THE
LAST TIMES
AND
The orfat  eon ummatioln.
AN EARNEST DISCUSSION OF MOMENTOUS THEMES.
BY
JOSEPH Ab SEISS, D.D.
AUTHOR OF
"THE GOSPEL IN LEVITICUS," "<THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS," " THE DAY OF
THE LORD," "LECTURES ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS," ETC. ETC.
REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION.
PHILADELPHIA:
SMITH, ENGLISH  & CO., 23 NORTH  SIXTH  ST.
NEW YORK: BLAKEMAN & MASON. BOSTON: GOULD & LINCOLN.
CINCINNATI: GEO. S. BLANCIIARD.
LONDON: WERTHEIM, McINTOSH & HUNT.
TORONTO: W. C. CHEWETT & CO.
1863.




Ovi'6v avOpcowr9 Xafeiv (eiSov, oO. XapiaaaOat Oed  ce/v6repov, &a;AOeiag. —Plutarch.
"Man cannot receive, nor God bestow, a greater blessing than THE TRUTH."
I claim that liberty, which I willingly yield to others, in subjects of difficulty to
put forward as true such things as appear to be probable, until proved to be manifestly false.-Harvey.
My determination with myself is, to follow neither men nor their opinions, but
God and his word. —Justin Martyr.
Distinguite tempora, et concordabunt Scripturso.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by
JOSEPH A. SEISS,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern
District of Pennsylvania.
STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON AND CO.
PHILADELPHIA.




PREFACE.
THIS book treats of the future destiny of the world and its
population, as revealed in the holy prophecies. It was first
published in 1856, since which time several editions and republications of it have appeared. It was originally designed
to bear testimony against certain erroneous opinions extensively afloat in the popular mind, and to awaken attention to
a subject too little appreciated and too much neglected by
modern professors of Christianity. The favor with which it
has met, and the blessing of God which has so largely attended
it in many directions, together with the increased ominousness
of our times, and the pressing importance of a right knowledge
of what is coming upon the earth, have induced the author to
revise, enlarge, and reissue it, and to enter into arrangements
to bring it, in its revised form, simultaneously before the reading public of England, Canada, and the United States.
The views which it presents are somewhat in conflict with
prevailing impressions and current opinions and prejudices;
but they are the writer's honest convictions, produced by
faithful study, and uttered under a full sense of the responsibility involved. They are also believed to be entitled to sober,
candid, and careful consideration. They certainly have the
sanction of high authorities, both ancient and modern, and
3




4                      PREFACE.
are more and more commanding the belief of devout men of
earnest hearts and eloquent tongues in all sections of the
Church of Christ.
A few exceptions have been taken to former editions of this
book.  Its spirit was thought too positive, dogmatical, and
severe.  This criticism was not felt to be just.  Strong, bold
language was indeed employed; for it would be useless to think
of making an impression in any other way; but as to dogmatical proscriptiveness, or disrespect to those entertaining different opinions, nothing was further from the author's feelings,
or from the design of his book. Nevertheless, the revision
has removed some passages, and modified others, which, perhaps, were liable to misconstruction in these particulars. If
any thing remains which might reasonably disturb the most
kindly feelings and relations with those who see things in a
different light, the author is not conscious of it, and does not
so intend it.
It has also been thought by some, that the book gave too
unfavorable a picture of the present condition of the world,that the moral and spiritual state of things now is not worse,
but better, than in former periods. Seven years of additional
study and observation, however, have only deepened the
writer's belief in the truthfulness of the representations he has
given. The difference between him and his critics, upon this
point, may also, after all, be more apparent than real. The
truth is, that the world is both better and worse than at any
time since the days of the Apostles, and that it will continue
to become better and worse until the'"end." As the light increases, the shadows deepen. There is upon earth a kingdom




PREFACE.                        5
of evil, and a kingdom of good; and both are expansive and
growing. This is distinctly taught in the parable of the Wheat
and the Tares. The great Lord of the field has said, "LET
BOTH GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE HARVEST; THE HARVEST
IS THE END OF THE WORLD." Hence, Christ and Antichrist,
holiness and iniquity, good and bad, are side by side, each
advancing, the conflict between them increasing in intensity,
the severest being the last, when the Lord of the harvest shall
come with his reapers and make the everlasting separation.
"'The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day," (Prov. iv. 18;) and
yet "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Tim. iii. 13.)
The enlargements in this edition are considerable, amounting in all to more than one hundred pages. Some portions
have been entirely rewritten. Notes have been added, to
explain or further support the original text, and to bring up
the work to the author's increased understanding of many
important points. Pains have been taken and much labor
bestowed to present a full analysis of Scripture References on
the entire subject, and to give a full exhibit of the literature
of the same from the days of the Apostles to the present. A
complete Index to every thing important contained in the
work has also been appended; all of which must materially
enhance its value.
To appreciate this book as an argument for the system of
doctrines concerning the future which it gives, it will be
necessary to read all of it, and in the order in which it is presented. Its force is cumulative. Each part enters into the
1*




6                       PREFACE.
support of all the parts, and in its place contributes to the
general conclusions of the whole. It is only by attention to
this fact that the reader can do justice to the author, to the
subject, or to himself.
As remarked in the preface to the first edition, the author
of this volume does not presume to speak for his Church,
or for any party, but only for himself.  Nevertheless, he
is happy to be able to say, that he speaks with Justin Martyr, Irenoeus, Tertullian, and all the great divines of the first
ages after Christ, as well as with many of the greatest lights
of Protestant Christendom. And if he is to be censured or
condemned for what he has here ventured to affirm, the
Church of Christ itself, in the purest and brightest periods of
its history, and in some of its most illustrious worthies, must
also be censured and condemned.
With these remarks, the writer again sends out this volume,
hoping that it may not be unfruitful of good, and praying
that all who read it may be brought to share in the blessedness of those who shall have "part in the first resurrection."
PHILADELPHIA, U. S.,
March 18, A.D. 1863. f




CONTENTS.
TWELVE DISCOURSES.
DISC.                                                 PAGES
I. THE SUBJECT PROPOUNDED-MATT. XXIV. APPLIEDCHRIST'S RETURN PROVEN-IMPORTANCE OF THE
SUBJECT.................................................  9-35
II. CHRIST'S COMING IN RELATION TO OTHER EVENTSTHE MILLENNIUM-WRONG VIEWS CORRECTED-THE
ADVENT PRE-MILLENNIAL..................................  36-61
III. THE RESTITUTION  OF ALL THINGS-"END OF THE
WORLD" -PETER' S CONFLAGRATION-REPEAL OF THE
CURSE...........................................................  62-87
IV. THE RESURRECTION-REV. XX.-TWOFOLD RESURRECTION-HOPES CONNECTED WITH THE RESURRECTION
OF THE JUST.................................................. 88-111
V. MESSIAH'S KINGDOM-HOW PRESENTED IN THE SCRIPTURES-IS NOT YET SET UP............... 112-136
VI. THE JUDGMENT-DAY OF-IS PROGRESSIVE-CONNECTS
WITH THE MILLENNIAL REIGN-HOW INTRODUCED
-ADMONITIONS............................................. 137-159
VII. ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT-UPON NATIONS
-RESULTS OF..................................  160-182
VIII. RESTORATION OF THE JEWS-OBJECTIONS TO-NEW
TESTAMENT ON — ANCIENT PROPHECIES-FACTS —
EXPLANATIONS.............................................. 183-208
IX. THE WORLD TO COME-PICTURED IN THE TRANSFIGURATION-BLESSED CHARACTERISTICS OF............... 209-230
X. TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH-SUMMARY-THE FATHERS
-AUTHORITIES-THE REFORMERS-CONTRAST BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT............................. 231-258
7




8                        CONTENTS.
DISC.                                                   PAGES
XI. WHEN CHRIST WILL COME-WITH RELATION TO OTHER
EVENTS-THREE METHODS OF COMPUTING THE TIME. 259-284
XII. RECAPITULATION-SIGNS OF THE TIMES WITH REFERENCE TO THE ADVENT OF CHRIST-SENTIMENTS OF
DISTINGUISHED MEN-DESIRABLENESS OF CHRIST'S
COMING......................................................... 285-310
NOTES AND ADDITIONS.
NOTE                                                       PAGE
A. OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED MEN ON THE DAYS IN
WHICH   WE   LIVE................................................  316
B. THE MEANING OF )'vea- "GENERATION"- IN MATT.
XXIV. 34......................................8.............  823
C. THE AUGUSTAN AND HELVETIC CONFESSIONS AGAINST THE
MODERN IDEAS OF THE MILLENNIUM............3........    326
D. DOES THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION CONDEMN CHILIASM?..    327
E. MILLENARIAN VIEWS OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF CHRIST'S
KINGDOM............................................................... 335
F. DECLARATION OF THE SAVIOR (JOHN XVIII. 36) IN REFERENCE TO HIS KINGDOM AND THIS WORLD.............    338
G. THE PERSONAL ANTICHRIST-IS IT LOUIS NAPOLEON?....    341
H. THE TWO STAGES OF THE TRANSLATION OF THE SAINTS...    349
I.  LUTHER ON THE MILLENNIUM..................................   354
J.  THE SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD...............    356
K. PROBABLE DATES OF THE SEVEN LAST VIALS................  362
AUTHORITIES, BOOKS, AND REFERENCES.
CHAP.                                                    PAGE
I. ANALYSIS OF AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES      365
II. REFERENCES TO THE OPINIONS AND WORKS OF THE
FATHERS.........................................................  383
III. CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO MORE RECENT WRITERS...    400
GENERAL INDEX...................................................  438




FIRST DISCOURSE.
THE  SUBJECT PROPOUNDED - THE TWENTY-FOURTH  CHAPTER  OF
MATTHEW APPLIED-CHRIST'S PERSONAL RETURN TO THE EARTH
PROVEN-THE INTENSE IMPORTANCE OF THE THEME.
MATT. xxiv. 3: And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, When shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world?
FROM these words I begin a series of special discourses
upon the holy prophecies concerning " The Last Times," and
the winding up of the dispensation under which we now live.
It is agreed, by all believers in the Bible, that very mysterious scenes await our world. Christians and Jews concede,
that we aff approaching commotions and changes, such as
never have been since time began. Indifferent to the future
as we may be, and deep as are the church's slumbers upon
the subject, God's purposes are fixed, and the wheel of his
wonderful providence is rolling us on to the funeral of the
"world" that now is. Every day we are coming nearer and
nearer to a period, if we have not already entered within its
margin, when the whole present arrangement of things shall
be broken up and pass away.
9




10                 THE LAST TIMES.
No one acquainted with the existing aspects of the world,
can have any doubt, that we have fallen upon very startling
and critical times. All society, everywhere, with its politics,
its philosophy, and its religion, is in a perturbed condition,
indicating revolutions and occurrences which no mere human
foresight can at all comprehend. The stream of earthly
things is overflowing its old banks, and spreading out in every
direction, in wild, disordered, ungovernable, and overwhelming volume. Old systems and modes of thought and belief,
which have stood for ages, are everywhere tottering upon
their thrones, and many of them reeling as for their final
fall. Symptoms of a mysterious metamorphose meet us on
every hand, causing some of earth's most far-sighted men, in
church and state, to tremble with amazement and doubt.
What these approaching changes are to be is differently
given, according to the different points of observation which
men occupy. But that changes are certainly coming, all
admit.*
I propose, therefore, to enter upon a serious and honest
effort to ascertain what light the Scriptures throw upon the
momentous problem.  Our heavenly Father has given us a
"sure word of prophecy," and has been pleased mercifully to
reveal therein what his great purposes are, and how things
are to be ordered until those purposes are fulfilled; and it is
my design to open the book of God, and to go with you to its
unerring and inspiriting pages, to ascertain what the Lord
hath made known concerning those "things which must
shortly come to pass." I do not propose to take the prophet's
chair, but to take the place of an humble student of the prophet's words. I am a learner, not a master-a seeker after
what has been revealed, and not a revealer of what has
hitherto been unknown. My purpose is, to keep close "to
the law and the testimony." I will follow no guides but the
inspired writers  And I ask of you to test carefully all that'~ See Note A, page 317.




PRELIMINARY REMARKS.                 11
I may present, beseeching you to reject all that I may by mis.
take utter at variance with God's word. I may err.  I may
not always hit upon the exact truth. All I claim of you is,
to approach the subject with a prayerful and teachable spirit,
ready to hear and weigh testimony without partiality or prejudice, sincerely desirous to learn what God the Spirit saith,
and determined, at all hazards, to cleave to all that the blessed
Scriptures really teach.
I know that there is in many a strong but morbid distaste
for the discussion of these subjects.  Some have even gone
so far as to set it down to some mental defect for a man to
touch the study of prophecy. But I suppose that there are
among the men who have devoted their time, talents, and
learning to this subject, some with quite as much soundness of mind and justness of taste as any of those who
have decided not to open the seals which inexcusable
neglect has put upon the prophetic Scriptures.  Noah,
also, was considered insane for his concern about what was
coming upon the earth in his day.  Jesus himself, with all
his Divine gravity and wisdom, was pronounced a demoniac.
And the apostle Paul, in the midst of some of his mightiest
and brightest intellections, was branded as beside himself
and mad. And who would not rather suffer reproach with
such company, than to have that come upon him "which is
spoken of in the prophets: Behold, ye despisers, and wonder,
and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which
ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto
you!"  And those  Christians assuredly have reason to
blush and be ashamed to whom apology is necessary for an
attempt to bring before them the wonderful and glowing prophecies of Scripture concerning things to come "in the latter
days."  Every thing dear and hopeful in the Christian faith
stands inseparably connected with them. They include nearly
all the grand motives to faith, obedience, watchfulness, and




12                 THE LAST TIMES
virtue. God also tells us, that "All scripture is profitable,
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness;" that we have "a word of prophecy whereunto we do well to take heed;" and that " Blessed is he that
readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and
keep the things that are written therein."  Where, then, do
men get liberty to ignore one-half of the Bible as useless?
Who has authorized us to seal and bury in oblivion those
grand Apocalypses of futurity which God has given, and in
reference to which he says, "If any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
city, and from the things which are written in this book!"
Hath " the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to
shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be
done," and we be under no obligations whatever to seek to
find out the meaning of the heavenly communications? Shall
he solemnly proclaim "these sayings faithful and true," and
him "blessed" that keepeth them, and we call it piety and
wisdom to put them aside as loose fables, and repudiate them
as unmeaning riddles which can only addle our brains? How
could we adopt a course more criminally indifferent, arrogant,
and unbelieving? Is not such conduct a placing of ourselves
with the scoffers of the last days, who say, "Where is the
promise of his coming?" Shame, shame, to the skepticism
of many professing Christians.
Let me suppose a case. Suppose that the blessed Savior
should now appear in this assembly, and take this stand, and
begin to discourse to you about the last times.  Would you
feel justified in stopping your ears to his words beca.lse he
struck upon this particular theme? Would you not regard
any one who should act thus as under some strange infatuation of the devil, and deserving of severe rebuke? But where
is the difference, whether Jesus should thus come in person,




A DIFFICULT THEME.                  13
or come to us in the written word, every sentence of which
he has dictated, inspired, or delivered to us for our learning?
And if you would feel bound to give him a reverent hearing
in the one case, why not feel equally bound in the case which
actually exists? Christ is here with his word to instruct us
upon these very subjects; and it would not be worse to stop
your ears to his personal voice, than it is to refuse to hear and
consider his written truth.
Prophecy, it is true, is a somewhat difficult theme. Peter
tells us, that it is "a light that shineth in a dark place." We
must not expect everything to be as obvious and plain as in
the noonday when all is luminous. Especially in unfulfilled
prophecy, there must needs be some obscurity in the particular details of circumstances, "times and seasons."  But,
there are difficulties to be encountered and wildernesses to be
traversed just as great and discouraging in other departments
of learning; yet, instead of being deterred by them, men are
rather the more stimulated to meet them, and are accustomed
so constantly to triumph over them, that we cease to be surprised at the most astonishing strides of human genius. Does
the astronomer cease to study and survey the heavens, because, with all his aids, he never can fully take in the tremendous sweep of God's universe, or tell what sort of inha-.itants are in the sun, moon, and stars? Does the geologist
tease to dig and bore into the bowels of the earth, or give
over the study of its rocks and fossils, because he cannot find
out all that lies hidden in its unknown centre, or tell how the
strata of its crust were formed, or describe the appearance
and habits of those monsters whose bones lie entombed under
its surface? Does the physician throw aside all further inquiry
into the anatomy and physiology of man, because he cannot
discover "how the bones are formed in the womb," what life
is, and in what part of the body the soul is?  Why, then,
should the Christian shun the study of the predictions
2




14                  THIE LAST TIMES.
which God has given, because there are some depths and
mysteries about them which we cannot fathom? Nay, these
very obscurities and difficulties, which deter so many from
examining the prophetic word, are not without their wholesome effects. It is a real pleasure to the mind to know that
something has been left for it to do. It luxuriates, and has
its highest life in the exercise of overcoming obstacles, and
bringing up the truth from regions which lie under the surface of ordinary observation. Only furnish to the human faculties the assurance of success, and it is their highest happiness
and purest virtue to labor and to wrestle with difficulties.
And so the glimmering twilight which hangs about prophecy,
is just what we might expect, and what we need. There is
light and plain certainty enough to guide, cheer, quicken, and
excite; and just darkness enough to check the pride of speculation and the boasts of confidence, and to make us prayerful, humble, and inquiring. The difficulties are not insurmountable. They are not as great as many have agreed to
regard them. They are more imaginary than real, and proceed rather from our slothfulness than from the prophecies
themselves. People do not understand prophecy, simply because they do not study it; and then they refuse to study it
because they do not understand it. There is no part of Scripture richer or more munificent in rewards for the faithful
inquirer. It is a garden of flowers-a cabinet of wondrous
jewelry. It is a vast and varied landscape, filled with beauty
and grandeur, the horizon of which is fringed with the bright
dawning glories of eternal day. Here, and here alone, we
can see the real scope and magnificence of man's redemption.
Here, and here only, we can trace God's providential plans to
their ultimate consummation, and learn the real majesty of
his counsels of love. At every step there is something to
encourage and comfort us under the fatigues and trials of life,
something to confirm our faith and to fill us with glorious




THE SUBJECT PROPOUNDED.               15
anticipations. And if the limits of our knowledge can be
extended, and the sum of human good augmented, by the
study of rocks, and bones, and beasts, and birds, and stars,
how can it be unprofitable to bend our attention a little more
than we have done to what our Savior has revealed concerning
"the signs of his coming, and of the end of the world"?
That the Lord Jesus, the Son of the Virgin Mary, will
certainly return again to this earth, is a doctrine written in
all the creeds, and sung about by Christians every week. It
is an event the sublimest in coining time, the most largely
treated in the Scriptures, and the most deeply involving all
that relates to the destiny of our world.  As Christ is the
centre of history, his second coming is the centre of prophecy, which is history written beforehand. I have accordingly fixed upon this final advent of the Lord as the central
thought of these investigations, and as the point from which
to survey the great scenes of the last times.  To attempt to
prove to you that the Son of man will really and personally
come again to this world, may seem quite superfluous. It is
a doctrine which orthodox Christians universally admit. And
yet, perhaps, there is not another article of Christian faith so
coldly and indefinitely apprehended. Few men embrace it as
a reality.  Few men lay hold of it as an efficacious truth.
People deny it not, but neither do they feel it. They have so
much preoccupied their minds with imaginary figurative
comings of the Savior, in providence, in his Spirit, in his
word, and in his church, that his only real coming has wellnigh become obsolete-a mere dead letter.  It no longer
comes upon the heart and conscience with its proper awakening and commanding power. We recite it, and sing it; but
we do not effectually receive it. It is ii our creed, but it
cannot be said to be our faith. If we entertain it at all, it
is at a great distance off. It cannot therefore be a matter of
small importance for us to review our position, and to en



16                 THE LAST TIMES.
deavor to ascertain where we stand in regard to this great
doctrine. If we have been unconsciously saying to ourselves,
" the Lord delayeth his coming," it is time that we should
wake up to the fact, lest that day should come upon us unawares. Christ bids us "Watch; for in such an hour as ye
think not, the Son of man cometh."  "The day of the Lords
so cometh as a thief in the night."  "As a snare shall it
come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth."
And amid the tremendous heavings of society in our day, we
are the most solemnly admonished to look well to our hearts,
and to keep close to the directions of our Lord.
The great original prophecy concerning the second advent,
the principal storehouse from which the apostles and first
Christians drew their faith and illustrations upon the subject,
is that glorious discourse of the Savior which he gave to
Peter, James, John, and Andrew, in answer to the questions
propounded in the text. Next to the sermon on the mount,
that discourse is the longest and the most momentous of all
that has been preserved of the Savior's communications.
And yet, there is, perhaps, no part of Scripture that has been
so much abused, confused, and obscured by professed interpreters. Though the Bible nowhere so pointedly, directly,
literally, and plainly asserts and describes the final advent of
the Lord, there is scarcely a commentary in existence which
does not so Jerusalemize, spiritualize, and allegorize it, as to
leave it the most indefinite and unmeaning of all the Savior's_
teachings. The prevailing impression is, that the twentyfourth chapter of Matthew is a mixed prophecy, referring
primarily to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and,
perhaps, by a sort of typical implication, remotely touching
upon the scenes of Christ's final personal coming. But what
relates to Jewish troubles, and what relates to the transactions
of the last times, no commentary in the hands of the people
has told. Others, again, apply the whole to the taking of




THE XXIV. CHAPTER OF MATTHEW.              17
Jerusalem  only, and consider the coming of the Son of man
nothing but the coming of the Roman legions into Palestine.
That there are difficulties connected with the exposition of
this important portion of Scripture, is admitted; but that
they are of a character to prevent us from using it as a basis
of doctrine, or from understanding what the Savior in the
main meant to teach by it, I am not willing to concede. The
simple reading of it, with a few explanatory remarks, is all
that is needed to exhibit its meaning with ample clearness
for our present purposes.
That the passage, in part at least, was intended to foreshow
the fate of Jerusalem, with the signs and accompaniments of
the same, is not to be questioned. That the predictions
which it contains were not meant to be limited to these particulars, but to include the last times and the period of
Christ's personal return to the earth, appears to be equally well
founded. And that the Savior does not speak first of the one
application only, and then exclusively of the other, in regular
historic and chronological order, is also pretty clear, from the
difficulty of showing exactly where the point of transition is.
The true key to the passage, and which relieves it of most
of the troubles which expositors have found with it, I take to
be this: that the fate of the ancient Jewish economy and its
accompaniments was the commencement of a system of administrations which is at length to involve all nations,-a sort of
first-fruits of the end,-the enactment on a limited scale of
what is finally and more fully to be enacted on the theatre of
the world at large.
It is a fact that history is continually repeating itself,
and that the future is perpetually foreshadowed in the
scenes and occurrences of the past. There is also a "latitude
which is agreeable and familiar to Divine prophecies, being
of the nature of their Author, with whom a thousand years
are as one day, and therefore they are not fulfilled punctually
B                    2*




18                 THE LAST TIMES.
at once, but have springing germinant accomplishments
throughout many ages, though the height or fullness of them
may refer to some one age."  So in the case before us. The
close of the Jewish economy was the.earnest of a general
-closing up of the same sort for all nations. The destruction
of Jerusalem, and the attendant particulars, constituted the
starting-point; but the meaning of the prophecy goes quite
beyond these, and grasps a much ampler scene of fulfilment.
Both are embraced in one field of view, whilst the stress and
fulness of the predictions reach the last times and the great
consummation, and presently settle entirely in them.
The occasion of the discourse is set forth in these words:
"And Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and
his disciples came to him, for to show him the buildings of
the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these
things? Verily, I say unto you, [the days will come in the
which] there shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down."
" And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the -disciples
[Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew] came unto him
privately, saying, TELL US, WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE?
AND WHIAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING, AND OF
THE END OF THE WORLD, OR AGE?"
I emphasize these last words, because they are the stemwords upon which the whole discourse is framed. Christ
had spoken only of the destruction of the temple and the
Jewish state. But with this the disciples associated the
end of the whole earthly order of things; and the Messiah's
entrance upon his glorious and heavenly dominion. Their
inquiry, accordingly, had two leading subjects: first, the overthrow of the Jewish temple; and, second, the coming of
Christ in his kingdom at the great consummation. They
wished to know two things concerning these subjects; first,
when these things should come to pass, and second, what signs




FALSE CHRISTS.                   19
should mark the time and manner of their occurrence. And,
as they asked two questions in one, the Savior proceeded to
answer them in the same double form.
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that
no man deceive you; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive mniany.  [And the time
draweth near; go ye not,, therefore, after them.]"
The indication is here given, in the very first words, that
the minds of the inquirers were in a somewhat confused and
exposed condition.  They expected the setting up of the
Messiah's kingdom in connection with the fall of the Jewish
temple, and hence were in great danger of being deluded by
impostors, and of accepting antichrists and pseudo-christs for
Christ himself. One of the punishments of the people of
Israel for the rejection of the true Christ, was the relinquishment of them to false saviors and deliverers.  In every period
of corruption and consequent calamity, this symptom of lying
consolations and promises repeats itself. It was so in the period
of the captivity. (Jer. xxix. 8, 9, xiv. 13; Ezek. xiii.) It
was so in the period of Jerusalem's overthrow, as Josephus
has very fully shown. And it is elsewhere abundantly foretold that it shall be still more remarkably so in the end of the
present dispensation.  Hence the caution, to guard against
deceivers and false hopes, which applied not only to the
Christians of that time, but applies equally to us.
"And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors 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 kingdom, and there shall be famines,
and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places; [and fearful sights, and great signs shall there be from heaven.] All
these are the beginning of sorrows."
How literally and completely all these things were fulfilled
in the period of Jerusalem's fall, may be seen in Josephus,




20                 TTHE LAST TIMES.
and the commentaries upon these verses. But they are equally
predictions of what is to mark the period of the end. Indeed,
they are here called " the beginning of sorrows," as if specifically to make known that their occurrence in the case of
Jerusalem's trouble was but the commencement or first-fruits
of a fulfilment which is to be still more amply realized by
the world at large.
" [But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you,
and persecute you.] Then shall they deliver you up [to
councils, the synagogues, and into prisons], to be afflicted,
and shall kill you. [And ye shall be brought before rulers and
kings for my sake, for a testimony against them;] 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 many
false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of. many shall wax cold."
That these things literally came to pass in the times of the
apostles themselves, may be seen in Acts iv. 1-3, v. 17, 18,
27, 40, 41, vii. 59, xii. 1-4, xvi. 19-23, xvii. 6, xxvi. 10, 11,
xxviii. 30, 31, xx. 29, 30; 2 Tim. i. 15, iv. 10, 14; 2 Peter
ii. 1; Jude 4; 1 John iv. 1, ii. 18; 2 John 7. They are
also more or less fulfilling continually, preparatory to the still
more complete fulfilment under the Antichrist of the last
days. (See Dan. vii. 25; 2 Thess. ii. 3-8; Rev. xiii. 15.)
"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."
There is a threefold "end" spoken of in these words: the
end of suffering, in the case of the individuals encouraged to
endure; the end of the Jewish polity, as the first point inquired about; and the end of the whole present order of
things, as connected with the conling of Christ, concerning
which they also wished to be informed. That the gospel was




EARLY SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL.             21
very generally promulged before the fall of Jerusalem, is a
fact of which we have very reliable testimony. Eusebius
says of the apostolic age, "Under a celestial influence and cooperation, the doctrine of the Savior, like the rays of the
sun, quickly irradiated the whole world."  And if Eusebius
should not be sufficient authority, hear what Paul says on the
subject. He died years before Jerusalem was destroyed; and
yet he writes the Colossians, (i. 16,) " The word of the truth
of the gospel is come unto you, as it is in all the world."
"Be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye
have heard, and which was preached TO EVERY CREATURE
WHICH IS UNDER HEAVEN." (i. 23.)  " Have they not
heard? yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and
their words unto THE ENDS OF THE WORLD." (Rom. x. 18.)
But that was only the type of a publication of the gospel
which is now ever more and more going on, and which shall
receive a still more marked and miraculous fulfilment as the
end approaches and the judgment comes. (See Rev. xiv. 6.)
" [And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.  Then
let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let
them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not
them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these
be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written
may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and
to them that give suck in those days; for there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away
captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down
of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.]"
It is remarkable that both the end of the Jewish economy,
and the great consummation, are connected with the coming
of foreign powers against Jerusalem, and disaster to the holy
city; as also with a flight to the mountains on the part of




22                  THE LAST TIMES.
those who are to escape destruction. (See Zech. xiv. 1-5.)
The paragraph from Luke, which I have just given, seems to
describe more especially the first, and the following from
Matthew seems to describe more especially the second.
" When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
(whoso readeth let him understand,) then let them which be
in Judea flee into the mountains.  Let him which is on the
housetop not come down to take any thing 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 wvorld to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except
those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be
saved: but, for the elects' sake [whom he hath chosen], those
days shall be shortened."
The quotation from Daniel, respecting the desolating abomination, was understood by the Alexandrine Jews as referring
to the profanation of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes, as
described in 1 Maccabees i-43-60. And some have supposed a corresponding profanation under the bloody and sacrilegious zealots at the period of Jerusalem's overthrow. But,
as the passage stands in Daniel, it connects with the scenes
of the judgment and the end of the world. The Savior does
not seem to quote it, either, in any other sense, or with any
other application, than that which it has in its original connection. It is therefore altogether safest to understand it as
referring above all to the terrible desecrations to be perpetrated by the Antichrist when his own image shall be set up
for worship in the place of the services of God; for it is in
connection with the setting up of that image that the great
tribulation in its proper fulness is to begin. Hence its name,




THE ELECT.                     23
"the abomination of desolation," or, that maketh desolate.
As to "the elect," or "chosen," different classes are perhaps
meant. There were some, even unbelieving Jews, saved at
Jerusalem's destruction; and not a Christian perished. Both
these classes were therefore in some sense the elect. And
there will be a corresponding election when these predictions
come to their ultimate fulfilment in the great tribulation of
the last days. Some shall pass through the terrible affliction,
and entirely survive it; and others shall be caught up to their
Lord in the air at the very commencement of these great
woes, and thus entirely escape them, (Luke xxi. 36; Rev.
xiv. 1-5,) being the elect of God to be the Bride of Christ.
And when these straits and sorrows come,"THEN if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ,
or there; believe it not. For 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. [Take ye heed.] 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. FOR WHERESOEVER THE CARCASS [BODY] IS, THERE WILL THE EAGLES
BE GATHERED TOGETHER."
Though the Savior may perhaps still have Jerusalem's
overthrow somewhat in view, it is plain that the principal
stress of this paragraph falls in the last days, and refers aboae
all to what is to transpire in connection with the false p''etences and lying wonders of the Antichrist and his minions,
(2 Thess. ii. 3-12; Rev. xvi. 13, 14, xix. 20,) from which
the people of God shall then be in peculiar peril. The last
verses, particularly, do not refer to the Jerusalem troubles,
but to Christ's literal and personal return, in contrast with




24                  THE LAST TIMES.
all pretended saviors and usurpers of his place, whether
coming as his rivals or in his name, in the days of Jerusalem's distress, or in the last days. Four things are contained
in these verses: first, that false Christs and false prophets
shall come; second, that the true Christ is also to come;
third, that the coming of the true Christ will be after a manner and with demonstrations very different from those of
usurpers and deceivers; and fourth, that we need give ourselves no anxiety about making our way into the presence
of Christ when he comes, for that we shall as naturally find
ourselves with him as eagles are where their prey is.  To say
that this coming of Christ as the lightning shineth, refers to
his providential coming by the Roman armies, would require
the invention of a similar fiction to correspond with the
coming of the false Christs, and, indeed, divest the entire passage of meaning. The gathering of the eagles might be interpreted of the coming of an army which bore the eagle on
its standards; but when we compare it with Luke xvii. 3437, Isaiah xl. 31, Rev. iv. 7, xii. 14, the reference seems
rather to be to Him who "was dead" but is "alive for evermore," and to the gathering of his redeemed  people to
himself in the clouds at his literal coming, according to
I Thess. iv. 16, 17. So Theophylact, Euthymius, and many
of the ancients took the passage; and Luther paraphrases it
as if Christ had said, "As the eagles are gathered where the
carcass is, so shall my people be gathered where I am."
It is also very noticeable how the subject of Jerusalem's
overthrow, with which the discourse begins, gradually fades
into the greater and more absorbing theme of Christ's coming
and the end of the world. Especially from this on, it is quite
lost in the intenser sharpness of the back part of the picture.
It is of the judgment period that we now read,"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the
sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and




AN AXIOM.                     25
the stars shall fall from heaven;"-or, as Lue has it,"[There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in
the stars, and upon earth distress of nations with perplexity,
the sea and the waves thereof roaring, men's hearts failing
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming
on the earth;] and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."
It is no longer Jerusalem that we see in these graphic
words. What is here spoken concerns all the families of
man, and relates to the judgment-times in immediate connection with the glorious revelation of the returning Lord.
"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."
What a shame, that learned men should spend their pains
and talents in attempts to tie down this language to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies!
I take it as an axiom,-a settled verity which demonstrates
itself,-that two events which are specifically described as
successive-the one as coming after the other-cannot be
the same. But, if this axiom had always been observed in
the interpretation of this twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew,
the students of the Scriptures might have saved themselves
much inconsistency and confusion, and many a misapprehension of God's word. If we ask most of our popular commentators what is meant by "the tribulation of those days," described in the twenty-ninth and preceding verses, the answer
given is, that it means the calamities and sufferings of the
Jews, induced by the siege and overthrow of their city and
state. And if we ask them, again, what is meant by the
mourning of the tribes of the earth "after the tribulation of
those days," the answer is about the same,-the calamities:ad sufferings of the tribes of Israel in connection with the
fall of their city and state! If we inquire of them what is
3




26                 THE LAST TIMES.
meant by the coming of the Son of man as the lightning in
the clouds of heaven, with some twinges of uncertainty they
nearly all finally agree upon the reply that it means the flashing judgments which were brought upon the rebellious people
of'Israel by the coming of the Roman armies against Jerusalem!
The coming of which the Savior speaks was to be " out of the
east" towards the west, and the coming of the Roman armies
was out of the west and north towards the east and south; but
the reply is, no matter for that; we are not to expect all the
particular circumstances to hold! The coming of which the
Savior speaks is specifically said to be " after" the tribulation
induced by the invasion of Palestine by the Romans, as well as
"after" that great unparalleled tribulation of which the Jewish troubles were the commencement and first-fruits; but no
matter for that, we are told; as though effect could go before
its cause, and as if priority or succession were nothing in the
interpretation of a book such as the word of God! I question,
indeed, whether the annals of learning can furnish a parallel
to the absurdities which characterize the great mass of our
popular disquisitions upon this portion of the inspired record.
No wonder that the doctrine of Christ's personal return to
our world has lost so much of its weight, certainty, and
rightful importance in the minds and hearts of the Church,
when its great foundation-text is thus sacrificed to a false and
supercilious erudition.
One of the strangest things in the world is the manner in
which some people read the Bible. It would almost seem as
if they turned it upside-down, and read it backwards. "Eyes
have they, but they see not." They praise it, and hold it in
holy regard, and insist that everybody ought to have it; yet
they look into it only as some recondite volume, which is a
good text-book for preachers, but which is quite beyond the
reach of their understanding. They adore it more for the
unknown mysteries which they attribute to it, than from their




THE BIBLE.                    27
personal appreciation of what their own eyes have beheld
upon its pages. Many seem to view it as a sublime riddlebook, full of mystic poetry and unsearchable wisdom, rather
than as a plain piece of information and advice given by a
Father to his inexperienced and exposed children. And
many who sit down to write commentaries upon it seem to be
continually haunted with the idea that there is something
recondite in every word, or that the real mind of the Spirit is
not to be found in the plain import of the letter, but in some
abstruse or mystic analogy which it is their business to dig
after. I hold that the Bible is a book for everybody, in
which God speaks for the purpose of being understood by
everybody; that its language is conformed to the ordinary
uses of speech; and that it is to be interpreted in the same
common-sense way in which we would interpret the will of a
deceased parent, or ascertain the meaning of a letter on business. It was not written to tax our ingenuity, or to test
men's skill at learned exposition. Its design is to instruct,
and in the most familiar way to express to men the mind and
will of God. When Christ speaks of "the Son of man,"
he means the Son of man, and not the Roman armies. When
he speaks of his " coming in the clouds of heaven," he means
his coming in the clouds of heaven, and not the sailing of warships on the Mediterranean, or the march of soldiers over the
fields of earth. When he says " after" the Jewish tribulations
are ended, he means "after" those tribulations, and not before
they began, or while they were yet in their incipiency. And
when he says that all the tribes of the earth "' shall see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory," expositors might as well attempt to demonstrate 
to me that day is night, or that white is black, as to attempt
to make me believe that he means the march of an army of
boorish heathen soldiers. Christ knew what he wished to say,
and how to say what he meant; and I feel myself bound to




28                 THE LAST TIMES.
understand him to mean just what he says. And what he
here predicts respecting his coming in the clouds at the close
of the tribulation no more refers to the coming of the
Roman armies into Palestine than to the flight of Mahomet,
or the next eclipse of the moon. He is describing the scenes
of the judgment-period, and nothing else.
" And then 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."
The elect, in this paragraph, I understand to be the same
as the multitude which no man can number, described in
Rev. vii. 9-17; the harvest of the earth described in Rev.
xiv. 14-16.
"Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is
yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is
nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know
that it [the kingdom of God] is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS,
TILL ALL THESE THINGS BE FULFILLED."
Some have groundlessly supposed that this last remark
requires the application of this whole prophecy to the times
of the apostles, and consequently to Jerusalem's destruction.
They take the word "generation" as meaning those who live
in the same thirty years; thirty years being reckoned to a
generation.  But if this be the sense, then how shall we
reconcile the prophecy with facts? Jerusalem was not destroyed until about forty years after the Savior uttered these
words. And if he meant that a generation of thirty or even
thirty-three years should not pass away till all these things
should be fulfilled, his prediction cannot be verified. It is gratuitous, however, to insist upon that sense of the word generation. The original is reca —a race, a class, a family of people; as where it is said, "the children of this world are wiser
in their generation than the children of light." The plain mean.




