the Son of man appears, because they will experience grief 
 when, by means of truth, they see the errors which have 
 prevailed concerning Him. The sincere will be sure to 
 lament when they learn how truth has been mistaken, and 
 perceive the difficulties which stand in the way to oppose 
 its proclamation and acceptance. 
 
 Now it is persons of this character who are to " see the 
 Son of man coming ia the clouds of heaven." As the 
 sign of the Son of man is that Divine truth which calls 
 attention to Him ; so the Son of man is the Lord in His 
 Divine Humanity, in which He has mercifully adapted 
 Himself to the faith and apprehension of mankind. Hence 
 He is the true light which cnlighteneth every man that 
 Cometh into the world ; that is, of all who come into the 
 Church : for He is not the light of those who are not of 
 the Church. The clouds in which He is to come to men 
 are those literal representations of His Word by which His 
 spiritual glory is obscured. By that Word He teaches and 
 enlightens, as men are disposed to learn and obey. The 
 letter of it is called the clouds of heaven, because it veils 
 the heavenly things contained within, and those things 
 are so veiled to protect them from the profanations of the 
 wicked. The clouds of nature are generally considered 
 as the lowest parts of the natural heavens, covering the 
 light which is above ; yet they are always more or less 
 irradiated by it, and they transmit the light which they 
 receive, in a modified form, to the earth which is below. 
 It is on this account that they have been selected to 
 represent the letter of the Word. For that is the basis 
 of all heavenly truth, veiling the light which is within ; 
 yet the letter is variously illuminated by it, and this it 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 313 
 
 communicates in some modified form to the men of the 
 Chm-cli. The analogy is complete. 
 
 It is interesting to observe with what frequency clouds 
 are mentioned in the Word in connection with Divine 
 things, and to notice that in all cases they are symbols of 
 that obscurity with which spiritual light is presented in 
 the letter of revelation. The psalmist says, " Sing unto 
 God . . . that rideth upon the heavens ;" ^ He " maketh 
 the clouds His chariots His "truth reacheth unto the 
 clouds."^ The prophet, also, says, " The Lord rideth upon 
 a swift cloud. Evidently, in those cases, by clouds are 
 not meant physical vapours, but those literal statements of 
 the Divine Word in which spiritual things are expressed 
 by natural terms. The Lord is said to ride upon those 
 clouds and to make them His chariots, because they are 
 the mediums by which He comes down to convey spiritual 
 light to men. His faithfulness is said to reach unto the 
 clouds,'' because the fidelity of the Divine character is 
 declared in the letter of the Word. The letter presents 
 conflicting statements concerning the Lord, and therefore 
 it is said that clouds are round about Him.® His strength 
 is said to" be in the clouds,' because the power of Divine 
 teaching is in the letter of the Word, the strength of 
 pure truth must lie in its appropriate utterance. It is by 
 
 » Ps. Ixviii. 4. ^ Ps. civ. 3. 3 Ps. Ivii. 10. * Isa. xix. 1. 
 s Ps. xxxvi. 5. 
 
 Ps. xcvii. 2. The Lord is said to be " love," and to be " angi'y ;" to 
 " repent," and " not to repent ; " to Lave " vengeance," and that " fury 
 is not in Him ; " and so the truth is, as it were, enveloped in a cloud, 
 ■which can only be cleared away by the declaration, " With the merciful 
 Thou wilt show Thyself merciful ; with the upright man Thou wilt 
 show thyself upright ; with the pm-e Thou wilt show Thyself pure ; and 
 with thefroward Thou wOt show Thyself froward" (Ps. sviiL. 25, 26). 
 ' Ps. Ixviii. 34. 
 
314 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AlfD 
 
 means of tilings external that tilings internal are bronglit 
 down to hnman apprehension ; the former is as a cloud in 
 which the authority of the latter resides, and so " upon 
 all the glory there is a defence." ' The cloud which over- 
 shadowed Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration 
 of the Lord, and the cloud by which He was finally re- 
 ceived out of the sight of the disciples," represented those 
 literal statements of the Word by which the Divine glory 
 is obscured. Surely it cannot be difficult to see that all 
 natural images, when employed to express Divine ideas, 
 must, of necessity, be as a cloud shutting out some of that 
 pure light which shines above them. Still, like the clouds 
 of the atmosphere, some of those images are more trans- 
 parent than others. Hence it is that some Divine truths 
 appear in the letter of the Word with greater clearness 
 than others. In many places the truth is so concealed 
 that scarcely anything appears ; in other places, the mys- 
 tery is not so great, and there some spiritual teaching is 
 discerned. It therefore seems impossible to avoid the con- 
 clusion that the letter of the Word is as a cloud veiling the 
 Divine light which it receives ; and that in different parts 
 it varies in its brightness, in order that it may be service- 
 able to all conditions of mankind. And this being so, it is 
 manifest that the phrase, "the clouds of heaven," is de- 
 signed to represent the various obscurations of Divine 
 truth, as it is presented in the literal sense of the Word. 
 Every one knows that there are numerous things related 
 in the Word which require interpretation to bring out their 
 significance ; and thus that the true light is as it were 
 hidden, as though by a cloud, in the expression. This 
 cloud has been too frequently mistaken for a perfect light, 
 and hence it is that such a variety of conflicting opinions 
 1 Isa. iv. 5. * Luke is. 33-35 ; Acts i. 9. 
 
SECOND COiriNG 01" THE lORB. 
 
 315 
 
 have prevailed respecting the teaching of the Word. The 
 appearances of trutli were mistaken for realities ; the 
 difficulties wliicli this created led to disputations, until, at 
 length, the Church drifted into darkness ; and then she 
 pronounced the most eminent of her doctrines to be a 
 mystery. That, however, which is spiritual in its nature, 
 such as the Divine Word is declared to be, cannot be pre- 
 sented to men in its native brightness during their lifetime 
 in the world ; therefore, God has been mercifully pleased 
 to exhibit it in various degrees of shade, so that men may 
 be enabled to see something of its glory. 
 
 The Lord not only told His disciples that He would be 
 seen coming in the clouds of heaven ; He made a similar 
 statement to the high-priest, who had said unto Him, 
 " Tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God." His 
 reply was, " Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting 
 on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of 
 heaven."^ No doubt the high-priest understood this state- 
 ment in a natural sense ; and therefore he rent his clothes, 
 and declared it to be blasphemy. That, however, was not 
 the sense in which the words were spoken ; and this every 
 one may see who will carefully reflect upon them. The 
 whole sentence is couched in figurative terms, and referred 
 to His revelation of Himself at some future time in the 
 letter of His Word, when even the ignorant should see Him. 
 
 That the clouds of heaven do not mean the clouds of the 
 air may also be evident from this circumstance, that Daniel 
 said, " I saw in the night- visions, and, behold, one like the 
 Son of man came with the clouds of heaven."^ In this 
 passage, an event is stated to have occurred very similar 
 to that which we are considering ; it was not, however, in 
 the plane of nature, but above, for it is declared to have 
 1 Matt. xxvi. 63, 64. " Dan. vii. 13. 
 
316 
 
 THE LAST jrDGiTEyT, AST) 
 
 been a vision. Jolm also relates a similar event. He say.s, 
 " I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the clond 
 one sat like unto the Son of man."* How evident it is, 
 then, that the coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven 
 cannot have any reference to a physical event transpiring 
 in the domain of nature. And when the apostle said, 
 "Behold, He cometh with clouds," the design was to 
 teach us that the Lord will reveal Himself in the letter of 
 His TTord, and make known to the Church that spiritual 
 sense by which it is filled. Thus a period will arrive in 
 the history of the Church when the human mind will be 
 enabled to see the Lord, as the letter of the Word teaches 
 He ought to be seen, because it wiU be enlightened by 
 some knowledge of its spiritual sense. In connection 
 with the passage, " Behold, He cometh with clouds," it is 
 written, " Every eye shall see Him, and they also which 
 pierced Him : and all kindreds of the earth shall wail 
 because of Him." This, however, is not to be understood 
 of natural sight, but of mental perception. By every eye 
 seeing Him is denoted that every enlightened understand- 
 ing will acknowledge Him. The eye seeing is the under- 
 standiucr acknowledging. They also who pierced Him are 
 to see Him ; but this evidently cannot mean that single 
 soldier' by whom that cruelty was naturally inflicted, nor 
 simply those by whose authority it was done. The passage 
 refers to a class of persons of whose conduct that act was 
 typical. They who have pierced Him are they who have 
 denied His truth : but even those will be led to acknowledge 
 His jurisdiction in that final judgment which His truth 
 will execute. In these considerations we have an intel- 
 ligible interpretation of the prophecies ; one which reaches 
 
 > Rev. sir. 1-4. » Rev. i. 7. 
 • Jolin sis. 34, " One of the soldiers ^rith a spear pierced His aide." 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE LORD. 
 
 317 
 
 the common understandings of men, and places the matter 
 npon a practical footing. It seems evident that they refer 
 to the renewal of the Chnrch among mankind, after a long 
 period of perversion. This renewal is to be effected by the 
 Lord's revealing the true nature and genuine doctrines of 
 His Holy Word : and who can deny that such a revelation 
 would accomplish all that the predicted second coming 
 can reasonably be expected to effect ? The design of that 
 event, as in similar cases, must be to communicate some 
 advantage to the Church, and thereby to the world at large. 
 All the special interpositions of the Lord in the affairs of 
 men are for the purpose of promoting some blessing. What 
 other object can He have in view, and by what other means 
 than His Word can it be accompUshed ? As His coming in 
 the clouds of heaven denotes the revelation of the Divine 
 truth contained in the letter of His Word, so the " power 
 and gi'eat glory," by which it is to be distinguished, signify 
 the power of Divine goodness, and the splendour of Divine 
 truth, which such a revelation will unfold. What other 
 power, or what other glory, than that which is contained 
 in His Word can He be solicitous that men should know ? 
 The Word is the medium by which the Lord communicates 
 with His people : by that Word He enlightens, by that He 
 ludges, and by that He saves them. 
 
 To effect such a revelation a human instrument was neces- 
 sary. The Lord at various times has mercifully made use 
 of suitable persons to communicate His truth to the world; 
 and the employment of these at one period has not set 
 aside the necessity for similar engagements at another. 
 The calling of Moses and Aaron did not supersede the 
 necessity for the raising up the prophets, nor did the mis- 
 sion of the prophets dispense with the call of the apostles; 
 and no one thinks that the selection of the twelve pre- 
 
318 
 
 THE LAST JTDGMEjrT, AXD 
 
 eluded tlie necessity for Paul, wlio was not among them. 
 If or is there any evidence to show that the Lord would not 
 emjDloy other instruments in later times, if the necessity 
 of His Church should require it. We behere, as we have 
 endeavoured to show, that such a necessity had aiTived 
 towards the middle of the last century, and therefore we 
 beheve that such an insti'ument must have been provided. 
 We accept Swedenborg as that instrument ; we do this, 
 after having carefully examined his claims, and found that 
 his expositions of the Word, and his philosophy concerning 
 the spiritual worlds, are such as to commend themselves to 
 our reason, judgment, and conscience. 
 
 It is admitted, even by those who deny his mission, that 
 he was a most extraordinary man, one whose capacities are 
 not to be measured by any common standard of intellect : 
 but it is objected that he was a visionary. We answer 
 that we are not aware there is anything very odious in 
 seeing visions. When they were enjoyed by holy men in 
 ancient times they were regarded as a privilege, and we 
 do not see why that privilege should be considered any 
 disparagement in modern days. Paul saw visions, and so 
 did some other of the apostles. When the Lord said that 
 " young men should see visions," He surely did not intend 
 that the fulfilment of it should be considered as a discredit^ 
 able circumstance ; on the contrary, He must have designed 
 it as the means for imparting information concerning the 
 spiritual world. ^len may ridicule such means of instruc- 
 tion, but they cannot refute the fact of its necessity. And 
 it is an indisputable truth that the iUustrions person to 
 whom we are alluding, has made known a spiritual sense 
 of the Word, and sho\\Ti the philosophy of it in a way that 
 was never known before : his teachings are perfectly con- 
 sistent with the high purposes of revelation and the re- 
 
SECOND COMING OP THE XOED. 
 