MEANING OF CHRIST'S PROPHECY.            29
ing of the Savior is, that the family of Abraham, the Israelitish people, should not pass out of existence, as a distinct
class or race, before all these predictions should be verified.
That the word will bear this sense must be admitted. Many
of our most valuable critics and interpreters so understand it.
The surroundings also seem to demand that we should here
take it as meaning the Jewish people as a race. They are this
fig tree which is to have a long winter of leafless barrenness,
but which is to bud again when the summer-time of the kingdom approaches.  And in this sense above all have the
Savior's words thus far been most exactly and niarvellously
fulfilled, showing the truth of what follows,"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away."*
It is therefore as plain as language can make it, that this
prophecy of the Savior runs through all time, from its delivory down to the end of the world that now is. Men may
try to believe that he spoke only of the fall of Jerusalem and
the Jewish constitution, but they deceive themselves; they
distort, depreciate, and wrest the clear meaning of his words;
and they bring endless confusion into one of the plainest, most
literal, and most straightforward prophecies in' God's word.
The disciples asked him very important questions, and he
answered them all that they inquired about. They wished to
know when and how Jerusalem and the temple should be
brought to desolation, and he told them when and how these
things should be, tracing down the consequences upon the
Jewish race to his final coming and kingdom. They wished
to know what should be the signs and form of his final coming
in glory and triumph, and he explained to them the whole
matter with a fullness of detail which constitutes the great
fund from which his followers eter afterward drew their information upon the subject. They wished to know when, and
* See Note B, page 323.
3*




30                 THE LAST TIMES.
amid what circumstances, the end should come; and he answered them on that point too, as far as it was for them to
know  the facts; teaching them to look and watch for his
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
In this remarkable discourse, we are accordingly taught,
an; have the doctrine certified to us in a very peculiar and
urlnistakable manner, that OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IS TO
COME AGAIN INTO OUR WORLD. It is not only stated in
various forms of language, but it is made the subject of a whole
chapter of circumstantial particulars which connect with it,
and is the central point in a vast field of predictions, many
of which have already passed into historical facts. And one
of the prominent reasons, perhaps, why the destruction of
Jerusalem and the final consummation were embraced in the
same prophetic view, was; that in looking back, and seeing
how literally and fully the first part of it has already been
fulfilled, we might be confidently assured that what remains
to be fulfilled is just as certain as an unalterable fact of history.  As part has already become history, so the remaining
part shall also become. And thus, with a degree of certainty
which excludes all possibility of mistake, the Savior has assured his church that HE WILL COME AGAIN to this disordered world. It is no mere fancy,-no poet's dream,-no
mere fabulous device,-but immutable reality, as sure as the
desolations which have been upon Mount Zion for these
eighteen hundred years. Though men may think but little
of it, and put it far away from themn, it is one of the infallible
verities of Almighty God. As the angels at his ascension said,
so we may be satisfied, that "THIS SAME JEsus WHICH IS
TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN SHALL SO COME, IN LIKE MANNER
AS YE HAVE SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN."  Henceforward,
therefore, could his followfts say, "THE LORD HIMSELF
SHALL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN,"-"-Our conversation is in
heaven, from  whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord




CERTAINTY OF CHRIST' S COMING.            81
Jesus Christ."  "Behold, HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS; and
every eye shall SEE hinm, and they also which pierced him."
Henceforward could the disciples go forth, "looking for that
blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of the great God
our Savior Jesus Christ,"' and beseech men "by the coming
of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto
him," and exhort their fellow-believers "to wait for his Son
from  heaven," and proclaim the glad "rest, when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,"
and encourage the fond hopes of the persecuted and desponding with the assurance that " when he shall appear we shall
be like him, for we shall SEE HIM AS HE IS."
No, no; " We have not followed cunningly-devised fables,
when we made known unto you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ."  As certainly as the words of Jesus are
true, as surely as the pillars of the Eternal throne are steadfast, Jesus himself, in glorified humanity, shall return again
to this very world of ours. All the prophets have predicted
it. All the pious, from the foundation of the world, have in
some shape expected it. Jesus declared it, both before his
death and after his resurrection. And the very last words in
the holy Testament which he left us are, " He that testifieth
these things saith, SURELY I COME QUICKLY. AMEN." Even
apart from what the Scriptures contain upon the subject,
with the account of his humiliation before us, reason itself
might almost anticipate his return.  We cannot suppose that
such a glorious personage will always remain under the reproach and stigma of the cross. Natural justice seems to
demand that he should come again, in the majesty that appertains to him, in order to sweep away the infamy which wicked
men in every age have sought to heap upon him. As He
whose right it is to reign, will reign; and as He whose "is
the kingdom, the power, and the glory," will not forever
leave his enemies to usurp his place; so we are driven to ex



32                 THE LAST TIMES.
pect him yet to come, "glorious in his apparel, and triumphing in the greatness of his strength."
It must, therefore, be a matter of absorbing interest tc
every man, how, and when, and with what antecedents and
results, the Son of man shall come.  "This," says Charles
Beecher, "is the question now in the providence of God first
claiming the solemn attention of the churches."  What can
be more momentous than the closing up of this whole present
scene of things-the passing away of the world's present
fashion and administration? What revolutions in government
-what subversions of present social arrangements-what destruction of empires, thrones, principalities, and powers-and
what shakings of the heavens and of the earth —are involved!
What new and strange experiences shall pass over men when
once the glorious King and Judge of quick and dead shall
blaze forth his startling presence in the clouds, and summon
the earth to answer for all its deeds! And shall we not seek
to understand the revelation of God concerning these amazing
scenes? Shall we not awake from our dreams of peace, and
open our eyes to the startling things that are crowding thick
around us, and our ears to what God has said about them?
Have we not been allegorizing, and spiritualizing, and Jerusalemizing the prophetic word, until we hardly know where we
are, or whether there is any thing more to be expected or not?
Let us, then, rouse up upon this momentous subject. We
have mighty interests staked upon it. There is more said
about it in the Scriptures than upon any other single theme.
And yet Christians now hardly cast a thought forward to the
mighty occurrences which it involves. We say the prayer,
"Thy kingdom come!" but so cold and lifeless is the petition
on our lips, that we scarcely know what we are asking. Jesus
says, "Behold, I come quickly;" but we fold our arms and
answer, No, no; it will yet be a thousand years or more. He
says " Watch;" but we say, There's no danger that he will come




NECESSITY FOR PREPARATION.             33
in our day. The midnight cry is being raised in every region
and city of Christendom, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go
ye out to meet him!" but multitudes deride, and say, It is the
raving of enthusiasts; it is the ory of fanaticism; and they
heed it not. Alas, whose heart now thrills to the startling
announcement, "The Lord cometh"? Who looks, and sighs,
and prays now, for the return of the Savior to our world?
Who is waiting for, as he is hastening unto, the coming of the
day of God? Who is keeping himself in readiness for its
solemn revelations?
My brethren, if the Son of man should come this week,
this month, or this year, would he find faith on the earth?
Would not the church itself be taken by surprise? Would
not such an event now come upon the overwhelming majority of Christ's professed followers unawares? And yet,
what guarantee have we that the chariot-wheels of the coming King are not already rumbling over the distant worlds?
Has he not said, "In such an hour as ye think not, the Son
of man cometh"? "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
in the night"? and "as a snare shall it come upon all them
that dwell on the face of the whole earth"?  Who can say
that we are not liable to have the great scenes of the judgment precipitated upon us at any moment? And shall we
not be concerned to have our minds familiarized with what
may any day occur, and which must occur sooner or later? Is
there not something inconceivably dreadful in the thought of
having that day come upon us at the very time we are saying,
"My Lord delayeth his coming"? Would it not be better to
be a little beforehand with our anticipations, and to bear the
taunts that may be heaped upon us for our concern, than to
accommodate ourselves to the wisdom and sobriety of this
erring world, and be finally taken by surprise and perhaps lose
our eternal all? Jesus says, that " the Lord of that servant"
who shall be found faithless, sleeping, or scoffing, "shall cut
c




34                 THE LAST TIMES.
him asunder, and appoint him his portion with hypocrites,
amid weeping and gnashing of teeth." Of what avail will
his worldly wisdom and his fruitless profession be to him
then?  What good will all his knowledge then do him?
Better.that we had never known the way of righteousness, —
better that we had never been born,-than amid all our high
privileges thus to come short of the approbation of the coming
Judge.
And if judgment first begin at us, and many professing
Christians lose the honors of the kingdom, "what shall
the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? If the
righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the
sinner appear?"  With what surprise and discomfiture shall
the day of Christ's coming overtake them!
My dear friends, these are solemn thoughts. It will not do
to trifle with them. Momentous issues are involved. And
we know not how soon the irrevocable decision shall be made.
Let us, then, enter upon the study of this mighty subject
with serious and prayerful hearts, anxious to know what God
has been pleased to reveal, and earnestly set upon preparing
to meet our God. And especially let us carefully lay to heart
those impressive words of the Lord Jesus himself:" Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels
of heaven, but my Father only.  [Luke: Therefore take
heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this
life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare
shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole
earth. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man:] [M1ark: for ye
know not when the time is.] But as the days of Noe were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood, they were eating and drink



"BE YE ALSO READY."                     85
ing, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark, and KNEW NOT until the flood came, and
took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be
taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at
the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. WATCH,
THEREFORE, FOR YE KNOW NOT WHAT HOUR YOUR LORD
DOTH COME.  But know  this, that if the good man of the
house had known in what watch the thief would come, he
would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to
be broken up. Therefore, BE YE ALSO READY: FOR IN SUCH
AN HOUR AS YE THINK  NOT, THE SON OF MAN COMETH.
Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord
hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due
season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he
cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he
shall make him ruler of all his goods."
EVEN SO COME, LORD JESUS.
Yet once again thy sign shall be upon the heavens displayed,
And earth and its inhabitants be terribly afraid;
For not in weakness clad thou com'st, our woes, our sins to bear,
But girt with all thy Father's might, his vengeance to declare.
The terrors of that awful day, oh, who can understand?
Or who abide when thou in wrath shalt lift thy holy hand?
The earth shall quake, the sea shall roar, the sun in heaven grow pale;
But thou hast sworn, and wilt not change, thy faithful shall not fail.
Then grant us, Savior, so to pass our time in trembling here,
That when upon the clouds of heaven thy glory shall appear,
Uplifting high our joyful heads, in triumph we may rise,
And enter, with thine angel train, thy palace in the skies.
G. W. DOANE.




SECOND DISCOURSE.
HOW CHRIST'S COMING IS RELATED TO OTHER EVENTS-THE MILLENNIIUM-WRONG VIEWS CORRECTED-THE SECOND ADVENT PREMILLENNIAL-THE POINT ARGUED.
LUKE XViii. 7, 8: And shall not God avenge his own elect, which
cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I
tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the
Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth.
WITH these words to indicate the general sphere of my
remarks, I now resume the subject which I introduced to
your attention a week ago. I have tried to impress upon you
that it is our duty, privilege, and a source of comforting edification, to study God's gracious revelations concerning "the
last times." Some have supposed that prophecy is mainly
designed for the conviction of those who live when, or after,
it is fulfilled, and that the investigation of it does not belong
to those who live before that time. If it were even so, I
would still insist that we ought to study these things, for the
evident reason that we are at this very day in the midst of the
incipient scenes of their fulfillment. And, apart from this
startling fact, I hold that these revelations are for us, and for
our learning, as well as for future generations. When once
they have been fulfilled, redemption will be complete, doubts
and unbelief will have no more place, the saints will be with
their King in their rest, and no evidences from fulfilled prophecy will be needed to convince people of the existence and
providence of God, or of the truth and faithfulness of his
36




BUT TWO COMINGS SPOKEN OF IN SCRIPTURE.   37
word. All this will be plain enough then in each one's heart
without processes of reasoning upon the past to establish it.
And if these impressive predictions are not intended for our
"reproof, correction, and instruction," I am at a loss to know
for whom or for what they are intended.
I have also endeavored to set forth the reality and certainty
of the Savior's return to this world, by showing you the true
and solid Scriptural basis upon which this glorious article of
our faith reposes. Some say Christ comes at death, or when
he manifests his secret providence by open judgment. Some
say Christ comes when he manifests his grace in the conversion of souls, the revival of languid churches, and the victories of his truth. But it is vlery evident that neither of these
is that coming of the Son of man of which the Scriptures say
so much, and which is so distinctly embodied in all the creeds.
Indeed, I very much doubt whether the sacred writers ever
speak of these providential and spiritual manifestations as
Christ's coming. I know of but two things to which the
Bible applies this language: the one is the incarnation, when
Christ was made man and born of the Virgin Mary; the other
is his return from heaven in the last times to judge the world
in righteousness. The New Testament tells of a first coming,
and a second coming, and no more: the one was accomplished
when "he came unto his own, and his own received him
not;" and the other will be, when "he shall appear THE
SECOND TIME without sin unto salvation."  I find in all the
Bible but these two personal advents of the Savior spoken of,
the one of which occurred eighteen hundred and fifty years
ago, and the other is to take place at the end of the present
dispensation. And all the passages respecting the coming of
the Son of man which have not been fulfilled in his first
coming apply directly and only to his next coming at the
judgment.
I proceed now to inquire at what stage in the progress of
4




88                  THE LAST TIMES.
the Messiah's earthly kingdom his second advent is to be expected. Is it to occur after his kingdom has run its entire
mundane course, or does the ultimate consummation of his
kingdom in this world depend upon his final coming?  In
other words, are we to look for the Savior's future personal
advent before or after the millennium?
The word millennium is compounded from the Latin, and
literally means a thousand years. Its theological import is
not very clearly defined. Some use it to denote one class of
ideas, others to denote another class, just as they adopt this or
that system for interpreting the twentieth chapter of the Revelation. For the most part, however, it is used and understood to denote a future period of universal righteousness,
liberty, and peace, during which Satan is to be bound, and
Christianity be triumphant throughout the world.: The ques
tion which I propose to consider is, whether Christ is to coiie
personally to introduce and establish this glorious condition of
things, or whether this triumph of all that is good is to be
realized before he comes?
According to the popular belief, the final advent of the
Savior is a far-distant event,-a mysterious and undefined
something which is to transpire at some remote point in the
revolutions of ages, long after the progress of Christian
knowledge, the developments of science, and the march of
intellect, have made the world universally pious, just, and
happy.  On the platform  and in the pulpit, we hear men
talking rapturously and hopefully of some golden, blessed age,
which is to be ushered in under the operation of existing
instrumentalities. By the preaching of the gospel, the work
of Christian education, and the progress of reform, they expect the world to be converted, Antichrist destroyed, Satan
cast put, and all the relations, occupations, and pursuits of
men purified, ennobled, and regulated with justice. This is
the hope which poets sing about, and orators preach about, as




WRONG VIEWS CORRECTED.                 89
the great incentive to missionary effort, and the reward of
self-denial, liberality, and prayer in the good work of propagating the gospel. And when once this glorious era has come,
and continued through an indefinite period of duration, then,
somewhere down among uncounted ages, the idea is, that
Christ will appear in the heavens, join these terrestrial glories
with glories celestial, and close the scene of grandeur amid
songs and triumphs that die from us into the fathomless profound of eternity.
Now, all this may be very poetical, and answer very well
to touch off platform speeches. It certainly is very flattering
to human pride, and very pleasant for the fancy to dwell upon.
But is it the truth of God? We are not inquiring now for
what is captivating, and beautiful, and touching to the natural
heart, or even to the Christian's imaginings. We want to
know what Jehovah saith-what the Spirit of the Lord hath
revealed concerning these things. And I am free to confess
to you that my study of the Scriptures has taught me to
expect a very different course and order of events. My
BiEle tells me of no millennium which existing processes are
to bring about. Neither does it tell me of a millennium
which is to precede the Savior's second advent. The only millennium I read of in the holy book is that which is to be
introduced by the glory and power of Christ's coming, and
the chief excellence of which is, his personal presence and
reign with his saints upon the earth. It is not the reign
of art, science, human culture, or free governments, for which
the Bible teaches me to look; nor yet for the universal
triumph of Christianity or the church as we now have it; nor
yet for the reign of justice, holiness, or any mere abstract
principle; but for the personal reign of Jesus my Lord, when
" all people, nations, and languages, shall serve him," and
shall "come up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts." And that this millennium may come, and this




40                  THE LAST TIMES.
glorious reign be established, the Savior himself must first
come, as he promised, and as the angels declared in the day
that he was taken up into heaven.
The advent of Christ, then, for which I look, and for which
I would have all men look, is not a post-millennial, but a premillennial coming; not a coming long hence, after an era of
liberty and perfection such as orators and poets have dreamed
of, but a coming which is to usher in and begin the promised
age of gold, and introduce to the world the fruits of a consummated redemption.  It is Christ's coming that is to make
the millennium, and not the millennium which is to prepare
the world for Christ's coming. Upon this point my mind is
clear, and my faith too firm to be shaken. There is hardly
another subject in the Bible upon which there is such a mass
of varied divine testimony as upon this. And if you will be
at the pains to search out and test the observations which I
am about to submit, I feel satisfied that you will be obliged,
either to repudiate the Scriptures, or to make up your minds
to believe as I do.
1. I have examined the Scriptures with diligence and care,
and have had this subject before me as a matter of study for
more than a half-score of years; and to this moment I have
not found one passage, and I do not believe that you can find
one, which, by any legitimate construction, asserts a period of
rest, triumph, and millennial glory anterior to the great personal coming of our blessed Lord. If there be such a passage,
I will be obliged to any one who will point it out to me.
2. I find the Scriptures invariably representing the church
of Christ as afflicted, persecuted, depressed, wronged, and reproached, until relievea by the coming and kingdom of the
Savior to judge the world in righteousness.  Daniel, in his
vision, beheld the saints warred with, and prevailed against,'until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given:
(vii. 21, 22.) The text distinctly identifies the avenging of




THE CHURCH TO SUFFER TILL CHRIST COMES.   41
God's elect with the coming of the Son of man, and shows
that his people shall be a suffering people until that day of
avengement comes. And other passages to the same effect are
numerous and strong. If we look at the laws and conditions
of discipleship, we read, "ALL that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution."   " If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross." " The
servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted
me, they will persecute you." " In the world ye shall have
tribulation."  " We must through great tribulation enter into
the kingdom of God." If we look at the accounts of the
relative strength of the church, we always find it consisting
of a depressed minority.  "Strait is the gate and narrow
is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find
it."  " Fear not, little flock."  " Many are called, but few are
chosen." If we look at the promises of the gospel, we find
them nearly all framed to a condition of. suffering, temptation, and affliction on the part of those to whom they are addressed.  "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall
be saved."  "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the hidden manna."  "Think it not strange, concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing
happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers
of Christ's sufferings." "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad;
for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you." Are we to be rewarded for
our toils and labors in the gospel?  It will only be "when
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father."  Are
We to inherit the kingdom?  It is only "when the Son of
man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with
him."  Is the church waiting in hope?  It is "for the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Did Paul look for "a
crown of righteousness?" It was only to be given him "at
that day." It is only when " he shall appear a second time,"
4*




42                  THE LAST TIMES.
that he will appear "unto salvation."  Every thing of glad
hope which the gospel gives us points to the final advent.
".The whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain
until now: and even we ourselves groan within ourselves,
waiting for (the resurrection) the redemption of our body."
There is no promise of rest, no Sabbath-keeping, for the
dwellers upon earth, until our Joshua comes and gives us the
glorious land. Every thing remains disjointed, sickly, afflicted,
until then. And amid all these groans, reproaches, and troubles which roll and dash upon the church until they break
against the throne of the returning Redeemer, we look in vain
for that sunny continent of universal peace and jubilee of
which men speak.
3. The Holy Scriptures, so far from promising to us a
millennium of universal righteousness before Christ comes,
invariably represent the world as aboundi#g, if not ever growing, in wickedness, even up to the very moment of his coming.
Look at the text. Though in the form of a question, it yet
contains the strongest kind of asseveration, that the coming
Judge shall find the world awfully apostate.  "When the Son
of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"  "That day
shall not come except there be a falling away first." Many
servants shall, say, "My Lord delayeth his coming; and shall
begin to smite their fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with
the drunken; and the Lord shall come in a day when they
look not for him, and cut them asunder, and appoint them
their portion with hypocrites."  "Evil men and seducers
shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."
"The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having
their conscience seared with a hot iron." " This know also,
that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blas



SIN WILL ABOUND TILL CHRIST COMES.           48
phemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without
natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having
a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."  "Remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of
our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be
mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly
lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having
not the Spirit." " Knowing this first, that there shall come in
the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying,
Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell
asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation."  "The mystery of iniquity doth already work:
only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the
way; and then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
will consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming
is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs,
and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not
the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
These are dark and awful descriptions, and they stretch down
from apostolic times to Christ's own personal coming.  In the
Revelation also, under three distinct streams of prediction,seals, trumpets, and vials,-we have a series of successive and
ever-augmenting defections, revolts, apostasies, and usurpations, which are ende4 only with the tremendous judgments of
the day of the Savior's personal appearing. Where, then, is
that glowing period of universal righteousness, liberty and




44                 THE LAST TIMES.
peace, which some are looking for previous to our Saviour's
final coming?
4. The Savior's prophetic discourse, which is the fountain
of all these prophecies concerning the last times and the
second advent, allows no place for a period of millennial glory
anterior to the personal arrival of the Son of man. That discourse, running through the twenty-fourth and fifth chapters
of Matthew, gives us a luminous sketch, by the hand of the
great Master of Prophets, of the leading aspects of the divine
administrations from the destruction of Jerusalem to the consummation of all things. The Savior there describes most
vividly and plainly all the great signs which are to precede,
attend, and follow his coming in the clouds of heaven with
great power and glory. And if it is true that his second advent
is to be preceded by a thousand years of universal righteousness and peace, it is impossible to believe that he would have
entirely omitted all allusion to it in a prophecy so comprehensive, and yet so minute in its details. Such an intervening millennium would have been a "sign" so notable that
it could not have been passed by. And yet we search in vain
through all that wonderful discourse for the smallest hint concerning it. Nay, he specifically describes a great and unprecedented tribulation, beginning with the siege and fall of
Jerusalem, and stretching on "until the times of the Gentiles
b. fulfilled," and tells us that "IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE
TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS shall the sun be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, an'd they shall see
the Son of man coming." There can, be no millennium of
peace whilst "tribulation" lasts; but in this account " tribulation" only ceases at the point when the signs of Christ's
immediate advent appear. The only space between the




PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES.            45
tribulation and the terrifying signs of the judgment is
described by the adverb eoOw -- instantly, immediately,
quickly, without the intervention of any other event. To
make that adverb include a millennium would be to contradict
its whole meaning, and to adopt a principle of interpretation
which would reduce all language to uncertainty. But we must
do it to have the millennium before Christ comes. Nay more;
as if forever to cut up by the roots all hope of a period of
universal righteousness and peace prior to the judgment, the
Savior adds, "As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming
of the Son of man be." What were the characteristics that
marked the last periods of the antediluvian world? Was the
flood preceded by a millennium of righteousness and peace, or
a millennium of universal apostasy, sensuality, wickedness and
debasement? Let the word of God answer. "And 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 it repented the Lord that he had made
man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. The earth
also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with
violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was
corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth."
Such is the awful portrait which inspiration gives of those
early times; and He who cannot lie says, " So SHALL IT BE
ALSO IN THE DAYS OF THE SON OF MAN!"
5. The Scriptures explicitly teach us that the world shall remain in a mixed condition, in which the good and the bad shall
grow together and mature side by side until the day of judgment. Upon this point, the parable of the wheat and the tares
is a perpetual demonstration. Much as men have controverted
over that parable, no man can separate from its teachings this
clear and strong prediction, that the wicked shall live and
flourish as long as this present dispensation endures. Jesus
himself has so explained and applied it. "The field is the




46                 THE LAST TIMES.
world." In that same field are both wheat and tares, the children of the Kingdom and the children of the wicked one.
('Both grow together'until the harvest."  "The harvest is the
end of the world."  And, until that end comes, no man or angel
can uproot or remove those tares. There they are, growing and
bearing fruit; and there they will continue to grow and flourish
until Christ comes with his reapers to wind up this present
economy.  There is no triumphing of the wheat over the
tares; no monopolizing of the field by the righteous; no
trampling down, subjugation, conversion or eradication of the
hosts of -the wicked, until then. What could more directly,
positively and unequivocally prove, that there is to be no
millennium of universal righteousness, liberty and peace, before
Christ comes? In the millennium, the glory of the Lord is to
"fill all the earth." "All people, nations and languages"
are then to serve Jesus, "and all dominions shall serve and
obey him." The knowledge of the Lord is to cover the earth
as the waters cover the sea. "They shall not teach every man
his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord: for all shall know him from the least to the greatest."
"' Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." And yet
this selfsame holy record teaches us that the devil will have
his children here, and that they shall grow and flourish until
the day of Christ's coming to judge the world. Is not the
demonstration complete, that the millennium does not commence until after Christ comes?
6. It is self evident, that there can be no millennium of
universal righteousness, liberty and peace, whilst the great
antichristian powers, and the confederations of usurpation and
wickedness, continue to defile and oppress the world with their
foul presence and work. How can there be a millennium
whilst "the mystery of iniquity" lives and operates "after the
working of Satan, with all, power, and signs, and lying won



DURATION AND END OF THE MAN OF SIN.          47
ders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness"? How
can there be a millennium whilst the domineering, blasphemous
and persecuting power in Daniel, which speaks " great words
against the Most High," and wears out the people of God,
continues making war with the saints and prevailing against
them? How can there be a millennium whilst corrupt and
oppressive governments still usurp the prerogatives of God,
and array themselves against liberty and truth? How can
there be a millennium whilst nations gather themselves to
battle, and "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and
the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men,"
continue to make themselves obnoxious to "the wrath of the
Lamb"? The thing is impossible. The very idea is preposterous. And yet I will prove to you that the Scriptures
explicitly teach that these antichristian and usurping powers
will live on till Christ comes, and that they shall only be
destroyed when he shall judge the world.
Look at what is said of the duration and end of "the Man
of sin," in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. The
apostle tells us that it had already begun to work in his day.
The paganism of the Roman government for a while stood in
its way. But the Spirit said, that when this hindrance should
be removed, "then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall
destroy" —WHEN and HOW? By the gradual spread of evangelical religion? By the present processes of bringing men
to the knowledge of the truth? No, no, no; "WITH THE
BRIGHTNESS OF HIS COMING" —(-Tr sre'pavera Gius rapovuafaq
avrov;) literally, BY THE APPEARING OF HIS OWN PRESENCE.
Here, then, is positive proof from the word of God, that this
Man of sin is to continue in existence until Christ's second
coming, and is to be consumed and utterly destroyed only by
the personal advent and appearance of the Son of God himself.
It is useless to tell us that the " coming" here spoken of de



48                 THE LAST TIMES
notes a mere figurative or providential interposition of the
Savior. The whole passage is sternly prosaic and free from
metaphors, and the words employed are never elsewhere used
figuratively in the New Testament. Exripaveta is used in five
other places, and is in each one universally understood as denoting a real appearing,-a personal and visible manifestation.
IIapovuaa is used in twenty-three other places in the Scriptures,
and in every one of them denotes a literal presence —a personal
advent. Both these words as strongly and directly describe a
real, visible, and personal coming as any in the Greek language; and when used with reference to a person, they cannot
mean any. thing but a real presence and advent of that person.
"The coming of Stephanus, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus,"
means the personal advent and presence of these men.  "The
coming of Titus" is the personal advent and presence of Titus.
And so "Christ's own coming" is the advent and presence of
Christ himself, in his own proper person. And if the words
" appearance of his presence," or "the appearing of his own,
advent," do not mean the visible, literal and personal revelation or manifestation of himself, it is impossible to employ
terms that can express it, and human language is incapable
of being interpreted on any fixed and definite principles.
Wherever else the word 4r'cpapeea occurs in the New Testament, all men take it as conveying the unmistakable idea of
a real appearing.  Wherever else the word 7rapovToa  occurs
in the New Testament, there is no disputing the fact that it
means arrival, presence, advent; and when applied to persons,
a personal arrival, presence, or advent. Either of these words
is held sufficient in other passages to prove a real and personal
appearing and presence. And when both are united, as in the
case before us, how is it possible that they should mean any
thing less than the literal, real and personal arrival and presence of Jesus, with reference to whom they are used? The
Man of sin, then, is to live on until Christ himself shall come,




" THE LITTLE HORN."                49
and shall be destroyed only by the appearing of the Savior's
own personal advent. And so the most thorough and able interpreters have uniformly taught.  Luther says, "They (the Man
of sin and his rabble) shall be preserved until the coming of
Christ.  Let us therefore pray the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that he would hasten that d ay of the glorious
appearing of his Son, which he has promised, in which he has
declared that this Wicked one, this Man of sin and son of perdition, shall be destroyed."  Arclhbishop Usher says, "The
glorious appearing of the Son of God in the latter day shall be
the overthrow of Antichrist, whence we gather that before the
last day he shall not be utterly consumed."  Robert Fleming
remarks, "Though the Lord will gradually consume or waste
this great adversary by the spirit of his mouth, yet he will not
sooner abolish him than by the appearing of his own presence,
as I choose to render and understand the words, Thes. ii. 2-8."
And Melancthon, Milton, Wesley, Watts, Chalmers, Bonar,
Elliott, and other men of piety and learning, have expressed
themselves to the same effect; all showing that there can be
no millennium of peace and righteousness before Christ comes.
Look next at what is said concerning the destiny of the
blasphemous and persecuting power denoted by "the little
horn" in the visions of Daniel. Whether that presumptuous
power is the same as Paul's "Man of sin," matters not in this
connection. Its existence is certainly incompatible with the
idea of universal righteousness, liberty and peace; and the
epoch of its end is the epoch of the second advent and the
judgment.  The prophet distinctly states concerning the
eleventh horn, "even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth
that spake very great (presumptuous) things, whose look was
more stout than his fellows; I beheld, and the same horn
made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, UNTIL
THE ANCIENT OF DAYS CAME, AND JUDGMENT WAS GIVEN
TO THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH, when the time came
D                    5




50                  THE LAST TIMES.
that the saints should possess the kingdom."  This language
is very plain; but to render it still more unmistakable, an
angel interprets the vision to the prophet, and further says
of this little horn, " He shall speak great words against the
Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall presume to alter appointed seasons and the law, and
they shall be given into his hand until a time, times, and the
division of time.  But THE JUDGMENT SHALL SIT, WHEN his
dominion shall be taken away, to be wasted and destroyed."
(See Wintle's translation.) Let the impious and persecuting
power of the little horn, then, be what it may, the word of
God says that it will live on till the Ancient of days comes,
and the judgment sits, and the suffering saints enter into their
kingdom.
Look also at the great ten-horned beast upon which this
presumptuous little horn grew.  Daniel says it was " dreadful
and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron
teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and trampled upon
the remains with its feet." The interpreting angel says that
this beast is the fourth great kingdom upon the earth, which
" shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and
break it in pieces." Surely there can be no universal reign of
righteousness, liberty and peace, while such a power remains and
triumphs. And yet its end is particularly given as contemporaneous with the destruction of the little horn, and the second
advent of the Son of God. The time when its thrones were
cast down, as beheld in the vision, is the time when " the
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like the pure wool, his throne the
fiery flame, and his wheels the ardent fire. A fiery stream
issued and trailed forth before him, thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand assisted
before him; THE JUDMENT SAT, and the books were opened."
It was only then that "the beast was slain, and his body de



THE TEN-HORNED BEAST.               51
stroyed, and given to the burning flame."  And that this
judgment and destruction is to take place in the period of the
personal coming of the Savior, is also explicitly stated.  "I
saw," says Daniel, "and behold, one like the,Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven, and there was given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations
and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed." The prophet here evidently refers back to a previous vision, and identifies this
kingdom of the descended Lord with that referred to in the
second chapter, where it is said, that "in the days of these
kings," the very powers symbolized by the ten-horned beast,
"shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to
other people, but IT SHALL BREAK IN PIECES AND CONSUME
ALL THESE KINGDOMS, AND IT SHALL STAND FOREVER."
Let any man look at these divine revelations with an unbiased
mind, and he cannot escape the fact that the personal advent of Christ, the day of judgment, and the ultimate destruction of these great antichristian powers, are all connected
together in one and the same great epoch of time, leaving no
room for the millennium anterior to the Savior's coming.
If we look to the eleventh chapter of the Revelation, we
again find the setting up of the reign of Christ over the
nations, the great day of God's wrath, the time of the judging
of the dead to give reward to prophets and saints, and the destruction of them that destroy or corrupt the earth, all connected together in the same period. The one is made synchronous with the other. And all belong to the epoch of the
sounding of the last trumpet, when the whole mystery of
God is to be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the
prophets.
So also in the nineteenth chapter of Revelation. The ten



52                 THE LAST TIMES.
horned wild beast, which ascended out of the pit, and whose
doom is to go into perdition, and "the false prophet that
wrought miracles before him," both, with their deceived and
infatuated followers, are still found alive and vigorous, and
arrayed against the Lamb and his adherents, up to the very
time when the heavens open, and the mighty Son of God
comes forth to tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath
of Almighty God.
Let men dream, then, as they may, the revelations of God
are certain and sure. Antichrist shall live till Christ comes.
Sin, tyranny and usurpation shall continue as long as the
present dispensation. And persecution and iniquity shall not
cease until the Son of man cometh to judge the world in
righteousness.  IT FOLLOWS, THEN, THAT CHRIST WILL COME
BEFORE THE MILLENNIUM.
7. But let me direct your attention to yet another Scriptural consideration bearing upon this subject.  What I have
said is enough; but the point is so momentous as to warrant
the fullest accumulation of testimonies. It involves many
matters of transcendent interest to the children of men, and
we should spare no. patience in probing it to its very depths.
We can gain nothing by the indulgence of false hopes. It is
the truth alone that shall not fail or disappoint us. Vast
numbers of people believe that we shall have the millennium
before Christ comes. In this I consider them mistaken. It
accordingly becomes me to make a full exhibit of the grounds
upon which I reject their dreams. I have shown, from the
Scriptures, that the church is to remain in a depressed condition until Christ comes; that the world is to abound and
grow in wickedness for the same length of time; that the
Savior's great prophecy leaves no room for the millennium
prior to the second advent; that the world is to contain a
mixed population of good and bad until the great harvest of
the last day; and that Antichrist and the great oppressing and




THE SECOND CHAPTER OF ISAIAH.           53
persecuting powers are to be destroyed only by the personal
intervention of Christ when he shall come the second time.
And I will yet prove to you, by the same divine authorities,
that the general conversion of the world to obedience to the
Son of God, which the idea of the millennium implies, is to
be effected only when Christ comes.
There is, perhaps, no passage that is more frequently quoted
in proof of the final and universal triumph of Christianity
than the second chapter of Isaiah. God there says, " It shall
come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's
house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and
be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go up to
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob,
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his
paths. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and
his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to
worship, to the moles and to the bats. The Lord alone shall
be exalted in that day; and the idols he shall utterly abolish."
This is a grand and glowing promise; and, as surely as God
lives, it will be fulfilled. But when shall these things come
to pass? A thousand years before Christ comes? Not at all.
It is to be when "he shall judge among the nations;" when
men shall " enter into the rock and hide in the dust for fear
of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty"-in " THE
DAY OF THE LORD;" when "the loftiness of man shall be
bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low;"
"WHEN HE ARISETH TO' SHAKE TERRIBLY THE EARTH."
How strange that men should throw out of this prophecy
these plain and distinct allusions to the time, which unquestionably identify these glorious achievements with the day of
judgment and the Savior's own personal manifestation! Why
should men seek the caves and clefts of the mountains to hide
from the Lord and the glory of his majesty, if he is not then




54                 THE LAST TIMES.
to be personally revealed?  What is "the day of the Lord"
but the day of Christ's appearing for judgment?  What is
his rising to shake terribly the earth, and to bring the nations
to account, but the coming of the great King with his rewards with him? And yet it is distinctly stated, that it is
only THEN that the Lord's house is to be supremely exalted,
and the nations learn war no more.
People also look and pray for the millennium as a time
when Christ shall reign the King of nations, as he now reigns
the King of saints. But the kingdoms of this world are to
be the kingdoms of Jesus only when he shall really come.
Daniel says, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like
the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him;
and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve
him." Here is a picture of the Savior's investiture with the
universal sovereignty of the earth; but it is specifically connected with his coming in the clouds qf heaven. John also
" heard great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, even of Christ;
and he shall reign forever and ever." But it was only after
the last trump had sounded, and the time of wrath, resurrection and judgment had come: (Rev. xi. 15-18.) He also
saw thrones, and the martyrs and saints seated on them, Satan
bound from deceiving the nations, and Jesus reigning with
his holy ones; but it was only after the opening of the heavens, and the personal advent of Him who had on his vesture
and on his thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of
lords: (Rev. xix. 20.)
In the twenty-second Psalm we read that the son of David
"shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto
the ends of the earth.  They that dwell in the wilderness shall
bow before him. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him;




SUNDRY BIBLE AUTHORITIES.              55
all nations shall serve him."  But it is only when "He shall
judge the ieople with righteousness;" when " HE SHALL COME
DOWN."
In the second Psalm Jehovah says to his only-begotten, "I
shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." But the
time is also declared to be when "I have set my King ulpon
my holy hill of Zion."
In the sixty-sixth chapter of Isaiah, God says, "It shall
come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they
shall come and see my glory." But it is only when "THE
LORD WILL COME WITH FIRE, and with his chariots like a
whirlwind, to render his anger with fiury, and his rebukes
with flames of fire."  Zechariah also says, that " The Lord
shall be King over all the earth." But it is only after " the
Lord shall GO FORTH, and his feet shall stand upon the
mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem  on the east," —in
the great "DAY OF THE LORD."
It is also given as one of the glories of the millennium,
and essential to it, that the Jewish race is then to be entirely
converted to the Messiah, and made a holy people. Paul says,
"All Israel shall be saved." The angel that announced the
Savior's first advent said of-him, "He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord shall
give unto him the throne of his father David. AND HE
SHALL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER." And
yet it is explicitly stated that this shall be only when he shall
finally appear again in our world. Jesus says, "Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of! the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled; and then shall they see the Son of man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory."  "They
shall be mine, saith the Lord, IN THAT DAY when I make up
my jewels:" (Mal. iii. 17.) When the Lord shall arise and
have mercy on Zion, says the Psalmist, when the set time to




56                 THE LAST TIMES.
favor her is come, " when the Lord shall build up Zion, HE
SHALL APPEAR IN HIS GLORY."  We read in Micah, "I will
surely assemble all of thee, 0 Jacob; I will surely gather the
remnant of Israel: I will put them together as the sheep of
Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold." But when
this is to be done, we read, also, that "their King shall pass
before them, even THE LORD on the head of them."  Jerusalem shall "arise and shine."  "The Gentiles shall come to
her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising." But it
is only when " the Redeemer SHALL COME," and "' the Lord
shall arise upon her, and his glory shall be SEEN:" (Isa. lix.
60.) The Lord says, " I will pour upon the house of David,
and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace
and supplication;" but, at that same time, "THEY SHALL
LOOK  UPON  HIM  WHOM  THEY  HAVE PIERCED:" (Zech.
xii. 11.)
My brethren, is not this enough? Where is the foundation on which men expect a millennium of universal righteousness, liberty and peace, before the personal return of our
ascended Lord? What do the most noted of scholars and
saints tell you upon the subject? Hear our own Luther,
whoses ame has been "ploughed into the hearts of millions,
and on hte brightest place in the roll of the illustrious dead."
" Some say,,? Days he, " that before the latter days, the whole
world shall become Christians.  THis IS A FALSEHOOD
FORGED BY SATAN, that he, mqght darken sound doctrine.
Beware, therefore, of this delusion."  So also thought the
great Melancthon. "The true church," says he, "will always
suffer persecution from the wicked to the end of time, and in
the church itself the good and the evil will continueblended
together."  He expected Antichrist to live till the advent
and resurrection. The intrepid Knox, the champion of the
Scottish Reformation, says of this world's universal reform,
"It never was, nor yet shall be, TILL THAT RIGHTEOUS KING




OPINIONS OF EMINENT THEOLOGIANS.              57
AND JUDGE APPEAR for the restoration of all things."  The
masterly Confession of Augsburg, the foundation-symbol of
Protestantism, and the acknowledged creed of the largest
number of the greatest theologians in all the world, "CONDEMNS those Jewish notions that, PRIOR TO THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, the pious will engross the government of
the world, and the wicked be everywhere exterminated." The
idea of a millennium of universal righteousness, and of the
triumph of the saints, previous to the second advent, is sternly
denied a place in that glorious monument to the truth. The
noble confessors of the Reformation refused to have any fellowship with it. They condemn it. They stigmatize it as a
Jewish fable.*
The author of that great hymn, "The Paradise Lost," the
master as well of sacred learning as of song, says,Truth shall retire
Bestuck with slanderous darts, and works of faith
Rarely be found; so SHALL THE WORLD GO ON,
To good malignant, to bad men benign,
Under her own weight groaning, till the day
Appear, of reparation to the just,
And vengeance to the wicked, at return
Of Him —thy Savior and thy Lord.
Thomas Hall says of thy millennium, "It cannot be before
the day of judgment, for these reasons -
" The last days will be perilous days.  Wickedness will the
most abound towards the end of the world.
"The church of Christ on earth to the end of the world, is
a mixt society, consisting of tares and wheat, good and bad, a
Gog and Magog to molest the saints to the end.
"It is a tenet contrary to the judgment of all the church of
hihrist.
"It makes the ruin of Antichrist to be a thousand years or
more before the day of judgment, when the Scripture joins
them toqether.
- See Notes C and D, pp. 326, 327.