 319 
 
 quii'ements of tlie Cliurcli ; and tliey maintain tlirougliout 
 a rational dignity concerning spiritual things never before 
 attained. 
 
 As then we ai*e now aware of the meaning of the pro- 
 phecy, and made acquainted with the medium thi'ough 
 whom the explanation is obtained, our nest step is to 
 inquire concerning the evidences of its fulfilment. We see 
 that the Lord's second coming is an occurrence by which 
 the minds of men are to be affected, and through which 
 the Church and society are to experience renovation. 
 Every one who will fairly consider what is written above 
 upon the subject, must see that this occurrence is designed 
 to be the precursor of a new dispensation of religious 
 teaching, and thus to establish a new condition of the 
 Church and society in the world. Now are there any evi- 
 dences of such remarkable changes taking place ? If so, 
 they may most reasonably be attributed to the accomplish- 
 ment of the prophecy we are considering. Let us then 
 look abroad, and observe what is transpiring. 
 
 It was seen in the chapter on the last judgment, that 
 the Church, about the middle of the last century, had 
 passed into such a state of corruption as to require, for the 
 spiritual safety of mankind, a Divine interposition by means 
 of a judgment. The nature of that judgment was ex- 
 plained ; and it was shown that soon afterwards a variety 
 of circumstances transpired which were of so extraordinary 
 a nature, and the cause of so many calamities to the whole 
 Christian world, that they could only be accounted for by 
 considering them to be the results of a remarkable judg- 
 ment executed upon the wicked. Those calamities were, 
 as it were, the out-births of this event. But that state of 
 things has now in a great measure passed away, and an en- 
 tirely new condition of society has been estabhshed, a con- 
 
320 
 
 THE XAST JTTDGMEH-T, AITD 
 
 dition unparalleled for its advantages in tlie liistory of man- 
 kind ; and this also must be accounted for upon the same 
 principle, namely, tte execution of a judgment upon the 
 good, these advantages being a revelation of that event. 
 Now as this judgment was to be executed by the Lord at His 
 second coming into the spiritual world, and as the influences 
 of that phenomena are being experienced in the world of men, 
 it will follow that we are now living in the period of His 
 second coming.^ There may be a reluctance to accept this 
 view of the case, because mankind have been so long and 
 so commonly taught to associate with the accomplislimcnt 
 of the prophecy the idea of the overthrow of the universe ; 
 but, as that is an evident mistake, it will be wise for them 
 to put aside their hesitation, and seek for more reasonable 
 interpretations. The materials for this they will find in the 
 startling changes which, within the last century, have taken 
 place in the whole round of human thought; changes 
 which indicate the activity of a new intelligence in the 
 world, and which prove, most decisively, that we are 
 living in a new age of Christianity. 
 
 As His personal advent into the natural world was not 
 intended by the Lord's Divine promise to come again, it 
 will follow that He designed to realize that prediction by 
 means of some beneficent influences in the world : this is 
 the only alternative. WTiatever be the nature of the Lord's 
 
 1 The Freeman, a newspaper published in the interests of the Baptists, 
 in reviewing, August 19th, 1863, Dr. Vaughan's " Lectures on the 
 Revelation of St. John," says, " We would fain linger on our author's 
 beautiful exposition of the Millennium in Chapter XX., proving, as we 
 think, irrcfragably that ' the period that is now is the period of the 
 reign of Christ.' " We submit that as tlic reign of Christ is truly existent 
 here and now, notwithstanding human imperfection, so the " holy city " 
 may, in like manner, be said to have abeady come down from heaven to 
 earth. 
 
SECO>"T) COMEfa OF THE LOED. 
 
 321 
 
 coming at any time, it is His influences wliicli benefit : and 
 the ulterior purposes of every advent has been to confer 
 some new blessings upon society. How clear is this in 
 the case of His first advent ! By means of the Christianity 
 He then established, a new condition of spiritual life and 
 thought was created amons: mankind. A new centre of 
 light was provided, and this extended itself to a wide 
 circumference ; it produced new thoughts about Divine 
 things, and gave existence to new loves respecting them, 
 so that in the process of time a really new condition of 
 mental and moral life was evolved, and an entirely new 
 state of society was produced among all the nations by whom 
 its revelations were received. This was accomplished after 
 preceding revelations had been rendered of none effect ; and 
 as the Lord's second coming is to be occasioned by corrup- 
 tions setting in upon the teachings of His first advent, we 
 may rest assm-ed that the general design of that coming is 
 to introduce to the world a new condition of religious and 
 intellectual thought : hence we conclude that whenever 
 such a condition of thought is developed in society, and 
 fairly recognised by it, that then is the period in which the 
 prediction is being fulfilled. This view is in accordance 
 with the generally received law for the interpretation of 
 prophecy, which is that the precise meaning of it is 
 scarcely ever to be determined until the time of its fulfil- 
 ment : thus we must look to events to establish the truth 
 of our explanation of- its terms ; when the events and 
 explanations agree, we may safely conclude that the predic- 
 tion is accomplished. Let us carry this view to the promise 
 we have before us. 
 
 There can be no donbt that within the last century a 
 condition of mind has been developed and brought into 
 activity in every department of human learning and civili- 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEKT, AlTD 
 
 zation wMcli lias not been experienced in any preceding 
 acre : it is distributino- benefits, and conferring' blessinsrs in 
 all quarters of tbe globe. To -what can this be attributed ? 
 The facts are certain ; "where are we to find their causes ? 
 Some may say, as intimated in the preceding chapter, it 
 is the activity of the human mind which is producing 
 them. This may be admitted, but what has put the mind 
 into this state of activity in modern times ? And how did 
 it happen that it remained for so many centuries before 
 in a state of sluggishness and torpor ? These questions 
 cannot be answered upon the principle that the human 
 mind has been the sole cause of these results. The mind 
 does not shut itself up, neither does it put itself in motion. 
 These effects must be referred to some other cause. The 
 degradation of the mind can only be attributed to some 
 unfavourable influences operating upon it ; and any eleva- 
 tion which it experiences must be ascribed to some bene- 
 volent source higher than itself. As, therefore, the Lord's 
 declaration is divinely trae, namely, " "Without me ye can 
 do nothing,"^ it will follow that He is the primary Author 
 of all the advantages which society is now beginning to 
 enjoy ; and as they have a greatness and superiority over 
 those of all preceding time, it plainly appears that He is 
 by them realizing His promise to " come again." He is 
 " the true light which lighteth every man that cometh 
 into the world. " A man can receive nothing except it 
 be given him from heaven."* " Every good gift and 
 every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down fi"om the 
 Father of lights ;" * and where His blessings are, there He 
 must be : they cannot be separated from Him, nor He from 
 them. Wlien, then, they are displayed in such abundance 
 and richness as we see them to be in the period in which 
 1 John XV. 5. s John i. 9 » John iii. 27. * Jas. i. 17. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 323 
 
 we live, it seems plain tliat they must be the results of His 
 second coming, and that He is by them fulfilling His 
 prediction of that event in the way which He intended 
 men should understand it. He now comes into this world 
 by the outpouring of a brighter influence upon mankind. 
 It is a coming which is designed to affect the inner per- 
 ceptions of men, and by this to improve the outer circum- 
 stances of society. This being so, it will primarily have 
 reference to the Church, in which the Holy Word is ac- 
 cepted as the medium of all information concerning spi- 
 ritual and eternal things. The Church, in the world, is 
 really the centre from which the state of society is derived ; 
 every one may see this if they will only remember that it 
 is a spiritual institution, designed to keep the mind open 
 to the reception of tho.se heavenly things which are con- 
 tained in the Word, to spread abroad intelligence, and to 
 lead men on to the love of what is good and wise. The 
 state of the Church creates the condition of society. 
 Hence it is that when the Church has perverted the know- 
 ledge of truth entrusted to its care, society has been de- 
 graded ; and it is only as genuine information is restored, 
 that mankind can be rescued and improved. The Church 
 is as the heart and lungs, which keep up a living circula- 
 tion to the extreme parts of the body. The love of good- 
 ness, as taught in the Word, is as the heart of the Church, 
 and the knowledge of truth, as revealed in the Word, is as 
 its lungs. As from those two fountains of natural life in 
 the human body all its other members are enabled to sub- 
 sist, so all that is orderly and intelligent in society derives 
 its existence from the love and knowledge in the Church ; 
 and by these graces the Lord and His angels bring about 
 all the beneficent results which men enjoy. It will there- 
 fore follow that whenever society is raised into the experi- 
 
 T 2 
 
324 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGITENT, AlTD 
 
 ence of any real and permanent adrantages, the Church, 
 more or less directly through the Word, must have been 
 the source of them. The Word is the medium through 
 which we receive all our blessings — not only those of a 
 moral and spiritual kind, but such as are of an intellectual 
 and scientific nature ; the reason is because the "Word 
 keeps the mind in connection with the light of heaven, 
 and that kingdom is the primary source of all man's 
 mental illumination and practical benevolence. 
 
 Now if the second coming of the Lord is an event which 
 is to affect the Church, by removing obstacles which hin- 
 dered the light of heaven fe-om being enjoyed, and the 
 communication to it of some superior information concern- 
 ing the Word, it seems plain that those advantages will 
 cause themselves to be felt in every direction, and that they 
 will descend into and exercise a favourable influence upon 
 the common concerns of our daily life. It cannot be sup- 
 posed that the influence of those advantages wiU stop at 
 some particular point, and refuse to distribute its benefits 
 beyond it. . Whatever is susceptible of amelioration must 
 feel something of that influence. Hence it may be fairly 
 infeiTed that all om- progress, even in matters belonging 
 to our material civilization, is collateral evidence that the 
 Lord has come again to His Church. 
 
 That this is the case seems also apparent from the 
 circumstances by which the Church has been distinguished 
 during the last century, and which are still in operation to 
 bring about the acceptance of superior Ught. To this end, 
 efforts are being made in every direction, and it is quite 
 evident that men now think and speak of spiritual things 
 with more intelligence and freedom than in any previous 
 age. Liberty is felt, and new materials for spu-itual thought 
 uponreligious subjects, ai-e provided in a thousand directions 
 
SECOKD COMING OV THE LOED. 
 
 825 
 
 •wWcli were utterly unknown to our ancestors a century 
 ago. Tlie creeds and articles of faith wliich. men have in- 
 vented, which councils have confii-med, and which have 
 shut the mind of the Church and delayed its progress, are 
 now undergoing a process of criticism and inquiry which 
 is welcomed by multitudes as the harbinger of liberty and 
 light. It is seen that such dogmas stand in the way of 
 progressive thought and reasonable freedom, and also that 
 their sentiments are not in harmony with revelation. We 
 find that interpretations of the Word, which for ages have 
 been received as true, are being freely abandoned as mis- 
 takes, and this, too, by the learned and thoughtful of all 
 parties. The early chapters of Genesis are now no longer 
 believed to contain that which for ages they have been 
 considered to reveal. Geology has demanded a new inter- 
 pretation of the supposed cosmogony of Moses. This and 
 other sciences have demonstrated the improbability of that 
 universal deluge, of which the seventh chapter of Genesis 
 has been taken to be the history. The ancient chi'onology 
 which the Church invented is discovered to be inaccurate. 
 The assertion that one God exists in three persons is felt 
 to be an improper statement of the subject, and efforts are 
 being made after a more sensible expression of it. The 
 orthodox doctrine of the atonement is being modified by 
 every intelligent thinker. Baptismal regeneration is thrown 
 aside by numerous clergymen as a superstition, and very 
 few of the laity accept it. The article which declares that 
 man is justified by faith only, raises a blush upon the 
 cheek of all who remember that the Lord has said, " If 
 thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." 
 Passages which were once accepted as evidence of a 
 material resurrection are now known to treat of no such 
 subject. Biblical criticism has risen into a science, and is 
 
226 
 
 THE liST JTTDGMENT, AND 
 
 shaking to the foundation all those mistakes which councils 
 have forced upon the Church, and which have paralysed 
 the progress of religious thought. It is striving to place 
 spiritual truth upon the pedestal of enlightened reason, 
 and to rescue liberty from the bonds by which she has 
 been surrounded. The greatest minds in all the Churches 
 are ranging beyond the limits which they have prescribed ; 
 they are endeavouring to break through the barriers 
 which ecclesiastical authority has erected, and are making 
 efforts to obtain for themselves a platform for the freer 
 utterance of advancing thought. A decided movement of 
 this description is felt throughout the whole of Christen- 
 dom, and multitudes sympathise with it as a desirable 
 thing. All have not the courage to speak out ; many 
 suppose that they are not in circumstances to do so with 
 usefulness and prudence ; others are silent, either because 
 they are not willing to be considered as disturbers, or 
 think themselves without influence in so serious an affair. 
 But there are some who have resolution for the work. 
 These set conscience above policy ; they give utterance to 
 their critical investigations ; their conclusions may not 
 always be correct, but it is plain that they have been 
 searching after truth, and that, for the most part, they 
 have conducted their inquiries ^ath honesty and learning. 
 At this the bigots and the placemen of the Church are 
 alarmed. They do not fairly enter the field of biblical criti- 
 cism. They throw epithets at the inquirers, and strive to 
 put them down, not by argument, but by authority. They 
 take those bold thinkers into ecclesiastical courts, try them 
 by antiquated laws, and get a verdict, which however is 
 soon reversed by an appeal to another tribunal more in- 
 fluenced by the light and liberty of the new age in which 
 we live. 
 
SECOND COMIlfG OF THE LOED. 
 
 327 
 
 The papal authority has been diminishing for a consider- 
 able period, and it is now shrunk up into a small compass 
 in all the nations in which it was once powerful. Great 
 changes have taken place, and are still progressing, in the 
 Italian peninsula. The people whose energies have been 
 paralysed by ecclesiastical governments have had their 
 patience exhausted, and they are now invoking the return 
 of that liberty of which they have been so long despoiled. 
 The pope is no longer a prince capable of inspiring the 
 nations with a dread of his displeasure. Multitudes of his 
 own subjects, tiring of his reign, are seeking to break up 
 his authority, and this they would have accomplished before 
 now if they had not been prevented by a foreign army,present 
 for a poHtical purpose. No less than nine thousand priests 
 have recently petitioned in favour of the renunciation of 
 his civil authority ; and nearly the whole literature of the 
 country expresses the same feehng.' Religious reforms are 
 being asked for. Societies are established to promote the 
 reading of the Bible in the vernacular, to obtain a removal 
 of the laws which impose celibacy on the clergy, and to 
 effect many changes favourable to progress and to liberty. 
 It seems impossible to look at these facts and not to per- 
 ceive that some remarkable influence is at work upon the 
 Church, and that its tendency is to bring about some 
 change favoui'able to the spiritual welfare and intelhgence 
 of men.^ 
 
 1 " Out of five hundred journals, only fifty take side with the pope.'' — 
 Public papers. 
 
 2 Since the above was written, the power of Catholicism in Italy, its 
 grand home, has received a great shock. The liberty in spiritual, and 
 thence in natural things, which is everywhere springing into vigour, is 
 causing itself to be felt upon the Italian peninsula in a way most alarm- 
 ing to the priesthood. The rise of a new kingdom is threatening the 
 poUtical authority of the Church, and Catholicism is to stand as much 
 
328 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AISD 
 
 But let us turn our attention to some more direct eri- 
 dences of ttis fact. One of the characteristics of the Lord's 
 second coming is that " He wUl make all things ne^W," and 
 surely no one can look abroad and fail to see that this 
 Divine promise is being fulfilled in almost every depart- 
 ment of civilized existence. The cruel system of slavery, 
 which a century ago caiTied on its hateful traffic with a 
 high hand and a mercenary spirit, has, by the eiforts of 
 philanthropy and a liberal expenditure of public money, 
 been put down by the governments of Europe. For a long 
 
 apart from the State in Italy as Dissenters do from the State in England. 
 Baron Eicasoli, the Minister of the Interior, addressed a letter to the 
 Itahan bishops on the subject, in which he says, — "The government 
 desires, not less than yourselves, that Italy should enjoy the magnificent 
 and imposing religious spectacle of which the free citizens of the United 
 States of America pride themselves in the council of Baltimore, where 
 religious doctrines are freely discussed, and whose decisions, approved 
 by the pope, will be proclaimed and observed in each city and village, 
 clothed with spiritual sanction, without exequatur or placite. I beg 
 you, however, well to consider that this admirable spectacle is really the 
 production of liberty, a liberty professed and respected by all in prin- 
 ciple, and in fact in its largest application to civil, political, and social 
 life. The intention of the Italian government is, as far as in it lies, to 
 prove that it has faith in liberty, and that it desires to apply it as fully 
 as is consistent with the interests of public order. It therefore tells the 
 bishops to return to their ministries, from which they were removed 
 precisely on account of those very considerations of pubUc order. It 
 imposes no other condition than that which is incumbent on every 
 citizen who desires to live peaceably — to confine himself to his own 
 duties, and to observe the law. The State will provide that no one shall 
 be molested nor impeded in the discliarge of his duties, but he must not 
 demand privileges if ho does not desire bonds, the principle of every free 
 state — that the law is equal to all, admitting of no distinction of any 
 kind." Tliis, from a great Catholic government in the very heart of the 
 Catholic Church, reveals the diminution of its power, and shows that it 
 is undergoing changes little dreamt of a century ago. 
 
SECOTH) COMIIS-O OT THE tOBD. 
 
 329 
 
 time efforts have been made to promote its extinction in 
 America, and there can be no doubt that in the events 
 which are now transpiring in that country, it has received a 
 blow from which it never will recover. With its abolition 
 there, it will perish upon the shores of Africa. The system 
 of serfdom in Russia has also been abandoned, and nearly 
 thirty millions of people have by a peaceful revolution been 
 raised to the level of freemen.^ They are astonishing their 
 former masters by their industry and intelligence, and are 
 showing to the world that they appreciate their emancipa- 
 tion by establishing schools for the education of their chil- 
 dren. This spread of liberty among bondsmen was scarcely 
 dreamt of fifty years ago, and now the very name of slavery 
 awakens indignation and begets abhorrence. The realization 
 of this love of freedom proves that a Divine influence is 
 present in the world, for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, 
 there is liberty."^ 
 
 The formation of peace societies, also, is not to be over- 
 looked. Their object is to settle national disputes by 
 means of arbitration ; thus they belong to a high political 
 morality. They appeal to reason and Christianity, and 
 
 ' Since the above sentence was written, America has abolished slavery, 
 though at the cost of an immense amoimt of blood and treasure. 
 
 2 "March the 5th, 1861, was a memorable day in Russia. On that day 
 was read the proclamation of liberty, which tore asunder from twenty- 
 three millions the bonds of ages, and ' let the oppressed go free.' From 
 the steps of the high altar in Isaac's Church, Petersburgh, before as- 
 sembled thousands was this decree of liberty read by the priests. The 
 reading lasted half an hour, while not a rustle, nor a cough, nor a moving 
 of a boot-heel even on the marble pavement of the church broke the 
 silence. The decree concluded with the words, ' Sign thyself, 0 Chris- 
 tian native, with the sign of the cross ; and, together with us, call for 
 the blessing of God upon thy free labour.' " — Anti-Slavery Reporter, 
 March 1st, 1864. 
 
 s 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 
330 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND 
 
 desire to abolish the cruelties of the sword. They regard 
 war as an old barbarity which may result in a triumph of 
 the strong over the weak, but which cannot decide the 
 justice of a cause. Such societies are among the develop- 
 ments of the new age : they exist in England, they are 
 being formed in various nations on the continent, and are 
 known to have exercised an influence favourable to the 
 maintenance of peace upon the governments of Europe. 
 Surely the rise of societies having such an object in view 
 is in conformity with true civilization and Christian senti- 
 ment ; they have faith in the prophecy that God shall 
 judge among the nations, and that nation shall not lift up 
 sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any 
 more ; they remember that the God of Chi-istianity is the 
 Prince of peace, and they may be reasonably regarded as 
 among: the valued fruits of His second comino:. 
 
 Again : look at the moral changes which have been 
 effected by the teachings of temperance and the establish- 
 ment of societies for its promotion. There was a time in our 
 own recollection when the odious vice of drunkenness was 
 considered a manly indulgence, and spoken of rather as an 
 accomplishment than a crime. It pervaded all classes of 
 society, from the throne and the court to the artisan and 
 the beggar. Although this degrading vice is not entirely 
 abolished, a most astonishing reformation has been achieved. 
 At the present time scarcely any indulge in this wickedness 
 who are not sensible of the shame which it incurs ; and 
 there can be no doubt that this prolific soui'ce of misery 
 and crime has gi'eatly dimished. What can be the cause 
 of this improvement ? Satan does not cast out Satan ; it 
 must therefore be the Lord's doing, and, as such, it should 
 be marvellous in our eyes. 
 
 And who has not observed that growing desii'c for the 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 331 
 
 education of the people whicli lias become a cliaracteristic 
 of our time ? Schools for this purpose, in great numbers, 
 have sprung up in ev^ery direction. All denominations con- 
 sider such institutions as parts of their establishments. In- 
 fant schools and Siinday-schools abound everywhere ; and 
 few children are permitted to go to work without some 
 attention being paid to their education. Every country is 
 interested in this labour of love, and in some way or other 
 engaged in the promotion of its objects. It is a national 
 enterprise, and grants of pubhc money are annually made 
 to spread wider its benefits. Teaching has become a science ; 
 and the literature of teaching is wide in its range, noble in 
 its simplicity, and admirably adapted to interest and in- 
 struct. .Every one must have noticed the wonderful im- 
 provements in the postal arrangements which have been 
 effected, not only in this country, but throughout the world, 
 and by which the social character of the nations has been 
 raised to a higher condition than that which they previously 
 enjoyed. The rigidity of some of the bigoted tests which 
 have hampered and hindered the progress of education a^ 
 our national universities has been relaxed, and public efforts 
 and opinion are still pressing to render them more tolerant 
 and useful to the general public : while a mitigation of the 
 severity of the criminal laws of all nations proves with great 
 decision the improved tone of public morals, and the grow- 
 ing respect for the value of human life. All these are new 
 features belongiug to modern civilization : they are pecu- 
 liarities of the century in which we live. Whence did they 
 originate ? They did not create themselves ; something 
 must have prompted the human mind to theii* execution ; 
 and it must be confessed that as works of benevolence they 
 are the Lord's doings, and the results of some special com- 
 ing on His part to our race. 
 