58                 THE LAST TIMES.
"It makes the church triumphant when Christ comes, contrary to the tenor of the Scripture."
Matthew Henry says, "As long as the world stands, there
will still be in it such a mixture as we now see. We long to
see all wheat and no tares in God's field; but it will not be
till the time of ingathering, till the winnowing-dcay comes:
both must grow together until the harvest." " Without
doubt," says Cotton Mather, "the kingdoms ofrthis world will
not become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ, before the
preordained time of the dead, in which the reward shall be
given to the servants of God." "They who expect the rest
promised for the church of God to be found anywhere but
in the new earth, or any happy times for the church in
a world that hath death and sin in it,-THESE DO ERR,
not knowing the Scriptures, nor the kingdom  of God."
"Christ's church, while in this world," says Whitefield, "will
be a bush burning with fiery trials and afflictions of various
kinds."
But I have not time to quote one-half of the testimonies I
have at hand. This, however, I will say, that I have not
found a respectable or acknowledged creed in all Christendom,
from the beginning until now, that teaches the doctrine of a
millennium before Christ's coming. I have not found one
single passage in all the Bible that sustains the doctrine of a
millennium before Christ's coming. But, on the other hand,
I have found a long and unbroken line of witnesses from the
days of the apostles until now, who testify with one voice,
that the hope of a millennium of universal righteousness,
liberty and peace before Christ comes, is a falsehood and a
dream. I have found many eminent divines, who have blest
the church and the world with their piety and wisdom, eagerly
looking for the Savior's advent as the only thing that is to
lift the church out of its present depression and gloom. And




THE SAVIOR' S ADVENT WILL BE PREMILLENNIAL. 59
beyond and above all, I have found the word of God everywhere pointing to the same great and glorious event as the
only hope of the pious, and as the great link which alone can
connect us with or bring us into the joys and jubilations of
the millennial era. Arrange it as you will, you shall not be
able to put off the Savior's advent until after the millennium.
Theorize and speculate as you please, when the Lord cometh
he will find the world as now, full of vice, unbelief, sensuality
and guilt. All society shall be chequered, varied, mixed and
disordered as now, so that "one shall be taken, and the other
left." We may impose upon ourselves, but God is not
mocked. We may prefer our vague dreams, and set them up
against his positive revelations; but his truth abideth. " He
hath magnified his word above all his name."  He "is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;
but the day of the Lord cometh." It is not far off, at the
end of thousands of years hence. It is near. We are " hasting unto it." Many years ago already it was said, by men
who spake by inspiration of God, " The coming of the Lord
draweth nigh."  "The end of all things is at hand."  And
Jesus commands all, "W Watch, for ye know not what hour the,Son of man cometh." All through the New Testament the
coming of the Lord is spoken of as an event that may occur
at any day. From this alone, I know that we have no right
to expect a millennium first. It is useless to tell me that it is
only a providential, spiritual, figurative coming that is to
occur before the millennium. Providentially, and spiritually,
Christ is already here. Wherever two or three are gathered
together in his name, there he is. He is now and ever at
work in his providence, controlling, arranging, overruling,
moving every thing; and his Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal.  Figuratively, he comes every day.  Every
meal we take, every breath we draw, every new pulsation of




60                 THE LAST TIMES.
our life, he brings to us, as it were, by his own hand. And
if his coming before the millennium includes no higher, no
more real coming than these things amount to, then I know
not upon what ground Christians can hope that he ever will
return in person to our world. The Bible has no terms expressive of a literal and real coming, but those which describe
his premillennial coming. When we read of the coming of
other persons, we never think of allegory or figure. We take
the language for what it means. But when we read, in the
same connections, of Christ's coming-the coming of the Lord
-the appearing of the Savior's presence-theologians must
rack their brains to find out some other meaning for the
words; and that just to obscure that great and animating
hope of the church, that "the Lord is at hand," and shall
"surely come quickly."
Oh, my brethren, let us beware how we torture and explain
away the sacred words which God in mercy has given us for
our guidance!  Let us beware how we charge the Holy
Ghost with saying what he does not mean. That servant who
"says in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming," the Savior
calls an " evil servant."
How is it, then, with you?  Are you looking for, as you
are approaching, the day of God? Have you made your
peace with God? Have you your lamps trimmed, and burning, and well supplied with the oil of the grace of God?
Have you committed yourselves fully into the only Savior's
hands? Is he your portion, and the fixed hope of your souls?
Do you believe that it is but "a little while, and he that shall
come, will come, and will not tarry"? Or are you saying
"Peace and safety" whilst unreconciled to God, or a Christian
only in theory and in name? There still is hope. The doors
of salvation still stand open to you. But, alas, how soon may
the startling summons come to call you to your last account!




EXHORTATION TO THE UNPREPARED.                   61
Awake, then, O careless one, and call upon your God, if so be
that He will think upon you, that you perish not. There is
no remedy and no hope but this.  "I beseech you, therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God."
ANOTHER ADMONITION.
Awake! again the gospel trump is blown:From year to year it swells with louder tone;
From year to year the signs of wrath
Are gathering round the Judge's path;
Strange words fulfilled, and mighty works achieved,
And truth in all the world both hated and believed.
Even so the world is thronging round to gaze
On the dread vision of the latter days,
Constrained to own thee, but in heart
Prepared to take Barabbas' part:
"Hosanna" now, to-morrow "Crucify,"
The changeful burden still of their rude, lawless cry.
Thus bad and good their several warnings give
Of His approach, whom few may see and live;
Faith's ear, with awful, still delight,
Counts them like minute-bells at night,
Keeping the heart awake till dawn of morn,
While to her funeral pile this aged world is borne.
But what are Heaven's alarms to hearts that cower
In wilful slumber, deepening every hour,
That draw their curtains closer round
The nearer swells the trumpet's sound?
Lord, ere our trembling lamps sink down and die,
Touch us with chastening hand, and make us feel thee nigh.
JOHN KEBLE.
6




THIRD DISCOURSE.
THE GLORIOUS RESTITUTION - BELIEVED IN AND TAUGHT BY THB
HEATHEN AND JEWS-THIS WORLD NOT TO BE DEPOPULATED OR
ANNIHILATED-WHAT IS MEANT BY "THE END OF THE WORLD "THE LAST CONFLAGRATION-THE WHOLE TERRESTRIAL SYSTEM OF
THINGS TO BE DELIVERED FROM THE CURSE OF SIN.
ACTS iii. 20, 21: And he shall send Jesus Christ which before was
preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive, until the times
of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth
of all his holy prophets, since t1I world began.
THIS world is a disjointed and dilapidated fabric. The convulsions of sin have reduced it to a sad predicament. When
God made it, it beamed with good, and was radiant with glory.
Then man was holy, and every thing was peace. Pure happiness and harmony reigned universal. There was no sickness,
no pain, no griefs, no fears, no death. There was nothing foul
in humanity, and nothing grating or discordant in surrounding
nature. Heaven shone benignantly on earth, and earth smiled
gratefully on heaven. Man was in sweet companionship with
angels, and wore upon his unwrinkled brow the crown of undisputed lordship over all this lower world. It is not so now.
A dark eclipse has come over this mundane sphere. What
was once bright in the smiles of its Maker has been blackened
with the smokes of the pit. The garden which was fitted up
as the abode of immortality has become a place of thorns, corruption and graves. Man disobeyed, and his disobedience
has brought in all sorts of disorder, suffering and death. The
soul rebelled against God, and, as the result, the flesh has
62




PRESENT ASPECT OF THE EARTH.              63
revolted against the spirit, and the whole external creation has
been thrown into resentful confusion.  Cold, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, barren fields, pestilential airs, smiting sunshine, tearing briars, and noxious things, combine in the
terrific accusation against man, and utter the bitter manifesto
of protestation against his unholy deeds. What was created
to minister to our joy has become a disorderly servant, as if
indignant to obey a convict sovereign. Aliens from God now
by very nature, it would seem as if all creation around us
viewed us with suspicion and abhorrence, and stirred in every
part to shake us off, and groaned to rid itself of our tormenting presence. All the elements seem to have been jarred
into discordance with each other, and inspired with a strange
antipathy to us. Like Cain in his wanderings, we must now
walk this fitful earth in continual fear lest we should find our
death in every thing we meet. Plague is in the food we eat,
the water we drink, and the airwe breathe. Death comes in
at our windows, and creeps through all the crevices of our
dwellings.  And however long or vigorously we may maintain the fight, the end of each one is to fall at last and to rot
in the sepulchre.
Such is man, and the system with which he is connected.
We contemplate the spectacle with sadness. We can find
much that is lovely, but it is loveliness marred with sore distress. We see much that is venerable and majestic, but it is
in connection with signs of some deep mysterious ailment.
Goethe says, "When I stand all alone at night in open nature,
I feel as though it were a spirit, and begged redemption of
me. Often have I had the sensation as if nature, in wailing
sadness, entreated something of me, so that not to understand
what she longed for cut through my very heart." "Even in
the things of the world of bodies which surrounds us," says
Schubert, "there is an element of life, a yearning of what is
bound, which, like that Memnon statue, unconsciously makes




64                  THE LAST TIMES.
symphony when the ray touches it from above." And as we
behold afflicted nature oppressed, blighted, disjointed, and
sending up her deep-toned miserere, we ask, Is there no
remedy —no relief?  Is there not some deferred deliverance
yet to come?  Is there not some hope-some ray of promise
to shine upon the gloomy wreck? We know that there is
redemption provided for the spirit; is there none for the body?
And if there is redemption for the body, is there none for the
general system of which the body forms a part? Shall the
sinner be visited with salvation, and that which suffers only
for the sinner's sake be left without hope of deliverance? It
cannot be. God, whose mercies are over all his works, in his
own good time will bring relief.
The hope of some future general restitution of earthly
things has been entertained and taught in all ages of the
world. We meet with it in all the records of antiquity, both
Gentile and Jewish. The sibylline oracles are full of it. They
tell of the coming of one who shall yet fill the earth with
blessing, raise the sleeping dead, restore all things, subdue all
enemies, rebuild the city beloved of God, and introduce a time
of glory when the East and the West shall celebrate the honor
of God, and no more evils shall come. They point to " an
age to come," and a "new birth of nature," and link the
glorious Kingdom they predict with an exalted' personage
" from the heavenly heights," who is to "reduce all mankind
to a single empire." Plato says, "In the end, lest the world
should be plunged into an eternal abyss of confusion, God, the
author of the primitive order, will appear again, and resume
the reins of empire; then he will change, embellish, and
restore the whole frame of nature, and put an end to decay of
age, sickness and death." Plutarch gives it as part of the
faith of the ancient Persians, that "there will come a time,
appointed by fate, when Ahriman (the god of evil) shall be
entirely destroyed and extirpated, the earth change its form




TRADITIONS OF A COMING RESTITUTION.           65
and become plain and even, and happy men have one and the
same life, language, and government." According to Strabo,
the ancient gymnosophists had a similar tradition, and believed
in a time when "the ancient plenty shall be restored."  Virgil describes the renovation both of the physical and moral
world. The Chinese philosophers entertained a belief in the
present corruption and the future renewal of the entire world.
(See Hort's Sermons.) It is also said that the Karens in Tavoy,
in Asia, have a tradition "that God once dwelt among them,
and that he has departed to the West, whence he is to return,
and assuredly reappear;" and that "when God comes, the
dead trees will bloom again; the tigers and serpents become
tame; no msore distinction exist between rich and poor; and
universal peace bless the world."  Dr. Wolffe relates that he
heard a dervish of Hindostan express the belief that "the
world will become so good, that the lamb and the wolf shall
feed together; and there shall be general peace and fear of
God upon earth; and there shall be no more controversy about
religion, no more hatred, and all shall know God truly." Origen
against Celsus says that the heathen authors did believe and
teach the ultimate renovation of the world. According to
Burnet, the Scythians, the Celts, the Chaldeans, the Indian
philosophers, all say that the earth is to undergo a purgation
and be renewed. And nearly all the heathen authors sang or
wrote of some great year when all things should again return
to beauty, order, and blessedness. The same ideas of future
renewal were also entertained by the Jews. They looked for
a grand millennial sabbath, in which the world should rest
from all its tribulations, and holiness and peace be the portion
of all its inhabitants. Philo gives it as their belief, that the
earth shall be purified, and appear new again, even as it was
when it first was made.
These, my brethren, are significant facts.  What has been
so universally believed, and so deeply ploughed into the
E                   6*




66                  THE LAST TIMES.
minds and woven with the hopes of the most enlightened
teachers of mankind, dare not be rashly discarded as a groundless fable. There must be some solid foundation for it somewhere. As Mede remarks upon another subject, so here,
"all this smoke of tradition could hardly arise but from some
fire of truth." And when we consider that many of the traditions and prophetic utterances of the heathen world are but
the echoes and floating relics of God's own primitive revelations, we may safely refer this wide-spread notion of the earth's
ultimate restoration and renewal to the same divine source.
One thing is certain, that the Holy Scriptures do speak of a
"time of restitution of all things," and assure us that God
hath declared the same "by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began." Christ himself refers to a glorious
"regeneration" which is yet to pass upon our world. Paul
tells us of a "redemption" for which'"the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth together in pain," when "the creature
itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption."
And the Old Testament and the New point us to "new
heavens and a new earth," which are to be formed by the
purgation and change of "the heavens and the earth which
are now."'
This terrestrial system, then, is not an utter wreck-not a
hopeless ruin. It shall yet be restored. God shall send Jesus
Christ, even that same Jesus which the apostles preached, and
under his wonderful administrations, Satan, with all his children and confederates, shall be cast out, and the sons of God
shall shout over the complete redemption of a world the creation of which excited high songs of joy. Some have the
erroneous notion, that the coming of Christ is to be attended,
or speedily followed, by the entire destruction and annihilation
of the earth. Some appear to believe verily that every thing
in God's material universe is eventually to pass away, and space
again become a blank such as they suppose it was before crea



A COMMON ERROR.                          67
tion began.  It is singular what a deep antipathy some evince
towards all associations of materialism with our immortal destiny.  How  fond some have shown themselves of disrobing
physical nature, and reducing her to smouldering ruins, as if
she, and not man, were the offender! Indeed, we have all
heard so much about
"The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds,"
that we unconsciously set it down among the articles of our
creed, not considering that there is not a word of truth in it.
It has been so often repeated, that
"The great globe itself,
Yea, all that it inherits, shall dissolve,
And, like the baseless fabric of a vision,
Leave not a rack behind!"
that we are inclined even to contend that it must be so.  A
certain modern poem, among many foolish things, also has the
following:" Behold now all yon worlds!
The space each fills shall be its successor,-'Tis earth shall lead destruction; she shall end.
The stars shall wonder why she comes no more
On her accustomed orbit, and the sun
Miss one of his eleven of light; the moon,
An orphan orb, shall seek for earth for aye
Through time's untrodden depths and find her not I
IER GRAYE IS DUG!
And, one by one, shall all yon wandering worlds
Cease; and the sun, centre and sire of light,
Be left in burning solitude. The stars
shall pass!
The world shall perish as a worm
Upon destruction's path! THE UNIVERSE
EVANISH like a ghost before the sun,
Yea, like a doubt before the truth of God!"
Now, this may be fine poetry, and portray a sweep of fancy
and power of diction fitting a better use; but it is nothing




68                 THE LAST TIMES.
but sublime nonsense. There is nothing of the kind to which
any known laws of nature can lead; and there is nothing of
the kind predicted in the word of God. Suppose that Adam,
instead of sinning, had gone on peopling the world with holy
generations, as Jehovah commanded him; would not this earth
have continued to be the happy home of the race, beautiful
and "very good" forever? What other opinion will the
Scriptures permit us to entertain?  Yet Christ is "the
second Adam," come down into this world for the expressed
purpose to arrest the current of things which set in with the
fall of the first: his whole mission and work looking to the
restoration to the race' exactly what the first Adam lost. And
if the obedience of the first Adam would have exempted the
earth from all trouble, danger and destruction, we may rest
assured that the glorious redemption of the second Adam will
not leave it in a condition less hopeful, secure, or blessed.
But the Scriptures have not left us to argue this point upon
mere general principles. They have spoken respecting the
duration of the fabric of nature, including this earth, in a
manner which should put the question forever at rest in the
minds of all believers.  Hear what the Psalmist says:-" Let
the sun, and the moon, and all the stars of light, praise the
Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. HE HATH
ALSO ESTABLISHED THEM FOREVER AND EVER."  The same
inspired singer, in another place, makes these material orbs of
creation as permanent as the very promises and immutable
oaths of Deity. He singles them out as the perfect emblems
of the infallibility of God's covenant of mercy.  " Once have
I sworn," saith the Almighty, " that I will not lie unto David.
His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before
me. It shall be established forever as the moon."  "One
generation passeth away," says Solomon, "and another generation cometh; BUT THE EARTH ABIDETH FOREVER."
" God laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be




SCRIPTURAL VIEWS.                  69
removed forever." "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."  "The righteous shall
inherit the land, and dwell therein forever."  Daniel, in his
vision of the last things, after the descent of the Son of
man in the clouds of heaven, saw  "the kingdom, and
dominion, and greatness of the kingdom," not in some other
world, but " under the whole heaven," which is nowhere
but upon this very earth, "given to the people of the saints
of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom." And if these holy and divinely-inspired men knew
any thing about the subject, and words have any meaning in
them, I do not see that there is much ground for the apprehension that this orb, or any other, is likely to fall into
oblivion.
Neither does the language of the New Testament on this
subject differ from what is said about it in the Old. Jesus
says, "Blessed are the meek, for THEY SHALL INHERIT THE
EARTH."  But where is the blessedness of inheriting the
earth, if the earth is to be totally destroyed? This passage,
as I take it, points directly to the fact, that the saints are to
have this world as their final delightful home, when once
the curse of sin has been rooted out of it. As things now
are, it is not " the meek," but the proud, aspiring, ambitious
and rapacious, who succeed to most of this world's possessions.
And if the earth is not to continue, or is not to be the future
home of immortality, I am at a loss to find any meaning in
this saying of the Savior. According to Paul, (Rom. iv. 13,)
the promise to Abraham, and to all his spiritual seed, is that
they shall be "heirs of the world."  But is it not a poor sort
of heirship which offers an inheritance that is to be eternally
annihilated? Peter gives it as the promise of God, and the
glad hope of the saints, that the earth, notwithstanding the
fires that are to pass over it, is yet to be the home of right



70                 THE LAST TIMES.
eousness, and hence of course also the possession of the right.
eous. But this cannot be if the earth is to pass away. According to John, the song of the ransomed spirits now in
paradise awaiting the completion of God's mysterious plans,
next to its ascriptions of praise to the Lamb that was slain,
takes as one of its loftiest and sweetest strains, " WE SHALL
REIGN WITH HIM ON THE EARTH!" What does that mean,
if it does not contemplate the earth as enduring beyond the
scenes of judgment, and furnishing the theatre for the sublimest joys and honors of our immortality? And as John
looked down the pathway of futurity, beyond the day of judgment, he " saw a new heaven and a new earth," and "the new
Jerusalem descending" upon it; and "heard a great voice
out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them and be their God. And
he shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.)"
Now, what is there in all this that looks like "the wreck
of matter," "the crush of worlds," or the everlasting disappearance of "the great globe itself!"  No, no; creation is
not to be destroyed. The vast and splendid mechanism of the
worlds is not to be broken up, and thrown aside, and consigned to oblivion. None of these great products of creative
power and wisdom shall ever come to naught, or be forgotten.
The footsteps of the Son of God upon this earth have consecrated it, and made it too sacred ever to be blotted from the
page of being. And when I think that God hath condescended to be manifest in material flesh, and, in the person of
Jesus, did actually unite himself with the dust of earth, and
wore it on him, my contempt for materiality vanishes at once,
and it seems to me like sacrilege to entertain the idea of this
world's annihilation. Shall the clay which constituted the




NO WASTE IN CREATION.                71
body of the blessed Christ pass over into the devil's hands, or
go down to everlasting nothingness? Shall the soil that was
saturated with the precious blood of his unspotted heart be
consigned to irrecoverable ruin? Shall the theatre of his
great labors, agonies, death and triumphs, disappear, "and
leave not a rack behind" to mark the orb on which his mighty
deeds of love were done? Shall men hold those spots sacred
on which great patriots and benefactors lived and died, and
the eternal God blot out the world on which his dear Son
performed the sorrowful pilgrimage of human life, and accomplished the stupendous work of the redemption of its inhabitants? I do not, I cannot believe it. It goes against all
my deepest conceptions of God and his great purposes of love.
Aside from all this, it seems to be a settled law of the
divine operations, always to work out what is to be, from what
already exists; and to bring in no new creations beyond what
are absolutely necessary. You remember the miracle at the
marriage in Cana. Jesus could just as easily have filled the
waterpots with wine without requiring them first to be filled
with water. But he preferred to take an existing element,
and from that to develop the cheering fruits of his marvellous
power. So in feeding the five thousand in the wilderness,
he could just as easily have dispensed with the few scanty
loaves and fishes; but he chose to take what they had, and to
make that the basis of his wonderful provision. It would not
be more difficult for him to create a new race of men upon
earth than to redeem its present inhabitants; but it seems
best to him to take the old materials, and out of them to effect
his great ends of goodness. He is not prodigal in the use of
his power, or wasteful of his creations. Every little fragment
must be gathered, " that nothing be lost." He always takes
the sinner to make a saint, and the dying and corrupt body to
make an immortal and spiritual one. No matter how humble
or unpromising the basis may be, so long as there is a basis on




72                 THE LAST TIMES.
which to proceed, he invariably adopts it, and works from it,
in preference to an entirely new creation. I do not know a
single exception to this rule. I argue then, as he brings " the
new man" out of "the old Adam," and the glorified body
out of "the natural body," and the new harvest out of the
old seed, so he will also assuredly bring the "new heavens
and new earth" out of the old heavens and old earth, and
thus make a paradise of God out of this very wilderness of
our present dwelling-place. My faith is, that these very hills
and valleys shall yet be made glad with the songs of a finished
redemption, and this earth yet become the bright, blessed
and everlasting homestead of men made glorious and immortal
in body and in soul.
And why should we start back from such ideas, or wish
that it were different? There is nothing essentially corrupt
or degrading in matter. It did not detract from Adam's goodness or happiness that he stood in connection with a material
system. It did not render Christ less pure, exalted, or adorable,
that he took up his abode upon earth, and was manifested in
the flesh. After all, there is much in this world that is beautiful, attractive and good. Though it has been much disfigured and disordered by reason of the sins of its inhabitants, we may still trace upon it the footprints of Deity, and
behold in it many lingering relics of the smiles of its God.
"Look," says Cumming, "at the floor on which you tread,
so exquisitely carpeted with verdure, with fragrance and
with blossom; look at the sky that is above you, where worlds
are subservient as lamps and lights to ours; look at the whole
economy in which you live, the ocean of air you breathe, the
infinite provisions for your, comfort; and why should you
want this world destroyed? Go to some of its fair glens, its
lovely scenes, its bright panoramas, and you will be constrained
to say, Take away sin, take away corruption, take away headaches, heart-aches, envy, malice, uncharitableness, and all the




MEANING OF " THE END OF THE WORLD."            73
evils that sin has given birth to, and I could wish no lovelier
heaven to dwell in forever and forever." Jesus himself points
us to the humble lilies of the field, and tells us with emotion
that "even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one
of these!"  Just take from  earth the curse of sin that has
marred it; let its pristine beauty be renewed; plant in it the
throne of the Redeemer's glory; consecrate and sanctify it with
his holy and perpetual presence; and fill it with the happiness, love, peace and righteousness foretold in the Scriptures;
and there certainly can be no reason why we should wish any
better heaven, or ever think of its annihilation.
But some will be disposed, at this point, to remind me that
the Scriptures do certainly speak of an ending of the'world.
The disciples asked Jesus what should be the sign of his
coming, "and of the end of the world."  The Savior says " the
harvest is the end of the world;" that, "as the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of
the world;" and that he is with his ministering servants
" always, even unto the end of the world."  I had not overlooked these expressions; nor do they present the least embarrassment to the doctrine of the earth's eternal perpetuity.
The word "world" often has no reference to the material
earth, much less to the general material universe. When
Jesus said that the world hated him, and that the world would
hate his disciples, he certainly did not mean the inanimate
globe. The word world, you will thus perceive, has different
significations; and it is used in our English Bibles where
very different words are used in the original Greek. The
proper Greek word for the material earth is r/; but this word
is not found in either of the passages which speak of the
ending of the world. In two of them the word rendered
world is actov, which reans a space of time, an age, an era, a
dispensation.  In the other two, the word rendered world is
xoa,/yoq, which denotes the exterior order, arrangements, in7




74                 THE LAST TIMES.
vestiture and embellishments of the earth. These shall end
when Christ comes, and give place to something new; but the
rv —the earth itself-has no end assigned it anywhere in all
God's book of revelation. Ages shall terminate; dispensations shall be consummated and disappear; "THE FASHION of
this world passeth away;" and present outward configurations
of things shall vanish; but the earth shall abide. Already
we have had at least one ending of the world since man's fall;
and from that we may form some idea of what the next shall
be. I refer to Noah's flood. Peter says of it, " By the word
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 overflowed with water, PERISHED."  Now,
what was it that perished? —the material earth?  Not at all;
when the flood was over, Noah still found it rolling in its
accustomed orbit, where it has kept rolling until now, and
where it will continue to roll forever and ever. Peter says it
was the xo0a/o; that perished; that is, that outward order and
constitution of things which existed in antediluvian times.
There was no extinction of our globe, no missing of our
planet from among the heavenly constellations; and yet inspiration says, " THE WORLD that then was PERISHED."  May
there not, then, be another ending or perishing of the world,
without bringing oblivion upon the material orb on which we
dwell?  Nay, the Holy Scriptures authorize the remark, that
" the end of the world" which is yet to come shall not be so
destructive to the earth as the flood of Noah was. When
Noah came out of the ark, " The Lord said, I will not again
curse the ground any more for man's sake, NEITHER WILL I
AGAIN SMITE ANY.MORE iVERY LIVING THING, AS I HAVE
DONE:" (Gen. viii. 21.) These are not human conjectures,
but the words of the immutable covenant of Almighty God.
And, as the perishing of "the world that then was" was not
an annihilation or destruction of the globe itself, so neither




THE JUDGMENT-FIRES.                 75
will the ending of the world which now is any more damage
or affect the existence of this planet.
But Peter says, "The heavens and the earth, which are
now, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men;" that "the day of
the Lord will come, in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat; the earth also and all that is therein shall be burned
up;" that " the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat." Does not this
teach the utter ruin and extinction of material things? Certainly not. The word translated new is often taken in the
sense of renewed, made new, restored to original splendor,
and cannot here mean another heaven and earth, but
simply the present ones renewed.   The whole passage
taken together,.then, is nothing more nor less than the
assertion of a regeneration of the material world by fire,
analogous to the regeneration of the natural man by
the Holy Ghost.  And  as there  is no  extinction  of
existence, and no alteration in the essential constituents of
the being, in the one case, so neither shall there be in the
other. The earth shall not pass away. It shall live on-survive its baptism of fire-exist through the mysterious regeneration-and come forth, minus its curse, to flourish with all
its sister orbs forever in its Maker's smiles. Fire cannot
reduce matter to nothing. It may alter the modes and qualities of it; but it cannot destroy its substance. And when we
come to examine what Peter says these last fires are for, it is
plain that they shall not be such as to depopulate or make an
utter end of this planet.  Men of science tell us, that the
deeper we penetrate towards the centre of the earth, the
warmer do we find the temperature; and that, if we could
carry our investigations deep enough, we would find the interior of the earth "one rolling, restless flood, like the burning




76                  THE LAST TIMES.
lava that pours from Vesuvius, finding its occasional safetyvalve in the volcano." It is evidently to this fact that the
apostle speaks, when he says, (as some translate his words,)
"the present atmosphere and earth are stored with fire, reserved unto the day of judgment, EVEN THE PERDITION OF
EMINENTLY WICKED MEN."  The last fires, then, are those
which already exist, but which are imprisoned by the great
Creator's word until the day of judgment, when they are to be
let loose, not for the annihilation of the world, but for the
destruction of the openly apostate, and the persecuting enemies of Christ and his kingdom. The scene which the apostle
declares is not universal, but particular and local, and not
greatly different from volcanic phenomena which have often
been witnessed. Read the descriptions given of some of these
terrific eruptions. Dana says of one which occurred at the
great volcano Kilauea, Hawaii, " The stream (of fire) plunged
into the sea with loud detonations, (with a great noise.) The
burning lava, on meeting the waters, was shivered like melted
glass into millions of particles, which were thrown up in
clouds that darkened the sky, and fell like a storm of hail over
the surrounding country. Vast columns of steam and vapors
rolled off before the wind, whirling in ceaseless agitation; and
the reflected glare of the lavas formed a fiery firmament overhead." Kinney says, " The intense heat of the fountain and
stream of lava caused an influx of cool air from every quarter.
This created terrific whirlwinds, which constantly stalked
about, like so many sentinels, bidding defiance to the daring
visitor. These were the most dangerous of any thing about
the volcano. Clouds approaching were driven back, and set
moving in wild confusion." Now, bring distinctly before your
minds this terrific scene, the sky filled with flames, the loud
roar and crash, the fused elements pouring forth from the
earth, the disordered rush of winds and the dreadful danger
of coming near, and then take up the literal words of Peter,




LAST FIRES EXPLAINED IN OTHER PROPHECIES.  77
and you will see that it is altogether a similar scene which he
describes. The day of judgment is to unchain the imprisoned fires; and then the atmosphere will pass with a rushing
noise; and the elements being kindled will melt; and the
earth and the works on it will be burned.  "As then all these
are (to be) loosed, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
holy deportment and piety, looking for and earnestly awaiting
the coming of the day of God, in which the aerial regions
shall be let loose, (to rush in fiery whirlwinds,) and the elements being fired shall melt." The picture is exceedingly
awful, and, when realized, shall be dreadfully destructive to
those upon whom God's vengeance shall thus fall; but what
it portrays is evidently volcanic, and confined to particular
regions.  Hence, says David N. Lord, after a very thorough,
critical and satisfactory examination of the whole passage,
" The notion of the conflagration and dissolution of the heavens and earth at Christ's coming, is without any ground
whatever in the apostle's Pwords, and springs wholly from
attaching to them a meaning which they do not involve. The
fires by which the impious are then to be destroyed are to be
but local and temporary, and are to offer, there is reason to
believe, no more obstacle to the safety of the population of the
globe at large than the volcanoes have that have already raged
in the depths of the earth and ejected -their burning elements
into the atmosphere." And I cannot see how any man can
take God's words to Noah, promising never again to smite
every living thing, and yet believe that the last fires of which
Peter speaks are to be the agents of a complete and universal
destruction.
It is an inspired maxim, my brethren, that "no prophecy
of the Scripture is of any private interpretation."  We dare
not take what one prophet says separate and apart from what
another prophet says. We must take ll together, contemplate
the whole in the parts and the parts in the whole, and explain
7,




78                 THE LAST TIMES.
what is presented in one place by what is contained in another. The conflagration in the day of the Lord of which
Peter speaks is the same as the fires of which other prophets
have spoken in the same connection. But we search the
Scriptures in vain for any corresponding prediction which'describes a universal burning up of all earthly things. We read
that "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance upon them
that know not God and obey not the gospel."  We read that
"the beast and the false prophet," when the King of kings
appears, shall be "cast alive into a lake of fire."  We read
that "the Lord shall suddenly come to his temple, and sit as
a refiner and purifier of silver;" that ".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 -' that "our God shall come, and shall not keep
silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very
tempestuous round about him;" and that "a fiery stream
shall issue and trail forth before him, and the beast be slain
and given to the burning flame." But we find nothing to
warrant the idea of a universal conflagration, much less such
a burning as shall depopulate and annihilate the earth. On
the other hand, it is explicitly stated in connection with these
descriptions of the last fires, that the eminently and notoriously wicked alone are to be visited by them. Archbishop
Usher says, they will take away "only the gross hypocrites
and formal professors."  Of other classes it is said, "But
unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and
grow up as calves of the stall. And- ye shall tread down the
wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in
the day that I do this, saith the Lord of hosts." Upon Gog
and his hosts God will pour "great hailstones, fire and brinmstone." He "will send a fire on Magog, and among them




THE GLOBE NOT TO BE DESTROYED.             79
that dwell confidently." But in the same connection we read
of others who live on unharmed by all these avenging fires,
whilst "the great globe itself"' continues steadfast in its
place.
Now, taking all these things together, I regard it as settled
and certain, that Peter never meant to teach the utter depopulation and destruction of this planet. He tells us, in harmony
with other prophets, that there shall be dreadful fires in the
day of judgment.  Ile tells us of the present existence of
those fires, and whence they shall proceed. He tells us their
object: —" the perdition of ungodly men." He also describes
something of the terrific phenomena which shall attend them.
And he exhorts usr in view of those awful revelations, to be
devout and upright.' But I do not find any thing in his language to contradict the declaration of the wise man that " the
earth abideth fbrever."  There is immortality in the clods
and rocks, as well as in the immaterial mind. There is something undying in the ground we tread beneath our feet, as
well as in the soul with which we climb to the dwelling-place
of God. There is no grave dug for the material world, any
more than for the deathless spirit. And as there is redemption for man, so there is redemption for his smitten and dilapidated dwelling-place.
I know that the effects of human apostasy from God are
very deep and far-reaching; perhaps much more so than we
sometimes think.  The whole earth has been involved in it.
"The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain" in consequence of it. But with the deep depths of the distress
which has been struck into all the pulsations of sublunary
nature by reason of man's iniquities, the Scriptures do furnish
the sublime hope that it shall all be again extracted. There
is a time of restitution coming. There is a day of deliverance at hand. That universal'wail, which has been going up
for-the past six thousand years, shall yet be hushed and lost




80                  THE LAST TIMES.
amid strains of halleluia that shall never end. Luther says,
" It is important for us to recur to Adam's original condition,
as we expect all things to be brought back again to that."
"All things are now disordered and decayed; whence Peter
says that the heavens must receive Christ until the time when
all things shall be restored again to what they were in Paradise; thus agreeing with Paul, that the whole creatureship
has been made subject to vanity, and that it is to be hoped
that not man only, but the earth and leaven, shall again be
brought back to their Edenic state."  Calvin says, "I expect
with Paul a reparation of all the evils caused by sin, for which
he represents the creatures as groaning and travailing."
Charnock says, "As the world, for the sin of man, lost its
first dignity, and was cursed after the fall, and the beauty
bestowed upon it by the creation defaced, so shall it recover
that ancient glory, when he shall be fully restored, by the
resurrection, to that dignity he lost by his first sin.  As man
shall be freed from his corruptibility, to receive that glory
which is prepared for him, so shall the creatures be freed from
that imperfection and those stains and spots on the face of
them, to receive a new glory suited to their nature, and answerable to the design of God, when the glorious liberty of
the saints shall be accomplished." But let us hear what God
himself has said. " In that day shall there be upon the bells
of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in
the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar."' He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and
under his fig-tree; and none shall make them  afraid."
"And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall
overflow with wine and oil."  "The waters of the dead sea




THE EARTH TO BE RENEWED.                 81
shall be healed by the waters which flow out of the temple;
and by the stream of this water shall grow all manner of
trees, whose leaves shall not wither, and whose fruit shall not
decay; they shall yield their fruit monthly, and the leaves
thereof shall be for the healing of the nations."  "The creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption,
into the glorious liberty of the children of God."  "The
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the
fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow
and the bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall
lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like an ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
the weaned child upon the cockatrice's den. They shall not
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."
" Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the
sun, and the light of the sun sevenfold, as the light of seven
days, in the day that the Lord shall bind up the breach of his
people and heal the stroke of their wound."  "Then the
eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,
and the tongue of the dumb sing; for in the wilderness shall
waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched
ground shall become a watered place, and the thirsty land
springs of water; in the habitation of dragons there shall be
grass with reeds and rushes."  "Instead of the thorn shall.
come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up
the myrtle-tree." "And the inhabitant shall not say, I am
sick." "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the
former things are passed away.'
These are glad and glorious descriptions; and they are
given by the Spirit of God. Whatever meaning people have
attached to them, all agree that they set forth a condition do
F




82                 THE LAST TIMES.
things which is yet to be realized upon this earth. Some say
we must take them literally; others interpret them figuratively; and others understand them spiritually. But, no matter how we take them, one thing is settled and incontrovertible, that they include a physical as well as a moral redemption.
They describe the lifting off of the curse -from all creation
around us, as well as from the souls within us. They exhibit
suffering and disordered nature once more free, harmonious,
congenial, restored, and forever at rest.  They portray vast
and happy changes in things spiritual and things physical,
animate and inanimate, human, animal, vegetable and elemental. They show us the earth with its deserts fertilized, its
elements harmonized, its inhabitants made congenial to each
other, its products rendered abundant and sanatory, and its
possessors invested with perfect happiness and immortality.
Some have looked for their fulfillment in a fancied millennium
previous to the Savior's coming. They would have us believe
that these sublime predictions relate only to the universal
triumph of political freedom, general wisdom, and exalted
piety. But how will the mere reign of righteousness and
love in the hearts and conduct of mankind extend redemption
into the physical world, or work a deliverance to the animal
and other kingdoms? Knowledge, holiness and liberty combined, and spread over the earth from one end thereof to the
other, cannot save a man from bodily aches, decay and death.
They cannot take the taint from the atmosphere, nor the malaria from the earth. They cannot cover Sahara with fertility,
nor hush the storm and tempest, nor close the volcano's
crater, nor stop -the Maelstrom's whirl, nor stay the earthquake's giant tread, nor relieve the creature of its groans.
Make every meal a sacrament, and every day a Sabbath, and
every thought a prayer to God; and all that, of itself, cannot
take away the curse with which God has cursed " the ground"
for man's sake, nor relieve these dying bodies from their




TIME AND MANNER OF THIS GREAT CHANGE.   83
many ills. The case calls for greater -changes in earth, air
and sea, and in the whole present constitution of terrestrial
things, than can by any possibility result from existing processes, or from mere natural developments. We must have
special electric influences to quiet the atmosphere and adapt
it better to the wants of humanity. We must have volcanic or some other action in and upon the earth, to change
some of its surface, consume its impurities, and renew its
wastes. We must have a complete revolution in the present order of things. In a word, we must have another
putting forth of divine power upon this world. It must be
retouched by the hand that made it. It must come under a
renewing potency which can raise the dead. And all this
shall be only when the Son of God shall again come from the
heavens.
Accordingly, we read, that when the times of restitution
come, "God shall send Jesus Christ." "And then shall they
see the Son of man coming with power."  And "he shall
call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may
judge his people."  "He shall have dominion also from sea
to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth."  "He
shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his
kingdom all- things that offend, and them which do iniquity,"
and "destroy them that corrupt the earth."  " He shall go
forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of
war; he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall do mighty things against
his enemies."  "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and
utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the
earth shall shake." "They that are in their graves shall
hear his voice, and come forth."  "Them  also that sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him."  "He shall change our vile
body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all
things unto himself.'  "Then shall be brought to pass the




84                  THE LAST TIMES.
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."
"And there shall be no more curse."  "And it shall come to
pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new
wine, and the hills shall flow with milk."  "The ploughman
shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that
soweth the seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine,
and all the hills shall melt." " Then shall all the trees of the
wood rejoice before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh
to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth."  "In his day there shall
be abundance of peace."  "The government shall be upon
his shoulder; and of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end."  "He shall come down like
rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
In his days shall the righteous flourish."  "He will make a
covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the
fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground."
" His name shall endure forever.  All nations shall call him
blessed, the Lord God who only doeth wondrous things. And
the whole earth shall be filled with his glory; Amen, and
Amen."
Thus, then, will He that sits upon the throne "make all
things new." " There will be wonders in heaven above, and
signs in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and pillars of
smoke." But out of trouble shall come joy, out of darkness
shall go forth light; and in place of groans and tears and
death shall be songs of joy and glorious immortality.
"The age of crime and suffering yet shall end;
The reign of righteousness from heaven descend;
Vengeance forever sheath the afflicting sword;
Death be destroyed, and Paradise restored;
Man, rising from the ruins of his fall,
Be one with God, and God be all in all."