332 
 
 THE LAST JTDGMElfT, AJTD 
 
 Tlie charitable institutions -n-liicli liave been formed, not 
 only to relieve the sufferings of the body, but to promote 
 the interests of morals, and even to secure the animals 
 from cruelty, cannot be thought of by the pious observer 
 without acknowledging that the hand of Providence must 
 have raised them up ; and why now, in preference to all 
 preceding time, if this was not the age in which the Lord, 
 in forms of mercy, displays His coming ? 
 
 Another beneficent feature of our times is the formation 
 of Missionary Societies, by which the documents of Chris- 
 tianity are carried to every quarter of the world. And how 
 eminently useful has been the establishment of that noble 
 institution, " The British and Foreign Bible Society!" By 
 this Society the sacred Scriptures have been translated 
 into nearly all the languages of the earth, and distributed 
 in large numbers, without note or comment, to almost 
 every region in which humanity exists. People of all coun- 
 tries have been engaged to assist in the work of translation. 
 They are not simply circulated among the ignorant, semi- 
 civilized portions of the earth : they have become subjects 
 of interest to the learned IMahometan : the pundits of 
 India have had their attention dra\vn to their contents with 
 favoui-able results ; and a few years ago a million copies of 
 the Xew Testament were printed in the language of China, 
 for the purpose of distribution among the people of that 
 vast empire ; multitudes of whom, by some previous teach- 
 ing, had been understood to have made some little acquaint- 
 ance with its religion. 
 
 It seems impossible to contemplate these facts with in- 
 telligence, and not at the same time to see that they are 
 specialities in the Divine Providence, marking with serious 
 phenomena the epoch in which they have occurred. Surely 
 in this remarkable circulation of the Scriptures, the Lord 
 
SECOITD COMIKG OF THE LOED. 
 
 333 
 
 is providing for us some sensible evidences of His second 
 coming. Hereby He is making an effort to widen the 
 borders of His Church, by going to all nations, through the 
 medium of His "Word. It is by His "Word that He effects 
 His advent into human minds, and spreads abroad a 
 knowledge of Himself. It is by the teaching influences of 
 His Word that He comes to individuals and to nations, and 
 it is by means of this, and this alone, that " every eye can 
 see Him." To expect to behold Him in any other way is 
 to mistake the meaning of the promise. In our view of 
 the circumstance, the universality of His advent, and the 
 beneficent purposes it is intended to accomplish, can be 
 readily apprehended. It sets aside all the alarm which 
 " orthodoxy " would raise concerning the occurrence, and 
 awakens, in the minds of the thoughtful, confidence in 
 those orderly operations of the Divine mercy by which all 
 people are to be enlightened. Every one who regards the 
 Word as the source of information concerning spiritual 
 things must acknowledge that the extensive cii'culation 
 which has been obtained for it indicates that some distinct 
 activity of the Divine Providence is now in the process of 
 being displayed, and that the design of it must be to pre- 
 pare new planes in the minds of all nations, by which the 
 new influences now proceeding from the Lord's kingdom 
 may be more readily accepted. The means which have 
 been adopted for the spread and perpetuation of the Word 
 among all people, have been accompanied by new develop- 
 ments of religious thought ; and nothing can be more plain 
 than that these are tending to remove errors and prejudices 
 from the Church, and to raise it into a condition of intel- 
 lectual vigour which it has never before attained. Of this 
 conclusion no one can be ignorant who has noted the facts, 
 and who is capable of reading anything of " the signs of the 
 times." 
 
THE LAST JUDGMEITT, AND 
 
 But these new activities in religious thouglit have been 
 attended by new discoveries in philosophy and science. 
 The provisions which the Lord made for coming to His 
 Church were not only intended to bring about a superior 
 state of internal and spiritual knowledge respecting the 
 Word, religion, and its laws, but they were also designed 
 to develop a higher condition of external and useful know- 
 ledge respecting nature and her processes. The Lord 
 certainly desii-es that we should live intelligently in con- 
 nection with the things of this world, as well as in refer- 
 ence to that which is to come. He does not wish His 
 rational creatures to remain in darkness concerning any- 
 thing He has created for their use. Every object of the 
 outer world has impressed upon it some evidences of Divine 
 wisdom, and surely God is wishful that men should read 
 and learn from it those lessons it was intended to convey. 
 Such knowledges of nature are among the orderly things 
 in the circumference of which true religion is the centre. 
 The one could not be evolved until the other had been 
 brought into existence ; and therefore it is that the com- 
 ing of the Lord, by the opening out of new influences on 
 His Church, has been attended by the discovery of so many 
 new things in philosophy and science. It is amazing to 
 think of the large amount of new information concerning 
 nature, her phenomena, and their application to the uses 
 of mankind, which has been made known within the last 
 century. Every one acknowledges that there is something 
 extraordinary in these features of our time. There is 
 scarcely any department of knowledge that has not been 
 rendered brilliant by new discoveries. So numerous are 
 they that it would not be easy to give even the merest out- 
 line of them, and at the same time point out the I'cvolution 
 which they have cflected in the social condition of the civi- 
 
SECOND COMINO OF THE LOED. 
 
 335 
 
 lized world. It will be enougli to mention the steam en- 
 gine and its application to railroads, navigation, and manu- 
 facture ; analytical chemistry, and its application to the 
 arts, laws of evidence, and agriculture ; gas, and its uses in 
 the illumination of our streets and homes ; geology, and 
 the revelations which it has made concerning the structure 
 and antiquity of the earth ; electricity and magnetism, by 
 which the most distant nations of the world can hold in- 
 stant communication with each other ; improvements in 
 the printing press, and the extraordinary development of 
 elegant literature adapted to inform, refine, and elevate. 
 These thinsrs are no less new and astonishing to our natural 
 reflection than are the new sentiments of religious truth 
 now being presented for our acceptance. Each is the re- 
 sult of the same Divine Providence, though acting upon 
 different planes of the human mind. Hence they have been 
 contemporary in their marvellous displays, the one being 
 intended to ameliorate our condition as dwellers upon earth, 
 and the other to advance our spiritual preparation for 
 admission into heaven. There is an intimate connection 
 between them ; and therefore it is that the philosophy of 
 the world is advancing when the spiritualities of the Church 
 are being unfolded. He who originated the one is the 
 Author of the other, and it was only when heaven obtained 
 a freer access to men on earth that these results came to 
 pass. 
 
 True religion is intended to be the central life with 
 men in the world ; when it declines, morality recedes, intel- 
 hgence withdraws, philosophy retires, and science decays. 
 And how clearly is all this illustrated by the state of reli- 
 gion as it existed in Europe a Little more than a century 
 ago ! True religion being nearly dead, all those things 
 were wanting in proper vitality. But since then, a deeper 
 
33G 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMKITT, AlTD 
 
 and more rational sense of spiritual religion has been un- 
 folded; and this, as a centre, has induced the production 
 of new things in the circumference ; for the Divine light, 
 which is the Divine truth, diffuses itself around, reducing 
 all thino-s to order, and out of that order it evolves new 
 activities of use in the world. The existence of those 
 activities, and the advantages which have and are still 
 resulting from them, clearly prove to our minds that we 
 are hving in a new age, the marvellous improvements of 
 which have caused it to become a proverb in the history of 
 the world. To what can these achievements be attributed ? 
 To say that they have sprung out of the activity of the 
 human mind does not, as we have said, meet the question, 
 because we shall still have to ask. How did that activity 
 originate ? How did it happen that no such activity was 
 displayed in the preceding century ? And how has it come to 
 pass that this activity has been so largely developed, almost 
 within the memory of living men ? These questions can 
 only be answered by admitting the fact that the mind has 
 been acted upon by an influence extraneous to itself. And 
 the primal cause of all the advantages to which we have 
 adverted must be referred to Him from whom all goodness 
 comes. They can only be intelligently accounted for by 
 regarding them as the outpourings of a wise and benevolent 
 spirit upon mankind, and thus as effects resulting fi-om the 
 fulhlment of the Lord's promise to come again. Those 
 marvellous effects are to the age of His second coming 
 what His miracles were to the time of His first advent. 
 The latter wei'e outer wonders — wonders to the senses ; 
 the former are iimer wonders — wonders to the intellect. 
 They have all come into being within the period to which 
 we assign the second coming of the Lord, and that event 
 was publicly declared to the world before any of those 
 
SECOmo COMnTG OF THE LOED. 
 
 337 
 
 external evidences could be referred to as a proof of it. 
 We have no doubt that tbey are the real effects of tbat plie- 
 nonemon, and tbat tbe world, in due time, wiU be led to 
 see and to acknowledge it. 
 
 Here then we close our remarks on these points, 
 earnestly recommending what has been said to the serious 
 notice of the reader. He cannot doubt that he is living 
 in a remarkable period of Christian history ; he sees that 
 old things are being broken up and that all things are be- 
 coming new. Such events prove most decisively to our 
 minds that there is present in the world an activity of the 
 Divine Providence before unknown ; this we take to be 
 among the evidences in proof that now is the time of the 
 second coming of the Lord : and to what other adequate 
 cause can they be reasonably ascribed ? We feel that in 
 urging attention to this view of the subject, we are doing 
 something to assist in promoting that better understanding 
 of the Word by which piety, truth, and goodness will be seen 
 as the inseparable handmaids of a pure, precious, and im- 
 perishable religion — a religion which demonstrates that 
 men are to love God by an increasing endeavour to add 
 something to the wisdom and happiness of each other. 
 
CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 " THE ITEW JERUSALEM." A ^*EV^ CHURCH ON EARTH. 
 
 Aegustest. — A new Church consequent upon the execution of the last 
 judgment and the second coming of the Lprd. — Jerusalem a type of 
 the Church. — Why called the holy city. — Its dimensions explained. 
 — The meaning of the terms " old" and " new," in reference to the 
 things of the Church. — The New Jerusalem will always be a new 
 Church, because new perceptions of Spiritual truth wiU always 
 accompany its genuine teachings. — The promise that " all things " 
 are to be made new, does not refer to the natural things of the 
 world, but to the spiritual things of man's faith and love : illustrated 
 by results which followed the establishment of Christianity. — The 
 teachings proper to the New Jerusalem to be intellectually seen. — A 
 new dispensation cannot retain the corruptions of its predecessor. — 
 The New Church pre-eminently a teaching institution. — The Lord's 
 promise to Peter, concerning the building of His Church, explained. 
 — The dispensations which existed before the establishment of Chris- 
 tianity contained some things which were necessary to its formation 
 and completeness, illustrated. — The principles which constitute a 
 Church defined. — The Churches of biblical history, not isolated dis- 
 pensations, but each a part of the great providence of God, having 
 reference to Christianity. — Each successive Church more external 
 than its predecessor. — Christianity has provided the clearest idea of 
 God for the lowest apprehension of men. — The excellence of all pre- 
 ceding Churches culminates in genuine Christianity. — The promise 
 of the Scriptures concerning the establishment of a perfect Church 
 considered. — The distinction between the Church which followed 
 the first advent of the Lord, and that which is to result from His 
 second coming. — The New Jerusalem to be the crown of all Churches. 
 — Why it is said to be of pure gold, like glass. — The signification of 
 its walls, gates, pearls, and precious stones. — The Lord, in His 
 humanity, the temple of it. — The nations who are saved : the kings 
 of the earth who bring their glory and honour into it. — The Church 
 a medium for connecting heaven with men. — The advantages which 
 the new dispensation is intended to confer. — Concluding appeal. 
 
SECOND COMrNG OF THE LORD. 
 