THIS HOPE NO FABLE.                 85,
"Write," says the Son of God, "for these words aire true
and faithful." It is not a poetic dream, but a divine revelation. God hath spoken it by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. It was the hope of Adam as he
went forth an exile from Eden. It was the light that illamined the tents of the pilgrims of old with a sweeter halo
than the recollections of Paradise. It was the stay of faithful
Abraham as he sojourned in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise. It shone in the
serene imagination of Isaac, and supported the dying head of
Jacob, and caused Joseph to turn away from Egypt's mausoleums and ask that his bones might be carried up to the land
of the redeemed. It shortened the centuries in which the
Lord's chosen toiled in servitude, and cheered the house of
affliction with songs. It kindled glad expectations amid the
darkness of Gentile apostasy, and taught even the heathen to
prophesy of deliverance.  It fired the hearts and tongues of
all Judah's minstrels, as they swept from the harps of in.
spiration those lofty anthems which filled the home of the
Shekinah with praise. And thousands upon thousands have
not counted their lives dear unto them for the excellency of
this hope, and were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that
they might obtain the better resurrection. Even irrational
nature seems to be filled with the promise, and until now
is earnestly expecting and waiting for " the manifestation of
the sons of God," and the redemption which shall be effected when death shall be no more. It cannot, therefore,
be a fable. A lie could not be so deeply graven. What has
been so fondly believed, so long looked for, and so earnestly
desired-what has been the hope of the good in every age,
the theme of their songs, and the joy of their hearts-what
has ever been pointed to as the solution of earth's enigma
and Jehovah's great vindication - certainly cannot be a
8




86                   THE LAST TIMES.
falsehood. No, no, no; it cannot be delusion. Creation's
loosened strings shall again be screwed up to their primeval
tone and concord, to accompany the songs of God's saints
with immortal harmonies.
"The barren wastes shall rise,
With sudden greens and fruits arrayed,A blooming paradise.
"True holiness shall strike its root
In each regenerate heart;
Shall, in a growth divine, arise,
And heavenly fruits impart.
"Peace, with her olives crowned, shall stretch
Her wings from shore to shore;
No trump shall rouse the rage of war,
Nor murderous cannon roar.
"Lord, for those days we wait: those days
Are in thy word foretold;Fly swifter, sun and stars, and bring
This promised age of gold!"' Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things,
be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without
spot, and blameless." It would be a sad thing, if, after all
these sublime arrangements of our Maker, we should eventually come short of the inheritance. Let me, then, exhort you
to " give all diligence to make your calling and election sure."
If you are prayerless, I beseech you to go and call upon God.
If you have been thoughtless and careless, I entreat you to
consider, and lay these great matters to heart.  If you are a
sinner, repent, repent now. And from this hour let each one
who hears these remarks set out in full earnest to prepare to
meet God. Soon your day of grace will be over. Soon youl
opportunities of becoming participants in the glad scenes of a




DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GfOD.                    87
restored creation will be at an end. "The end of all things
is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
And above all have fervent charity among yourselves, for
charity shall cover the multitude of sins. If any man
speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth:
that God in all things may be glorified.
WAITING FOR THAT DAY.
Waiting we stand,
And watching till our Savior shall appear,
Joyful to cry, as eastern skies grow clear,
"The Lord's at hand!"
But now the night
Presses around us, sullenly and chill;
Pain, doubt, and sorrow seem to have their will:Lord, send the light!
One after one,
Thou hast called up our loved ones from our sight;
For them we know that there is no more night,
But we are lone.
Weary we wait,
Lifting our heavy eyes, bedimmed with tears,
To skies where yet no trace of dawn appears:Lord, it is late!
But yet thy Word
Saith, with sweet prophecy that cannot fail,
That light o'er darkness shall at length prevail:We trust thee, Lord!
O Morning Star
Of heavenly promise! light our darkened way,
Till the first beams of the expected day
Shine from afar.
So will we take
Fresh hope and courage to our fainting hearts,
And patient wait, though every joy departs,
"Till the day break."




FOURTH DISCOURSE.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION-ERRONEOUS INTERPRETATIONS
OF THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER OF THE REVELATION REFUTED —THE
FIRST RESURRECTION-WHAT THE ANCIENT JEWS TAUGHT UPON THE
SUBJECT-CITATIONS FROM THE OLD PROPHETS-HOW THE MATTER
IS PRESENTED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT - THE SUBLIME HOPES
INVOLVED.
REV. XX. 4-6: And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead
lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  This is
the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
first resurrection.
THAT the dead shall rise again, is the universal belief of
Christians.  As no historic fact was ever more invincibly
established than the resurrection of our Divine Redeemer, so
no article of our faith is more clear and indisputable than the
doctrine of our rising again like him at our appointed time.
It is hardly worth while, in this connection, to accumulate
proofs and authorities to support what is so generally admitted
and believed, and so clearly announced in the Holy Scriptures.
Certainly, no one will deny that the raising of the dead lies
entirely within the reach of Divine power. No one will say
that it is a thing impossible to Omnipotence. It involves no
contradiction. It is prohibited by no foregone law or necessity.
It is not rendered impossible by incapacity in the decomposed
88




THE RESURRECTION PROVED BY ANALOGY. ~   89
bodies of the departed for reorganization. God knows each
atom, and where it rests. Our substance was not hid from
him when we were made in secret. His eye saw it yet being
imperfect.' All our members were written in his book when
yet there was none of them. He has his number for every
hair upon each head. Wherever the particles of these dissolving bodies may be scattered or lodged, they lie completely
within his knowledge and power. And He who could at the
first so attemper the vulgar dust as to constitute a man can also
again recover these attempered particles and restore them to
their places. If he can bring a new and glorious ear out of
the rotting seed, he can also bring a spiritual body out of the
corruptible one.
And as the resurrection of the dead is not a thing impossible, so it is not a thing improbable. Faint analogies of it
may be traced in the ordinary changes and revolutions beheld
in nature around us.  Clement, the contemporary and friend
of St. Paul, says, "The Lord does continually show us that
there shall be a future resurrection. Day and night manifest
it. The seed sown in the earth displays it." The day fades
and dies. It is buried in sleep, silence and darkness. In the
morning it revives, opens its grave of gloom, and rises from
"the dead of night." The summer dies, and lies down in its
wintry grave. The winds of heaven sigh and weep over it as
if they would not be comforted. In the spring, life begins to
work again in the buried roots and seeds; the plants and
flowers burst out of their dark cerements; and every thing
arrays itself in newness and glory. The sower goes forth and
casts his seed upon the earth. It falls down dry and naked,
and in time dissolves. But the great power of the providence
of the Lord raises it again from that dissolution; and from the
old seed new germs arise, and bring forth fruit. The caterpillar builds himself a tomb, and then lies down in it and dies.
But out of the grave of the ugly worm comes forth the but



90                  THE LAST TIMES.
terfly which sallies forth in the sunshine like a living flower.
And so there are many things in nature that are repaired by
corrupting, preserved by perishing, and revived by dying.
And as we behold man, the lord of these things, dying like
them, it is but a fair presumption that he will revive again
hereafter as we see them revive.
But God has not left us in the school of nature, nor given
us over to settle our persuasions upon mere likelihoods. In
the glorious record of his word, he has put the doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead beyond dispute. Distinct glimmerings of it may be found all through the Old Testament; and
it is predicted in the New in language which no one can misunderstand. Paul says there were many saints before his day
who "were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they
might obtain a better resurrection." He says that the Jews
allowed "that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both
of the just and unjust." The heroic Maccabees hoped for
it. The sisters of Lazarus consoled themselves by thinking
of it as they lingered at their only brother's grave.  Christ
explicitly pointed to a coming period, when " they that are in
their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and come
forth." The great Apostle to the Gentiles argued it as a thing
demonstrated by the resurrection of the crucified Savior.  It
was the great consolation of the noble army of the martyrs.
And in every age of Christianity it has been cherished as the
glad hope by which the believer triumphs over the gloom of
corporeal dissolution.
God has also added a seal to this doctrine which cannot be
counterfeited.  He has actually restored deceased persons to
life again. When Elijah prayed for the resuscitation of the
dead child of the widow of Sarepta, God heard him, "and
the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived."
Elisha, in his lifetime, received power to raise the young Shunemrite; and the mere touch of his bones caused a dead man




VIATURE OF THE RESURRECTION.            91
to revive and stand upon his feet. When the daughter of
Jairus died, Jesus "said unto her, Tabitha, cumi, and her
spirit came again, and straightway the damsel arose." When
he came "nigh to the gate of a city called Nain, there was a
dead man carried out; and he came near and touched the bier,
and said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise; and he that was
dead sat up, and began to speak." And not only in the
chamber and in the street, from the bed and from the bier,
did Christ call the dead to life. His voice was heard with
equal effect even in the putrid grave. When Lazarus had
been "dead four days," and so long buried that his sisters
said, "Lord, by this time he stinketh," Jesus "cried with a
loud voice, Lazarus, come forth; and he that was dead" and
putrid obeyed and lived again. And the blessed Savior himself, after being "crucified, dead and buried," took to himself
the might of his superior nature, and came forth from the
sepulchre, and showed himself to hundreds with many notable
signs. In these cases the problem has been solved, and the
fact demonstrated forever, that there is such a thing as the
resurrection of the dead. Though we may not be able to
comprehend the processes by which it shall be effected, we
may rest assured that it is no idle dream, no cunningly-devised
fable, but a sublime and stupendous reality.
HIow far the resurrection-body is to be identical with the
body which dies and wastes in the grave has not been
revealed. It is enough for us to know that we shall rise from'
the dead, without being able to understand the philosophy of
it. Doubtless we will leave much gross matter behind us in
the grave. Not all those identical particles which, by that.
time, may be wrought over and over in nature's vast laboratory
to. supply still other bodies, will need to be recovered and replaced in order to bring about the resurrection. " That which
thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare
grain; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him. So




92                  THE LAST TIMES.
is also the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption,
it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised
in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is
sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a
natural body, and there is a spiritual body." And yet, in the
mysterious transition from the one to the other, identity is
preserved. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and
this mortal must ptlt on immortality."  Otherwise the whole
idea of resurrection vanishes.  " We belieye in the resurrection of the body;" and, if it is not in some way the raising of
the body that dies and is buried, the whole' doctrine amounts
to naught. The thing is so mysterious, and so far removed
from our present experiences, that it is impossible for us to
understand it fully; but this we must adhere to, that the
transition from corruption to incorruption, and from mortal to
immortality, is somehow accomplished in the same body.
Identity does not necessarily imply the continuation of all and
precisely the same parts. We may be corporeally identified as
the same men ten years hence that we are now; and yet,
according to what physiologists tell us, by that time there will
hardly be a particle in our bodies which is now in them.
Great changes may occur, but people will-identify us as the
same persons then that we are now. So, then, we may also
lose the more earthy parts of our material organism, and
still come from our graves with bodies refined and spiritual
indeed, but still interiorly and in form identical with those
which we now inhabit. The butterfly is the same animal with
the caterpillar which preceded it. It has the same body. It
has arisen out of the same elements which constituted the
caterpillar; though it has left much gross material behind it.
The seed which we plant is the same that afterwards shoots up
into a stalk, with blades and blossoms; so that we point to it
and say, "Here is the flower I planted;" although much of
that seed decays in the ground and mingles with the dust.




DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON REV. XX.               93
And so the present mortal body is the germ or seed of the
future heavenly body. The one rises out of the other.' It is
the same creature emerging in a new development. And
when the signal for our reanimation comes, we shall gather to
ourselves the interior essence of our slumbering dust, emerge
in glory from our graves, and go forth amid the sublimities of
a life in which body and soul shall enjoy unsullied and immortal union.
It has been made a question, however, whether the text
before us refers to the literal resurrection of the dead.  It is
strange to see to what fancies men have resorted to do away
with the plain, evident, and literal import of the apostle's
words.
Some say that this "first resurrection," at the beginning of
the millennium, is nothing more than the quickening and regeneration of sinners by repentance and faith in Christ. They
take it as a spiritual resurrection, like that in the case of the
returned prodigal. That the Scriptures do speak of the sinner's recovery as a resurrection, there can be no doubt.
Whenever a wanderer from God is made thoughtful, prayerful
and penitent, he rises out of moral inanity to spiritual activity.
As John expresses it, he passes from death unto life. But
this moral quickening will by no means meet the case before
us. The resurrection of which the text speaks is the resurrection of such as had already been raised spiritually, and who
partake of this resurrection because they were before "blessed
and holy."  It is the resurrection, not of those who sleep in
sin, but of "them  that sleep in Jesus;" not of those who
have never known Christ, but of "them that were beheaded for
the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and had not
worshipped the beast." It is the resurrection of those who
were saints without it, many of whom had so loved Christ as
to lay down their lives for him and his gospel.
Others have supposed that this "first resurrection" is purely




94                  THE LAST TIMES.
ecclesiastical, and that it was effected in the days of Constantine the Great, when the visible church was released from
the cruel pagan persecutions, legalized, and elevated to the
patronage of government. But every rightly-instructed man
knows that the changes wrought by Constantine were rather a
burial of the true church than a resurrection of it.  So far
from being attended with blessedness and holiness, it was
rather the opening of the door for the worst degradations and
wickednesses that ever despoiled Christendom.  Instead of
binding Satan, he was then first let fully loose upon the
gospel to corrupt and tarnish it with his foul devices. In
place of introducing the reign of Christ with his saints, it
laid the way for the reign of the Man of sin with his corrupt
adherents. And, so far from making men "priests of God
and of Christ," it made them priests "after the working or
Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness."
Others, again, are of opinion that this "first resurrection"
denotes a great number of dissimilar changes relating to the
prosperity of the gospel and the peace of the world, such as
the general conversion of the wicked, the restoration of the
Jews, the universal diffusion of liberty and light, and the
revival of Christianity in the purity in which it was embraced
by the martyrs. This notion was first set on foot by Whitby
about 150 years ago, and has met with great favor from some
classes of teachers.  But it is filled with inconsistencies and
surrounded by insuperable objections. The resurrection which
the text speaks of is the resurrection of " them that were beheaded for thbe testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and whoever had not worshipped the beast nor his image."
The wicked never were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus,
or for the word of God.  Their deadness in trespasses and
in sins is not the result of their faithful adherence to the Son
of God. The Jewish race, which now lies buried among the




THIS RESURRECTION MANIFESTLY LITERAL.            95
nations, was not denationalized and reduced to this condition
in consequence of bearing testimony for Christ, but for denying and  crucifying him.  It is impossible, therefore, that
these parties should be the subjects of the resurrection spoken
of. And the idea that the resurrection of the martyrs denotes
merely the revival of their spirit and moral qualities is at
variance with the text in another respect. The apostle is
speaking of persons.  "I saw the souls of them that had been
beheaded for the testimony of Jesus; — and they lived and
reigned with Christ."  The original term employed is (Svza%
which occurs nearly a hundred times in the New Testament,
but which is never once used to denote characteristics or
attributes. It invariably means lives, beings, persons, souls;
as where we read there "were in the ship two hundred and
seventy-six souls;" —there were added to the church "about
three thousand souls;" —in Noah's ark "eight souls were
saved."  And so the living again and reigning of those souls
that were beheaded for their fidelity to God, must mean the
resurrection, not of their spiritual characteristics, but of these
beings or persons themselves. As a patient student and
learned critic remarks, "It is a literal resurrection that is
predicted of them manifestly, inasmuch as that is the only
resurrection of which disembodied saints are capable. It
certainly is not a renovation of heart, as they were renewed
while in this life, and are made priests of God and of Christ,
and given to reign with him, because they were saints here.
As their resurrection then cannot be a spiritual change analogous to a restoration of the body from death, it must necessarily be a corporeal change. That it is to be a corporeal
resurrection is shown moreover by the representation that the
rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years should be
finished. The rest of the dead are the literally dead; not the
literally living, though without spiritual life.  To treat that
term as a mere metaphor, is to deny to the vision the character




96                  THE LAST TIMES.
of a symbol and to empty the whole passage of its meaning. If the death of those who are not partakers of the first
resurrection be but metaphorical, then must the death of
the martyrs be metaphorical also, and thence the resurrection
which is ascribed to the souls be merely metaphorical.  But
that is to make the passage a mere assemblage of metaphors,
without any thing literal from which the figures are drawn or
to which they are applied, and to divest it of all propriety
and significance. If the souls of the dead, as well as the
resurrection, be mere metaphors, no agents whatever are left
to be their subjects; and they are predicates without any
thing of which they are affirmed,-metaphors with nothing
which they metaphorize. As the souls exhibited in the
vision then are real souls, so, also, for the same reason, the
rest of the dead are the real dead, and the resurrection affirmed of the one and denied of the other a real resurrection."
(Lord's Exp. of the Apocalypse, p. 519.) Professor Stuart
also treats this text as "simple prose," and endorses "the
exegesis which deduces from the whole passage the reality: of
afirst resurrection at the introduction of the millenniums."
(Com., in loc.)
The facts upon which those rely who interpret this first
resurrection figuratively are,-that Ezekiel has the restoration
and conversion of the Jews symbolized to him under the re-.
suscitation of the dry bones, and that the Savior speaks of the"
repentance and recovery of the prodigal son as the making
alive of him that was dead. With these two facts, they jump
at the conclusion that the resurrection of the martyrs and
holy ones at the beginning of the millennium is to be taken
in a somewhat similar sense. But, when we draw the necessary distinctions between things that differ, this argument
proves the exact reverse of what it is designed to establish.
It must be taken as a settled canon of interpretation that
where a resurrection is affirmed, it can be taken only in the




ARGUMENT FROM THIE CASE OF THE MARTYRS.   97
sense of the presupposed death.  So in both these instances
the resuscitations are the exact counterparts of the previous
deaths. The death symbolized by the valley of dry bones is
plainly described as both a national and moral death; and the
predicted resurrection is accordingly both a national and a
moral resurrection. The death of the prodigal son was a
moral and spiritual death; and his resurrection was of course
of the same kind. And so it must also be in the case before
us. But what sort of death is that which has passed upon
*the martyrs, and upon "those who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God"?  Was it a national
death? Nationally the martyrs never lived, and of course
could not nationally die. Was theirs a spiritual or moral
death?  No; for no one can be called Christ's witness,
blessed and holy, and yet be dead in this moral sense.
What was their death, then, but a literal, personal and individual death? Was it not a death in the real, natural and
ordinary meaning of that word? Well, then, here, as in the
other cases, as was the death so shall the predicted resur.
rection be. As these martyrs and saints literally, really
and personally died, and in that sense alone are dead, so
shall they again be literally, really and personally made alive
in "the first resurrection;" whilst "the rest of the dead"
sleep on "until the thousand years are finished."  Spiritually the martyrs are not dead; nationally they never died;
influentially they are not dead. They have had their successors in all ages, in whom their qualities and spirit have never
become extinct. They yet speak. They are dead corporeally,
and in no other sense. And when John tells us that they
shall live again in the first resurrection, he can mean nothing
but a corporeal resuscitation. The wicked who die in their
sins are not to be spiritually raised, nor nationally raised, nor
influentially raised.  When they die, their probation ends,
and judgment comes. When it is affirmed, therefore, that
G                     9




98                   THE LAST TIMES.
they shall live- again, it can only be understood of a corporeal
resurrection.  Yet the same words, in the same verses, which
assert the resurrection of the unsanctified dead, assert the
resurrection of the holy dead, with only these two differences,
that the holy rise to reign, whilst the wicked rise to burn, and
that the one class rises a thousand years in advance of the
other class. And as the resurrection of the wicked-" the rest
of the dead"-at the final judgment can be taken only in a
corporeal and literal sense, so the first resurrection-the resurrection of the " blessed and holy"-must also be received in
the same corporeal and literal sense. I can see no escape
from this conclusion.
I feel compelled, therefore, to understand the text as
referring to the literal resurrection of the dead.  I can find
no other theory which will meet the necessities of the case, or
which will conform to sound principles of interpretation. I
find then a duality in the resurrection which the Scriptures
teach.  It is twofold.  There is a "first resurrection" at the
beginning of the millennium, and there is a resurrection at
the end of the millennium. The one embraces the martyrs
and saints,-the "blessed and holy," —"them  that sleep in
Jesus;" the other the resurrection of "the rest of the dead."
The one is the resurrection which we are taught to hope for
and seek after; the other a something about which.the Scriptures say but little, and which promises nothing to be desired.
The one is a resurrection to all the glories, joys and honors
of a perfected redemption; the other a resurrection to dismay,
shame and everlasting contempt.
Nor is this a novel doctrine. Calmet says, "The ancient
fathers acknowledged a twofold resurrection: first, that which
is to precede the Messiah's reign of a thousand years upon
earth; secondly, that which is to follow the reign of the
thousand years. This sentiment is found clearly enough in
the second book of Esdras, in the testament of the twelve




RABBINICAL TESTIMONY.                 99
patriarchs, and in several of the Rabbins." Professor Stuart
declares that " the doctrine of a first resurrection as taught
by John was not novel to the men of his time."  "I have my
doubts," says he, "whether the assertion is correct, that the
doctrine of the first res~urrection is nowhere else to be found
in the Scriptures.  That the great mass of Jewish Rabbins have believed and taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the just, in the days of Messiah's development,
there can be no doubt on the part of him who has made any
considerable investigation of this matter." Thus, Jonathan
the Paraphrast, who lived thirty years before Christ, says of
the people of God, "They shall be gathered from  their
captivity; they shall live under the shadow of Messiah; the
dead shall rise, and good shall increase in the earth."  This
is based on the last chapter of Hosea.  Rabbi Kimchi says,
"The holy blessed God will raise the dead at the time of deliverance." This he draws from Isaiah xxvi. 19. The Sanhedrin, cited by Aruch, says, "There is a tradition in the
house of Elias, that the righteous whom the holy and blessed
God shall raise from the dead shall not return again to the
dust; but for the space of a thousand years, in which the holy
blessed 4od will renew the world, they shall have wings like
the wings of eagles, and shall fly above the waters."  Another
says, "The benefit of the rain is common to the just and the
unjust, but the resurrection from*the dead is the peculiar
privilege of those who live righteously." Chabbo says, " The
dead in the land of Israel shall live or be quickened first
in'the days of Messiah, and shall enjoy the years of Messiah."
Thus also in Zohar we read, upon Isaiah xxv. 8:-" The world
cannot be freed from sin until King Messiah shall come, and
the blessed God shall raise up those who sleep in the dust."
These, and many like sayings, have been collected by critics
from the most ancient of the Rabbinical writings.  Corresponding passages have also been found in the sacred tra



100                  THER LAST TIMES.
ditions of the heathen world. Of course no Rabbinical
testimony or mere tradition is adequate to prove an article of
religious faith; but these quotations are not without their
significance. Where did these men get such ideas? They
for the most part profess to receive them from the writings of
the inspired prophets.. They refer us to Isaiah, Ezekiel and
Daniel as their authority. Nor are their interpretations to be
discarded as necessarily fanciful and erroneous because they
belong to the records of Rabbinic lore. It is a sorry wit
which takes for granted that a man cannot be guided to the
truth of God because he is a Jew. These ancient Rabbins
were the friends, countrymen, brethren and children of
Jehovah's own inspired prophets, and may be our guides in
many things.
The passage to whidh they refer us in Isaiah (xxvi.
19) certainly does describe a resurrection, —a joyous resurrection,-and therefore a resurrection of the just only,- and
specifically connects it with the coming and glorious reign of
the Lord Messiah. The place to which they point in Ezekiel
(xxxvii.) certainly describes a national and moral resurrection,
and surrounds it with promises which imply also the literal
resurrection of all the faithful Israel to share the kingdom of
him who shall be their Prince forever. And what they cite
from Daniel, (xii. 2,) according to the best Hebraists, not only
asserts a resurrection which all take to be literal, but draws a
plain distinction between the resurrection of the just and the
rest of the dead.  Gaon thus paraphrases it:-" And many of
them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; this' is
the resurrection of the dead of Israel, whose lot is to eternal
life; but those who do not awake (at that time) shall be an
abhorrence to all flesh." This agrees with the translation of
Professor Bush: —" Many from out of the sleepers in the dust
of the earth shall awake; these (that is, those who awake, shall
be) to everlasting life, and those (who do not then awake shall




STATE OF THE QUESTION IN CHRIST'S TIME.   101
be) to everlasting contempt." Thus also does Professor
Whiting render it:-" Many from the sleepers of the dust of
the ground shall awake, these to everlasting life, and those
to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence." The language of
Daniel thus accommodates itself exactly to the language of
the text. The martyrs and saints arise: "this is the first
resurrection. But the rest of the dead lived not again until
the thousand years were finished." Daniel is unquestionably
speaking of a literal, limited and eclectic resurrection. As
Dr. Hody argues, "if many, standing alone, could signify all,
many of, which is the phraseology of this text, cannot signify
all. Many of them that sleep in the dust- of the earth cannot
be said to be all they that sleep in the dust. Many of does
plainly except some." And if there is to be a limited and
eclectic resurrection when the great Prince shall stand up for
Israel, and yet all men shall be made alive again, the point is
settled that there must be a twofold resurrection, just as John
teaches us in the text.
The state of the question, in the period in which the New
Testament was given, was therefore simply this:-The ancient
prophets speak of a resurrection from among the dead, a literal
resurrection to eternal life, which embraces only the just, and
leaves the wicked still in their graves. The more learned and
devout Jews so understood these glorious predictions, and
taught the doctrine of a first resurrection, or resurrection
embracing only the just.  The doctrine of a twofold resurrection was therefore no strange notion to those who lived in
the time of Christ and his apostles, but familiar to the ninds
of many. If it was an error, we would naturally expect some
contradiction of it from Christ or his apostles.  The absence
of such contradiction leaves room for the presumption that it
was not an error.  And if we can find language in the New
Testament adapted only to this belief, and framed to it as the
9*




1.02               THE LAST TIMES.
truth, the presumption in its favor will have all needful support to furnish ground upon which to insist upon it as a
divine certainty.
Let us look, then, at what may be gathered on the subject
from the New Testament.
1. I think you will find it invariably true, that wherever
the resurrection of both the good and bad are spoken of, the
resurrection of the righteous is always named first, and that
of the wicked afterwards.  "All that are in their graves
shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: (1) they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and (2) they that
have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." " There
shall be a resurrection of the dead both (1) of the just and
(2) unjust."
2. The resurrection of the righteous is specifically said to
precede the resurrection of the wicked.  "As in Adam  all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man
in his own r'arpa, —band, cohort, company: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming; arca ro
reAo;, —then the last band."  "; The dead in Christ shall rise
first."  "The rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished."
3. The resurrection of the righteous is everywhere spoken
of as a peculiar blessing, in which the wicked have no share
whatever. Of every one that seeth the Son and believeth on
him, Jesus says, " I will raise him up at the last day;" thus
distinctly intimating that none but believers shall share in the
resurrection he-re contemplated.  He speaks of "the resurrection of the just" as something quite distinct from any
thing in which the unjust shall have a part. He says that
"the children of the resurrection are equal unto the angels,
and are the children of God," and " are as the angels which
are in heaven."  Here he certainly speaks of a resurrection
from which the wicked are quite excluded.  See also Romans




FACTS FROM THE NEW  TESTAMENT.              103
viii. 23; 1 Cor. vi. 14; 2 Cor. iv. 14:-"Blessed andl holy
is he that hath-part in the first resurrection."
4. The resurrection of the righteous is plainly spoken of
as eclectic. One instance is in Luke xx. 35, where the Savior
speaks of those worthy of heaven as destined " to obtain the
resurrection" —not merely "from  the dead," as our version
reads, but z VZpw0 —I-" OUT OF, or FROM AMONGST the dead
ones."  This certainly implies the raising of some, that is, the
saints, whilst the rest of the dead remain in their graves.
Another instance is in Philippians iii. 11, where Paul speaks
of his strong desire and great exertions to " attain unto r:~V
e_-a'a'aev~', tOv'xprpwt, —the resurrection FROM AMONGST the
dead ones."  What did Paul mean by this?  "Of his resurrection at the end of the world, when all without exception
will surely be raised, he could have no possible doubt," says
Professor Stuart.  "What sense then can this passage have, if
it represents him as laboring and suffering merely in order to
attain to A resurrection, and as holding this up to view as
unattainable unless he should arrive at a high degree of Christian perfection? On the other hand, let us suppose a first
resurrection to be appointed as a special reward of high
attainments in Christian virtue, and all seems to be plain and
easy.  Of a resurrection in a figurative sense, i. e.'of recgeneration, Paul cannot be speaking; for he had already attained
to that on the plain of Damascus."  Both these passages
bring before us the whale congregation of the really dead,
and describe the resurrection of which they speak as a selection (ex) out of or from  among that great company, taking
some, and leaving others.  The second is particularly remarkable. For if the righteous and the wicked are all to be raised
together, Paul might have saved his pains to attain to a resurrection of which he would have at all events been partaker.
" Of like tenor," says Stuart, " is the implication in Luke xiv.
14, where the Savior promises to his disciples a sure reward




104                 THE LAST TIMES.
for kindness to the poor and suffering, at the res urrection of
the just.  Why the resurrection of the just? -What special
meaning can this have, unless it implies that there is a resurrection where the just only, and not the unjust, will be raised?
This would agree entirely with the view in Rev. xx. 5:-' But
the rest of the dead LIVED NOT AGAIN, until the thousand
years were finished.'"
Now, when we come to sum up all these facts, and assign
them the force which belongs to the words of inspiration, the
conclusion is to me unavoidable, that the doctrine of a twofold resurrection has a solid foundation in the Scriptures.
The resurrection of the holy is entirely separated, in nature
and in point of time, from the resurrection of "the rest of
the dead." Strike this doctrine from the Apocalypse, and we
still have it in the epistles of Paul.  Strike it from the epistles, and we still have it in the teachings of Jesus himself.
Strike it from the whole New Testament, and we still have it
firm and unshaken in the holy prophecies of Daniel and
Isaiah. But let the hand be withered that attempts to strike
it from any portion of the word of God. It is there, distinct
and clear, authorizing all the saints to hope for the redemption
of their bodies, and their corporeal transformation, so soon as
the millennium shall begin.
Here, then, is another argument for the doctrine of
Christ's premillennial coming.  The resurrection  of the
saints is everywhere connected with his final advent. "All
shall be made alive; they that are Christ's at his coming."
" Them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first."  " When he shall appear, we shall
be like him." But the resurrection and glorification of the
saints is just as clearly connected with the beginning of the
mlillennium.  There can be no millennium whilst the wilful
king continues to " exalt himself, and magnify himself above




ASPECT OF DEATH TO THE RIGHITEOUJS.       105
every god, and speak marvellous things against the God of
gods;" and the fall of this antichristian power, and the glorious resurrection proclaimed by Daniel, are contemporaneous.
" He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. AND
AT THAT TIME God's people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book; and many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake."  So in the text,
the millennium, or the period of the thousand years, is introduced by the rising and living again of "them  that were
beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast nor his image."
These holy ones are to " live and reign with Christ the thousand years;" and so their resurrection must occur at the beginning of the thousand years. And as they that are Christ's arise
" at his coming," his coming must be before the millennium.
Such, then, is the glorious hope of the Lord's people.
Very soon shall Christ their deliverer come, and change them
into a full likeness to himself. Then shall his victory over
death be manifest.  "Because he lives, we shall live also."
" For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
And how many sunny thoughts cluster around this doctrine!
There is nothing so repulsive to our natural instincts as
death. There are few people who do not feel a cold shudder
creeping through and through them whenever they realize
the thought that they must die, and have the coffin-lid screwed
down upon their foreheads, and be covered up with clods in
the damp dark ground. But the hope of the resurrection of
the just throws a radiance round the death-bed and the grave,
and helps to reconcile us to the mysterious change. To a
good man, the sepulchre is but the gateway to a better world,
-the resting-place for the wasted and wearied body previous
to going forth into the bliss and honors of a divine and eternal




106                 THE LAST TIMES.
kingdom. Its shades are but a quiet night anterior to an
everlasting day. Death is but a sleep, which presupposes a
future awakening.  " An eternal sleep" is a contradiction in
terms,-a miserable solecism,-a mode of speech the very
phraseology of which brands the atheistic invention with absurdity. Sleep is but the temporary suspension of animation
for the purpose of refreshment and invigoration.  It is always
succeeded by a waking. And such is death to the Christian.
Jesus has transmuted it into a refreshing steep, from which we
shall early arise, in renewed strength and glory, for the scenes
and employments of a day which shall have no night. The
New Testament nearly always speaks of the departure of the
believing as a sleep. Jesus said, " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him  out of sleep."  "The
saints which slept," is familiar phraseology to the reader of
the Scriptures. "David, after he had served his own generation, fell on sleep." As the first martyr died, Luke said he
"fell asleep."  Paul comforted the mourning Thessalonians,
by assuring them that their pious dead "are asleep,"-only
" asleep,"-to be waked to life again when Jesus comes. And
so all the saints that have departed this life are said to "sleep
in Jesus."
Yes, Christian parent, that child which so suddenly sickened, withered and faded in your arms, and which with so
much sadness you yielded to the cold dark grave, is not lost
and gone eternally.  It only sleeps-sweetly sleeps-in the
arms of its Maker. You buried it; but you buried it looking
for the resurrection of the last day, when it shall awake to be
yours forever.  Weep, not, 0 daughter, as if that sainted
mother whom you last saw dressed for the tomb shall never
look upon you again with her wonted love and tenderness.
She is thy mother still.  She is not dead, but sleepeth.  She
will awake again, and take you to her heart as fondly as ever.
Sorrow not as they that have no hope, O stricken one, mourn



THE GLORY OF THE RESURRECTION.             107
ing over a husband's grave. He has only laid him down to
rest in soft slumber. God's eye is on that prostrate buried
form. And when thy loved one's Savior comes he will shake
off his sepulchral covering, and be thy constant friend as in
the days gone by.
"Soon shall you meet again,
Meet ne'er to sever;
Soon will peace wreath her chain
Round you forever."
And what a reunion of hearts and exchange of happy
gratulations shall crown and crowd that day! What glorious
meetings and triumphs will then be celebrated! What devout
and anxious hopes shall then be consummated! Then shall
Jesus say, "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust;" and
they shall obey his call, and rise to praise him forever. Then
will the once-afflicted saints of every age and clime " stand
drest in robes of everlasting wear." Then shall those who
denied themselves and took up the cross receive their crowns.
Then shall the wisdom  of their "respect unto the recomrense of the reward" be vindicated forever.  Then shall God
glorify his Son by transforming millions into his glorious
image. And "then shall be brought to pass the saying that
is written, Death is swallowed up in victor-y."
Earth, my brethren, has been the theatre of some splendid
victories, the fame of which has filled the world and echoed
along the corridors of ages. But never has earth beheld such
a triumph as that which shall be realized at the resurrection
of the just. Then shall be enacted another genesis, more
glorious than the first. Then shall be performed another
exodus, more illustrious than that which Moses led. Then
shall truth triumph over error, and faith over unbelief, humility over pride, life over death, and immortality over the
grave.  Then shall the cross give way to the crown, and corruption to glory; and from the mold and ashes of every




t08                  THE LAST TIMES.
Christian's tomb shall come forth an undying form, radiant
with the transforming touch of Deity,-a dear-bought but
sublime and imperishable monument to the resurrection and
che life. The graves of the patriarchs shall open. The scattered dust and ashes of prophets, apostles and martyrs shall
be gathered. Unknown saints of God that have died in garrets, and cellars, and barns, and dungeons,-and lowly and
despised poor in Christ who sleep in potters'-fields,-shall
spring forth from their unnoticed graves in sublimer glory
than ever adorned the illustrious Solomon.  Precious innocents, whose names were never heard, and lamented children,
that molder in their little tombs, and pious afflicted ones, who
spent their days in pain secluded from the gay world,-all,
all shall then forsake their resting-places and shine as the
stars for ever and'ever. Then shall all the waiting saints of
all lands and ages, mysteriously transferred to the bridal halls
of heaven, join in holy fellowship to celebrate with untold joy
the sublime epiphany of their redeeming Lord, with all their
varied tongues in heavenly concord singing the triumphs of
that salvation for which they lived, and hoped, and suffered.
"Oh, scenes surpassing fable, and yet true!
Scenes of accomplished bliss! which, who can see,
Though but in distant prospect, and not feel
His soul refreshed with foretastes of the joy?"
Not all the saints, indeed, may rise at the same instant, nor
all the living be translated at once; there is progression and
order in all the divine works;* but still the resurrection is for
all that sleep in Christ, and the translation for all whom he
shall find awaiting his coming.  All shall share in the
happy victory. And what adds to the peculiar joy of some
is that they will never die at all, but shall be changed, in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; at the last trump;
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
X See Note H, page 349.