 339 
 
 Amoxg other effects -wliicli are to mark the era of the Lord's 
 second coming is the establishment of a new Church on 
 earth. This, as the final prediction of prophecy, is plainly 
 spoken of towards the closing chapters of the Revelation. 
 It is called the "New Jerusalem," and described as " com- 
 ing down from God out of heaven," and declared to be 
 " the tabernacle of God with men, in which He will dwell 
 with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself 
 shall be with them, and be their God." ^ Some have sup- 
 posed that this narrative refers to a condition of the re- 
 deemed in heaven, but in doing so they must have over- 
 looked the clear significance of its terms. The city is to 
 come down from heaven and to be the tabernacle of God 
 with men ; and there can be no well-founded doubt that 
 the whole prophecy is designed to show that the Christian 
 Church will, at some time, be distinguished by a state of 
 eminent purity and holiness, of which the Lord and heaven 
 will be acknowledged as the source and power. Jerusalem, 
 it is well known, is a type of the Church, and, therefoi'e, 
 the New J erusalem must be taken as the symbol of a new 
 Church. It is called " the holy city," not to express the 
 idea of numerous streets and squares for the residence of 
 a trading or a religious community, but to signify a sacred 
 collection of spiritual truths which are the light and life of 
 those by whom they are accepted. It is said that " the 
 length and the breadth and the height of it are equal," to 
 teach us that its love, wisdom, and life will be proportionate 
 to each other. Hence it may appear that this new Church 
 is to be an enlightened, united, and practical institution. 
 That it is to be a result of the last judgment and the com- 
 ing of the Lord, may be evident to those who will consult 
 the preceding chapter of the Apocalypse, in which those 
 1 Eev. xsi. 1-3. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMKITT, AlO) 
 
 events are symbolically described : and " He who sat upon 
 the throne said" concerning it, "Behold, I make aU things 
 new." This newness, then, is to be a leading characteristic 
 of His final dispensation. 
 
 But why make all things new ? How is it that they 
 have become old ; and why is it that a new creation has 
 been promised ? We are accustomed to say, " To Thee, 
 great God, there's nothing old appears ; to Thee there's 
 nothing new." And yet, as all things are to be made new, 
 it seems plain that prior things must have become old. 
 In the minds of some readers there may be a little obscurity 
 about this matter, which it will be desirable and useful to 
 remove. 
 
 The old and new things which are so frequently spoken of 
 in the Scriptures in connection with the establishment and 
 progress of Christianity, are not to be understood in refer- 
 ence to the Divine estimation of their age, but in their 
 relationship to man's spiritual condition. Thus, a thing of 
 the Church is said to be old when it ceases to agree with 
 the true light and life of heaven. The reason is, because 
 in that light and life there are perpetual beauty and etei'nal 
 youth ; and a departure from those graces necessarily brings 
 its subject into a state of spiritual feebleness and age. 
 Again, a thing is said to be new when the Divine mercies 
 which constitute it are perceived by men and become 
 objects of their affections and thoughts. That which is 
 so received will be perpetual in its newness, because it 
 belongs to the Lord : whenever men lovingly receive 
 anything from the Divine, it is necessarily attended with 
 new evolutions of light and life to all eternity. Who can 
 imagine the possibility of terminating an activity that is 
 infinite ? It is continually raising its recipient to higher 
 gi-ound, and thus, at every step, preparing him for some- 
 
SECOJTD COMIKG OF THE LOEI). 
 
 341 
 
 thing still new. There is no final stopping place in this 
 upward advancement, because there is no end to the pro- 
 gress of any grace which the Lord communicates, if men 
 be willino' to advance with it, for all in Him is infinite. 
 To stop is to recede ; and in recession there are decrepitude 
 and age and end. 
 
 The Church, of which the New Jerusalem is the symbol, 
 is said to be new, not because its teachings are less old than 
 Revelation, but because, being founded on the Divine 
 truth of the "Word, they will be continually producing new 
 perceptions of their excellence. This Church will have for 
 its centre a more full and comprehensible idea of God than 
 that which has previously existed in the world ; and this 
 will necessarily be attended by new things in the circum- 
 ference. Hence its progressions through the remotest ages 
 of posterity will not interfere with its title of a New Church. 
 Advancement in duration will but serve to illustrate and 
 confirm that title. Every age of its existence will be at- 
 tended with the evolution of some new intelligence and 
 virtue, and thence will be displayed some new and im- 
 perishable excellence. It cannot be otherwise, since it has 
 the Divine "Word for its teacher. A church, therefore, 
 which comes down from God out of heaven, in whom all 
 things are infinite, must be admissive of new developments 
 of truth and goodness from age to age. Advancement in 
 years is simply the means of passing, by the aid of new 
 experiences, into new principles of life. Such principles 
 must distinguish the progress of the New Jerusalem, and 
 therefore she will be a New Church in the remotest ages of 
 her existence. 
 
 Seeing, then, what we are to understand by the terms 
 old and new in reference to the Church, we proceed to 
 inquire what is meant by the promise that " all things " 
 
3i2 
 
 THE LAST JTJDGMEITT, A^TD 
 
 shall be made new. To what does the word all specifically 
 refer ? We think there cannot be any reasonable doubt 
 that it refers only to those things in which the voluntary and 
 intellectual character of man is concerned. 'Not to the sun, 
 the moon, and stars : not to the movements of the planetary 
 bodies ; not to the causes which keep them in their mo- 
 tions, and preserve them in their orbits. Not to the gene- 
 ration and growth of plants and trees and herbs, the pro- 
 duction of their blossoms, fruits, and seeds : not to the 
 generation of animated nature, nor to the laws which 
 operate in the mineral kingdom. All these things are 
 what they are by the fiat of Omnipotence ; they were made 
 as wisely and completely perfect as they could be, nor 
 have they transgressed the laws which are proper to their 
 being ; therefore, it is plain that these are not the things 
 which are to experience a new creation. The things of 
 which this renovation is predicted belong to the principles 
 of man's faith and life. All those things which in the pre- 
 ceding Church have no heavenly vitality are to pass away ; 
 and in the succeeding dispensation all its principles will be 
 new. 
 
 When Christianity was established, all the spiritual 
 and intellectual things of the former Church were made 
 new. This is involved in the prediction, " Behold, I create 
 new heavens and a new earth : and the former shall not 
 be remembered, nor come into mind.'" The reason is be- 
 cause a new centre had been formed which was sure, sooner 
 or later, to influence the state of the circumference. That 
 centre was the wonderful fact of God having become mani- 
 fest in the flesh. The revelation of that event instilled 
 new thoughts about Divine things, and gave existence to 
 new loves respecting them ; so that in process of time a 
 1 Isa. Ixv. 17. 
 
SECOITD COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 313 
 
 really new condition of mental and spiritual life was pro- 
 duced among all the nations by whom this revelation was 
 received. The Lord, by the introduction of Christianity, 
 made new all the doctrinal and practical teachings of reli- 
 gion. Neither was the new wine put into old bottles. 
 The Lord, in communicating His new truths, provided, in 
 the development of new states in men, for their acceptance 
 and appreciation. Thus the old things of Judaism passed 
 away, and the new things of Christianity came into exist- 
 ence. 
 
 From this we may gather a clear idea as to what is 
 meant by the new things which are to distinguish the New 
 Jerusalem. The Lord predicted that the truths He had 
 been teaching would be lost. He most distinctly said, 
 "There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and 
 shall show great signs and wonders ; insomuch that, if it 
 were possible, they shall deceive the very elect He also 
 tells us, with equal plainness, that " immediately after the 
 tribulation of those days " He would come again. As the 
 perversions of the Jewish Church were the occasion for 
 His first advent, so the corruptions of the Christian Church * 
 are to be the occasion for His second coming. When this 
 takes place He will cause the true teachings of His word 
 to be seen as new things in His Church. And whosoever 
 will look abroad may see that the time for their dissemina- 
 tion has arrived. How few are intellectually satisfied with 
 the religious opinions they have been taught ; and how 
 many are looking forward for the coming of something 
 more perfect. Such is the present state of the human 
 mind, and such the freedom with which it is now capable 
 of thinking about spiritual things, that men cannot help 
 perceiving the confusion which everywhere prevails in the 
 1 Matt. xsiv. 2i. 
 
844 
 
 THE liAST JTTDGMEITT, AlfD 
 
 Chttrcli, and at tlie same time cterishing a hope that 
 " light, more light " will come. 
 
 The new things of the New Jerusalem are to be objects 
 of intellectual sight ; men are invited to " behold " them. 
 We cannot see that the Lord makes all things new without 
 at the same time having some perception of the things 
 themselves. The teachings of this divine dispensation, 
 then, are offered to the rational thought and the philoso- 
 phical reflection of the mind. Its truths, though eminently 
 spiritual, must be capable of being intellectually seen, and 
 of satisfying the profoundest inquiry. This is not the 
 experience of its predecessor. For many centuries aU 
 her doctrines have been put forth as mysteries, which no 
 learning could penetrate nor any ingenuity explain. The 
 very attempt to resolve them has been forbidden as a pre- 
 sumption ; they are to be believed, not to be comprehended. 
 But in the New Jerusalem it will not be so : she is to have 
 " the glory of God ; and her light is to be like unto a 
 stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crys- 
 tal.'" This light will consist in the perspicuity of her 
 • doctrines, and it needs no argument to show that this will 
 be a new thing to the Church. If those doctrines are seen 
 to be in harmony with a wise estimate of the Divine cha- 
 racter, and if they are perceived to be enlightened exposi- 
 tions of the Holy "Word, adapted to satisfy the demands of 
 our rational nature ; and specially if, in their application 
 to life, they are capable of forming the characters of men 
 in conformity with the virtues of Christianity ; then, surely, 
 they may be embraced as being among the " new things " 
 which God has created for those purposes. For nothing 
 that is good and true, coming to us with such evidences 
 and capable of such results, can have had any other Maker 
 1 Kev. xxi. 11. 
 
SECOITD COMniTG OP THE LOED. 
 
 345 
 
 than He wlao sat upon the throne. Whenever the New 
 Jerusalem descends, all things of the Church will be made 
 new. It cannot be a new dispensation and still retain the 
 corrupted teachings of an old ecclesiasticism. Increased 
 enlightenment upon spiritual things is a necessary conse- 
 quence of the last judgment and second coming of the 
 Lord. These phenomena will sweep away those degrading 
 influences by which errors have been invented and main- 
 tained, and will make provision for the perception and 
 enjoyment of spiritual truth. This new Church will be 
 pre-eminently a teaching institution : it will seek to reform 
 and instruct the people, and to lead them on, in the liberty 
 of reason, to accept what they perceive to be true. It is a 
 dispensation in which all things respecting the life and 
 the light of religion will become new to the perceptions of 
 men, and inspire them with new motives to faith and con- 
 duct. It will accept nothing for the exercise of its faith 
 but what is drawn from the "Word and is confirmed by its 
 teachings. In this respect it will be remarkably distin- 
 guished from the former Church, which has, for a long 
 period, been engaged in thrusting its opinions into the 
 Word. This new Church, on the contrary, will be humbly 
 engaged in drawing its doctrines out of the Word, and by 
 means of those new teachings will educe new states of 
 mind and heart in those who really perceive their truth 
 and affectionately love them. Thus, the New Jerusalem is 
 no visionary dispensation ; it is a practical Church. Its 
 doctrines descend to men, from God out of heaven, through 
 the Word, and its object is to promote the spiritual in- 
 struction and regeneration of mankind. 
 
 But we will endeavour to open out the subject by other 
 considerations drawn from the Word. 
 