A SUBLIME THOUGHT.                    109
incorruptible, and we shall be changed." " The dead in Christ
shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them." And what a thought is this,
that there perhaps are some listening to me now who shall
never know by experience what death is! Those of Christ's
people who are living when he comes shall of a sudden feel
the thrill of immnortality careering through them, and find
themselves transported to join the children of the resurrection. Not one of then, that truly believe in Jesus shall be
left behind. The humblest and obscurest, the lowest with the
highest, all shall be taken together. For "he shall send forth
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." And they shall live and reign with
Christ the thousand years. "And so shall we ever be with
the Lord." And thenceforward forever shall this song be
sung:
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
And he will dwell with them,
And they shall be his people,
And God himself shall be with them,
And be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
And there shall be no more death,
Neither sorrow, nor crying,
Neither shall there be any more pain:
For the former things are passed away."
Verily, "blessed and holy is he that hath-part in the first
resurrection!"  Was there ever conceived such a system of
grace and glory as that which constitutes the gospel of Jesus?
How precious are its promises! How transporting are its
hopes! How it meets the vast desires of humanity, and
pours consolation into the hearts of the children of sorrow!
What is there to compare with it? Atheism, with its eternal
sleep, may stupefy the soul, and render it somewhat callous to
10




110                THE LAST TIMES.
the woes of life. But how sad and cheerless is the epitaph
which it writes on the tomb! Heathen philosophy, with its
transmigrations and feeble guesses, may excite some dull and
low concern for futurity; but how gloomy is the destiny which
it sets before man! It is only Christianity, with its resurrection and another life, that can at all rouse man into a proper
consciousness of his dignity, or satisfy the lofty and mighty
aspirations that well up from his heart. This is our glorious
hope, the price of which cannot be equalled with gold.
And how devoutly thankful should we then be for what
God has done for us and purposed concerning us! How
should our hearts soften at the contemplations before us, and
swell with emotions of love towards so great a Benefactor!
How should we be concerned to find out the will of such a
friend, and seek to approve ourselves unto him! How cheerfully should we hail him as the chief among ten thousand,
and the one altogether lovely! How gladly should we set ourselves to do his gracious commands, and to keep his loving
counsels! In him is our strength, our hope, and our joy.
He is not ashamed to be our God, and surely we should not
be ashamed to be his people, " looking for that blessed hope,
even the glorious appearing of the great God, our Savior
Jesus Christ." Let us, then, give ourselves to him, body and
soul, as a living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service. Let
us fully identify ourselves with Jesus, knowing that "when
he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
he is."  And, especially, let us not forget that " every man
that hath this hope in him  purifieth himself, even as the
Savior is pure."  He hath prepared for us a city; but "there
shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie." It is only
"the holy" who shall have part in the first resurrection.
"The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and




MOMENTOUS QUESTIONS.                      111
all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death." It is only
"unto them  that look for him" that "he shall appear the
second time unto salvation."
WIRD DAS NICHT FREUDE SEYN! 
Will that not joyful be,
When we walk by faith no more,
When the Lord we loved before
As Brother-man we see!
When he welcomes us above,
When we share his smile of love,Will that not joyful be?
Will that not joyful be,
When to meet us rise and come
All our buried treasures home,
A glorious company!
When our arms embrace again
Those we mourned so long in vain,Will that not joyful be?
Will that not joyful be,
When the foes we dread to meet
Every one beneath our feet
We tread triumphantly!
When we never more can know
Slightest touch of pain or woe,Will that not joyful be?
Yes! that will joyful be,
When we hear what none can tell,
And the ringing chorus swell
Of angels' melody!
When we join their songs of praise,
Hallelujahs with them raise,That, that will joyful be!
H. C. VON SCHWEINITZ.




FIFTH DISCOURSE.
TIE MESSIAH'S KINGDOM-HOW SPOKEN OF BY THE ANCIENT PROPHETS  HOW APPREHENDED BY THE SAVIOR S CONTEMPORARIESHOW SPOKEN OF IN THE NEW TESTAMENT-SPECIFICALLY CONNECTED
WITH THE SECOND ADVENT-THE PRESENT DISPENSATION NOT THE
MESSIAH'S GLORIOUS REIGN.
DAN. Vii. 13, 14: I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And
there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all
people, nations and languages should serve him: his dominion is
an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
THAT this vision contains a prophecy concerning "the last
times," will not be denied. That the "one like the Son of
man" is Jesus Christ, in his glorified human nature, is admitted on all hands. That his "coming with the clouds of
heaven" refers to his final advent in this world, is also the
common belief of interpreters. His being led to the Ancient of
days to receive dominion, plainly denotes his investiture with
rulership, and his inauguration into the august office of the
almighty Sovereign of the nations. This dominion is sonmething more than his present spiritual reign in men's hearts;
for he does not enter upon it until he comes in the clouds. It
is also a kingdom the affairs of which are to be administered
by Christ in person, or by those under his immediate control
and direction; for it is given to him as the Son of man, and
his personal descent at the time of receiving it is explicitly
112




CHRIST WILL REIGN PERSONALLY ON EARTH.   113
affirmed. It'must also be a visible and terrestrial kingdom,
for "nations" are mentioned as its subjects.
The doctrine which I accordingly deduce from this text,
and which I shall aim to set forth in this discourse, is, That
the Lord Jesus Ch/irist will return again to this world, and here
set up a visible Christocracy, or empire of his own, and personally reign over the nations in the bliss and glory of a universal and eternal kingdom.  There are many good people
who believe no such thing. My main object will therefore be
to prove it by solid Scriptural arguments. And if I can show
that it has a firm foundation in the word of God, I certainly
have a right to claim for it the respect due to a doctrine of
inspiration. Let us then approach the subject with humble
reverence, sincerely desirous to learn the truth, and earnestly
praying that God may give us a proper insight to this wonderful mystery.
I. I remark then, in the first place, that the prophecies of
the Old Testament, when taken in their plain and natural
sense, certainly predict the Messiah as a great prince who
shall reign in this world. To establish this remark I apprehend to be no difficult task. The very first words that ever
were uttered concerning Christ already imply it. When God
reckoned with Adam, though he excluded him from Paradise,
he left him this consoling promise: —The seed of the woman
shall bruise the serpent's head.  Satan had assailed our first
parents, and overcome them. By that victory he became the
reigning prince of this world, and to this day he holds his
dark supremacy in nearly every department of the earth. The
crushing of this serpent's head can mean nothing less than the
demolition of Satan's empire, and the establishment of the
empire of the woman's seed in its place. And if Christ, as
the Son of man, is to displace Satan, and reign over the
nations as Satan now rules over them, nothing short of a literal,
real and universal empire can be the result.
H                   10l




114                 THE LAST TIMES.
The next distinct allusion to this "seed" is in God's covenant with Abraham, where it is said that he shall "possess the
gate of his enemies, and all nations of the earth be blessed in
hinm."  Paul tells as that this promise did not belong to
Abraham's posterity at large, but only to "one, which is
Christ." To possess an enemy's gate is to conquer that
enemy,-to take his last defence. And when it is said of
Christ, that he shall possess the gates of his enemies, and
bless all nations, we have before us the idea of a great. victorious and universal prince, making himself the master and
the benefactor of the world.
Another reference to the same thing we find in Hannah's
song, where it is said, " The Lord shall judge the ends of the
earth, and he shall give strength to his King, and exalt the
horn of his anointed."  Here too we have the princedom of
the Messiah in this world, and his universal sovereignty,
pointedly asserted.
In God's promises to David we have the matter still more
particularly amplified. God says to the monarch of Israel,
"When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, and 1 will establish
his kingdom, and the throne of his kingdom, forever.  And
THINE HOUSE, and THY KINGDOM shall be established forever
before thee: THY THRONE SHALL BE ESTABLISHED FOREVER."
If this promise refers pre-eminently to Christ "the Son of
David," as all agree that it does, then he is to be a great
earthly prince; for he is to occupy a throne, and possess a
kingdom; and that throne and kingdom are identical with the
throne and kingdom of his father David. Much as men may
dislike to admit this, here is God's promise, in words as plain
as any man can use. David had an empire in this world; and
he reigned as a prince in this world; and God says that his
promised Son shall take David's place, and establish David's
throne forever. David himself certainly so understood the




ARGUMENT PROM THE PROPHETS.             115
promise, and by divine inspiration so prophesied of it in the
Psalms. As he had his court in Mount Zion, so he represents
his illustrious Son as "King upon the holy hill of Zion," with
the heathen given to him for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession.  "He shall have
dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the
earth. Yea, kings shall fall down before him: all nations
shall serve him."  Who can listen to such language with an
unbiassed mind, and not gather from it the idea, that the prophet is here speaking of some great and mighty king, who is
to sway the sceptre of literal empire over the inhabitants of
this world?
Turn now to Isaiah, the great evangelical prophet, and see
how he describes the Messiah.  "Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The Father of the everlasting
age, The Prince of peace." Nobody misunderstands this. All
take the words just as they are written, without looking after
some mystical or allegorical meaning. By what authority,
then, shall we reject the literal acceptation of what follows?
"And the government shall be upon his shoulder.  Of theincrease of his government and peace there shall be no end,
UPON THE THRONE OF DAVID, AND UPON HIS KINGDOM, to
order IT, and to establish IT with judgment and with justice
fiqom henceforth even forever."  What could more unequivocally describe the Messiah as a great prince, reigning in
David's -place in this world?
If we turn to Jeremiah, we find the Savior spoken of in the
same manner.  "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that
I will raise UNTO DAVID a righteous Branch, and a KINGr
shall reign and prosper, and shall execute justice and judgmen0t IN THE EARTH. In his days JUDAH shall be saved, and
ISRAEL shall dwell safely."  "And they shall serve The Lord




116                 THIE LAST TIMES.
their God, and David their King (in his promised Son) whom
I uwill raise up unto them."
These are very plain and positive predictions. Others of
like import might be presented. Here and elsewhere, the
Messiah is again and again called a king. He is to possess
and occupy David's throne. He is to be a conqueror of his
enemies and the possessor of their cities.  He is to reign over
the nations. He is to be the commander around whose banner
the Gentiles shall be gathered. His kingdom is to be in a
sense the kingdom of David, re-established, exalted, extended
over all the earth, and made forever permanent.  This is the
natural and obvious meaning of the words; and there is
no reason why we should understand them differently, or seek
for some other remote and occult meaning. Professor Stuart has
justly said that "it is one of the plainest and most cogent of
all the rules of hermeneutics, that every passage of Scripture,
or of any other book, is to be interpreted as bearing its plain
and primary and literal sense, unless good reason can be given
why it should be tropically understood." Vitringa gives it as
"an unerring canon, and of great use," that "we must never
depart from the literal meaning of the subject mentioned in
its own appropriate name, it its principal attributes square with
the subject of the prophecy."  Ernesti says, "Theologians
are right when they affirm the literal sense to be the only true
one." And Hooker declares, "I hold it for a most infallible
rule in expositions of sacred Scripture, that when a literal construction will stand, the farthest from the letter is commonly
the worst." What then are we to do with the prophecies to
which I have referred?  The literal meaning is evident.
There is not only no necessity for departing from it, but we
cannot depart from it without violence and inconsistency. I
therefore claim it as a fact, that the Old Testament writers
have predicted Christ as a great prince who is literally to reign
upon the throne of David in real empire over all the world




OPINIONS OF CHRIST'S CONTEMPORARIES.        117
II. It is also true, in the second place, that when the Savior
came into the world, as the Son of Mary, he was expected as
a great prince who should set up a literal empire in this world.
This is a point so notorious, and so much dwelt upon by theologians and preachers, that it is hardly necessary to do more
than state it.
Knapp says, "At the time of Christ, and previously, the
current opinion of the people in Palestine, and indeed of most
of the Pharisees and lawyers, was, that he would be a temporal
deliverer and a King of the Jews, and indeed a universal
monarch, who would ieign over all nations. The apostles themselves held this opinion."
Neander says, " The Jews expected a Messiah who should
be armed with miraculous power in their behalf, free them
from civil bondage, execute a severe retribution upon the enemies of the theocratic people, and make them masters of the
world in a universal empire, whose glory it was their special
delight to set forth."
Schaf says, "The Jews conceived of the Messianic kingdom
as a glorious restoration of the throne of David."
Brooks says, "It is quite notorious that the Jews did, in
the time of our Savior, look for a' King who should, in an
illustrious and glorious manner, inherit the throne of David,
reign over Israel, and obtain dominion and possession over all
nations."
And so uniform is the testimony on this point, that it is
unnecessary to argue it. When Herod inquired of the chief
priests and scribes where Christ should be born, "they said
unto him, ID. Bethlehem of Judea; for thus it is written by
the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the'land of Juda, art
not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee
shall come A GOVERNOR that shall rule my people Israel."
This shows how the Jews understood the ancient prophets, and
what were their expectations at the time. Herod certainly




118                THE LAST TIMES.
acted under the apprehension that the coming Christ was to be
a great prince, when he gave orders " and slew all the children
that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof." Why
adopt measures to slay the infant Savior if he did not fear that
Christ would again restore the Jewish throne? Nay, we read
that even from far beyond the limits of Palestine, certain
"wise men came, saying, Where is he that is born King of the
Jews?"  It would seem that whithersoever a knowledge of the
Hebrew prophecies had gone, it was uniformly expected that
the promised Messiah would be a sublime and triumphant
Jewish king, whose dominion would absorb all other kingdoms, and stand forever.
That extravagant and unfounded notions were entertained
by many, I have no doubt. Some looked for Christ only as a
military hero, and conceived of his reign too much after the
style of ambitious tyranny.  They sometimes spike of him
only as a conquering leader, whereas he is at the same time a
divine spiritual Savior. They surrounded him too much with
their own carnal and resentful feelings, and overlooked that
meekness and holiness of spirit which is indispensable to a
blissful participation in his princely ministrations.  They
failed to apprehend that great foundation-fact, that he was
first to suffer ere he should reign, and bear the cross before
reaching the crown. But, with all their narrow bigotries and
carnal hopes, they did not misconceive this one prominent
feature of the matter, that the promised Messiah was to be a
great prince, who should reign upon the throne of David his
father, and extend his royal dominion over all the earth. So
the prophets had spoken, and so they understood what the
prophets said.'
III. I proceed, then, to a third remark, viz.: that the New
Testament nowhere contradicts what was thus expected of the
Messiah. There are, indeed, a few passages which seem to
conflict with these expectations; but when attentively consi



SPIRPITUALITY OF CHRISTIANITY.           119
dered, and their real meaning ascertained, they will be found
entirely accordant with the doctrine which I am endeavoring
to set forth.
That Christianity is an eminently spiritual religion, all who
understand it must adnit.* The fundamental principle of the
Messiah's kingdom is his reign over the heart, bringing all
its affections and impulses into subjection to the will of God.
This is the germ on which every thing else depends. He who
is not spiritually renewed, and morally assimilated to Christ,
has neither part nor lot in Christ's kingdom, whatever may
be his birth, blood, or external relations. " However different
the extent and outward form of the kingdom," says a distinguished author, "however great its ultimate triumph and glories, this is still its peculiar feature and character,-God, the
Savior, reigning supreme in the heart of the once-alienated
and rebellious sinner, and all dispensations are but hastening
on this great result the more fully over all the earth." We
would ignore the most glorious and most distinguished feature
of Christianity, if we were for a moment to think differently.
It is therefore to be presumed that the Savior and his inspired
servants should set forth this point with marked perspicuity.
And we would especially expect them  to express themselveW
strongly on this feature of the kingdom, as there were many
of their hearers who had quite lost sight of it. It was the.
most serious mistake of the Jews, not that they expected
Christ as a triumphing Lord, but that they did not comprehend how he was at the same time to be a spiritual Redeemer,
and that the blessings of his glorious reign were to extend
only to those who should be inwardly subjected to his holy
will. They thought their lineal, descent from Abraham, and
their formal submission to the Mosaic ritual, presented all
that was needful to secure for them the full benefit of the
sublime achievements of their expected King. This was a
disease needing to be cauterized. Hence, when the Pharisees
e See Note E, page 335.




120                 THE LAST TIMES.
asked Jesus "when the kingdom of God should come," he at
once struck at the root of their false hopes, and called them
back from their dreams of glory to those first rudiments without which neither Jew nor Gentile shall ever see the kingdom
of God. " He answered and said, The kingdom of God cometh
not with observation."  That is, the essence of the Messianic
reign does not lie in the pomp, show and outward demonstrations of power for which they were looking. "Neither shall
they say, Lo here! or, Lo there!" as if it were to be set up
with mere physical victories. "The kingdom of God is within
you."  Its seat is in the heart; and unless first found in the
heart it will never be found at all. This is what they had
overlooked; and this is all this passage teaches. It is to the
same point that Paul speaks, when he says, " The kingdom of
God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy
in the Holy Ghost." The antithesis which he presents is
not between a visible personal reign of Christ, and a mere
reign by his Spirit and grace, but between the true prerequisite spiritual submission to Christ, and that mere ceremonial
righteousness upon which the Jews so much boasted and
relied. But the fact that a man's heart must be renewed and
purified as a condition of participation in the blessings of the
mediatorial kingdom, by no means proves that that kingdom
is not hereafter to take form, and be outwardly manifested in
a triumphant personal reign of the Savior in this world. For
if we interpret these words so as to confine the divine kingdom to the heart, and to righteousness, peace and joy in the
Holy Ghost, we necessarily exclude from it the outward
church, the sacraments, and a future home in heaven. And
yet, if we dare extend the limits of the divine kingdom beyond'the mere inward experiences of the soul, there is nothing
to prevent us from extending it so as to embrace also the
future personal reign of the Messiah upon earth. For if the
present existence of the kingdom in men's hearts is recon



AN OFT-MISQUOTED PASSAGE EXPLAINED.    121
cilable with the hope of a more glorious form of the kingdom
in the heavenly world, it is equally reconcilable, and on the
same grounds, with the doctrine of the future princely reign
of Christ over the nations.
Another passage often misquoted upon this subject is that
where Christ says, "hg/y kingdom is not (ex) FROM thtis world."
When he uttered these words, he was on his trial before
Pilate. He had been accused of treasonable purposes. Pilate,
therefore, asked him  whether he was a king.  He boldly
affirmed that he was a king.  But to quiet their apprehensions that he was about to undertake to subvert the existing
authorities by carnal violence, he qualified his avowal; and
these words contain the qualification.  He does not say that
his kingdom is not to be located upon earth; for it is located
here.  His church and all its ordinances are on earth.  The
children of the kingdom live and operate in this world. He
only says, his kingdom is not from this world, that it is of
heavenly origin, and that it is to be set up by supernatural
means, and not by human prowess or the might of earthly
arms. That this is what he means, and all that he means, is
evident from all the circumstances of the case, and is made
abundantly clear from the additional words:-"Else would nzy
servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews."
Why did he. not allow his servants to fight? Because his
kingdom was not to be built up in that style. He is to enter
upon his throne by a different process.  He is to receive his
dominion from above, and not from beneath. The Lord will
give it to him.  It will not come out of this world.*
I may therefore say, with perfect safety, that there is nothing
in the New Testament to contradict the cherished expectations, that the Messiah is to reign as a great prince on David's
throne in this world.
IV. Nay, I go further, and say, that there is much in the
New Testament tending directly to confirm and deepen these
e See Note F, page 338.
Ii




122                THE LAST TIMES.
prevailing expectations. Look for a moment at what the
angel said to Mary, when he came to announce to her the
birth of the expected Christ.  Gabriel there says to the Virgin, " Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name JESUS; he shall be great, and shall be
called the Son of the Highest." These are plain words. All
understand them just as they stand. And what follows is
equally plain, and by all sound principles of interpretation
must be taken as equally literal:-"And the Lord shall give
him the THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. AND HE SHALL
REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOREVER; and of his
kingdom there shall be no end." Now, what effect could such
an announcement have upon those who were looking for the
Christ as a great reigning prince, but to establish and fix all
their prepossessions concerning him in that respect? And
when his virgin mother first brought him as a babe to the
temple, Simeon and Anna, by direct divine inspiration, spoke
of him as the consolation for which Israel was looking, and
as the one to accomplish in Jerusalem the very redemption
which Judah was expecting. What could be the tendency of
such utterances, but to make the people who heard them still
more enthusiastic in the hopes they were cherishing? When
Nathanael first recognized the Savior's Messiahship, and addressed him as " Rabbi, the Son of God, the King of Israel,"
he evidently conceived of that kingship according to the prevailing belief of the time. And yet Christ passed it as a
proper conception, and replied to it in a way which could only
give intensity to the anticipations that were entertained.
When the five thousand, who had been miraculously fed in
the wilderness, would have taken him by force, and placed
him on the throne, he withdrew himself; for his time for that
had not yet come; neither was that the way in which he was
to obtain his crown. But he uttered not a word of censure to
indicate that they were wrong in looking upon him as he who




FURTHER NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE.           123
should hold earthly dominion, and reign with authority like
that with which they desired to invest him. When he made
his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and the people around
him shouted, "Blessed be the King!" "Blessed be the kingdom of our father David which cometh in the name of the
Lord!" "Hosannah to the Son of David!" what did they
mean?  Did they not thereby point to him as their expected
Messiah, who should break the power of their enemies, renew
the Jewish throne, establish an earthly empire, and reign as a
mighty prince? What else could they have meant? And
yet Jesus received it all with approbation, and never once so
much as hinted that they were the least mistaken. Nay,
when the enraged Jewish officials came to him, angrily complaining of what had been said of him by the shouting multitude, he not only sided with the applauding people, but declared that if these held their peace, the stones themselves
would cry put i What more impressive endorsement could he
possibly have given to what the exulting crowd had uttered?
Did he not thus acquiesce in their views? Did he not thus
most effectually set his seal of sanction to the proclamation,
and emphatically declare himself the King of the Jews, who
should restore and occupy the throne of David, and reign in
Mount Zion according to the letter of prophecy? And so
again, when the mother of Zebedee's children asked. him that
her two sons might sit, as ministers of state, the one on his
right hand and the other on his left in his kingdom, she
doubtless conceived of that kingdom as a princely reign in
this world. Her request is amply indicative of this. But, if
she was wrong, the Savior's answer certainly went much further to confirm her views than to undeceive her. True, he
did not agree to grant her desire; but he left her under the
belief that there are such places to be filled in his empire, and
that they are reserved for those for whom the Father has prepared them. Are we to suppose the holy Jesus capable of




124                 THE LAST TIMES.
encouraging delusion? He'knew what sort of views that
woman had of his kingdom; and if it were not in his purpose to establish that kingdom as she apprehended that he
would, his conduct and answer are quite inexplicable. The
prayer of the penitent thief on the cross presents a similar
case. That heart-broken sufferer besought the Savior to remember him when he came in his kingdom. His ideas of
that kingdom were doubtless, in the main at least, just'what
were generally entertained. And the Savior answered him
without intimating that he was at all mistaken, and left him
to die under the impression with which he uttered the prayer.
See, also, with what firmness the Savior expressed himself
when before Pilate. He was there charged with conspiracy
and treason. The question of Pilate was addressed directly
to his political pretensions.  His accusers were standing by,
eagerly watching for the smallest intimations on which they
might secure his condemnation.  But his great spirit did
not quail. Rising up in the sublime dignity which belonged
to his high nature, he boldly affirmed his claim to royal appointment and power. And then, at the last, having spent
forty days with his disciples after his resurrection from the
dead, "speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God," how impressive is the sanction which he gave to the
fond expectations concerning his earthly princedom! Certainly, all these special instructions to his disciples upon this
particular subject left them no room for any further misunderstanding. And yet, at the last hour of his stay on earth, we
find them still identifying the Messiah's reign with the restoration of the Jewish throne, and Christ himself still replying
to them in a way which could only deepen and strengthen
their ideas of the matter. If there were nothing else upon
the subject in the New Testament but this account of Christ's
last interview with his disciples, it would be enough upon
which to base the belief, that it is his purpose, at the ap



CHRIST'S OWN DECLARATIONS.             125
pointed time, to revive the throne of David, and to reign personally upon earth. They expected him to " restore the kingz
dom to Israel," and wished to know the time; and all he said,
and the last he said, was, that they were not "to know the
time."
There is also another class of New Testament passages,
equally, if not still more strongly, corroborative of the common expectations of the Messianic reign. When the. disciples asked the Savior what they should have in return for
their sacrifices in his cause, he replied, " When the Son of
man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of' Israel."  "I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto
me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom,
and sit on. thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
"Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled..... When ye see these
things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh
at hand. Verily, this reved-this Jewish race-shall not pass
away —not cease from being a distinct people-TILLT ALL BE
VULFILLED."* He here appropriates to himself a future kingdom.  He says that it is to be set up at the expiration of the
Gentile dominancy, and while the Jews still continue as a
distinct race. He says-that the apostles are to share in the
administrations of that kingdom, as judges of the twelve
tribes of Israel. And what effect would such declarations produce upon the minds of men who contemplated the Messiah's
reign as a literal kingdom upon earth?  What language could
have been framed that would more certainly have -been interpreted in favor of their views? May we not then set it down
as settled and clear, that the New Testament, so far from contradicting the literal statements of the old, or the expectations
founded thereon, speaks in the same strain, and fans those
anticipations into greater brightness and intensity?
* See Note B, page 3213.
1 1~'




126                THE LAST TIMES.
V. But again I remark, that the Scriptures explicitly speak
of the setting up of a kingdom in connection with the Savior's
final advent, which answers exactly to the literal predictions
of the ancient prophets which I have quoted, and to the expectations of the Jews and his first disciples. Upon this
point the text itself is conclusive. All agree that it refers to
the Savior's coming in glory to judge the world,-to his personal coming at the end of the present dispensation. And it
is here affirmed, with an explicitness which cannot be evaded,
that at the period of his coming there is to be "given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that allpeople, NATIONS
and languages SHOULD SERVE HIM: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."  And that there
might be no misunderstanding or mistake about the matter,
an angel explains the vision, and says that the blasphemous
and persecuting power denoted by the little horn is to prevail
against the saints until " the judgment shall sit," and THEN
"the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom UNDER THE WHOLE HEAVEN, shall be given to the people
of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and ALL DOMINIONS SHALL SERVE AND
OBEY HIM."' These words describe a literal kingdom, a universal kingdom, a kingdom under the heavens, over the nations and tribes of this world, and which is only to be set up
at the session of the judgment, and the coming of the Son
of man in the clouds.
Look also at the vision of the great golden-headed image, and
the stone cut from the mountains without hands, which smote
the great image, broke it and filled all the earth. We have there
an epitome of this world's history: first, the four great monarchies beginning with Babylon, and extending down to the
sovereignties which now occupy the territory of the ancient
Roman empire; second, the utter extinction of these monster




VISION OF THE IMAGE AND THE STONE.          127
powers during the regency of the ten kingdoms into which
the Roman empire was ultimately divided; and third, the
setting up in their place of a divine, universal and eternal
empire, symbolized by the stone from the mountains. Daniel
thus interprets the vision: —"In the days of these kings"
-that is, in the days of the kingdoms denoted by the ten
toes of the great image, during the existence of the Roman
empire in its last form of ten kindred regencies —"shall the
God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people,
but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and. it shall stand forever."  Some have supposed that the
introduction of Christianity is here meant; but Dr. Berg has
justly remarked that "this view is not tenable."   When
Christianity was introduced, the Roman empire was yet one.
It was not divided into its ultimate ten parts for hundreds of
years afterwards.  Besides, Christianity is not a kingdom in
the sense in which the prophet is here using that word.  This
kingdom denoted by the mystic stone, which God is to set up,
and which is to stand forever, is so related to the other kingdoms mentioned that we must necessarily assign to it something of a similar nature.  Tillinghast says, " In respect of
nature, it is the same with the kingdoms represented by the
great image; i. e. it is outward as they are outward; which
appears: (1.) From the general scope and drift of the prophecy, which runs upon outward kingdoms. All the first
four kingdoms, or monarchies, are outward, as none can deny;
why then the Holy Ghost, in speaking of the fifth and last,
should so far vary the scope as to glide from the outward kingdom to the inward, ought, besides the bare say-so, to have
some solid and substantial reason brought for it by those,
whosoever they are, that either do or shall assert it. (2.) Because it is not proper to say that a bare spiritual kingdom,
considered only as spiritual, should break in pieces, beat to




128                THE LAST TIMES.
very chaff, grind to powder, the great image, i. e. destroy the
very being of worldly kingdoms, which work is yet, notwithstanding, ctone by this stone. Indeed, Christ's spiritual kingdom may, by that light and life which it gives forth, much
refine and reform outward kingdoms; but when once the work
comes to breaking, and breaking in pieces, i. e. subverting
kingdoms, razing their very foundations and destroying their
very being, as they the kings of this world are here, unless
we conceive God to do it by a miracle, must we also conceive
some other hand besides a spiritual put to the work. (3.) Because the stone, to the end there might not be a vacancy in
the world, comes straightway in the place and room of the
great image, so soon as the same is totally broken. For as
the great image, while standing, bears rule over all the earth,
so the same being broken, the stone becomes a mountain and
fills the whole earth, therefore must the kingdom of the stone
be such a kingdom as was that of the great image, viz.: OUTWARD; or otherwise, the coming of that, in the place of the
other now taken away, could not supply the want of the
other."
This quotation is long, involved and robed in the quaintness of two centuries ago, but it is perfectly conclusive upon
the point that the stone-kingdom which God is to set up, and
which is to consume and destroy all other kingdoms and stand
forever, is a literal, real, outward, terrestrial empire. The
time when that kingdom is to be set up is the time when the
-last forms of usurped dominion, denoted by the ten toes of the
great image, are to be broken in pieces. The ten toes of that
image are acknowledged on all hands to be the same as the
ten-horned wild beast of John. Tho ten-horned wild beast is
only to be taken and destroyed when the heavens shall open
and the Son of God come forth to tread the winepress of God's
wrath, and give judgment to the martyrs and saints.  There.fore the coming of Christ is to be attended with the setting




FURTHER TESTIMONY.                129
utp of a visible, outward, universal, divine and eternal empire,
such as the Jews associated with the Messianic reign.
The Savior himself has spoken of the matter to the same
effect. Hear his words:-" WHEN the Son of man SHALL
COME IN HIS GLORY, and all 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 (THE NATIONS) 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 to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my
Father, INHERIT THE KINGDOM prepared for you from the
foundation of the world."  In the same strain he elsewhere
says, "They shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with
power and great glory.... WHEN ye see these things come
to pass, know ye that THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NIGH AT
HAND."  Paul also says to Timothy, "I charge thee therefore before God, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge
the quick and dead AT HIS APPEARING AND KINGDOM." All
these passages unequivocally connect the setting up of the
glorious Messianic kingdom with the Savior's final coming.
Elsewhere Paul connects the final advent with the sounding
of "the last trump;" and when we turn to John's vision of
what attends the sounding of the seventh or last trumpet, we
read, "There were great voices in heaven, saying, THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR
LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER
AND EVER!" And that there might be no misapprehension
of the time to which this vision relates, the four-and-twenty
elders respond with thanksgiving that it is " the time of the
dead that they should be judged,"-the time of giving reward
to the servants of God, the prophets, saints and all that fear
him,-the time that Christ shall " destroy them that corrupt
the earth:" (Rev. xi. 15-18.)
T




130                 THE LAST TIMES.
Paul also connects the resurrection of the saints with
Christ's final coming:-" The Lord himself shall descend from
heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." In this he
agrees exactly with John's vision of " the first resurrection."
But in that vision John saw thrones, and the martyrs, the
blessed and holy, seated on them; and they were made kings
and priests of God, "and they lived and reigned with Christ
a thousand years.".In all these passages we have a literal, universal and abiding
kingdom ascribed to Christ in connection with his second
coming. It is not a kingdom far off in the remoteness of
unknown space, but here in this world. It is to be "under
heaven."  It is to embrace " the kingdoms of the world."
Its subjects are to be "people, nations and languages.'?  To
take possession of it, Christ is said to " descend from heaven,"
" come," "appear," and stand again upon the earth.  It is
then of necessity just such a kingdom as the prophets foretold, and as the Jews and apostles expected. It is to be outward, literal, universal, glorious and eternal. It is not "from
or out of this world," just as John's baptism was not "fromn
or out of this world." It comes from God. It originates
from above, not from beneath. It is not set up by earthly
means, but by divine power.  But as John baptized on earth,
although his baptism was not "from this world," and as the
church is located on earth, although not of the earth, so
Christ will reign in this world in the sublimities of visible
empire. We never read of his return to heaven after he
once comes to this world a second time.  He remains here.
His tabernacle is then to be " with men, and he will DWELL
among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them."
This reign of Christ, then, is also to be a personal reign.
He was "made in the likeness of men."  He must therefore have a local dwelling-place. As the Son of man he is




THE GREAT WANT OF OUR RACE.              131
now in heaven. And when it is said that he will come again
to earth, and dwell with mern, we must believe that this world
will be his home. He cannot dwell and reign on earth as the
son of David and not be personally present on the earth.
Every point, then, at which the Scriptures touch upon this
subject, furnishes something to corroborate and strengthen our
doctrine that the Lord Jesus Christ will return again to this
world, and here set up a literal empire or Christocracy, and
personally reign over the nations in the bliss and glory of a
universal and eternal kingdom. The prophecies of the Old
Testament, taken in their plain natural sense, teach it.
When Christ was on earth, both Jews and Christians held it.
The New Testament nowhere condemns it as an error, but in
many places refers to it as a matter well and correctly understood; and in the Old Testament and the New we find many
passages which cannot be consistently interpreted without
admitting it as a true doctrine of God.  We cannot, therefore,'escape from the conclusion that the blessed and adorable
Son of the Virgin is yet to reign in this world as a great and
glorious divine prince, whom all the nations shall obey and
the world hail as its only King. All the Scriptures proclaim
it; the whole creation groans and longs for it; and I cannot
but believe it.  Next to the doctrine of atonement for the
world's guilt, it is the dearest of all the revealments of God.
To this hour, the greatest desideratum of our race is good
government,-government freed from the frailties and unrighteousness which have ever adhered to that department of human
interest. The church, too, is crippled, torn and disordered,
for want of some present divine umpire to judge between its
contending sects, purge out its ambitious disturbers and quell
its feverish perturbations. All nature seems to have heard
the promise concerning the seed of the woman and his restorative empire, and has stood in anxious expectancy ever since.
All the world, in all its departments, has been longing and




132                 THE LAST TIMES.
prophesying for ages, for a divine Deliverer, and the age of
gold which his administrations are to bring with them.  And
yet he has not come. I do not, indeed, deny that Christ now
reigns in the hearts of his children, or that he exercises a
providential control over the affairs of the world. I know and
rejoice that there is a sense in which he is present now, even
where but two or three are assembled in his name; and that
wherever a sinner turns to God, there something of his regal
authority and power are felt. But I also know, that, with all
his spiritual and providential presence and rule, as now in the
world, every thing is imperfect as compared with the promises
of what is to be hereafter.  Satan, for the most part, is yet
the king and master of this world, and not the illustrious Son
of David. Every thing in church and state, public and private, is more or less disjointed, weak, sickly, and failing of
what we most desire. Remedies only multiply wants and defects. " That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and
that which is wanting cannot be numbered." The bestplanned institutions and the wisest laws are constantly disappointing us.  The holy law itself was "weak through the
flesh;" and the same is to be said of all that we now have.
No one adequately fulfills or can fulfill his relations. The consciences even of the best Christians, if properly enlightened,
continually reproach them. Every thing seems to feel the
absence of its redeeming Lord. He does not yet reign as it is
necessary for us that he should reign.  " We see not yet all
things put under him." Matters now are only in a stage preparatory to something still beyond us. The throne of David
is yet less than a cipher. The promised Son has not yet lifted
it out of its degradation.  Mount Zion is still trodden by the
vile foot of the destroyer.  Israel, that is to be redeemed and
become the standard-bearer of ransomed nations, is still scattered over all the earth. The enemies of God still vaunt
themselves over his Anointed.  Ignorance, fanaticism  and




THE PRESENT STATE OF THE WORLD.            133
infidelity still stalk abroad, even through the church. The
man of sin, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that
is called God, still sits in the temple of God. Great Babylon
still stands, drunk as she is with the blood of the saints. The
wild beast and the false prophet are still allied against the
Lamb, and against the witnesses of Jesus. Evil men and
seducers are still waxing worse and worse. Despotism and
tyranny still hold the places which justice and charity alone
should fill. War and bloodshed still devastate and deluge this
poor fallen world. Rapine and plunder still press their foul
trade on land and on sea. Ambition, intrigue, finesse and deceit still hold disgraceful sway in the best parliaments and
legislatures on earth. Scoffers abound everywhere, walking
after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His
coming?. The wails of suffering and wretchedness still float
on every breeze; and the cries of wronged millions still go up
into the ear of Jehovah.
Oh, tell me not that this is the glorious reign of Messiah!
Tell me not that these are the scenes to which the saints of
old looked with so much joy! I will not so disgrace my
Savior or his word, as to allow for a moment that this dispensation is the sublime Messianic kingdom. No, no, no; Christ
does not yet reign in the kingdom which he has promised and
for which he has taught us to pray. Isaiah and Gabriel have
said, that he should occupy the throne of his father David, and
reign over the house of Jacob, and establish his government
in eternal peace and righteousness; but David's sceptre he has
never held, over Jacob's house he has never ruled, and the
whole world is yet full of iniquity and wo. The Psalmist has
taught us that "all nations shall serve him, the Gentiles be his
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth his possession;" but there is not a nation in all this wide world that is
thoroughly Christian, and not a people who unanimously
acknowledge that Christ is Lord. Of the ten hundred mil12




134                THE LAST TIMES.
lions of souls that now constitute the family of man, not twofifths are even professedly Christian! Take from the most
Christian community-take from among the highly-favored
inhabitants of our own city-all who are not of the household
of faith, and what a scanty population would remain! Take
the most enlightened and cultivated of the nations: take England-take Saxony-take our own country —take the model
nation of Christendomn, containing the most churches, and the
greatest number of devout people: examine the structure of
its government, test the operations of its laws, sift the character of its inhabitants, weigh it in the balances of Scripture
truth and divine requirements, aggregate its good and its evil,
strike the balance between righteousness and iniquity, and
then tell me whether there is a nation on all the globe that
does not gravitate towards hell rather than towards heaven!
The church itself, enclosing within its pale all the purest and
holiest specimens of humanity, after the toils and prayers of
eighteen centuries, is still a feeble craft, working against wind
and tide! Where, then, is that universal righteousness, peace
and glory which gave inspiration to the songs of the prophets
and hope to the souls of the dying saints of old? The reign
of Messiah is to be a reign of glory, power and triumph,
where vice is unknown and iniquity at an end,-where the
branch from the root of Jesse is to strike all enemies dead
and the Sun of righteousness disperse all darkness forever, —
where all nations shall serve, worship and obey the King of
Israel, and the earth shout the alleluia of her ultimate redemption; and it is worse than useless to try to persuade
ourselves that such a condition of things belongs to this dispensation.
Nor is there any thing by way of inference from the past,
or from indications of the present, or even in the sublime
promises of the word of God, by which to assure ourselves
that such a condition of things ever will be realized until the




"ALL THINGS NEW."                  135
personal return of the blessed Christ for whom we wait. It is
only when he shall come, that he will sit upon the throne of his
glory. Antichrist shall not die till then. The world will not
be fully redeemed till then. The glorious kingdom will not
come till then. That is the grand climacteric of our faith;
that is the sublime ultimatum of all our hopes.
Long, long has this great consummation been delayed,-so
long that even pious men begin to doubt whether it ever shall
come. But the word of Jehovah is out; he cannot recall it;
be must fulfill it.  Soon it will be here. Soon shall Messiah
come in his glory, and set this imprisoned and down-trodden
world at liberty. Soon shall the Son of Mary stand upon the
Mount of Olives and plant his throne upon the hill of Zion.
Soon shall the glorified saints supplant besotted politicians,
and the swelling tide of righteousness and peace overflow the
earth.  Soon shall the new-born nations send up their delegations to Jerusalem to worship the King in his beauty, and go
forth with joy in the blessedness of obedience to him.
Men may scoff, and say that we are degrading the blessed
Savior to a level with earthly monarchs, and surrounding him
with the miserable trappings of their foul courts. They may
ridicule us, and say that we are dragging down the throne of
Heaven's King to place it amid graves, almshouses, hospitals,
penitentiaries, labor-prisons, sickly cities, and worbout states.
But they forget that the promise is that Christ shall "MAKE
ALL THINGS NEW," and banish forever all these evidences and
emblems of depravity and sin. They forget that death is to
be swallowed up of life, and the whole sentence of the world's
curse forever rescinded.  They forget that all tears are to be
dried, and that there is to be no more death, nor sorrow, nor
crying, nor tears, nor any more pain, nor any more sin, within
all the domain of Messiah's eternal dominion. Oh, that
Christians did but look at these things as God has presented
them, and lay hold of the promises which he has given to




136                   THE LAST TIMES.
encourage us. Then would they go forth to duty with greater
earnestness and intenser joy. Then would they pray, with
fonder hope, "Thy Kingdom come!" and ever and anon
respond, "AMEN, EVEN SO COME, LORD JESUS!"
MARANATHA!
Christ is coming! let creation
Bid her groans and travail cease:
Let the glorious proclamation
Hope restore, and faith increase:Maranatha!
Come, thou blessed Prince of Peace!
Earth can now but tell the story
Of thy bitter cross and pain;
She shall yet behold thy glory,
When thou comest back to reign:Maranatha!
Let each heart repeat the strain!
Though once cradled in a manger,
Oft no pillow but the sod,
Here an alien and a stranger,
Mocked of men, disowned of God,All creation
Yet shall own thy kingly rod.
Long thy exiles have been pining,
Far from rest, and home, and thee;
But, in heavenly vesture shining,
Soon they shall thy glory see:Maranatha!
Haste the joyous jubilee!
With that "blessed hope" before us,
Let no harp remain unstrung;
Let the mighty advent-chorus
Onward roll from tongue to tongue:Maranatha!
Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come!
J. R. MACDUFF.




SIXTH DISCOURSE.
THE JUDGMENT - SCRIPTURAL IDEA OF A JUDGE - THE DAY OF
JUDGMENT NOT AN ORDINARY DAY OF TWENTY-FOUR HOURS - THE
JUDGMENT PROGRESSIVE-CONNECTION OF THE JUDGMENT WITH THE
MILLENNIAL REIQN-IS THE EXECUTION OF'ADJUDICATIONS ALREADY
GOING ON -— HOW IT WILL BE INTRODUCED-ADMONITIONS TO THE
CARELESS
ECCLESIASTES Xii. 14: For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be
evil.
WE now approach one of the most difficult subjects in the
Bible, and one which, perhaps, is the least understood, and
the most imperfectly apprehended, of all the great revelations
of God. Poetry and imagination ha-e undertaken to portray
its imposing sublimity; but all such efforts have tended to
bewilder and deceive rather than to instruct. The truth is,
that poets for theologians, and painters for commentators, are
about the poorest guides that a Christian can select. There
is a spirituality and supernatural vastness in divine things
which cannot be given in pictures, and which no earthly
imagery can reach. The external groupings and drapery
with which fancy deals very often have little or no connection
with the truths they are designed to illustrate. I propose,
therefore, to dispense entirely with the popular, pictorial and
poetic method of contemplating the great theme of the text,
and to approach it more in the style in which the Scriptures
present it.
Long has the cry, "A day of judgment! a day of judg.
1 2*              137




138                 THE LAST TIMES.
ment!" been heard in our world. Even before the death of
Adam, there rose up a prophet, saying, "Behold, the Lord
tometh, with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment
upon all." Few, indeed, regard the solemn prediction. Many
live as if it were all a fable. Thousands scoff at it as an idle
dream. But the truth is not altered by man's forgetfulness
or unbelief. Refusing to think of the subject cannot retard
the chariot-wheels of the avenging King of Zion.  He
moves on steadily to the accomplishment of his great designs,
undismayed  and  unmolested by the thoughtlessness, the
skepticism or the rebellion of mortals.  Some will not believe
that the earth revolves on its axis, or that it moves in a circuit
round the sun; but that does not change the facts, or stop
the world in its revolutions. And whether men believe it or
not, judgment will come. Accountability is woven in with
our very being. It is a primordial condition of our nature.
It grows out of the necessities of our very existence. It
surrounds the child from its first consciousness. It lies upon
us in the circle of friendship.  It cleaves to us as citizens of
the state. And we certainly cannot rid ourselves of it as
members of the great household of God's rational creation.
And where there is accountability, there must be adjudication.
Every family, social circle, church, state, or empire, must
needs have its tribunal, in effect if not in form, by which
decisions are decreed and judgment executed. And surely it
is not to be supposed that the great Father and King of all
has failed to establish this indispensable requisite to all
government.
We also find in man, either as the result of common reason,
or an original implantation in human nature, a something
which is ever reminding us that we must encounter righteous
retribution somewhere, at some time or other. We bear with
us, in the deep recesses of our souls, a sort of premonitory
sense of coming judgment.  Every man has his spiritual




SCRIPTURAL CONCEPTION OF "JUDGE."           139
fears, apprehensions and misgivings, which are most solemnly
prophetic. A good man feels that it must be well with him
in the end; and a bad man cannot be at peace in his own
heart, or rest with abiding composure upon his confidence of
safety. Reason as we may, there is still some deeply-seated
conviction of the soul, which seems to be a part of itself,
which rises up to assert our responsibility with a power that
no argument can resist and no logic overcome.
We may therefore take it as a fixed verity, not only asserted
in the Scriptures, but abundantly confirmed by the nature of
things, that "God shall bring every work into judgment,
with every secret thing, whether It be good, or whether it
be evil."
re are not, however, to conceive of this judgment as a mere
assize, or court, sitting only at a specific time, for the hearing
and determination of causes that have been long accumulating.
Something of this sort is remotely implied in what the Scriptures say of the matter; but such an assize furnishes a very
imperfect and inadequate idea of the great judgment. The
Scriptural conception of a judge is not simply that of a jurist
on the bench, but that of a ruler or king reigning in righteousness, guiding and blessing his loyal subjects, and avenging
them of their enemies. Just call to mind the reign of " the
judges" in the time of Sampson, Gideon, Jephtha, Eli, Samuel,
and others, who are said to have "judged Israel."  In what
did their office of judging consist? Brown, in his Dictionary,
has evidently given it correctly, where he says, "These judges
had the sole management of peace and war, and decided causes
with an absolute authority.  They executed the laws, reformed
or protected religion, and punished idolaters and other male-.factors; and were much the same as the archons of Athens,
the dictators of Rome, the suffetes of Carthage, and the governors of Germany, Gaul and Britain before the Roman
invasion." They were, then, sovereign princes; and in that




140                THE LAST TIMES.
sovereignty we have the Scriptural idea of a judge.  He is
one who rules the people, subdues their enemies, punishes
evil-doers and administers the affairs of government.  Hence,
when the Hebrews appointed a king to reign over them, they
caled him a judge, and called his administration judging.
Read the eighth chnapter of the First Book of Samuel. You will
there find that "all the elders of Israel" said, "Make uts A
KING TO JUDGE US;"-" We will have a king over us, that
we also may be like all other nations, and that our king may
JUDGE US, and go out before us and fight our battles."
Their conception of judgeship was that of kingly rule. IHence,
when the Scriptures speak of judgment, they very often
add expressions which show that they connect with it the
general idea of government, and identify it with sovereign
control and gubernatorial administrations. "Let the nations
be glad," says the Psalmist, "and sing for joy; for thou shalt
iudge the people righteously, and GOVERN THE NATIONS upon
earth." Isaiah says, "Unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.... Of the increase of
his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the
throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it WITH JUDGMENT and with justice forever."
"Behold, a king shall reign and prosper, and shall EXECUTE
JUDGMENT IN THE EARTH. In his days Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby
he shall be called: —The Lord Our Righteousness. And he
shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations
afar off: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks."  Jesus says, "Ye
which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of
man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon
twelve thrones, JUDGING (governing) the twelve tribes of
Israel."  Paul says, "The saints shall judge the?world;" and
this judgeship of the saints is explained in the Apocalypse,




MEANING OF "DAY OF JUDGMENT. "           141
where the Saviour says, "He that overcometh, and keepeth my
works unto the end, to him will Igive power over the nzations,
and he shall RULE THEM." All these passages evidently
refer to the last grand administrations of God,-to the judyment. And you will readily perceive from them that the
Scriptural idea of a judge is one who exercises sovereign rule,
one who administers the laws, governs the people, avenges
them of their enemies, guides them in peace and safety, and
punishes evil-doers.
In a general sense, then, and as presenting a key to this
whole subject, we might say that the judgment of God is the
administration of the government of God.
It is, therefore, also erroneous for us to conceive of the
judgment as limited to one day of twelve or twenty-four
hours.  We indeed read of "the day of judgment," and that
the Lord hath "appointed a day in the which he will judge
the world." But the word " day" is often used, both in the
Old and New Testaments, and also in common conversation, to
signify much larger periods of time than the seventh part of a
week. In the first chapter of Genesis it is used six times, to
denote six different epochs of the creation. In these cases,
some take it to mean an ordinary day; but the majority of
learned men think that it means a thousand years, or six
thousand years; and that the six days of the creation include
six, thirty-six, or even a much greater number of thousand
years. How this is we know not; but in the next chapter
we read of "the day that the Lord made the earth and the
heavens, and every plant of the field." Here the whole
period of the creation, which  geologists think  includes
myriads of years, is called a day.  So the forty years of
wandering in the wilderness is called "the day of temptation,"-" the day that God brought them up out of Egypt."
Isaiah calls the whole period of the Messiah's reign "his
day "  And Peter, in direct reference to "the day of judg



142                THE LAST TIMES.
ment," exhorts us not to be ignorant "that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand. years, and a thousand years as one
day." I make these remarks to show that nothing can be
inferred from the word day, as applied to the judgment, by
which to limit it to twenty-four hours, or to any other brief
period of time. The (lay of creation means simply the time
of the creation.  The day of Israel's pilgrimage is the time
of the pilgrimage. The day of the Messiah is the time of
the Messiah.  And so "the day of'judgment" is merely the
time ofjud(yment, whether it be a week or year, a hundred or
a thousand years, or as many years as there are days in a
thousand years. Hence, Joseph Mede, whom Professor Bush
pronounces " one of the profoundest Biblical scholars of the
English church," remarks, that "it is to be remembered that
the Jews, who gave to this time the name of the day qofjudgment, and from whom our Savior and his apostles took it,
never understood thereby any thing but a time of many years'
cont[inuacnce."
The truth is, that the Scriptures present the judgment as a
progressive thing, which began with the expulsion of Adam
from Paradise, which is to some extent continually going on,
and which will finally reach its entire consummation in the
advent and administrations of the Son of man, when an utter
end shall be made of all disorder and sin, and the pious of all
ages enter upon the full fruition of the honors and joys which
God has covenanted unto them.  Paul calls it "eternal
jzudgment," not only because its results shall be permanent,
but more particularly because it continues perpetually. God
is ever and anon dealing out retributions and deliverances,
which are the steps and preludes to the more complete and
ever-augmnenting awards of eternity. The Bible distinctly
teaches this. Jesus says, " He that believeth on the Son is
not condemned; but he that believeth not is conzdemned (Is
JUDGED) ALREADY, because he hath not believed in the name




THE JUDGMENT PROGRESSIVE.             143
of the only-begotten Son of God." All agree that whenever
a sinner repents and accepts of Christ as the great and only
Savior, he is at that moment justified; but justification is
altogether a judicial transaction. When the Savior was yet
on earth, he said, "Now  is the judgment of this world;"'"The prince of this world is judged." When God went
through Egypt, and smote all the first-born of man and beast,
it is said that he executed judgment upon them: (Gen. xv.
14; Ex. xii. 12.)  The revelation of his avenging arm
against proud Babylon, and the deliverance of Israel from
its power, is described in the same way: (Jer. li. 47;
Ezek. xxxix. 21.) And so every interposition of God to
enforce the principles of his government, either by way of
punishing his enemies or delivering his people, is called
judgment, and is really a part and earnest of the one great
eternal judgment which is to be consummated in the coining
and administrations of the blessed Jesus. Thus the immediate consequences of death are also called " the judgment,"
(Heb. ix. 27,) because there is then a broader line of distinction drawn between the good and the wicked, and God's
government goes into further effect in giving over the one
class to wander in the darkness of their alienation from
holiness, and taking the other class into peace and rest.
But all these adjudications are but the beginnings of the
judgment, whilst there is reserved a still future series of administrations by which they are to be carried on to eternal
completeness. Hence, we read that " God hath appointed a
day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness,
by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the
dead." The Lord Jesus himself is to return again to the
earth, to take the entire dominion of the world, and to administer justice and judgment to the quick and to the dead
according to his gospel. In this great judgment, of which all




144                THE LAST TIMES.
others are but the foretastes and the earnest, "the Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all'judgment to the
Son, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor
the Father."  "For, as the Father hath life in himself, so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath
given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is
the Son of man."
Considering, then, that the Scriptural idea of a judge is
that of a sovereign prince administering righteous government, that the ultimate administrations of judgment are given
entirely into the hands of Jesus as the Son of man, and that
Jesus is to return to this world to reign here in a glorious and
universal empire, under which iniquity is to be finally expunged and made to give place to eternal righteousness and
peace, we are prepared for the announcement, that the time
of the judgment is the time of Christ's coming and reign upon
earth, and that the final judgment itself is nothing more nor
less than the sovereign ministrations of the descended Jesus
as the sovereign of the world.
Now, this reign of Christ is really eternal.  It is everywhere so spoken of in the Scriptures.  "Of the increase of
his government and peace there shall be no end."  "His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom."  "It shall stand forever." But there is one period in this sublime reign which
is especially marked in the prophecies of God. That period
is the first thousand years of its existence, or the millennium.
Until these first thousand years are over, the divine purposes
will not be entirely fulfilled. It is only at the expiration of
this thousand years that the last rebellion is to be put down,
and the second resurrection accomplished. It is this thousand
years, then, and especially the adjudications by which they are
to be introduced and concluded, which constitute the day of
judgment. It will have its morning and its evening, like
every other day. Its morning is the period of Christ's "com



ITS CONNECTION WITH THE MILLENNIAL REIGN.  145
ing and kingdom," when he will raise the sleeping saints,
change the pious living, assign all the faithful their places in
his holy and eternal empire, and break down and destroy
every thing that stands in the way of the establishment of his
princely reign over all the nations of the earth.  Its evening
is the close of the millennial era, when the last revolt under
Gog and Magog shall be destroyed, the devil cast into the pit
of destruction, and all the unsanctified dead delivered over to
the second death.  In other words, there is a duality in the
judgment of the great day, just as there is a duality in the
resurrection, in the law, in the book of Revelation, in the nature of Christ, in the destiny of men, in the Savior's advent,
and in many other things of which the Bible speaks.
After long and prayerful study of the subject, then, it
seems to me that the first thousand years of the Messiah's
personal reign is the period which the Scriptures style by eminence "the day of judgment," and that the great judgment
itself is -nothing more nor less than those wonderful administrations of the coming Son of Mary, by which he will set up
his visible kingdom, and eventually shut up all its enemies
in everlasting death.
It is certain, my brethren, that the Scriptures do unequivocally connect the judgment with Christ's occupancy of the
throne which he is to receive at his second coming.  Maton
has remarked, that "we may justly doubt whether our Savior
hath as yet executed the office of king."   He exercises,
indeed, a partial sovereignty in men's hearts; "'yet, that he
doth not now reign in that kingdom which he shall govern as
man, and consequently in that of which the prophets spake,
his own words in Rev. iii. 21 do clearly prove:'To him that
overcometh I will grant to sit with me in my throne,' &c.,
from whence it follows that the throne which he here calls his
own, and which he hath not yet received, (Heb. ii. 8, 10, 12,
13,) must needs belong to him as man: because the place
K                    13




146                THE LAST TIMES.
where he now sits is the Father's throne,-a throne in which
he has no proper interest but as God. Again, it follows, that
seeing he is now in hi~ Father's throne, therefore neither is
this the time nor the place in which his own throne is to be
erected." I have shown you, in a previous discourse, that
Christ's throne is the throne of his father David, which is in
this world. I know of no Scripture which assigns to Christ
any throne as his own but this. And the judgment is specifically connected with his sitting upon his own throne at his
coming. He says himself, " When the Son of man shall come
in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, THEN shall he
sit upon the throne of his glory, and in his presence shall all
nations be placed together, and he shall separate them (the
nations) one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats."  Here are judicial administrations; and
those proceedings are attributed to Christ as the Son of man,
seated upon his own throne, and dealing with nations in this
world, to whom as the Son of man he is present.
In Daniel we read of the coming of the Son of man, to be
invested with a kingdom, in which "nations and languages"
are to serve him; which kingdom is to break in pieces all
other kingdoms, and take away, destroy and consume the dominion of the blasphemous power that made war with the
saints; yet these administrations of the enthroned Jesus are
called " the judgment,"-the sitting of the judgment.
Of this same Messiah that was born of Mary, Isaiah says,
that he shall bear rule " upon the throne of David, to order
it and establish it "- how?-"WITH JUDGMENT."  The
judgment, then, and the Messiah's reign are things which go
together.  Again, he says of Christ, "A King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment in the earth." Here the
reign of Christ is set forth as the judgment of the world by
him. So also says the Psalmist: —"Iie shall judge the people
righteously, EVEN GOVERN TIIE NATIONS UPON EARTH."




AUTHORITIES.                   147
What do these passages mean, if they do not speak of the
judgment of the world by Christ as identical with the administrations of his personal reign as the Son of man? Consider, also, once more, what he himself said to the apostles:"When the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory,
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judying the twelve tribes
of Israel." It is evident that this judgeship of the apostles
and saints is rulership. The Savior here says that their judgeship is to be of the same kind, nay, an actual part of his own.
As, then, the judgeship of the apostles and saints is their reign
with Christ over the nations, so his judgeship and his reign are
one and the same thing, and the judgment and the administrations of the Messianic kingdom are identical.
Hence, also, Christ's coming to judge the world is called
the coming of his kingdom.  Jesus says, "There shall be
signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon
earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the
waves thereof roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear, and
for looking after those things that are coming on the earth;
and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and when ye
shall see all these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand."  And in the Apocalypse it is
distinctly announced that " the time of wrath, and the time
of the dead, that they should be judged and reward given to
the prophets, saints and all that fear God," is identical with
the time when "the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ;" all of which goes to
show that the judgment is the same with the establishment of
the Savior's reign upon earth as the Son of David.
Joseph Farmer argues the same thing from Rev. xx. 4. He
says that " the kingdom wherein the saints reign with Christ
a thousand years, is the same with the kingdom of the Son of
man, and the saints of the Most High in Daniel; therefore,
it also begins at the great day of judgment, which is not con



148                THE LAST TIMES.
summated till Gog and Magog's destruction at their end;
therefore, the whole thousand years is included in that great
day of judgment.  The resurrection of the just will take
place in the morning of the day of judgment, or beginning of
the thousand years."
Dr. Thomas Goodwin, one of the great patriarchs of English
Independency, also has this remark, that "there is a special
world, (which is the present world in its future renewed form,)
called the world to come, appointed for Jesus Christ eminently
to reign in, between this world and the end of the day of
judgment," and that " the day of judgment itself is part, if
not the whole, of the time wherein our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ shall reign."
And Mede, from 2 Pet. iii. 8, considers it settled, that the
day of judgment is the thousand years' reign of Christ.  He
thus paraphrases that passage: —" Whereas, I mentioned the
day of judgment, lest ye might take it for a short day, or a
day of a few hours, I would not, beloved, have you ignorant
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."
I feel myself, therefore, fully warranted, by the infallible
authority of Holy Scripture, and by the authority of men who
have gone most profoundly into the investigation of this subject, in maintaining that the great consummating judgment
is nothing more nor less than the administrations of the Son
of man, in taking to himself the throne of his father David,
and establishing his sublime kingdom triumphant over all
his foes.
And this judgment is just the carrying into full effect of
all previous administrations of God with man. The righteous
are now justified, accepted and adopted as the children of
God; and the wicked are condemned already; but these
things are not yet fully manifest. The sentence is not yet
entirely enforced in either case.  As to those who have




HOW  " THE JUDGMENT" WILL COMMENCE.    149
passed into the world cf departed spirits, there is a greater
enforcement of the present divine adjudications than we
have in this life.  But still Paul tells us that the full manifestation of the sons of God is reserved until the period of
the resurrection and redemption of the body; and that the
full perdition of the ungodly is deferred to the same or some
subsequent period. The sentence upon good and bad is
already passed; but it will not be fully executed until the
great day of Christ's'coming and kingdom. Paul did not
expect his crown until then. Peter did not look for the perdition of ungodly men until then. And the great administrations of that day will consist in the distribution of blessings
and curses already awarded. It will simply be the consummation of adjudications already existing,-the completion of
processes even now begun. The resurrection of the saints is
not so much a resurrection for the purpose of being judged,as the execution of judicial decisions which already exist.
The same is true of the resurrection of the wicked. The
one class are to rise in glory, and the other class in shame and
contempt. The resurrection of the saints is to occur a thousand years previous to the resurrection of the wicked. The
resurrection itself, then, is a judicial administration; and the
judgment, instead of being confined to scenes after the resurrection, is going on now, and takes in a long series of transactions already begun, but which will only be consummated by
tbe awards of eternity. And when these eternal awards are
made, it will be but the ultimate effect of proceedings which
are at present in progress.
From these considerations, it follows that the introduction
of "the day of judgment" will be very different from what
is often supposed. As the judgment consists in the administrations of the glorious Messianic kingdom, and that kingdom
is to extend over nations and men in the flesh, its first symptoms and manifestations will be found in the existing living
13*




150                THE LAST TIMES.
world. The Savior plainly tells us that "there shall be upon
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves thereof roaring;" great popular and revolutionary disturbances; "men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things that are coming upon the earth; for
the powers of heaven shall be shaken." These words describe
scenes of the judgment, which are to be witnessed before the
visible manifestation of Christ,-scenes which will glide in
upon the world without the least suspicion on the part of men
generally that they are the beginnings of the great judgment.
By looking at the various changes that have already occurred
in God's earthly administrations, we find that when one dispensation was exchanged for another they overlapped each
other. The new always began before the old reached its conclusion. The two interpenetrated each other, so that the
-new began within the old, and the old ran far into the new.
The Jewish system was not overthrown when Christ was born,
nor yet when the dispensation of the Spirit commenced at
the day of Pentecost. The old system still stood for many
years, so that many were both Jews and Christians at the
same time. And so it will doubtless be when the millennial
or judgment era begins.  It will commence within the world
that now is. David was an exact type of that future Son of
his who is to execute justice and judgment on his throne.
But David was the anointed king long before Saul's power
was broken and taken from him; and the processes by which
he ultimately came to possess the throne which God had given
him in Saul's stead consisted of wars, slaughters and destructions.  And. so in the setting up of the judgment-throne of
Christ, our David, there will be corresponding troubles and
devastations.  All other kingdoms must be broken in pieces
and consumed before the kingdom of God will be fully set up.
They must be broken with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces
as a potter's vessel.  All existing orders of things must be




THE SIGNS OF ITS PRESENCE.            151
shaken down and destroyed.  "Babylon" must fall.  "The
vials of the wrath of God" must be poured out upon the
earth, overwhelming mankind with trouble, deluging empires
in blood, and gathering the kings of the world to the war of
the great day of God Almighty, when they shall come to
their end, and none shall help them.  He that is called
" Faithful and True" must "judge and make war," and " smite
the nations," and "tread the winepress of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God." And all these things relate to
nations, tribes and confederations of men asnthey now live in
the flesh, and will doubtless be felt and manifested long before men generally are at all acquainted with what is going
on. Thoughtful people will wonder at the amazing upheavings of society around them; they will tremble at the mighty
agitations which trouble and confuse every thing in church
and state; they will grow pale at the gigantic moves of revolutionists and military despots; and their hearts shall fail them
as they attempt to look forward to what the results of all
shall be.  Some will call it progress; some will call it the
result of wrong education of the masses; some will look
upon it as the work of ambitious or mistaken legislation;
some will think it is liberty rising from her sleep of ages to
take dominion of the world. And a thousand theologians,
philosophers and jurists will have as many different solutions
of the great problem of what is coming upon the earth, without once striking upon the real truth that the day of judgment
has begun. Signs and wonders shall exist on every hand;
but unsuspecting mortals will point to a thousand natural
causes as explanations, and bigoted sectarians will refuse to
believe even their own senses. And the world, in all its departments, with here and there a few who are faithful to what
God hath written for our learning, shall drift on to dissolution
without knowing what is actually transpiring.
But some one will ask, Shall we not see Christ when he




152                 THE LAST TIMES.
comes, and thus be advised when the great day of judgment
begins?  Yes, "every eye shall see him;" but not necessarily
at the same time, and only when he shall come "with all his
saints with him;" and all his saints cannot be with him until
after the pious dead are raised, and the pious living translated. I have found no Scripture which, when construed with
its corresponding passages, says a word about Christ's visibility
or appearance previous to the resurrection of the saints. On
the contrary, we are repeatedly told that the day of judgment
shall come "as a-thief in the night."  And how does a thief
come?  He not only comes stealthily, and at such an hour as
we think not, but he is already on the premises, in the house
and doing his work, before we are aware of his presence.
And so shall it be with the coming of Christ and the day of
judgment. He will be here gathering and removing his elect
before the world shall have become aware of it.
But another will ask, Shall not the trumpet sound, and will
not that tell us when. the judgment begins?  Yes, " the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed;" but it is not such a trumpet as all
men shall hear and understand. Paul calls it " the last
trump." A last trumpet implies other trumpets before the
last, just as the Scriptures elsewhere tell us. In the tenth
chapter of Revelation, it is announced that " in the days of
the voice of the SEVENTH ANGEL, when he shall begin to sound,
the mystery of God shall be finished, as he has declared to his
servants the prophets." To understand what is meant by this
" seventh angel," and his " voice," we must look at the eighth
chapter, where John says, " I saw seven angels which stood
before God; and to them were given seven trumpets." He
then heard each of these angels, one after another, sound his
trumpet.  The sounding of the seventh is therefore "the last
trumpet." And that this seventh trumpet of John is "the
last trump" of Paul is evident from the events which are




TIHE LAST TRUMPET.                153
attributed to the sounding of both.  Paul says of " the last
trump," that when it sounds "the dead shall be raised and
we shall be changed." All agree that it refers to the period
of the judgment. And so also when John's "seventh angel"
sounded his trumpet, "there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and
ever. And the four-and-twenty elders worshipped God, saying, Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they
should be JUDGED."
The last trumpet, then, or the trumpet which is to usher in
the scenes of the judgment, is just such a trumpet as were the
six that preceded it; and its sounding is to be understood in
the same way that they sounded.  And, fortunately, these
six trumpets have already sounded. We can point directly to
the several events to which they refer. The first four relate
to the several invasions of the Goths, Vandals and Scythians
who laid waste the Roman empire. The fifth refers to the
Saracenic wo, inflicted by Mohammed and his fierce armies.
The sixth introduced the woes inflicted by the Tartar tribes
or Turks in their furious devastations.  Such, at any rate,
are the applications which the best interpreters have made of
these parts of the Bible, and I see no reason to doubt their
correctness. They certainly refer4to occurrences of this kind
that have already transpired upon earth, none of which have
been ushered in by audible signals from the heavens. The
trumpets belong simply to the scenery on the panorama by
which these events were brought before the apostle's view, and
not to the events themselves. And, as there was no audible,
startling, miraculous, wide-sounding, celestial bugle-note to
announce to the world the fulfillment of the predictions connected with the six trumpets, so I infer and conclude that
there is to be no audible trumpet-blast from mid-heaven to
inform the world when the day of judgment has come. For




154                THE LAST TIMES.
aught you or I know, the last trump has already sounded, or
is now sounding, in the changes which have been occurring
within the last fifty years, in the mysterious.symptoms of
revolution which are everywhere so ominously manifest, in
the judgments of God, and the sermons and books of his
servants, crying, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh!"  Conmmencing as it probably does with the end of the 1260 yeardays of the dominancy of the Papal Antichrist, we must now
be near, if not within, the period of its sounding. It does
not connect with a mere instant of time, but, like the other
trumpets, takes in a space of years, which begins with the fall
of Papal power, and includes the seven last vials of the wrath
of God, under which Christ comes as a thief, gathers his saints
from their graves, translates his waiting people, and inflicts
upon Satan and his adherents his terrific judgments.
But shall we not see the dead rising when the day of
judgment comes?  It may be that the resurrected saints
shall appear to the saints then living, and converse with
them, before they are caught up into the clouds; but there
is no proof in Scripture that men generally will see or know
of their resurrection. No one saw Christ rise; and his
saints may come from their graves as quietly and invisibly
as they now  sleep in them.  And when the process of
the translation of the living commences, it will no doubt
be like the resurrection to which it corresponds.  It will
not be with great pomp and public demonstrations, but
quietly and in a manner hardly understood by those that
remain.  The unbelieving multitudes may be startled at
accounts of the missing here and there, who, like Enoch,
shall not be, because God took them; but sage skeptics
will soon invent some new theory of spontaneous combustion, or something else, to account for the mysterious disappearances, and but few men will, perhaps, suspect what is
really going on. Unsanctified preachers will, perhaps, con



WILL NOT BE GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD.          155
tinue preaching, and unconverted congregations continue to
visit the sanctuaries upon which God has written Ichabod.
Lawyers and doctors, scribes and Pharisees, may, perhaps,
continue to talk learnedly about Christianity, which none of
them understand, and contend earnestly for the faith which
none of them ever experienced, and chuckle complacently
over the delusion and fanaticism of those who told them that
the day of judgment had come. I do not say that things
will occur just in this way; but what I have said is certainly
much more like the truth than the conceptions which men
usually form of these matters.
Of this one thing, my brethren, I am, well assured, that the
stupendous occurrences of the day of judgment will glide in
upon the world as by stealth, and before a great number of
even pious people shall be aware that these great scenes have
commenced; whilst the great mass of worldlings and politicians will not believe it to the very last, when the Son of man
will blast them forever with his terrific indignation.  "As it
was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives,
they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered
into the ark, and KNEW NOT until the flood came and took
them all away." Perhaps it had rained a month before those
wicked scoffers began to feel any special alarm. Perhaps
many of them beheld the ark taken up by the swelling waters,
and yet stood upon the hill-tops laughing at the old preacher's
folly. Though the valleys were all covered, and the waters
rose higher and higher every hour, " they knew not" until all
were swept away by the shoreless waves. And "so shall it be
also in the days of the Son of man." The nations shall be
undergoing their judgment, the sainted dead shall be raised,
the sainted living shall be translated, and the whole earth
shall heave with the throes of judgment already present; and
yet multitudes will go on as they did before, and refuse to be



156                THE LAST TIMES.
lieve what is transpiring. Nations in their desperation will
continue to declare war, and make treaties, and form alliances,
and join their armies, and gather together their warriors
against the Lamb and his people, until at last, to their everlasting consternation, the Son of man shall appear with his
sainted hosts, and hurl upon them the mighty thunders of his
eternal wrath. If it is not to be so, why have Peter and Paul
told us that " the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night?" If it is not to be so, why has the Savior told us so
earnestly to watch, and pointed out so many signs by which
we are to be guided, and so repeatedly admonished us to take
heed lest that day come upon us unawares?  All these things
prove that the judgment will come upon the world unknown
except to the devoutest and most watchful of the children of
men. How important, therefore, that we should study with
the profoundest care what the inspired prophets have written
upon this subject for our learning! With what solemn concern should we contemplate the mysterious movements of the
age in which we live! With what absorbing interest should
we ponder the given signs by which we are to know when the
great day of the Lord shall come! Would it not be an awful
calamity for the church, which professes to be waiting for
Christ, to be plunged into the midst of the scenes of that
great day without so much as knowing that that day has
come? Wo, wo, wo, to them whom Christ, when he comes,
shall find ignorant of the times, and faithless to their duty!
" For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with chariots
like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke
with flames of fire. For with fire and by his sword will the
Lord plead with all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be
many." No man can tell the painful surprises, sufferings
and scenes of dread and horror which shall then be enacted.
All the prophets have spoken of them. Christ has again and
again warned us respecting them. Ever and anon they rise




WARNINGS.                    157
before us on the inspired pages to admonish us of our danger.
And yet men go on in their sins, and even Christian people
remain unmoved, not thinking that we may even now be upon
the very margin of the awful day!
0, careless, prayerless, thoughtless child of Adam, whoever you may be, let me warn and entreat you this day not to
trifle any longer with your soul, or with the requirements of
Jesus! Here God hath placed me upon the watch-tower, to
keep you advised of threatening danger; and I now give you
the cry of alarm. In the name of that Jesus who will soon
come, I bid you escape to the mountains, tarry not in all the
plain, lest you be consumed. Retribution may appear slow in
coming, but it will come.  Cold unbelief and unconcern may
seem good enough now, but the ways thereof are the ways ot
destruction. Lot will soon have passed out of Sodom, and
"the salt of the earth" have vanished; and then the souls of
the rebellious and the careless shall be like stubble to the fire.
The trampled law will rise at last to assert its dignity and vindicate its honor. Christ will not bear the taunts, and thongs
and mockery of Pilate's hall forever. For every soul and for
every sin there is a judgment.  We may not consider it, but
that will not change it. We may be but little alarmed with
reference to it, but that will not soften its terrors or disrobe
it of its awfulness. We may argue, and equivocate, and wish
it were not so; but it will not reverse the settled decree of
that God who bath said he will bring every work into judg..
ment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether
it be evil.
Young man, those sports and gayeties for which you are
putting Christ and his word aside will all confront you again
hereafter. Those midnight suppers, rank with profanity and
intoxication, shall have their reward. Those gatherings in
the drink-shops of Satan, those witty jests levelled at sacred
things, those fiery lusts burning on the altar of pleasure, all
14




158                THE LAST TIMES.
are written down in the book of doom which shall soon be
opened.  That scene of riot, that broken pledge, that visit to
the haunts of profligacy supposed to be known only to yourself, each has its appropriate recompense in the distributions
of coming wrath.
Yes; the blood of murdered innocence will not always cry
from the earth in vain. The wails of trampled helplessness
will not go unheard forever. The widow's wrongs, and the
orphan's robbery, will not go perpetually unrequited. The
unknown assassin, and the secret sinner, will yet be found
out. The malicious incendiary, and the dishonest clerk, the
mother who strangled her babe, and the boy that cursed his
parents in his heart, and every violater of law or despiser of
the truth, shall yet have to confront their crimes, and answer
for them to the Lord their Maker. And when once the fearful
inquisition begins, and the chained thunders are let loose, and
the long arrearages of wrath come to be paid off, and violated
law, abused goodness, despised mercy, and outraged justice,
all combine in the demand for vengeance, oh, who shall tell
the doom of him who is found uncovered by the Savior's
righteousness and unsanctified by the Savior's blood? Who
can tell the greatness of his wretchedness?  Who can weigh
his torment?  Who can fathom the depth of his hell?  Is
there before me a soul so hardened as to resolve to encounter it?
Awake, then, O sleeper, and call upon thy God, if so be
that you perish not! Your race will soon be run. The day
when God will put his terrific adjudications in force upon you
will soon arrive. It is stealing upon yot~ as a lion crouching to
spring upon his prey. The great judgment is close at hand.
Already we hear the mutterings of the approaching tempest.
Before you think it possible, the Lord will arise and say, "It
is done."  Why, then, sleep, and sport, and fold your arms in
indifference?  "Behold, now is the accepted time!  Behold,




NOW  IS THE ACCEPTED TIME.                    159
now is the day of salvation!" And I entreat you, by all the
awful perils that surround us-by the preciousness of the immortal soul-by the untold peace and blessings of eternity,do not waste your time, nor neglect your opportunities. Haste
to the arms that are stretched out to save you. Fly at once
to the refuge set before you. Take sanctuary in Jesus, who
now offers to save you. And may he who came into the
world to save sinners be your portion forever! Amen, and
Amen!
DIES IRAE.
Day of anger, day of wonder,
When the world shall roll asunder,
Smote with fire and smoke and thunder!
Death astonied, nature shaken,
See all creatures, as they waken,
To that dire tribunal taken.
Lo! the book where all is hoarded,
Not a secret unrecorded:
Every doom is thence awarded.
So the Judge, when he arraigneth,
Every hidden thing explaineth:
Nothing unavenged remaineth.
In that fiery revelation
Where shall I make supplication,
When the just hath scarce salvation?
Fount of love, dread King supernal,
Freely giving life eternal,
Save me fromm the pains infernal!
This forget not, sweet life-giver,
Me thou camest to deliver:
Cast me not away forever!
Kneeling, crushed in heart, before thee,
Sad and suppliant I adore thee:
Hear me, save me, I implore thee!
From the Latin of Thomas de Celano, 13th cent.