 Peter said to the Lord, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of 
 
34G 
 
 THE LAST JTDGMEIfT, Ami 
 
 tlie living God. And Jesus answered and said unto Mm, 
 Tliou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Churcli ; 
 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." ^ The mean- 
 ing of the phrase Son of God has been sufficiently shown 
 in a preceding chapter." The reason why the Lord said 
 He would build His Church upon the acknowledgment of 
 Christ as the Son of God, is because that phrase is intended 
 to express the fullest and most complete idea of God which 
 finite minds can have of the Infinite. " God is in Christ ;" 
 they who see Him see the Eather also, because He and the 
 Father are one. Christ, that is the anointed, the Humanity 
 of God, has brought Him forth to view, and thus men are 
 enabled to recognise the oneness of His person, the unity 
 of His nature, and consequently can know that " in Him 
 dwclleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And the 
 Church which the Lord promised to build upon the ac- 
 knowledgment of this grand truth is to be a complete 
 erection, because founded upon the fullest and most com- 
 plete idea of God which He has ever revealed concerning 
 Himself. 
 
 When the Lord spoke of building His Church, He was 
 evidently treating of a future work. The institution was 
 not then erected, but was to be the result of some futui'e 
 efibrts of His Providence and Mercy. He was then en- 
 gaged in making provision for the work ; some stones of 
 the foundation had been laid by the teachings of previous 
 dispensations, and specially by the advent of the Lord ; but 
 — to carry out the figure of the building — the walls had yet 
 to be erected, the roof to bo put on, and all the interior ap- 
 pui'tenanccs to be provided. It is only when these things 
 
 1 Matt. xvi. 15-18. 
 
 2 See " On the Divine," who is, who was, auJ who is to come, the 
 Almighty. 
 
SECOND COMINa OF THB LOED. 
 
 347 
 
 are completed that the Church can be considered as a 
 finished structure, in which men may enjoy the spii-itual 
 blessings of intelligence and peace. 
 
 And here we arrive at a point necessary to be clearly 
 seen before the true idea of a permanent Christian Church 
 can be rightly understood. On this point the writings of 
 the Old Testament contribute important information. From 
 them we learn that there have existed three distinct dis- 
 pensations before the coming of the Lord. These were 
 severally connected with Adam, Noah, and the Israelites. 
 Each dispensation, in its time, was a Church distinguished 
 by the laws of faith and Ufe, and having the advantages of 
 divine communication ; yet it seems plain that none of 
 them constituted so complete a structure as that future 
 Church of which the Lord said "the gates of hell should not 
 prevail against it;" for each perished in consequence of 
 its great iniquity. Nevertheless, it may be evident that 
 there were some principles in them all, having relation to 
 the Church which is to abide for ever. They all, for in- 
 stance, had communicated to them the laws of obedience, 
 and this duty is essential to the existence of every Church. 
 
 That the Adamic dispensation had some information 
 which connected it with the Christian Church, may be evi- 
 dent from the circumstance that the people of those early 
 times had a prediction delivered to them respecting the 
 Lord's advent into the world. Immediately after the fall, the 
 Lord said unto the serpent (that is, the sensual principle of 
 man's fallen nature), "I will put enmity between thee and 
 the woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; it shall 
 bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."^ It is ad- 
 mitted upon all hands that this refers to the Lord's coming, 
 and consequently to the Christianity He would then estab- 
 
 1 Gen. iii. 15. 
 
348 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEKT, AND 
 
 lisli. Hence it is plain tliat there were some principles of 
 information in the first dispensation recorded in the Word, 
 which connect it with the last, in which the objects of both 
 are to be fully realized. 
 
 So also with regard to the Noetic Covenant and the 
 Israelitish economy. With the former God set His bow in 
 the cloud, that is, He provided a new condition in man's 
 obscurity through which he was to be regenerated. This 
 was the token by which God was to remember His ever- 
 lasting covenant, because it was to be the medium through 
 which He would, in all future time, effect conjunction with 
 His people. This peculiarity, which had its commencement 
 with the Noetic dispensation, has been continued to the 
 Christian period ; consequently, it possessed a principle by 
 which to project something of its existence into the future 
 and final Church. Every one knows that the Israelitish 
 economy was the shadow and type of Christian reaUties. 
 All that is essentially excellent and true, which belonged 
 to any of the extinct dispensations, will be revived and 
 become permanent in that one against which the gates of 
 hell will not prevail. To suppose otherwise would be to 
 imagine it defective ; for how could Christianity be a per- 
 fect institution, if it were deprived of any of the teachings 
 which were essential to the existence of those Churches 
 which have passed away ? 
 
 This view of reviving, in the last dispensation, those 
 things which were proper to its predecessors, in order that 
 the last may exist as a finished excellence, is conformable to 
 a law observable in nature, which is, that first principles 
 through the last, return to the first again, and, consequently, 
 the last contains within it the first and all the intermediates. 
 For instance, the seed, which is the first principle of a tree, 
 when sown into the ground, grows into stems, producing 
 
SECOND COMHra OP THE LORD. 
 
 349 
 
 brandies, leaves, blossoms, and finally fruit ; but in tbe 
 fruit is stored up the seed, from which it first began. 'Nov 
 is this true only of the vegetable kingdom, but also of all 
 animated nature. 
 
 Now the first principles of a Church are the enlightened 
 acknowledgment of God, the love of Him and of our 
 neighboTir, purity of affection, and innocence of life ; these 
 principles distinguished those who are represented by 
 Adam and his wife before they fell. But by that catas- 
 trophe they were cast aside, and for a long period they 
 appear to have lost their vitality in the world ; still no one 
 really doubts that those interior graces of the primeval 
 Church will be revived, and become part of that which is 
 called the New Jerusalem. So also the essential excellence 
 of the Noetic and Israelitish dispensation must be revived 
 in the final Church. The Divine providence does not 
 permit any of its teachings to perish ; they may pass out 
 of human recognition for a time, but their final restoration 
 is clearly taught us in the closing chapters of the Word. 
 What else can be the meaning of the golden city coming 
 down from heaven, having the glory of Grod, and the foun- 
 dations of its wall garnished with all manner of precious 
 stones, and every gate a pearl ? Surely the river of life 
 and the tree of life are said to be in it, to assure us that it 
 is to be the tabernacle for the evolution of every blessing. 
 
 From these considerations we learn that those Churches 
 which preceded the promulgation of Christianity must 
 have contained within them some principles necessary to 
 the existence of Christianity and, without which it could 
 not have been developed. The dispensations of God, 
 which the Bible relates, are not to be regarded as isolated 
 events ; each has some relation to the other, and all are so 
 connected, as to their essential principles, that, to enlight- 
 
350 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMEITT, AIHJ 
 
 ened minds they may appear, collectively, as one great act 
 of Providence, designed to promote the ultimate welfai'e of 
 mankind. Each is hut a part of one majestic whole ; the 
 first contributes something towards the existence of the 
 last, and the last is as a covering in which the first and all 
 the intermediates are enfolded. Thus, the true Christian 
 Church includes within it all the excellences of all its pre- 
 decessors, and it is itself distinguished by an excellence 
 which they had not. By this superiority it will be pre- 
 served from those assaults which broke in upon the others 
 and brought them to an end. It may be, we expect that 
 it will be, subject to the dangers arising from the unre- 
 generate condition of our nature ; but the gates of hell — 
 the fiilsities which arise from evil loves — will not prevail 
 against it, as they have against its predecessors. The final 
 Church is to be a complete building, which they were not : 
 it is to rest upon a foundation which, when they existed, 
 had not been laid : they were without that knowledge of 
 God which Christianity supplies : they had not the final 
 revelation concerning Him which Christianity discloses, 
 and by which all that was beaiitiful in them might be 
 revived and preserved in perpetuity. 
 
 Each succeeding church was more external than its pre- 
 decessor, and the Christian church, which is the last, is the 
 most external of them all. The Jewish was not properly a 
 church, but a representative dispensation. All that was 
 peculiar to its worship and ritual was symbolical, signifying 
 those celestial and spiritual things which had passed away 
 with the Adamic and Noetic periods, and at the same time 
 prefiguring the revival of those graces in their Christian 
 successor. Thus the genuine Christian Church is to be an 
 orderly body of internal truth and loveliness, having for 
 its soul those celestial and spiritual principles which were 
 
SECOKD COMrtTG OF THE LOED. 
 
 351 
 
 peculiar to tte first and ancient dispensations. It is a form 
 adapted by its Founder to receive those principles, and to 
 preserve their activity. In this form they possess a power 
 which they never had before ; and thus a means for their 
 perpetuation which will never let them perish. All the in- 
 ternal powers of affection and intellect are exercised and 
 continued by means of external activity and use. Con- 
 sequently, in the last dispensation which the Bible reveals, 
 all that was righteous in its predecessors wiU find a new 
 power, and thereby a new means for perpetuation. 
 
 The good of love to the Lord constituted the celestial 
 principle of the Church as it existed among the Adamic 
 people ; and. the good of faith in Him constituted the spiri- 
 tual principle of the Church as it existed among the Noetic 
 people : but it is to be observed that those principles, as 
 they existed in those Churches, were without their full and 
 proper ultimate. The Lord in those times had not revealed 
 Himself in all His mercy. God had not then become mani- 
 fest in the flesh ; and, consequently, in those periods. He 
 had not adapted Himself to the apprehension of the lowest 
 capacities of our nature. With men of the primitive times 
 He was, as it were, a Being who dwelt on high. This was 
 a conception consequent upon their own elevated states. 
 When, therefore, theii* successors descended into sensual 
 and corporeal loves, God still remained on high, and they 
 retained only an imperfect knowledge respecting Him. 
 Hence the idolatry of the nations and the profligacy of man- 
 kind. To meet the requirements of this condition, a new 
 dispensation of Providence was revealed : Christianity was 
 brought upon the scene of man's necessity, and to effect 
 this, God became manifest in the flesh. Thereby He pro- 
 vided for the existence of an idea respecting Himself suited 
 to the lowest perceptions of His people: for under this 
 
352 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 dispensation all may know Him, from the least unto the 
 greatest. Thereby He opened out a new and living way 
 for the salvation of mankind, and became a Saviour to the 
 uttermost. 
 
 From these considerations we learn that those ancient 
 Churches which have passed away, when viewed in their 
 historical relation to each other, reveal to us those prin- 
 ciples which are requisite to the formation of a Chui'ch 
 in fulness. None of them were, in themselves, ade- 
 quate to this purpose : they had not that necessary com- 
 plete knowledge of the Lord, nor had they learned that the 
 performance of uses in the world is the base and conserva- 
 tory of celestial principles ; hence they were .destitute of 
 that ulterior information which is requisite to the com- 
 pleteness and perpetuity of a Church. Each was a distinct 
 existence, though they were all connected by historical 
 reminiscences, yet neither of them was a Church in fulness, 
 and it is only so far as we view them in their complex — 
 each forming a part of that revelation which is presented 
 to us as one great whole — that we are enabled to gather a 
 true idea of that final dispensation which is to be the crown 
 of all the rest. The Lord revealed tlie principles which are 
 to be developed in Christianity in those dispensations by 
 which it was preceded ; and He purposes, by the establish- 
 ment of a genuine Christian dispensation, to unite into one 
 harmonious Church all those principles which have existed 
 separately in its three predecessors. Thus the celestial 
 principle of love, which prevailed in the Adamic Church ; 
 the spiritual principle of faith, which distinguished the 
 Noetic Chui'ch ; and the natural princijile of obedience, 
 which was peculiar to the Israclitish Chm-ch, are all to be 
 revived in the final Christian Church, and be so united that 
 natural obedience shall be enhghtcned by spiritual faith, 
 
SECOITD COMrtTG OP THE LOED. 
 
 353 
 
 and spiritual faith animated by celestial love : the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, as God manifest in the flesh, being acknow- 
 ledged as the Author and Finisher of all those graces. It 
 must be admitted that this is an idea of the true Christian 
 Chuj'ch which the documents of Christianity unfold. Ihey 
 are not for the will alone, the understanding alone, or the 
 conduct alone, but for all of them collectively ; so that the 
 true Church can exist among mankind only so far as they 
 accept its principles. IS an individual receive its teachings, 
 he is a Church in its least form ; and all its greater forms 
 arise out of the numerical increase of such individuals. 
 Thus the Church in general is to be composed of those who 
 are Churches in particular, consequently of regenerate men. 
 It will, therefore, be perfect in proportion to the proficiency 
 of its people, in those things which are proper to its exist- 
 ence. A Church, to be full and complete, must include a 
 rational understanding of the Christian documents and an 
 enlightened comprehension of their teachings. Without 
 these, it is clear, whatever may be the claim of its professors, 
 that it must be an imperfect institution. 
 
 Now has this high and proper condition of the Christian 
 Chui'ch been fully realized in any period of its history ? 
 The question is, not whether it has been the means of 
 benefits and blessings to mankind, for this is admitted; 
 but whether it has ever attained to that complete condition 
 which the Scriptures promise ? Who can give an affirm- 
 ative reply ? It certainly was not realized when the 
 Lord spoke of building His Church ; the walls were then 
 in the process of being raised, but the completion of the 
 work was to result in another age. The Lord said unto 
 His disciples, " I have many things to say unto you, but 
 ye cannot bear them now ; when He, the Spirit of truth, is 
 come, He will guide you into all truth. The time cometh 
 
 A A 
 
354 
 
 THE lAST JTJBGMEITT, 
 
 when I "will show you plainly of the Father." The Lord, 
 by those teachings, clearly indicated the imperfection of 
 His Church at the time they were spoken ; and, by them, 
 He also plainly referred to a period when that which is 
 moi;e perfect should come. Did that period ever come ? If 
 so, in what epoch of Christian history can we find it ? 
 Wlio can point us to the date ? Where are the records 
 of the people who were distinguished by its blessedness ? 
 Many think the Church was complete in apostolic times, 
 and thus regard the primitive Church as the synonym of 
 perfect Chi'istianity. On this ground some, who lament its 
 present disturbed and unsatisfactory condition, sigh for a 
 return to the state of things as they existed in the apostolic 
 age. Even supposing that we had an accurate knowledge 
 of that state and age, and that some of the inconveniences 
 now experienced could be remedied by a return to it, how 
 could that conduct us to the Church of prophecy if that 
 were not the age for its fulfilment ? 
 
 True Christianity, as we have said, is a teaching institu- 
 tion, and thus progressive in its character. That which is 
 developed of it in one age is intended as a stepping stone 
 to the enjoyment of some superior virtue and knowledge 
 in the next. Every truth which is learnt and every virtue 
 which is cultivated introduces to a purer state. The 
 higher we ascend the mountain the more extensive becomes 
 the prospect. But who has reached the summit ? Did 
 the apostles ? There is no evidence of such a fact. Has 
 it been reached in any subsequent age ? History does not 
 say so. 
 
 Look at the proofs on which those conclusions rest. 
 When the Lord was in the world, and was thereby giving 
 occasion for the preparation of those documents which are 
 peculiai ly Christian, we find that He did not suddenly dis- 
 
SECOXD COimfG OP THE LOED. 
 
 355 
 
 close all the information He was desirous of communicat- 
 ing. He also spoke of many cii'cumstances connected 
 with its progress which were to take place in a future age : 
 and the "Revelation," by which the Bible is concluded, 
 contains a variety of predictions which were to I'eceive their 
 fulfilment long after the time in which they were delivered. 
 And who cannot see that the events so spoken of must be 
 accomplished before the Church to wliich they belong can 
 be in a position to appreciate the final advantages they in- 
 volve ? Surely this knowledge is a part of that which is 
 necessary to be attained before the whole excellency of the 
 Church can be declared to be extant. Chi'istianity cannot 
 be said to be a finished building as long as its people 
 remaia unacquainted with the true meaning of its docu- 
 ments. 
 
 Now there are important matters recorded in those 
 documents, which the Church, as it has hitherto existed, 
 has never comprehended. A large proportion, also, of 
 written prophecy is commonly admitted by it to requii-e an 
 interpreter ; and, therefore, it is plain that the Church in 
 which such a state of things is visible, and has always been 
 confessed, can never have attained that completeness to 
 which a right understanding of those pai'ts of the Word 
 would certainly conduce. Morever, the doctrines which 
 have so long been taught by that Church are not compre- 
 hensible things. They are called mysteries, because they are 
 felt to be paradoxes which defy the explanations of reason, 
 intellect, or learning. This shows very plaioly that the 
 professing Church does not possess that information upon 
 some of the most essential subjects contained in the Divine 
 Word, which is necessary to the existence of genuine 
 Christianity. The knowledge possessed by the primitive 
 Christians was suited to the exigencies of their condition. 
 
356 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, A^D 
 
 but was not complete ; and even that was lost amidst the 
 subtilty of succeeding ages : its " gold became dim, and its 
 fine gold changed ; its stones of the sanctuary were poured 
 out,"^ so that it is vain to search among that or subse- 
 quent times for the existence of that more perfect inform- 
 ation which we have seen must be a characteristic of a 
 perfect Christian Church. Such a dispensation is not to 
 be found in history, nor was it unfolded in connection with 
 those spu-itual knowledges which were peculiar to the 
 Lord's first advent. The states of men which have pre- 
 vailed, both then and since, Avere such as to stand in the 
 way and hinder the full development of Christianity. Why 
 else has it been delayed ? The truths were ready to be 
 communicated, but men were not ready to receive them. 
 The Lord had many things to say, but the people could not 
 bear them : they were disclosures which did not belong 
 to the teachings of His first advent, but to the revelations 
 consequent upon His second coming. 
 
 The materials for the formation and constitution of His 
 final Church are provided in the histories and teachings of 
 all the Churches mentioned in the Word to have gone be- 
 fore it ; and thns they will be found in the whole Scriptures, 
 which were finished in the apostolic era. It is to include 
 all then- excellences ; for everything that was valuable in 
 them wUl be restored. The truths which they had will con- 
 tribute to the evolution of its glory, and the circumstance 
 of their having passed away will lead to a provision of 
 means for its safety and preservation. It was to bring about 
 this result that the Lord promised He would come again. 
 Whenever He comes, and whatever may be the natui-e of 
 His coming, it must be attended with blessings to man- 
 kind ; and one result will certainly be the completion of 
 ^ Lam. iv. 1. 
 
SECOND COMITT& OP THE LORD. 
 
 357 
 
 tliat building which the states of society would not permit 
 Him to finish under the economy of His first advent. 
 
 " Unless the Lord build the house, they labour in vain 
 that build it." The Church which the Lord built at His 
 first coming may be compared to the external walls of a 
 beautiful temple ; but the Church which is to be built at 
 His second coming may be compared to its internal ar- 
 rangement and magnificent decorations. The former arose 
 out of those appearances of truth which are presented in 
 the literal sense of the word, and are adapted to the states 
 of the natural mind : but the latter is to arise from those 
 realities which are visible in the spiritual sense of the word, 
 and Avhich are suitable to the perception of the spiritual 
 mind. Thus the Church which followed the Lord's first 
 advent was mainly external, and one of comparative humi- 
 liation ; but that which will succeed His second coming 
 is to be mainly internal, and one of comparative glorifica- 
 tion. The former has worshipped God under some vague 
 notion of a crucified humanity ; the latter is to worship 
 Him under an enlightened conception of a Glorified Hu- 
 manity. And this is the right course ; for who can think 
 of God, and turn away from His Divine Humanity ? What 
 nature in God can they honour who honour not His human 
 nature ? It is plain that upon a just idea of God the whole 
 heaven and the whole Church and all thinsfs of religion 
 are founded. Without such an idea we cannot be one with 
 Him, and apart from that conjunction we cannot belong to 
 His Church or enter into His kingdom. 
 
 From these considerations we learn that the Scriptures, 
 viewed in their whole complex, have been furnished to 
 teach us a true idea concerning that Church which the 
 Lord said He would build upon the acknowledgment that 
 He is " Christ the Son of the living God," the Humanity 
 
358 
 
 THE LAST JTTDGMEITT, AlTD 
 
 of tlie Eatlier, so that wlioso seetli Him seetli the Father 
 also, for He and the Father are one. AE that is taught by 
 the Lord through Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, is 
 material provided for the erection of that building, which 
 we are told, in the closing of His revelation, is to be His 
 tabernacle with men, and of which He, as the Lamb, is to 
 be the light. This is the end towards tlie existence of 
 which all former Churches will have, each in its degree, 
 contributed. It is to be emphatically the Lord's Church 
 in its complete development. All the Churches that have 
 preceded have been special unfoldings of the Divine truth 
 adapted to particular conditions of our race ; but that 
 which is spoken of at the closing of the Word under the 
 fisrure of the New Jerusalem is to be a Church with Divine 
 principles from first to last, and thus its teachings are 
 to be suited to the perceptions and necessities of every 
 degree of the human mind and character. It is to include 
 the teachings of all preceding Churches, to unite them into 
 one, and to receive that spiritual and intellectual life by 
 which it may have both a perfect form and an imperish- 
 able nature. 
 
 The New Jerusalem, then, is the emblem of that Divine 
 dispensation which is to be the crown of all the Churches 
 which have at any time existed upon this globe ; it is the 
 last of which the Scriptui-es speak, and it is described as 
 possessing a brilliancy and richness not recorded of any 
 other. The magnificent details of its description are plainly 
 designed to represent the Lord's Church in its loveliness 
 and glory ; to show us something of the brightness of its 
 faith, the pm-ity of its charity, and the holiness of its life. 
 
 Of these details we can only present a summary exposi- 
 tion. Tliey might be all explained and reasoned out at 
 length, but this will not be recjuisite for those who will 
 carefully weigh the epitome which follows. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LOED. 
 
 359 
 
 No doubt, all the other dispensatioiis, like this, have 
 come down from God out of heaven ; but they have not, 
 like this, been " prepared as a bride adorned for her hus- 
 band." They have not possessed that knowledge of the 
 spiritual sense of the Word which fs to be the distinctive 
 glory of the New Jerusalem. They have not known the 
 laws by which it has been written, and by which it is to be 
 interpreted, as she wUl know them : they have not, like 
 her, been made acquainted with the nature of its inspira- 
 tion, nor have they been informed, as she will be, concern- 
 ing the seat of its Divinity : thus, although they have come 
 down from heaven, they have not possessed that glorious 
 knowledge of the Word which is to distinguish the New 
 Jerusalem. This Church, as a bride, is adorned with the 
 wisdom of the Word, and by this she is to be prepared for 
 conjunction with Him who is revealed to be her Husband. 
 What other adornment but the wisdom of the Word can 
 be desired ? what other can be acceptable to Him who 
 has provided it for the purpose of aiding the salvation of 
 His people ? The Word is the source of all the spiritual 
 jewels and raiment of the Church, and from thence she 
 obtains that magnificent attire in which she can be recog- 
 nised and loved. Hence it is written that she has "the 
 glory of God ;" for that glory is His Word, and the light of 
 it is declared to be " clear as crystal," because the teach- 
 ings of its spiritual sense will be seen shining through the 
 letter with brilliancy and beauty. 
 
 The Holy City, the Church descending from God out of 
 heaven, is said to be of pure gold like glass, and the street 
 of it pure gold, as it were transparent glass. As the golden 
 city represents the holy Church, so the golden street of it 
 signifies that holy doctrine which teaches men how to live 
 in order to be saved ; for by pure gold is denoted holy love : 
 
360 
 
 THE LAST JXTDGMEDTT, AJfD 
 
 this love the Lord requires of man, and on this account, 
 He said " I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire."^ 
 This love is as precious to the spiritual man, as pure gold 
 is to the natural man ; and he lays it up as a treasure in 
 heaven, " where neither moth nor mst doth corrupt, and 
 where thieves do not break through nor steal." ^ But this 
 holy love is not to be an unenlightened virtue ; the gold is 
 to be as it were transparent glass ; it is to be a love which 
 will be characterised by the lucidity of heavenly wisdom, 
 and so it will be clear in every impulse and enlightened in 
 every action. 
 