SEVENTH DISCOURSE.
THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF THE JUDGMENT, WITH RESPECT TO -THE
DEAD, WITH RESPECT TO THE LIVING-THE UNSANCTIFIED LIVING
TO BE JUDGED NATIONALLY AT THE SECOND ADVENT-THE RESULTS
OF THESE NATIONAL JUDGMENTS.
ACTS xvii. 30, 31: And the times of this ignorance God winked at;
but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he
hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained: whereof he
hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him
from the dead.
I HAVE already given you one discourse upon the judgment; but I feel that another is necessary to furnish you with
a clear and full conception of what is revealed concerning it.
In my last, I endeavored to disabuse your minds of some
wrong impressions which prevail respecting it, and to present
what I regard as the more Scriptural views of the subject,
reserving a more detailed account of its particular administrations for the present occasion. You were then shown that, in
a general sense, the judgment of God is the administration or
enforcement of the government of God, and that "the day
of judgment" is that notable period, when the Son of man
shall take his great power, complete the redemption of his
saints, destroy all his enemies, and set up his glorious kingdom over the nations. That day will include at least a thousand years, as Peter says.  It will have its morning and its
evening. Its morning will be the period of Christ's coming,
and include all the great " signs" which immediately precede,
160




JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING AND OF THE DEAD. 161
attend and follow the second advent.  Its evening is the
period when the last rebellion in the mystic Gog and Magog
shall be defeated, the wicked dead raised, and they, the devil,
death, and all that ever disturbed and polluted the earth,
given over to the ever-burning lake of the second death. It
is the morning of that day of which the Scriptures say the
most, and of which I desire now more particularly to speak.
And may God dictate to your hearts and mine, and so enable
us to comprehend his mysterious purposes, that we may be
found of him in peace, without spot and blameless!
You have doubtless'observed in your reading, that the
Scriptures distinguish between the judgment of men in the
flesh, and the judgment of the dead. Christ is "ordained of
God to be the Judge of quick and dead."  He "shall judge
the quick and the dead at his appearing and kingdom."  He
is "ready to judge the quick and the dead."  By "the
quick," we are of course to understand the living,-those who,
not yet having died, live in the body at the period when
Christ comes. We will therefore be under the necessity of
distinguishing between the judgment as respects the living,
and the judgment as respects the dead. The one is evidently
very different from the other; and, without treating of them
separately, we can have no clear conception of what God has
revealed upon the subject.
As respects the dead, the matter is plain enough from what
was presented on the subject of the resurrection of the just.
All " them which sleep in Jesus" shall be raised from among
the dead, glorified, exalted, gathered to Christ in the clouds
beyond mortal sight, and assigned their places in the heavenly
kingdom according to their works.  "The rest of the dead
live not again until the thousand years are finished." These
are the administrations of the morning of the judgment-day
as respects the'dead.
But even among those who live in the body when Christ
L                  14*




162                 THE LAST TIMES.
comes, we find two classes,-the righteous and the wicked, with
regard to whom two distinct proceedings will take place. As
to the pious living at that time, they will be translated, and
undergo a sudden change analogous to the resurrection, and be
taken up to the risen saints, to be dealt with in the same way
as those who have been raised from the dead. Paul says,
"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 meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we be ever
with the Lord." "We shall not all sleep, but we shall be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Thus, all
the really pious, who live till the day of Christ, shall be
changed and caught up, as Enoch and Elijah, their great
types, were changed and caught up, and go to join the glorious resurrection-host,  the Bride of the Lamb,"-" the
church of the first-born." Their judgment then will be personal and final, introducing them into the fruition of their
rewards in the eternal kingdom.
We come now to the unsanctified who shall be found living
upon earth when Christ appears. How is the introduction
of the day of judgment to affect them? Of course they
will not be translated. Their pious friends and associates
shall be taken, but they shall be left. Neither will they then
receive their judgment in full. The final judgment of the
wicked is not until the end of the millennium. Whatever,
therefore, shall befall them on the morning of the day of Judgment will only be their judgment in part. It will be a judgment in the flesh only, and consist of the dispensation of temporal troubles and calamities. It will be more national than
personal, and concern them more as states, societies and con



THE XXV. CHAPTER OF JEREMIAH.          163
federations, than as individuals. * It will doubtless be a judgment of the same kind with those judgments which have
heretofore been administered to wicked powers and apostate
nations and churches. Upon this point the Scriptures are
very plain.
There is a very remarkable passage on this subject in the
twenty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah. The prophet there sets forth
this judgment of the nations one after another as time progresses, until it reaches its grand consummation in the administrations which are to attend Christ's final coming. He says,
" Thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me: Take the wine-.cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom
I shall send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be
moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send
among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and
made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent
me: to wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings
thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation,
an astonishment, an hissing and a curse; as it is this day;
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and
all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings
of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant
of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,
and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and
the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and
Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all
the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people
that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all
the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all
the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, AND
ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD, WHICH ARE UPON THE
FACE OF THE EARTH: and the king of Sheshach shall drink
after them. Therefore, thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith




164                 THE LAST TIMES.
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Drink ye, and be drunken,
and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword
which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse
to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto
them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Ye shall certainly drink.
For lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my
name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be
unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore, prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them,"
-and here comes a description of this universal judgment of
the nations as it shall be consummated when Christ shall be.
manifested,-" The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter
his voice from his holy habitation; he shall give a shout, as
they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the
earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth: for
the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead
with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword,
saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil
shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind
shall be raised from the coasts of the earth.  And the slain of
the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even
unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented,
neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the
ground."
And it is in perfect harmony with this, that the Savior
himself tells us, that in the period of his coming there will
be "upon earth distress of nations with perplexity;" and that
"when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all 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 (THE NATIONS) one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." And when
that solemn reckoning comes, as the Scriptures abundantly




OTHER PROPHECIES.                165
teach, there is but one people on the face of the whole earth
which, as a nation, shall not fall among the goats, and be
doomed as the uncharitable persecutors an: neglectors of the
brethren of Jesus. Daniel tells us, that when the Son of man
shall come in his kingdom, " it shall break in pieces and consume all these (goat) kingdoms."  Yes, "he cometh with
clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced him, and all the kindreds (Quat — tribes) of the earth
shall wail because of him." He shall "judge and make
war." He shall be " clothed with a vesture dipped in blood."
He shall "with a sharp sword smite THE NATIONS, and RULE
THEM with a rod of iron; treading the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And all the fowls
that fly in the midst of heaven shall eat the flesh of kings,
and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and
the flesh of horses and them that sit on them."  "Behold,
the day of the Lord cometh,-his feet shall stand in that day
upon the Mount of Olives, —for I will'gather all nations
against Jerusalem to battle.... Then shall the Lord go forth
and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day
of battle..... And it shall come to pass that a great tumult
from the Lord shall be among them."  "In that day the
Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high,
and the kings of the earth upon earth; and they shall be
gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit; when
the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, even IN JERUSALEM, and before his ancients gloriously." Again, it is said,
"Come near, ye nations, and hearken, ye people: for the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon
all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter; and the mountains shall be
melted with their blood.  For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of
Zion:" (Is. xxiv. and xxxiv.) The word of the Lord by




166                THE LAST TIMES.
Zephaniah is, " Wait ye upon me, until the day that I rise up
to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations,
that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be
devoured with the flaming fire of my jealousy." And all,
when "he shall appear to the joy" of those that "tremble at
his word."
John's vision of the opening of the sixth seal refers to the
same events, in which he beheld, "and the kings of the
earth, and the great men, and the chief captains, and the
mighty men, and all their adherents, hid themselves in the
dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to 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: for the great day of his wrath hath come, and who
shall be able to stand?"
Do you ask me, then, what the judgment is with regard to
the unsanctified who live upon earth when Christ comes?
Here you have it described, not by the fancies of poets who
wrote to make themselves a name, but in the words given by
the Spirit of the great Judge himself. And what a sublime and
terrific picture it furnishes of the final vindication of the reality
and righteousness of that divine Sovereignty which every
nation and confederation on earth, both civil and ecclesiastical,
has been usurping, invading and denying ever since man first
departed from God! Where is the nation, state, kingdom, or
hierarchy under the broad heavens that has not been built and
sustained more or less by injustice, oppression, ambition and
unrighteousness? Where is the policy that has reigned, or
that now reigns, in church or- state, that is not crooked, perverse, and mixed up with vast and wicked invasions of the
rights of Him whose is the kingdom, and who alone is the
rightful governor among the nations? And wheresoever the
carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. It was




THE JEWS.                    167
upon that generation of the Jews who lived when Jerusalem
finally fell, that all the blood of prophets and martyrs shed by
their fathers was visited; and so the nations still living when
Christ comes shall be dealt with for all "their ungodly deeds
which they have ungodly committed," and which have been
accumulating for ages. The ploughshare of destruction shall
then run deep; and the furrow it shall turn will bury forever
all the proud works of rebellious man. In all the Scriptures,
there appears to be but one exception to the general crash of
earthly establishments; and even that shall not be an entire
exception. There is an exemption proclaimed in favor of the
Jewish race, which, as a distinct nationality, has had its
judgment.  Jeremiah says, "These are the words that the
Lord spake concerning ISRAEL, and concerning JUDAH.
Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even
the time of Jacob's trouble;" which extends from Jerusalem's
fall to the period of the final advent: (Luke xxi. 24.)  "But
he shall be saved out of it.... Therefore fear thou not, 0
my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, 0
Israel; for lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from
the land of thy captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall
be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him  afraid.
For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee; though I
MAKE A FULL END of ALL NATIONS WHITHER I HAVE
SCATTERED THEE, YET WILL I NOT MAKE A FULL END OF
THEE: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave
thee altogether unpunished...." (See also Zech. xiv. 2.)
"They that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine
adversaries, every one of them shall go into captivity; and
they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon
thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto
thee, and heal thee of all thy wounds, saith the Lord. Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and
have mercy on his dwelling-places, and the city shall be




168                THE LAST TIMES.
builded on her own little hill. Out of them shall proceed
thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I
will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also
glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children
also shall be as aforetime, and their congregati6n shall be
established before me, and I will punish all that oppress
them..... Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with
fury, a cutting whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the
head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not
return until he have done it, and until he have performed the
intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it:"
(Jer. xxx.)
My brethren, some people contemn the Jews, and speak
despisingly of them. For eighteen hundred years they have
been a hissing, a byword, and a reproach. The nations have
dealt most unjustly towards them; and many to this day
never look upon them but with derision and with scorn. But
every Jew that moves upon the face of the earth is a living
token of the coming wrath of God. All God's prophets were
Jews; and there is a sense in which all the Jews are God's
prophets. Superstitious, obstinate, blind, derided, as the Jew
is, he is a herald of the fierce judgment of Almighty God,
which is to make "a full end of all nations" wherever he
is found.  He stands in our luxurious cities, and before
our churches, as Jonah amid Nineveh, summoning us to repentance and mourning. And instead of feeling contempt
and scorn when we come into his presence, we should rather
be humbled and solemn, as if God's prophet were before us
predicting trouble. He is the harbinger of disturbances and
desolations which he alone, of all the races living, shall
escape. His day of tribulation has been great and long,
without a parallel. His Jerusalem is " trodden down of the
Gentiles," and will remain trodden down "till the times of
the Gentiles be fulfilled." But he shall be saved out of his




ASPECT OF THE JUDGMENT TIMES.             169
troubles.  All his wounds shall be healed.  Ile shall yet
live. And when the time of his nation's resurrection comes,
which has been so long foretold by his holy prophets, then
shall the nations mourn. "In that day, saith the Lord of
hosts, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all nations
that are round about. And I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all nations, and they shall be cut in pieces and(
broken, though all the people of the earth be gathered
together." It is useless for us to shut our eyes to these awful
announcements. God himself has made them, and no man
can alter the thing that is gone out of his mouth. The
despised Jew shall yet look forth from Zion and behold the
grave of every kingdom upon earth.
But let us now endeavor to draw out, and set forth in
greater particularity, some of the things comprehended in
these more general statements.
lie that will be at the pains to put together all that has
been revealed concerning the judgment as it respects the
living when Christ comes, will not fail to see that it is to be a
scene or succession of terrific social agitations, irruptions and
revolutions. It will be a time of wars and rumors of wars;
of political perplexities and disasters; of ferments and precipitations in the whole existing order of things; of civil
storms, earthquakes, commotions, overturnings and devastations. People are to rise up and overthrow governments,
slay their rulers, prey upon each other, and involve the
world in bloody and inextricable broils.  Ambitious and
godless men will spring into places of power, array their
followers against each other, trample down national and international law, and rush to certain destruction. Infidels and
socialists of a thousand hues shall disorganize, undermine,
subvert and destroy with bloody hands, and spread ruin in
their path. Schisms and feuds of all sorts shall break forth
to cripple and desolate.  Great powers, which think them.
15




170                 THE LAST TIMES.
selves secure, shall be suddenly overwhelmed.  Infatuated
zealots, secular and ecclesiastial, shall lead men into scenes of
terror and ruin.  Great alliances and combinations shall be
formed and swelled into the most gigantic proportions, until
they unexpectedly fall by their own weight and crush every
thing beneath them. And the whole earth shall heave, and
reel, and start, and stagger, with agony and delirium; for it
is "the great day of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God."
In this condition of things, all present forms of government
shall be modified, if not wholly dissolved. All emperors and
kings shall be divested of their power; for "the sun shall be
darkened." All orders of corrupt nobility, princedoms, dukedoms, premierships, and such like, shall be cast down; for
"the stars shall fall."  Kings, great men, rich men, chief
captains, mighty men, and all their adherents, shall be stripped
of their possessions, and driven to terrible extremities and
desperation; for God hath said it in just so many words.
Every sceptre shall break in the hands of him who holds it;
every crown shall tumble from the brow of him that wears it;
the mightiest armies shall be utterly routed, and the greatest
navies brought to naught. Worlds shall not rush upon each
other and be no more, but thrones and human magistracies
will. Matter will not wreck and vanish, but all political
combinations will. The great orbs of immensity shall not be
annihilated, but all whom those orbs symbolize in this world
will; for God will "break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms." The whole body and framework- of Nebuchadnezzar's image, from its golden scalp to its toes of clay, every
particle of it, shall be "like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors," driven by the four winds.
A similar destiny also then awaits all present church
organizations,-at least all establishments and hierarchies.
As they stand connected with the world's politics, they shall




CHURCH SYSTEMS.                   171
share the same fate. "The moon shall be confounded, and
become as blood." The ecclesiastical as well as the political
heavens shall have their powers shaken, and be rolled up as a
scroll; and the stars in the one shall be cast down as the stars
in the other. There is not a church system or denominational organization now on earth that shall ever find its way
into the millennial times, or survive this period of the wrath
of God. They are all provisional and temporary. They are
all wood, hay and stubble, which the fires shall consume.
They are all tainted. They are all founded too much on the
wisdom of man, and consist too entirely of works of human
authority and power to live. They shall all wither and die;
and they that build their salvation on them shall die with
them. There are many church politicians who are as bad and
as obnoxious to the judgment as any state politicians; and one
doom is reserved for them all. My hope is in Christ Jesus
and his infallible word, and not in any lauded church system
under the sun. I am sure that there will be neither Protestantism, nor Romanism, nor High Church, nor Low Church, nor
Lutheranism, nor Methodism, nor Presbyterianism, nor any
other kind of ism, in the glorious millennium. What then
shall become of all these isms, and the systems founded on
them? There is no alternative; they shall all perish forever
in the storms and fires of wrath which are beginning to be
felt, and which shall soon sweep over all the earth; and they
that adhere to these systems to the neglect of Christ and his
pure gospel shall perish with them.
Brethren, strange as these things may seem to some, they
are the sober truths of Divine revelation. Study carefully the
word of God, think for yourselves, only adjust in your own
minds some of the great facts which we all admit, and
you will not fail to arrive at the same conclusions.
Your beautiful ceremonies, your magnificent rituals, your
boasted democracy of church order, your vast and unique or



172                THE LAST TIMES.
ganization, all constructed by human wisdom, must be changed
and come to naught. Your unsanctified and defiant denominational champions, and your sectarian Goliaths, shall all fall
dead before the sling-stone of that David who cometh to judge
the world in righteousness; and all their marshaled hosts,
who have been rallied under the battle-cry of mere party, shall
be scattered in confusion, and scorched by the hot flames of
God's retribution.
Understand me rightly. I am not exhorting any one to
forsake his denomination, or to stand aloof from the church in
the forms in which it now exists. That would only augment
partyism, and increase needless contention or fatal indifference. Let him who would approve himself unto his Lord do
the best he can under the circumstances. Keep diligently to
your Bible, make the most of your opportunities, and meekly
wait and watch for the coming of the Savior to jet all things
right by making all things new. If you are a Lutheran,
work as a Lutheran; but let the Scriptures and not Lutheranism be your guide. If you are a Methodist, work as a Methodist; but work, not for Methodism, but for Christ. If you
are an Episcopalian, work as an Episcopalian; but rest not
your hope and aim in Episcopalianism, but in the simple gospel of the blessed God. Let the ism be to you as though it
were not, and embrace Christ with all your heart, and lay hold
of him as your all in all.  For as certain as the judgment, all
these isms must die.  The great day shall make an end of
them. And if you have no Christianity but them, alas for
your hope!
These judicial visitations, however, will fall much more
heavily upon some nations and combinations than upon
others.  Some are deeper in apostasy and guilt than others;
and the righteous Judge shall apportion the punishment to the
crime. There are some nations, confederations and hierarchies
specially singled out in the prophecies as the objects of Jeho



THE TEN-HORNED WILD BEAST.             173
vah's most terrific indignation. Conspicuous among these
are,1. The ten-horned wild beast of Daniel and John;
2. The image of the beast; and,
3. Great Babylon.
I cannot, in this connection, present and reason out the
processes by which the objects denoted by these symbols are
to be identified. A vast amount of criticism and comment
are involved, through which I have tried to wade, but which
are of too intricate a character and too voluminous and coiinflicting to be brought forward in this connection.  There are
conclusions to which I have come, however, which I will announce, remarking at the same time that I believe them to he
at least plausible, and not without some solid foundation.
The ten-horned wild beast of Daniel and John is the representative of the Roman empire.  Its ten horns are the ten
kingdoms which took the place of the old Roman empire,
and now occupy its territory. It is, therefore, the symbol of
the supreme civil power of the ten kingdoms into which the
Roman empire was divided. These ten kingdoms originally
embraced the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, the Franks,
the Vandals, the Sueves, the Burgundians, the Herulians and
Thuringians, the Saxons and the Longobards. At present, they
perhaps embrace the three Papal States, Naples, Tuscany,
Austria, Great Britain, France, Portugal and Spain. The
supreme civil power, then, of these and, may-be, a few other
countries, is the wild beast of whom we are now speaking.
The image of the beast m-ay represent the ecclesiastical
rulers and teachers which princes and people have been deluded to erect into a vast church hierarchy under the pope,
who exercises over it a sway and jurisdiction analogous to, or
the image of, that which the civil rulers exert over their political empires. This image of the beast derived its existence
and power from the false teachings and lying wonders of the
15*




174                 THE LAST TIMES.
papal beast on the one hand, and from the misled political
authorities on the other: (Rev. xiii. 14, 15.) It is, therefore,
that empire of priests and church officials, presented in what
is falsely called "the Catholic church," and who are feared
and worshipped by their millions of subjects with an idolatry
as debasing as it is wicked.
But what is meant by great Babylon-that- mother of harlotry and source of earth's worst abominations?  Some have
thought that this symbol denotes the city of Rome. Some
have taken it as the representative of the Romish church.
Some have given it still other applications. But I know of no
explanation which so completely meets the case, as that which
takes great Babylon as the symbol of that base and corrupting
system known as the union of church and stale. The city of
Rome cannot be meant; for great Babylon is presented as a
living agent; and living agents do not represent inanimate
objects.  She is represented as borne by the wild beast; and'
must therefore be something different from the mere secular
power, and yet entirely dependent upon the secular power.
The Romish church, as such, does not wholly depend upon
the secular power; but all state churches do. I therefore
take great Babylon as the symbol of the living, seductive and
corrupting body of nationalized hierarchies, both Papal and
Protestant, whether. in the Old World or in the New.
Now, then, let us glance at the destiny of these three monsters, intertwined as they are, for the most part, the one with
the other, and see how they will be affected by the introduc.
tion of the day of judgment.
As to great Babylon, her doom is sealed. She shall fall;
and great shall be her fall. In the visions of John, as soon
as one angel announced that " the hour of judgment is come,"
another followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that
great city, because she made all the nations drink of the wine
of the wrath of her fornication:" (Rev. xiv. 7, 8.) What



STATE CHURCHElS.                 175
ever may be said in their favor, these state churches and nationalized hierarchies are an abomination in the sight of God.
They are "full of names of blasphemy." They have ever
arrogated to themselves the rights of God, and assumed unwarranted authority over his legislation and over the consciences of his people. They are august and splendid establishments, "robed in purple and scarlet, and decked with
gold, and precious stones, and pearls."  They have seduced
millions into spiritual fornication, by their elegant attire and
their bewitching flatteries. But all their pompous decorations
and lofty pretensions will not hide their impurities from the
eye of a jealous God. They are all "drunk with the blood
of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus."
Sustained as they are with more than princely revenues, and
shielded by the sword of secular power, they have been the
agents of the bloodiest persecutions that the world has ever
seen since the days of the pagan emperors. Ask a Papist who
were the authors of those disgraceful inflictions in various
countries professedly Christian, by which thousands upon
thousands lost their lives for their religious opinions, and he
will tell you, the, civil government. Ask rabid Protestants,
and they will tell you, the Romish church. But consult the
truth, and it will tell you, it was the union of church and
state. Even in the most enlightened Protestant countries
where such union exists, the skirts of its robes are clotted
with the blood and saturated with the tears of wronged and
oppressed dissenters. I say this with shame and sorrow; but
so it is, and God has noted it all in his book of doom. There
never has been a state church, in any age or any country, that
has not been more or less an intolerant and a persecuting
church. And where the papal hierarchy has enjoyed this relation to the secular power, God alone knows all the wrongs
that have been perpetrated, and the streams of martyr-blood
that have been spilled.  It was not the state, as Rome would




176                THE LAST TIMES.
persuade us; it was not the Romish church, as such; but it
was the product of church and state united,-the result of the
blasphemous undertaking on the part of the civil power, with
the consent of those who called themselves the church, to
legislate in things which belong only to the individual conscience and its God. Religion is not a subject for human
legislation. It is not for man to say how we are to be held in
communion and allegiance with our Maker. Some tell us that
it is our duty to obey the state; and others insist that it is our
duty to obey the church; and from these two things it is
argued that it is pre-eminently our duty to obey where church
and state speak together. But the whole argument is sophistical and unsound. No man, or combination of men, has any
right to impose laws between the soul and its God. Jehovah
himself is the only Lord of the conscience. When Nebuchadnezzar commands his subjects to fall down and worship
an image, it is an inalienable right in us, like the three IHebrew children, to disobey. When Darius forbids calling upon
God, Jehovah is with every Daniel who sets the prohibition
at defiance. When the Sanhedrim pronounces a ban upon
the preaching of Peter and John, the Lord God of the holy
prophets commands them to trample it under their feet. The
human soul is obliged by no law which meddles with its relations to its Creator. And the great, crying, and unpardonable
sin of great Babylon is, that it everywhere undertakes to
legislate for God, and forges chains to shackle the free-born
soul.
But Babylon shall be "remembered before God, to give to
her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." All
these state hierarchies shall be shaken down and overwhelmed.
The very governments which now support and make use of
them shall turn against them.  God says, "The ten horns
upon the beast shall hate her, and make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." States




GREAT BABYLON.                   177
in their straits shall rob her of her wealth, confiscate her
goods, divest her of her possessions, appropriate her benefices
and revenues to other purposes, and reduce the whole system
to distress and desolation.  Such is to be her fall; and after
her fall shall come her punishment. Her lord-bishops, her
high superintendents and all her officials shall yet have a
dreadful road to travel. God will yet say to those whom she
has wronged, impoverished and oppressed, "Give to her as
she also gave; and double to her according to her works.
Into the cup which she has poured, pour to her double. As
much as she has glorified herself and lived luxuriously, so
much torment give her and sorrow." " In one day shall her
plagues come, death, and sorrow, and famine; and she shall
be burned with fire: for mighty is the Lord God who shall
judge her.  And the kings of the earth"-the civil powers"who have committed fornication and lived luxuriously with
her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see
the smoke of her burning; and standing afar off for fear of
her torment, shall say, Alas, alas! that great city Babylon,
that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And
the merchants of the earth"-the nobles and dignitaries that
held the patronage of her benefices-" shall weep and mourn
over her...   And they that were made rich by her shall
stand afar off for fear of her torment, and cast dust on their
heads, crying, weeping and wailing," whilst all heaven shouts,
ALLELUIA! that her judgment is come: (Rev. xviii.)  Her
destruction shall be entire. As a millstone, when thrown into
the depths of the sea, sinks forever out of the sight of men,
so shall this great harlot be swept from the earth, without
leaving so much as a rack behind.
As to the wild ten-horned beast,-the civil powers that have
grown out of the Roman empire,-all of which are but branches
and modifications of the old Roman monster, with great iron
teeth and claws of brass, devouring, breaking in pieces and
M




178                THE LAST TIMES.
trampling under foot,-its destiny is also announced. There
is not a throne upon the territory of the Coesars that is not a
nuisance in the face of heaven. They are all built in usurpation and wrong. They are all sustained by tyranny and stained
with blood. They have deceived, and they shall be deceived
and lured to perdition. By the pressure of the times, and by
the cunning of demons, they shall yet be brought into one
grand coalition, and go forth to the war of the great day of
God Almighty, when the hand of the descended Jesus shall
strike them to the earth to rise no more.
I have intimated, that the Jewish race is to be restored to
its ancient home and the Jewish nationality rebuilt. I will
illustrate this point at greater length hereafter. In connection
with this restoration of the Jews, much offense will be taken
by some of the reigning powers.  The prophet says, "Jerusalem shall be made a cup of trembling to all nations that are
round about, and a burdensome stone to all nations." There
shall be great controversies about the occupation of the Holy
Land. Politics will become inextricably involved. Strange
alliances shall be brought about, until at length all the powers
of Earth shall find themselves involved in one great confederation, under the last head of the beast, —most likely the Emperor of the French,-and involved in a great Eastern war, of
which Palestine will be the centre. This vast combination,
under its infidel leader, shall overflow the whole world, destroy
many countries, have power over the treasures of Egypt, enter
into the glorious land, plant its tents between the seas in the
glorious holy mountain, and there encounter the fierce wrath
of God: (Dan. xi. 40-45.) Plague unprecedented shall seize
the invading hosts. "Their flesh shall consume away while
they stand upon their feet; and their eyes shall consume away
in their sockets; and their tongues shall consume away in theii
mouth; and great tumult from the Lord shall be among them:"
(Zech. xiv. 12-16.) The beast shall be "slain, and its body




THE PAPAL HIERARCHY.               179
destroyed and given to the burning flame:" (Dan. vii. 11.)
The heavens shall open; the Son of man shall appear; his
kingdom shall be revealed; the beast and false prophet shall
be taken and given to the fires; and thus shall God "break in
pieces and consume all these kingdoms:" (John xix. 11-20;
Dan. ii. 44.)*
And as to the image of the beast,-the ecclesiastical empire
of popery,-its destiny is so closely identified with great Babylon and the beast itself, that when we read the fate of the one
we have in substance the fate of the other.  Stroke after
stroke shall fall upon it, wasting, crippling, denuding, consuming it, until the brightness of the Savior's presence shall bring
it to everlasting destruction: (2 Thess. ii. 8.) "And if any
man worship the beast, and his image, and receive his mark
in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the
wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and
in the presence of the Lamb:" (Rev. xiv. 9, 10.)
Let men beware, then, how they tamper with these objects
of God's distinguishing and extinguishing retributions. Let
them beware how they approve, justify, defend and abet the
cause of state churches, lest they involve themselves in the
whoredoms of great Babylon. Let them beware how they
admire, applaud and revere the tyrannical and blasphemous
systems and policies of European legislation and dominion;
for they that "worship" this ten-horned monster, or receive
his mark, shall go down into the pit. And especially let men
beware, that they give not their reverence to the image of this
beast, or bow their knees or necks to the ecclesiastical empire
of popery, or in any way identify themselves with its abominations; for they that bear its insignia shall "have no rest day
nor night; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever." It is upon these systems, their adherents and
a See Note G, page 341.




180                THE LAST TIMES.
abettors, that the heaviest and thickest woes of the judgment
of the great day shall fall.
From these statements it appears that there is after all a
wise and mighty overruling providence in the affairs of men.
Whatever skeptics and politicians may say, "The kingdom is
the Lord's, and he is the governor among the nations." "He
setteth up kings, and he putteth them down."  " He ruleth
in the kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whomsoever he
will."  He "frustrateth the tokens of liars, and maketh
diviners mad; he turneth wise men backwards, and maketh
their knowledge foolish."  This world is not a fatherless
thing, cast off to everlasting orphanage. It may seem endlessly confused now; but God hath appointed a day in the
which he will judge it in righteousness, by that man whom he
hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men,
in that he hath raised him from the dead. Its affairs are not
things of chance, nor its destinies without control. Wise men
may plan, and wicked men may plot, and mighty men may
execute; but the ultimate disposal of every thing is of the
Lord. The mightiest and the weakest, the vastest and the
minutest, are equally under his omniscient eye and equally
within his almighty power. He is in the senates and cabinets
of nations, in the battle-field of conflicting armies, at the desk
of the author, and in circles of the designing everywhere, and
always moulding, directing, restraining all things for the consummation of his own great purposes, and making even the
wrath of man to praise him. People may rage, and nations
disregard his laws, and men act out their villany; but they;shall never press Jehovah to extremities, or defeat that holy
arm which stands pledged for the everlasting defence of the
righteous. He knows the end of all things from the beginning, and his inscrutable arrangements are all made accordingly. There is not a turn in human things which he has not
taken into his sublime calculations. Matters may be very dark




SECURITY OF THE DEVOUT.               181
to us, but they are all plain to him.  Wisdom, order, rightcousness and glory shall yet come out of the mighty riddle of
human history. The day of judgment shall solve the problem
that has puzzled men so long. Confusion, injustice, falsehood
and wrong may seem to triumph for a while; but the result is
certain. Their grave is dug. Their doom is at hand. They
may be too mighty for us; but Christ is Lord, and he must
reign until he lath put all enemies under his feet. Antichrist
shall die; tyranny shall die; error shall die; sin shall die; and
at last death itself shall die. The world has a ruler who will
subdue all evil and set things right in the end.  The sublime
wisdom and rectitude of all his administrations will yet be the
glory and delight of the saints, and the rapture of his holy
ones forever and ever.
And in view of the commotions and distresses, the overturnings and the desolations, that await the unsanctified world, how
precious are the hopes of the devout! If we are in Christ
Jesus, there is no more condemnation. The true people of
God are safe. They are enclosed in everlasting arms. The
broad shield of Omnipotence is over them. Some may pass
through a sharp night, but it will be short.* Though the
powers of the heavens be shaken, and the foundations of the
earth be nioved, they that put their trust in the Lord shall
never be confounded. Wars may come, and bloody revolutions may come; famine may come, and plagues may come;
thrones may fall and empires may dissolve, and all the proud
works of human genius may be dashed to desolation; but, if
our hope is fixed on God, and our souls are united with his
Anointed, we shall sing, amid the turmoil and the wreck, "Alleluia! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!"
Only let us see to it, then, that we be indeed the disciples
and friends of Jesus. Let us not rest satisfied with peradventures, but give the most earnest heed to the things which
we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
* See Note H, page 349.
16




182                   THE LAST TIMES.
Signs of the approaching judgment are already being mani.
fested on every side. All fingers are pointing to the great
crisis as near at hand. The days in which we live are
freighted with intense and exhaustless issues. We stand
upon a point where the last rays of a fading world mingle
with the dawn of an opening eternity. Nations and churches,
superstitions and errors, are heaving and tottering for their
final fall. The time is come that judgment must begin. The
fires stored away so long are beginning to beat against their
prison-walls, and to clamor for their promise of release. And
may kind Heaven help us to prepare to meet our God!
AROUSE FOR DUTY.
We are living, we are dwelling,
In a grand, eventful time;
In an age on ages telling,To be living, is sublime.
Hark! the waking up of nations,
Truth and Error to the fray.
Hark! what soundeth?'tis Creation
Groaning for its latter day!
Will ye play, then? will ye dally
With your music and your wine?
Up! it is Jehovah's rally!
God's own arm hath need of thine.
Hark! the onset! will ye fold your
Faith-clad arms in lazy lock?
Up! O, up! thou drowsy soldier;
Worlds are charging to the shock.
Worlds are charging, Heaven beholding;
Thou hast.but an hour to fight;
Now, the blazoned cross unfolding,
On!-right onward, for the right.
A. C. CoxE.




EIGHTH DISCOUJRSE.
THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS-OBJECTIONS ANSWERED-NEW TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS TO THE SUBJECT-ANCIENT PROPHECIES-HISTORICAL FACTS-PARTICULARS EXPLAINED.
Ez. xxxvii. 21: Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I
will take the children qf Israel from among the heathen, (nations,)
whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and
bring them into their own land.
IT is to be borne in mind that our inquiries in this series
of discourses relate to but one great epoch in human affairs,
the consummation of the age, and what connects with it.
All that I have thus far said appertains to this wonderful and
critical period.  The personal return and manifestation of
Christ in our world, "the restitution of all things," the resurrection of the sainted dead, the transfiguration of the pious
living at the time, and the terrific administrations of the enthroned Messiah upon the guilty nations and confederations
of the earth, —all, to a great extent, are contemporaneous.
They all synchronize, or happen together in the same general
period. But there are still other great occurrences predicted
for that time of wonders.  Among these is the conversion
and final restoration of the Israelitish race.
That the great bulk of this astonishing people will yet be
converted to Christ the Messiah, and be again grafted upon
the olive-tree of the spiritual Israel from which they have
been measurably broken off, is pretty well agreed on all hands.
183




184                 THE LAST TIMES.
Whitby says, "This hath been the constant doctrine of the
church of Christ, owned by the Greek and Latin fathers, and
by all the commentators I have met with." The inspired
declarations upon this subject are too explicit to be evaded.
"All Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come
out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob: FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT UNTO THEM."
But that this scattered family of Jacob shall again be
gathered, and nationally restored to the land of their fathers,
is not so generally admitted. Some have no patience at all
with such a theory, and sneeringly ask, What can be the
object of such a restoration? What end is it to answer?
What purpose can it subserve? But to all such methods of
reasoning, it is enough to reply that our business is with the
word of God, and that if God has announced it as his purpose
so to restore the Jewish nation he certainly has adequate
reasons to justify his purpose. No Christian will refuse to
defer to the rectitude of Jehovah's doings. The only question is, whether God has said that he will restore the Jewish
nation; for, if he has so said, no reasonings of ours can invalidate his promise or throw uncertainty upon his word. Whether we can foresee the objects to be subserved or not, there
is not a "jot or tittle" of his revelation which is not more
reliable than all the whims or reasonings of all the wisest
thinkers that ever lived.
Others tell us that the restoration of the Jewish nationality
would be contrary to the spirit of the gospel; that all such
distinctions and differences as are implied in the re-establishment of that nation have been superseded by the new covenant; that "the middle wall of partition" between Jews and
Gentiles has been broken down in Christ; and that therefore
we cannot hope for Israel's restoration. But what of that,
if God has clearly declared that he will rebuild Jerusalem and
the Jewish state? We dare not set aside the positive declara



OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.               185
tions of the Lord by human inferences.  But it is not true
that the gospel has abolished all national distinctions.  The
wall of partition has been broken down only so far, that the
offers of forgiveness and eternal life are now made equally
to Jews and Gentiles, so that either may embrace them and
be numbered with God's redeemed ones. Receiving Christ
as the Savior does not make, Englishmen Americans, nor
Frenchmen Greeks. These national distinctions still remain,
however eminent may be our saintship, and will perhaps
remain forever. Converting a Jew to Christianity will not
make him a Gentile. And if there can be an English or
American nationality without subverting the spirit and nature
of the gospel, there may also be a Jewish nationality equally
exempt from all contravention of the Christian economy. I
can see no more difficulty in the one case than in the other.
Again, some say if we admit that the Jews are to be restored as a nation, we must also admit that they will occupy
an enviable place and possess peculiar prerogatives, which it
would not be well for us to concede. But shall we bend and
modify the word of God to make it harmonize with our whims
and jealousies? Are we to explain away the positive statements of revelation because they disagree with our tastes
and conflict with our vanity and pride? Away with such
unworthy feelings upon a subject like this! What if the
Jews shall be put into the front ranks in the glorious kingdom
of the Son of David? If God sees fit to give them that
place, will it not be right? They have not abused their
original calling any more than the Gentile church has abused
the gospel.  The most illustrious of the saints belonged to
the Jewish race. The adorable Redeemer himself was a Jew.
"He took on him the seed of Abraham."  For more than
two thousand years the Hebrew people were nurtured as God's.
own favorites; and for all that time were the only people
under heaven who worshipped the one living and true God.
16'*




186               THE LAST TIMES.
And had it not been for them, where would be the Bible in
which we glory, or those glad promises of life through which
we hope? Then why murmur and seek to turn the point of
Jehovah's prophecies, because, perchance, these descendants
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob may yet be blest for their fathers' sake and be made to stand high in the millennial kingdom? For my own part, I am heartily willing to acquiesce
in any arrangements which the blessed Savior may make; and
I will at the same time persist in holding as the truth of God
whatsoever I find clearly stated in his holy word, no matter
where it may lead me.
And yet again it is said that the New Testament is the
key to the Old, that the New Testament says nothing about
the restoration of the Jews, and that therefore we are to seek
for some other interpretation of those Old Testament predictions which seem to declare it.  Now, I deny that the New
Testament is silent on the subject, and will presently show to
the contrary. But, if the Gospels and Epistles never once
alluded to it, I would still deny the inference which the objector would have us draw from such a fact. The announcenments of the prophets are just as reliable and authoritative as
those of the apostles and evangelists; and it is a mistake to
suppose that, because we have the New Testament, we have
nothing further to do with the Old. The one is no less the
word of God than the other. Each department of the Scripture has its own peculiar importance, and was given to meet
its own peculiar emergency. -And if a thing asserted in one
part, given for one purpose, is not reiterated with equal explicitness and fullness in a subsequent part, given more
directly for another purpose, to conclude therefrom that
what was first asserted is no longer the divine intention,
would be to treat the immutable Jehovah as a child. I know
that the New Testament contains but little on the subject of
Israel's restoration. But it has allusions to it, and encou



NEW TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS TO THE SUBJECT. 187
raging allusions, which are enough to show that God's purpose
in that direction still stands.
The first passage to which I refer you in the New Testament respecting the restoration of the Jewish race, is one
uttered by the Savior himself, where he says, ".Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fiulfilled." Take a plain common-sense view of
this passage, and what does it mean? The treading down of
Jerusalem can be nothing more nor less than the destruction
and desolation of the Jewish metropolis and state by the deportation of the Jewish people. And what is the cessation
of this treading down of the Jewish metropolis and state but
the restoration of the Jewish people? Who can make any
thing else out of it?  Commentators have been wrangling
and racking their wits for ages about what is to be understood
by the fulfilling of the times of the Gentiles; but, if we
recur to what has been developed in our preceding inquiries,
who can have any difficulty with it? The fulfilling of the
times of the Gentiles is simply the winding up of the affairs
of the present Gentile church at Christ's second manifestation,-the day of judgment to the Gentile nations and church,
as Christ's first coming brought after it the day of judgment
to the old Jewish nation and church. And when this day of
judgment to the Gentiles comes, and the period is fulfilled
when the present economy of Gentile ascendency is to be
closed, then the Savior says, Jerusalem shall be trodden down
no longer; that is to say, it will be restored, and the nation
whom it represents, and whose- heart it was, is and ever shall
be, shall again occupy its ancient place in more than its ancient
grandeur.
A second New Testament passage on the subject is that
which I have already quoted, where Paul says, "All Israel
shall be saved, as it is written, There shall come out of Sion
the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob."