 The Divine Word will be the fountain of all the docti-ines 
 which are to distinguish the New Jerusalem, and these 
 doctrines will be drawn from and confirnjed by its literal 
 sense. This sense is represented by a wall, because it is 
 as a strong guard, by which to prevent the selfish and the 
 sensual from intruding upon the spiritual truths which 
 are within. This wall is said to be " great and high " 
 — great by means of the goodness which it protects, and 
 high in conseqijence of the wisdom which it defends ; for 
 greatness has relation to goodness, and height to wisdom. 
 It has twelve gates, because these signify all those know- 
 ledges of truth and goodness by which men may enter into 
 the saving things of the AVord. The angels at those gates 
 denote the messages of heavenly wisdom which are present 
 in all such spiritual knowledge ; and the names of the 
 twelve tribes of Israel are written upon them, to inform us 
 that all the saving teachings of the Word are inscribed 
 upon the letter. Each gate is declared to be of one jioarl, 
 to teach us that all the ways of entrance into the Church 
 are distinguished by an acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus 
 Chi'ist, He being the one Pearl of great price who has 
 1 Rev. iii. 18. » Matt. vi. 20. 
 
SECOITD COMIKG OP THE lOED. 
 
 361 
 
 mercifully revealed Himself as "the way" and "the door." 
 The tliree gates which are at each of the four entrances, 
 namely, the east, west, north, and south, represent complete 
 admission into the Church, and consequently into heaven, 
 for every one who in faith and love acknowledges the Lord : 
 hence it is written that these gates shall not be shut. The 
 names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb being in the foun- 
 dation of the wall, signifies that the letter of the Word has 
 its basis in all the doctrines of faith and charity, which have 
 to be believed and done. These doctrines are represented 
 by the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The measure of this 
 wall is to be " the measure of a man, that is of the angel," 
 because the letter of the Word and its spiritual sense are as 
 one, their instructions being adapted to our requirements as 
 men in the world, and to our necessities as angels in hea- 
 ven. The Word will be the measure of both conditions, 
 and both will correspond to the measure. 
 
 We read further that the foundation of the wall and of 
 the city are to be garnished with all manner of precious 
 stones. To be garnished is to be adorned ; and all manner 
 of precious stones denotes every variety of holy truths ; 
 especially those which transmit the light of life to men. 
 These things are at the foundation of the N ew Jerusalem ; 
 " the glory of God will enlighten it that is, the truths 
 of the Word will be the source of its illumination, and " the 
 Lamb will be the light thereof:" "the Lamb" being the 
 Lord in His Divine Humanity, in which He is the true 
 light which lighteth every man who cometh into the world. 
 This is the central light of the Church, — the Sun of right- 
 eousness, from which every other subject derives its bright- 
 ness and its beauty. The Church which lives in this 
 acknowledgment can have no night ; the darkness of error 
 will be removed from it. It is also written, " the Lord 
 
362 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT, AITD 
 
 God Almighty and tlie Lamb are tlie temple of it." " The 
 Lord God Almighty," is the Supreme Being in His essen- 
 tial natui'e ; " the Lamb" is the Divine Humanity in which 
 that essential nature was finally revealed : together they 
 are one, as soul and body are one : hence Jesus said, " I and 
 the Father are one," " whoso seeth me seeth the Father 
 also." He, then, is the temple in the New Jerusalem, because 
 He is the sole object whom its instructed and enhghtened 
 citizens will worship. Every one knows that He declared 
 His Humanity to be the temple.^ The circumstance of the 
 Lord in His Divine Humanity being the only temple in the 
 New Jerusalem, proves that He is the exclusive object of 
 the Christian's worship in this final dispensation of His love. 
 By this worship this Church is to be distinguished from all 
 other Churches which have ever existed in the world : it 
 is the ultimate idea of the Divine, developed in the last 
 economy of His grace ; and around this grand truth a mul- 
 titude of other truths are arranged, all tending to establish 
 faith in the Divine origin of the Word, and to lead those 
 who believe it to holiness and heaven. " The nations of them 
 that are saved are to walk in the H^ht of it ; and the kinsrs 
 of the earth are to bring their glory and honour into it." 
 By " nations " are represented those who are in the good of 
 love towards the Lord ; and by " kings " are signified those 
 who arc in the truths of faith concerning Him. To walk in 
 the light of the New Jerusalem, is to hvo according to the 
 laws of Divine truth, as they are revealed in the internal 
 sense of the Word; and they who do this compose the nations 
 who are saved. To bring glory and honour into it is to be- 
 lieve in the Lord, and to acknowledge that every truth and 
 every good, as they appear in the external sense of the Word, 
 belongs to Him' alone. They Avho do this are described as 
 1 John ii. 19. 
 
SECOITD COMirrG OP THE LOED. 
 
 363 
 
 kings of the earth. The former live justly accordiug to laws 
 of love ; and these are celestial men. The latter believe 
 -wisely according to the laws of faith ; and these are spirit- 
 ual men : hence both are saved, one from the practical 
 nature of his love, the other from the practical nature of 
 his faith : stUl, in the other life, the position of one will be 
 more eminent than that of the other, because such has been 
 their internal distinction in the world. 
 
 Such are some of the facts and principles involved in the 
 description of the New Jerusalem. They show, with great 
 certainty, that its purpose, as the tabernacle of God with 
 men, is to unfold the true nature of His Divine Word, and 
 to present the laws of spiritual and heavenly life to man 
 with a clearness never before experienced in the Chi'istian 
 Church. The Church in which the Divine "Word is re- 
 ceived with understanding, and is followed in the life, must 
 be a blessing to the whole world. It is the medium by 
 which heaven is connected with the earth ; and it operates 
 as a magnet for conductiug spiritual influences from on 
 high to promote the happiness of men below ; and this, 
 not only for those who immediately acknowledge it, but 
 also for those who have not yet been brought within its 
 pale. Hence it is that by the Divine Providence of the 
 Lord the kingdoms of Europe, and- especially those in 
 which the Word is freely circulated, have such an extended 
 intercourse with the world ; and every one who has paid 
 any attention to the signs of the times must have noticed 
 how much more visible and active that intercom'se is be- 
 coming with all the unconverted nations of the earth. Thus 
 the descent of the New Jerusalem, because it is being at- 
 tended with the revelation of the spiritual sense of the 
 Word, and the opening out of new influences from heaven, 
 must be bestowing blessings of the highest oi'der upon 
 
THE LAST JTJDGMENT, AJTO 
 
 men ; and thus tliey are seen to be permeating every de- 
 partment of ciyilized existence : they may not be acknow- 
 ledged to have any connection with the presence of the 
 Church in the world ; but to what other cause can they be 
 reasonably ascribed ? Is it not a fact that wherever the 
 Word has been accepted, and where, as the result, a Church 
 has been planted, there the greatest amount of blessings 
 have always been enjoyed ? How plain is it, then, that a 
 more intimate acquaintance with the true nature of the 
 Word must be fraught ■with more eminent enjoyments ? It 
 ere.ates, as it were, vessels in the human mind for the more 
 ready reception of those infliiences which descend from 
 heaven to bless mankind. The presence of a true Church 
 in the world operates beneficially in human affairs, as do the 
 heat and light, which emanate from the sun, in natural 
 creation. These not only cause the vegetation of trees and 
 shrubs which are planted within the reach of their direct 
 activity, but they also operate to produce the growth of 
 those which are in dark and shady places. So it is with 
 goodness and truth — the heat and light of heaven ; these, 
 by means of the Word and the Church, are diffused 
 throughout the world. The Lord said unto the disciples, 
 " Ye are the light of the world ; " ' it is also written, " the 
 light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended 
 it not."- In those passages we have the principles declared 
 that the Church is the medium of light to the world, and 
 that this light reveals truths which the world as such will 
 not acknowledge. A new Church would not have been 
 promised, if the fulfilment of that prediction had not been 
 intended to promote some new and some beneficent results 
 among mankind ; it is, therefore, plain that the purpose of 
 its descent from heaven must be to open out new percep- 
 , Mfttt. V. 14. « John i. 5. 
 
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 865 
 
 tions of goodness and truth and use to tlie world ; and 
 when such perceptions display themselves in benefits to 
 men, they may reasonably be regarded as evidences that 
 such a dispensation has begun. It is by the evolution of 
 such new things that the spiritual and natural welfare of 
 our race are to be promoted, our happiness increased, 
 and our sorrows diminished ; these results are described as 
 a new creation, through which the Lord will realize His 
 own prediction, " Behold, I create new heavens aud a new 
 earth, — I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 
 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people ; 
 and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in ber, 
 nor the voice of crying. They shall build houses, and in- 
 habit them ; they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of 
 them. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for 
 trouble ; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, 
 and their offspring with them."^^ 
 
 This heavenly dispensation is intended to be a complete 
 and perfect Church in respect to the truths which it will 
 teach and the character of the goodness it will require. 
 It will educate the rational faculty of its people in the 
 knowledge of spiritual and theological things. Its faith 
 will be the faith of truth. ; its charity will be the charity of 
 use ; and the Lord will be humbly acknowledged as the 
 author and finisher of every grace. The adaptation of its 
 excellence to the three degrees of the human mind may be 
 compared to a magnificent column. Its capital, or celestial 
 degree, will be fervent in love to God who will be intellec- 
 tually known ; its shaft, or spiritual degree, will be wise, 
 and enhghtened in the exercises of charity to men ; and its 
 base, or natural degree, wHl be usefully active in perform- 
 ing the moral duties and civil obligations of life ; each of 
 1 Isa. kv. 17-23, 
 
366 
 
 THE LAST JUDGMENT. 
 
 tlie lo^er principles of its existence will bear a just pro- 
 portion to the higher, and the whole together will consti- 
 tute a complete and united structure. Thus the New 
 Jerusalem is to he a celestial, spiritual, and natural Church, 
 in which the affections of purified love in the will, the per- 
 ceptions of enlightened truth in the understanding, and 
 the diligent performance of useful duties in the world, will 
 unite in the Hves of her genuine people, and render them 
 both wise and happy. 
 
 We believe that such a Church is now in the process of 
 being developed among mankind. Throughout this essay 
 we have been calling attention to some of the doctrines by 
 which she is distinguished, and offering such evidences in 
 proof of their scriptural origin and reasonable character, 
 as, in a popular work, we could most easily present. With 
 their truth we are most seriously impressed ; we believe 
 them to be fraught with great practical uses, and in the high- 
 est degree conducive to the progi'ess of enhghtened Chi-is- 
 tianity in the world. They have removed from our minds a 
 thousand difficulties which the popular opinions were con- 
 tinually suggesting, and have won for themselves a rever- 
 ence in our judgment for which we desu-e to thank the 
 Giver of every good. And, therefore, we earnestly and 
 affectionately invite all who liave not made themselves ac- 
 quainted with the character and pretensions of this Church 
 to a full, fair, and enlightened consideration of the doc- 
 trines which she teaches and the virtues which she inculcates. 
 Compare and test them with the evidences and require- 
 ments of Revelation ; bring to the work a becoming piety 
 and a dispassionate reason ; call in the aids of learning, dis- 
 crimination, and justice ; and then her truths will have fair 
 field for the performance of their mission, while those 
 who humbly obey her pi'ecepts will share the blessings she 
 is capable of bestowing. 
 
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