188                 THE LAST TIMES.
This is generally understood as a spiritual salvation by conversion to Messiah. And a spiritual deliverance is certainly
a prominent and controlling idea in the passage.  It is expressly stated that one feature is the removal of ungodliness.
But this interpretation by no means exhausts the passage. It
has an appendage in the succeeding verse which throws much
additional light and consequence upon the predicted deliverance. Paul says that this salvation is just what was included
in God's ancient covenant with the Jewish fathers.  "All
Israel shall be saved,for this is God's covenant unto them
when he shall take away their sins."  Now, if we can ascertain in full what that covenant is, we will have in full what
this salvation and deliverance includes.  We go back, then,
to the Old Testament, where this covenant is repeatedly announced and recorded. We read the fifteenth chapter of
Genesis. We there find that, by sundry miraculous manifestations, "the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of
Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites,
and the Kenizites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and
the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, and the Amorites, and the
Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebuzites." In the
next chapter we read again:-" God talked with him, saying,
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt
be a father of many nations, (or multitudes.).... And I will
establish my covenant between me and thee, and to thy seed
after thee, in their generations for an everlasting covenant;
to be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will
give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, THE LAND wherein
thou art a stranger, (sojourner,) all the land of Canaan for
an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." To
Isaac it was subsequently said, " Sojourn in this land, for
unto thee and unto thy seed will I give these countries, and I
will'perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy




GOD'S COVENANT WITH ISRAEL.             189
Father."  And so the dying Jacob testifies: —' God Almighty
appeared unto me and said unto me, Behold, Iw;ll.... give
this land to thy seed after thee FOR AN EVERLASTING POSSES.
SION:" (Gen. xlviii.)
And if any one supposes that this is not the covenant of
which Paul speaks, then let us turn to what God calls "a new
covenant with the house of Israel," and see whether the same
features are not included.  We read the latter part of the
thirty-first of Jeremiah. A glorious spiritual renewal is there
promised.  They shall know the Lord, and he will forgive their
iniquity and remember their sin no more. But this is not all.
The language is as strong as words and imagery can make it.
Jehovah points to the enduring orbs of immensity, and
declares that " the seed of Israel" shall no more " cease from
being a nation before him forever" than the sun, moon and
stars shall disappear from the universe. Nay, more:-" Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to
the Lord from  the tower of 7:lananeel unto the gate of the
corner.  It shall not be plucked up nor thrown down ANY
rMORE FOREVER."  This prophecy cannot refer to the return
from Babylon, for all were not then converted and pious; and
since then their sin has been remembered, and their city
rendered more awfully desolate than ever it was left by
Assyrian kings. Nay, I take the broad ground, and no man
can overturn it, that God's covenant to Abraham and his seed
has never yet been even nearly fulfilled. Its great fullness is
still matter of promise, to be verified hereafter, when Chris)
shall " come a second time unto salvation." That covenant
charters to them the land from the river of Egypt to the
great river Euphrates, for their everlasting possession; which
has never yet been made good. That covenant guarantees
unto them a national existence and glory as lasting as the
great orbs of heaven; which yet remains to be fulfilled,
Wherever the terms of that covenant are given, from first to




190                THE LAST TIMES.
last these are two of its prominent and immutable features.
And if "all Israel is to be saved," according to that covenant which Paul explicitly declares to be unchangeable,"without repentance,"-it is demonstrated to an absolute
certainty that they will yet be gathered and replaced in that
"goodly land and large" in which they dwelt when David
controlled their triumphant armies and Solomon and his court
were the admiration of the world.
A third reference to this subject in the New Testament is
contained in the first of Acts, where the disciples put to the
Savior their last question:-" Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore the kingdom  to Israel?"  What did they mean by
that inquiry?  Every preacher, commentator and thoughtful
Bible-reader will tell you that the Jews looked for the Messiah as a reigning prince.  For many years they had been a
dependent and oppressed people.  In the period of the
Savior's stay on earth, they were subject to the dominion of
the Caesars. And their greaCthope was, that when Christ
came he would judge their oppressors, deliver them from
their national dejection, and restore their state and kingdom to
former independence and glory. The disciples shared in the
common expectation. Hence their despondency at his crucifixion, saying, "We trusted that it had been he which should
have redeemed Israel." They felt all their fond hopes crushed
in the Savior's death. But as soon as he arose from the dead
and reappeared among them, their old hopes revived, and they
looked anew for the Messiah's deliverance of their nation.
And this was the burden of their question as here presented.
They wished to know if Christ was then about to effect the
expected national redemption, and "restore the kingdom to
Israel."  The question then arises, Were their anticipations
respecting this redemption right or wrong? I maintain that
they were right. If they were not right, then I am at a loss
to account for the fact that these anticipations retained their




THE HOPE SANCTIONED BY OUR SAVIOR.    191
full force through three or four years of special daily instruction from the Savior himself, and continued uppermost
in their minds to the very last moment of Christ's stay upon
earth. Then again, if they were all this while cherishing
erroneous expectations in this matter, would not the Savior
have set them right now that he was at the point of leaving
them until his final " coming and kingdom"?  But look at
his answer. Not one word did he utter against the views implied in their question. All he said was, " It is not for you to
know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in
his own power." They did not ask him whether he would
restore the kingdom to Israel; they took all that as settled;
and the Savior answered them upon the same assumption.
They simply wished to know whether that was the time, and
the answer was that they were not to know the time. As
regards every thing but the time, the reply leaves it just as it
was apprehended by the inquirers. And, taking the circumstances and all together, it is to me perfectly conclusive that
it is the divine intention to " restore the kingdom to Israel"
in the exact sense in which the disciples expected it; and
that the blessed Savior, in his last words, meant to throw his
solemn sanction upon the hope of Israel's restoration. I have
no interest in forcing or perverting the Scriptures from their
plain and obvious meaning, and if I did not solemnly believe
what I here state I would not utter it.
A fourth allusion which the New Testament contains upon
this subject, is in the fifteenth of Acts, where James says,
"Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the
Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to
this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written, After
this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of
David which is fallen down; and I will build again the
ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of men




192                THE LAST TIMES.
might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom
my name is called, saith the Lord."
Two things are here to be specially noted. The first is the
object of the present dispensation; which is, to take out of
the Gentiles a people for God's name.  I have heretofore
shown that there is nothing in the Scriptures to warrant the
hope that the world is to be converted before Christ comes
the second time. The whole object of the present economy
is, to take out from among men a people for the Lord. This
is here pointedly declared.  But James goes further.  He
assures us that it is the purpose of God, as announced by the
prophets, to return after the object of this dispensation has
been attained, and then to "build again the tabernacle of
David which is fallen down." And in order to understand
what is meant by this rebuilding of David's tabernacle, we
need only revert to the original prophecy in the ninth of Amos,
which treats of Israel's dispersion for their sins, and their redemption in the latter days, "that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the Gentiles, and be pulled out of
their land no more." Surely the matter is as plain as words
can make it, that, at the end of this dispensation, Christ will
come and restore the scattered Jews to their own land, and
reign over the house of Jacob forever upon the throne of his
father David.
There are still other allusions to this subject in the New
Testament; but I have not the time to give them now. It is
more especially in the Old Testament that we are to seek the
amplest details of Israel's hopes.  That is peculiarly the
gospel of the Jews.  The prophecies there on record respecting the conversion and restoration of Jacob's seed may well
be pronounced by Bishop Newton to be innumerable. There
is hardly a chapter from Psalms to Malachi which does not in
some way bear upon it. To give all, we would have to recite
about half of all that the prophets have written.




OLD TESTAMENT ALLUSIONS TO THE SUBJECT.  193
Let me refer you to a few specimens.
Look at the text and its contiguous parts:-" Thus saith the
Lord: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among
the Gentiles, whither they be gone, and will gather them on
every side, and bring them  into their own land."  What
could be plainer than this?  It is useless to say that it refers
to the deliverance from Babylon; for this prediction relates to
" the whole house of Israel," whilst only parts of Judah and
Benjamin ever returned from the Babylonian captivity. The
restoration here predicted is to be attended with the everlasting reunion of the two wings of the great Israelitish schism,
so that they shall "not be divided into two kingdoms any
more at all;" which to this day has not taken place.  This
restoration is to be perpetual, "forever;" the restoration from
Babylon was only temporary. This restoration is to be attended with the ultimate entire conversion of the whole
nation, and an everlasting release from all their filthiness and
sins; but they have involved themselves deeper in crime
since they came back from Babylon than before, and even
murdered the Messiah.
Neither will it answer to say that the restoration here predicted is to be understood spiritually, as referring to the final
conversion of the Jewish people, and their incorporation into
the Christian church. The church is no more their land than
it is the land of Gentile believers. The prophecy sets forth
their spiritual renovation in words sufficiently plain to need no
further spiritualizing; thus leaving us to infer that the other
particulars are to be understood in the same plain and obvious
sense. The prophecy also contains a promise of the multiplication of man and beast, which certainly cannot apply to the
church unless our sanctuaries are yet to be filled with the
brute creation.  The same prophecy promises to Israel their
old estates,-"I will settle them  after their old estates,"which, whether taken in a spiritual or a literal sense, necessaN                    17




194                  THE LAST TIMES.
rily implies their restoration to a condition of isolation and
distinctness from all other orders or races of men.  But this
is not all. If the regathering and restoration of the Jewish
people into their own land is to be understood spiritually, then
their deportation from that land and dispersion must be understood spiritually too. The one must correspond to the
other. The same prediction contains both sides, in the same
strain of discourse; and the promise of the restoration is
founded on the predicate of their previous dispersion. Hence,
if the one is spiritual, the other is equally spiritual; and if
the one is literal and outward, so also must the other be. God
himself, speaking upon this very subject, has settled this point
forever. " It shall come t6 pass, that LIKE AS I have watched
over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy,
and to afflict; so will I watch over them  to build, and to
plant, saith the Lord:" (Jer. xxxi. 28.) Here, then, I take
my stand with unflinching firmness, and upon the immutable
basis of God's own word, demand of you either to show that
the spoiling was only spiritual, or else admit that their final
restoration is to be national and literal. If Titus only took
the church, and not the literal city; —if he only cast the Jews
out of the church, and did not kill them or carry them away
captives,-if he did not devastate and depopulate Palestine,
but only intercepted God's spiritual blessings by desolating
the ways to eternal life, -then, but only then, can this promised regathering of Israel into their own land be interpreted
so as to preclude their national restoration.  "I will gather
them," saith God, "and bring them into their own land."
The same literal restoration of the exiled descendants of
Jacob is foretold by Moses, in his farewell address to that
people. We there have a graphic delineation of the whole
history of Israel up to the present and still future times.
Moses there foretells a sore and wide dispersion; but he predicts with equal explicitness a final and complete recovery




THE PROPHECY IN ISAIAH XI.            195
from it. "The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and
have compassion upon thee, and will gather thee from all the
nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any
of thine be driven out unto the uttermost parts of heaven, from
thence will the Lord thy God FETCH THEE: and the Lord thy
God will bring thee into THE LAND WHICH THY FATHER POSSESSED, AND THOU SHALT POSSESS IT: and he will multptly
thee above thy fathers:" (Deut. xxx.)  Never, to this day,
has there occurred to Israel such a deliverance, from such a
dispersion. And the idea that this prediction is to be fulfilled
by the simple incorporation of the Jews into the existing
church, is worse than ridiculous. They are, therefore, to be
restored.
Isaiah, also, has spoken most pointedly upon this subject.
In his eleventh chapter we have a glowing prophecy, which
all treat as referring to the millennial times. And in that
prophecy we find it written, "It shall come to pass IN THAT
DAY, that the Lord shall set his hand again, THE SECOND
TIME, to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and.from Pathros, and from
Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath
andfrom the isles of the sea, and he shall set up an ensign
for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah" —the whole Jewish
race-"from the four corners of the earth..... And there
shall be an highway for the remnant of his people which shall
be left from Assyria; LIKE AS IT WAS TO ISRAEL IN THE
DAY THAT HE CAME UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT."  Will
any man say that such a prophecy as this has ever been fulfilled, or includes no more than the conversion of the Jews to
Christianity?  Was the deliverance from Egypt a mere joining of the church? Yet here we have God's solemn promise
a second time to recover the remnant of his people, to gather
Israel and Judah from the four corners of the earth, and to




196                 THE LAST TIMES.
provide a way for them, "like as it was to Israel in the day
that he came up out of the land of Egypt."
Brethren, what you think of these things, I know not; but
I am fully persuaded that it is God's immutable purpose to
bring back the Jewish race to its ancient home. The passages
which I have given more than prove it; whilst the great mass
of prophecy upon the subject has not been touched.  And if
even all these solemn statements of God were to pass for nothing, the simple but significant facts of history furnish ground
enough upon which to infer that Israel is yet to be restored
to that land where Abraham lived and the Savior died.
Look at that wonderful race! For nearly two thousand
years, scattered all over the face of the ekrth, oppressed, despised, persecuted, unmercifully butchered; yet still existing,
as distinct in manners, feelings and hopes, as when Moses was
their leader and Aaron was their priest. Since God shook
them out of their ancient dwelling-places, nations, thrones,
kingdoms, have risen, flourished, fallen, and lost their proud
subjects in the ever-varying stream of human affairs; but
Israel still stands apart, unshaken by earth's mutations, with
the accents of David and Isaiah still upon their lips, and
still looking for the promised Shiloh to take them back in
triumph to their father-land. The Christian church herself,
glorious as she is in her list of martyrs and attirements of
grace and truth, has, since then, been depressed, diminished,
enfeebled, by violence and defections which she has found it
hard to survive; but the house of Jacob, with all their wrongs
and spoliations, have only strengthened with their trials, whilst
all the bitterness of their great cup of sorrow has never made
them forget that they were Hebrews, or loosened the tenacity
with which they cling to God's peculiar covenant unto them,
Kings have issued severe edicts and commissioned bloody executioners against them, and the seditious and spiteful multitudes have afflicted them with outrages still more violent and




JERUSALEM.                     197
tragical. Princes and people, civilized and savage, Pagans,
Mahometans, and professing Christians, disagreeing in so
many things, have more than once made common cause foi
their extermination.  But still they live and thrive.  Though
for nearly twenty centuries without a temple, prophet, king,
country, or home, they still bear the same marks which characterized them before Vespasian set foot on their sacred land
or Titus invested their loved Jerusalem.
Look, again, at their holy city. " Captured, ravaged, burnt,
razed to the foundation, dispeopled, its deported citizens sold
into slavery, and forbidden by severest penalties to visit their
native seats;" yet, even in its mournful desolations, it stands
forth, a thing to itself, and altogether distinguished from all
other ruins. Who now weeps over the fall of Troy? What
people pays pilgrimages of devotion to the ruin-piles of mighty
Nineveh or Babylon? These great monuments of human
pride and glory sleep their last sleep, and no tear falls upon
their unhonored graves. But Jerusalem, even in her ashes,
is still dear to the hearts of millions, and the mere mention of
that name awakens pangs of mingled grief and hope as deep
as those that weighed upon her captive sons when they
mourned under the willows by Babel's waters. Beautifully
has it been said, that " ever and anon, and from all the winds
of heaven, Zion's exiled children come to visit her, and, with
eyes weeping sore, bewail her widowhood. No city was ever
honored thus. None else thus receives pilgrimages from the
fiftieth generation of its outcast population.  None but this.
after centuries of such dispersion, could, at the first call,
gather beneath its wings the whole of its wide-wandering
family. None but this has possessed a spell sufficient to keep
its people still distinct, even in remotest regions, and in the
face of the mightiest inducements. And none but itself can
now be repeopled with precisely the same race which left it
nearly two thousand years ago."
17*




198                 THE LAST TIMES.
Now, what mean these anomalous, I might say, miraculous,
facts? Why are the Jewish people still distinct, and Jerusalem's walls still dear, as ever? Why have Jacob's seed
always refused to hold lands anywhere but in Palestine, and
Jerusalem always refused to give permanent habitation to any
but them? Meet a Jew where you will, he is a mere wanderer
or sojourner, ready to move at the shortest warning.  Scattered over all lands beneath the sun, he has never taken root
in any. And of all that have ever tried to fix themselves in
the Holy Land,-Romans and Persians, Saracens and Turks,
Egyptian Caliphs and Latin Christians, Mamelukes and Ottomans,-none have ever been able to gain a permanent foothold in it. WHY IS ALL THIS? Men of political science
may try their skill at explanation; but, after all, the problem
will reduce itself to this: that God has his own settled purpose
with this people and this place, holding the one in reserve for
the other until each shall be forever satisfied with its own.
Here, history is prophecy. And if all the holy seers were
silent, the very stones themselves cry out for Israel's restoration. The rocks of Palestine will have no lord but Jacob.
I allm, therefore, prepared to adopt the statement of David
N. Lord, a very profound and able American expositor
of sacred prophecy, that " those who assent to the true laws
of language and symbols will no more deny or doubt that the
prophecies teach that the Israelites are to be restored, than
those who assent to the definitions and axioms of geometry
will deny the demonstrations that are founded on them. W2here
is not a proposition in the whole circle of human knowledge
of more perfect certainty than that God has revealed the purpose of regathering that scattered nation, establishing them as
his chosen people, and reappointing a temple-worship at Jerusalem that is to embrace some of their ancient rites. I It is
not merely certain, but is taught with a frequency, an emphasis and an amplitude, and invested with a dignity and




HOW THE JEWISH RESTORATION WILL BEGIN. 199
grandeur that are proportionable to the vastness and wonderfulness of the measure in the great scheme of his administration over the world." The descendants of Jacob are specifically, and in many places, spoken of as the subjects of a long
and painful dispersion and depression, which we see literally
verified before our eyes. The same passages, with the same
explicitness, affirm of this same people, that they shall be delivered from their oppressions, regathered from their dispersions, restored to the land which their fathers possessed, and
forever secured against any similar calamity. The countries
from which they are to come; the manner in which they are
to come; the very methods of their conveyance, on horses,
and mules, and dromedaries, in chariots, in litters, and in
ships, and in swift-moving vehicles, which some have taken as
a description of railroads; all are specifically noted. And how
any student of these things can rise up and say that the doctrine of Israel's restoration is a fable, I cannot understand.
The return of this wonderful people will doubtless begin, in
a small way, under what some will call the natural course of
things. There are even now already thousands of Jews in
Jerusalem and its vicinity. A goodly portion of the Holy
Land is at this moment under mortgages in the hands of those
rich Jewish bankers, the Rothschilds, of Europe. The effects
of the peace just concluded between the great powers of the
Old World, in securing toleration of other religions under
the Turkish laws, is at once the signal for the downfall of the
Ottoman empire, and the opening of the door for Israel's
return.  Many religious associations in all parts of Protestant
Christendom are in efficient operation with and for the Jews,
all looking more or less to their ultimate restoration.  These
things, all working in the line of Israel's intense desires, cannot but work mighty consequences. They are the preliminaries of the second Jewish exodus.
But it is not by these alone that Israel shall be redeemed.




200                 THE LAST TIMES.
According to the eighteenth of Isaiah, and other passages, there
will yet be great national movements upon the subject. We
there read of a great maritime power, spreading wide its
wings, existing somewhere in the Far West from Palestine, and
which must either be the United States, Great Britain, or
perhaps both, as one in religion, language and laws. This
power, accustomed to send messengers by sea, is to become
interested in behalf of the Jews, and to aid them with contributions, embassies, treaty-stipulations, fleets and  other
ways.  The prophet himself calls to this power, (I use
Horseley's translation,) "Ho! land spreading wide the shadow
of thy wings!" and he gives it its commission, " Go;" which
would seem to indicate that it will be from the study of prophecy, and from the will of God as thus presented, that men
shall be roused up to this work.  "Go, as a swift messenger,
to a people wonderful from the beginning hitherto, a nation
expecting, expecting, and trampled under foot, whose land
rivers (invading armies) have spoiled; and all the inhabitants of the world, and dwellers upon earth, shall see the lifting
tp, as it were, of a banner upon the mountains; and shall hear
the sounding, as it were, of a trumpet."  That is, as I understand it, when these movements in favor of the Jews begin,
there will be an extraordinary waking up upon the subject,
and a very deep interest felt, so that men generally will regard
themselves as specially called to help in the great work. And
it is a singular fact, in this connection, that the United States
government, without any assignable cause for it, did, only a
few years ago, send out Lieut. Lynch and his party, to explore
the Jordan and obtain detailed and authentic descriptions
of the condition and topography of Israel's land. England
has done the same, as if these countries, so closely allied in so
many particulars, were already laying the foundations for their
work and mission in bringing back the dispersed children of
Abraham.




PROPHETIC DESCRIPTIONS OF TIlE RESTORATION. 201
But I have no expectation that any thing very decisive or
extraordinary will occur in the line of the Jewish restoration,
until God's judgments shall begin to tear asunder the nations.
There is first to be a "pruning," " a taking away of luxuriant
branches," "a leaving to the mountain-birds of prey;" and
only "at that season a present shall be led to Jehovah of
hosts, of a people dragged away andplucked; even of a people
wonderfulfrom their beginning hitherto; a nation expecting,
expecting, and trampled under foot, whose land rivers have
spoiled, unto the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts,
Mount Zion:" (Isa. xviii. 7.)  When  the "distress of
nations with perplexity" shall have fully set in, and the day
of earth's troubles has come, then the people of Israel shall
flock bome, like doves to their windows; and the Lord himself
shall show wonders in their favor, like to the day that he
brought them up out of Egypt. The last chapter of Isaiah
tells of manifestations of divine power, mercy and consolation,
and says, "When ye see'this, your heart shall rejoice, and
your bones shall flourish like an herb; and the hand of the
Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.  For behold, the Lord will come
with fire, and his chariots like a whirlwind; to render his
anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by
fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh, and
the slain of the Lord shall be many.... And I will set up a
sign among them, and I WILL SEND THOSE THAT ESCAPE
OF THEM UNTO THE NATIONS, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud,
that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off,
that have not heard my fame, neither seen my glory; and
they (that escape God's terrific judgment upon Israel's
enemies) shall declare my glory among the Gentiles; AND
THEY (THE GENTILES) SHALL BRING ALL YOUR BRETHREN
(the prophet's brethren, THE JEWS) for an offering unto the
Lord out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in




202                 THE LAST TIMES.
coaches, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, (rapid
vehicles,) to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord."
The accompaniments and great results of this final restoration of the Jewish people are so wonderful and miraculous,
that it is hardly possible for us to form a proper conception of
them.  Within fifty years from this present time, perhaps the
whole story will be told. One thing is certain, that Israel's
restoration is not for Israel alone, but for the whole world. It
is one of those means, in the wonderful arrangements of God,
for letting forth his mercy and salvation upon all the inhabitants of the earth. It is in the seed of Abraham that all
nations shall be blessed. Israel's restoration shall be the
world's resurrection.  Paul says, " If the fall of them be the
riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches
of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness? If the
casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what
shall the'receiving of them  be, but life from  the dlead?"
(Rom. xi. 12, 15.) This return will itself be a fulfillment of
prophecy so startling that it will open men's eyes as they
never have been opened, and make themn feel the power of
divine truth and the reality of Jehovah's sovereignty as they
never have felt them. The'Bible will suddenly become a new
book, and beam forth la new light and speak with a more
potent authority.  In the language of Hamilton, "The
moment the vail is rent from Israel's eyes, the vail will
be rent from a thousand prophecies; and, read in the light
of restored and regenerated Judah, the word of God will
sparkle with unwonted coruscations, and, like deep-colored
gems that look dusty in cloud-light, many of its dark sayings
will brighten up into its divinest truths when the beams
break forth from Salem."
The thorough cleansing and renewal which will pass upon
the Jewish people, and God's wonderful manifestations in




JERUSALEM'S COMING GREATNESS.           203
their behalf', shall speak like a new revelation to the hearts
and consciences of men; and "many people, and strong
nations, shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,
and to pray before the Lord; and ten men out of all languages
of the nations shall'take hold of the skirt of him that is a
Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that
God is with you:" (Zech. viii. 12.) All Israel shall then
own the Messiah, and be fully and forever converted unto
him, not by the slow processes of present evangelization, but
by wonderful manifestations from God, as in the case of Paul,
their distinguished type: (1 Tim. i. 16.) Noble saintship
and Davidic zeal shall again be found in Judah. " He that is
feeble among them shall be as David; and the house of David
shall be as Elohim, the Jehovah angel, before them:" (Zech.
xii. 8.) The times of the Gentiles being -fulfilled, Jacob's
trouble shall be over and the grand Sabbath of the world
begin. Christ shall sit upon the throne of his father David,
and reign over the house of Jacob forever; and "they shall
call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord."  According to "the
word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw," not concerning the
church, but CONCERNING JUDAH  AND  JERUSALEM, "the
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top
of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all
nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say,
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his
ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem:"
(Isa. ii. 1-3.)  "AND THE LORD SHALL BE KING OVER ALL
THE EARTH:" (Zech. xiv. 8.) This world shall then have
embraced its rightful Sovereign, and the hearts of its great
nations shall beat in unison with heaven.
Nor need you be surprised, my brethren, when, in the light
of these prophecies, I declare the conviction that Jerusalem




204                THE LAST TIMES.
is yet to become the metropolis of the world, just as it was
the metropolis of Judea in the days of Solomon. All the
nations of this world are yet to come under one universal
government,-the kingdom of Christ and his glorified saints.
"God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is
above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord:" (Phil. ii. 10.)  "Now we see not yet all things put
under him:" (Heb. ii. 8.)  But "He must reign until he
hath put all enemies under his feet:" (1 Cor. xv. 25.)  "The
Gentiles must be given him as his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession:" (Ps. ii. 8.) He
has declared himself to be appointed King of the Jews, and
Prince of the kings of the earth: (Matt. xxvii. 11; Rev. i.
5.) " The kingdoms of the world are to become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and
ever:" (Rev. xi. 15.) And the centre and seat of this great
kingdom is JERUSALEM. " The Lord of hosts shall reign"where? —"IN MOUNT ZION, AND IN JERUSALEM, and before
his ancients gloriously:" (Isa. xxiv. 23.) " The Lord also shall
roar" —from  whence?-" out of Zion, and utter his voice
FROM JERUSALEM, and the heavens and the earth shall shake;
but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength
of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the
Lord your God, DWELLING IN ZION, my holy mountain: then
shall Jerusalem be holy:" (Joel iii. 16, 17.) Nay, as there
is to be a literal reign of the Son of man on earth, where is it
most likely that his imperial seat will be? What locality does
the mind most naturally turn to? The holy associations and
the very geographical position of Palestine mark it out with
signal felicity as the place where the Son of Mary shall hold his
sublime court. As remarked by one who has looked carefully
at the matter, "Palestine is so remarkably situated, that it
forms the bridge between two continents and a gateway to a




IMPORTANCE OF THE HOLY LAND.            205
third. Were the population and wealth of Europe, Asia and
Africa condensed into single points, Palestine would be the
centre of their common gravity.  And with the amazing
facilities of modern intercourse, and the prodigious extent of
modern traffic, it is not easy to estimate the commercial
grandeur to which a kingdom may attain, planted as it were
on the very apex of the old world, with its three continents
spreading out beneath its feet, and with the Red Sea on one
side to bring it all the golden treasures and spicy harvests of
the East, and the Mediterranean floating in on the other side
all the skill and enterprise and knowledge of the West.
For the sake of higher ends it seems the purpose of God to
make the Holy Land a mart of nations, and, by bringing the
forces of the Gentiles to Jerusalem, to send the blessing of
Abraham over all the earth."
It is also well known that ever since the Jews first entered
Canaan, it has been the battle-ground of nations. To this
hour it is mixed up with the mightiest disputes that disturb
the world. The Assyrian, the Egyptian and the Roman of
old, the Arab, the Turk, the Greek, the Papist and the
Rabbi of our times, all have claimed it as if the earth contained not another prize like it. The late war, which converted
the Crimea into a Golgotha and made the world tremble, had
its beginning in Jerusalem, in disputes and altercations about
its shrines and holy places. And the history of the world is
filled with illustrations of the desirableness that has ever
adhered to that " goodly land," and of the interests involved
in its occupation. Ages have rolled around it as the spot of
decision on which the question of supremacy is suspended.
And divine prophecy, sounding through the long galleries of
centuries, proclaims the fact that all the nations shall yet be
governed from that point.
Men may think I dream, but I must take God's word as
meaning what it says. The day is coming when the world
18




206                 THE LAST TIMES.
shall join in that glad song of David, "Beautiful for situation,
the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, THE CITY OF THE
GREAT KLNG!" That wonderful people, the scattered relics
of a mighty nation, shall come back to their ancient home.
From the North and the South, from the East and the West,
they shall come with singing unto Zion. "And they shall
build the waste cities, anid inhabit them; and they shall plant
vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; and they shall no more
be pulled out of their land which I have given them, saith the
Lord:" (Amos ix. 14, 15.) Jehovah Elohim shall come down
again, more glorious than when of old he dwelt in cloud and
flame in the Holy of Holies, even Jesus in his own glorified
humanity; and they shall say, "Lo! this is our God! we have
waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have
waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation:"
(Isa. xxv. 9.)  Jerusalem's light shall then have come and
the glory of the Lord have risen upon her, and she shall
arise and shine. Gentiles shall come to her light, and kings
to the brightness of her rising.  Her sons shall come from
far, and her daughters shall be nursed at her side. The
abundance of the sea shall be turned to her, and the wealth
of the Gentiles shall come unto her.  The multitude of
camels shall come up,-the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah;
all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. All
the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto her. The
rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto her; they shall come up
with acceptance on God's altar, and he will glorify the house of
his glory.  The nation and kingdom that will not serve her
shall perish, and be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon
shall come unto her, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box
together, to beautify the place of God's sanctuary; and he will
make the place of his feet glorious. The sons of them that
afflicted her shall come bending unto her, and all they that




THE EARTHLY AND THE HEAVENLY CITY.    207
de&pised her shall bow themselves down at the soles of her
feet; and they shall call her, "THE CITY OF THE LORD, THE
ZION OF THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL!" (Isa. Ix. 14.)
But Jerusalem below, radiant in all its untold glory, shall
be but a type and earthy picture of the higher and sublimer
Jerusalem that is above,-that firmly-founded city for which
Abraham looked, whose builder and maker is God,-that city
which John saw "descending out of heaven from God, having
the glory of God, and her light like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal." The one is earthly,
the other is heavenly. The one is built by human hands, the
other is the workmanship of God himself. The one has a
population composed of men holy and happy, but men in the
flesh; the other is the glorious residence of the glorified saints.
The one shall rest upon the earthly mount; the other shall be
above the -mountains and the hills." The one will need clouds
and rain, sunshine and peaceful night; the other has no need
of the sun nor of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of
God shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. The
one shall have its temple and its altars; the other has no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the
temple of it. And whilst the sons of Abraham in the flesh
shall possess Jerusalem that is below, the sons of Abraham by
faith in Christ, who have come out of great tribulation, and
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb, shall, in their glorification, have their everlasting bliss
and home in "the Jerusalem that is above."  The relation of
the one to the other is like that of the Sanctuary to the Holy
of Holies.  The one is the metropolis of the "new earth;"
the other of the " new heavens." The one is suspended in the
clouds to pour its radiance on the saved nations below: (Rev.
xxi. 24;) but both belong to the one sublime and wonderful
economy which is to encompass this planet when once its
redemption is complete.




208                    THE LAST TIMES.
All hail to the day when these things shall be fulfilled!
The cross shall then give place to the crown, and gladness
supplant our sighing and tears. Hope shall then change into
fruition, and the exile reach his eternal home. Oh, let us
rejoice and give thanks that such promises have been left us.
Let us stay ourselves upon them and feed upon their preciousness. They are "well-ordered and sure," and cannot disappoint us. They are all as immutable and abiding as God's
own eternal nature. Time may intervene and great changes
may occur before they are fulfilled; but, as Jehovah lives, if
we are Christ's we shall be glorified with him and dwell in the
city he has prepared.
THE DAY IS COMING.
The day is coming-yea, is now at handWhen wars shall struggle on the Syrian plains,Wars such as ne'er before have been on earth,
Nor the sun seen in all his ancient reigns:The day is coming-yea, is now at handWhen, urged by Heaven, to her old hallowed ground
Shall beauteous Solyma lead back her tribes,
While with sweet tones her Hebrew camps resound.
Then shall stand still Euphrates; then shall stop,
In fierce affright, Nile's many-founted river,
Then, too, with whirl gigantic, shall the way
Of the Red Sea cleave wide apart and sever.
Day of revival! then shall festal Zion
To her eternal God build shrine on shrine,High Lebanon and Hermon shout with singing,
While flowering olives crown their cliffs divine!
Poem on the return of Nagpoleon's ashes to France.




NILNTH DISCOURSE.
THE WORLD TO COME-ILLUSTRATED IN THE SCENES OF THE TRANSFIGURATION-THE BLESSEDNESS OF CHRIST S PERSONAL PRESENCE
— THE MINISTRATIONS OF THE GLORIFIED SAIN3 S-THE ABSENCE
OF ALL POWERS AND AGENCIES OF EVIL-THE BLESSING OF THE
WORLD THROUGH ISRAEL-THE CURSE REPEALED.
HEB. ii. 5: Th]e world to come, whereof we speak.
THESE words occur in connection with the apostle's endeavor to impress his Jewish brethren with a sense of the
greatness and glory of the Lord Jesus and of the salvation
which is preached in his name.  He begins the epistle by
announcing the Savior to them as the Son of God,-the appointed heir of all things, —the Maker and upholder of the
worlds, —the brightness of the Father's glory and the express
image of his person, who has been exalted to the right hand
of the Majesty on high. These were sublime statements, and
needing to be well substantiated to be made acceptable. He,
therefore, instituted various lines of argument, adapted to
the Jewish mind and founded upon the Scriptures, which all
held to be divinely inspired. And as the Jews regarded
angels as the highest created orders, and as standing next in
the scale to the eternal Father himself, Paul's first effort was
to prove from prophecy that Christ is superior to the angels.
He introduces three points in which this super-angelic dignity is shown. The first is, that Christ is assigned a higher
Itame than the angels; the second is, that he is clothed with
a sublimer honor than the angels; and the third is, that
0                       18*                209




210                THE LAST TIMES.
Christ is invested with a sublimer office than the angels,they being only ministering spirits, whilst he is spoken of as a
divine King, whose throne is forever and ever, and the sceptre
of whose kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. The princely
investiture and reign of the Messiah is thus distinctly deduced
from the Old Testament, and used by the apostle as the sublimest demonstration of the Savior's personal dignity. And
this Messianic dominion he applies particularly to what is
hereafter to grow out of the gospel economy. He tells us
that it is peculiarly " the world to come" over which the Messiah's reign is to be exercised.  "For unto the angels hath
he not put into subjection the world to come, whereof we
speak;" thus proceeding upon the implied assumption that it
has been, by promise, put into subjection to Jesus Christ;
and that all those allusions to the Savior as a King have their
chief application and ultimate fulfillment in that "world to
come." The Messiah's reign and this world to come accordingly belong together, and coexist in the same period and
locality. By determining, then, what is meant by this " world
to come,"' we may form an idea of what is included in the
Messianic kingdom; or, if we already know what the consummated Messianic reign is, and where it is to be, we have it
already decided what we are to understand by this "world to
come.1"
If any stress is, therefore, to be laid upon the conclusions
evolved in the preceding discourses, there is no alternative
left but to understand this world to come as the millennial
world, or the world as it shall be when Christ shall have restored the throne of David, and entered upon his glorious
dominion as the sovereign of the nations and Lord of the
whole earth. And to this agrees exactly the original word,
oXoVupfEY), which means the habitable earth,-the domiciliated
globe on which we dwell,-and not some remote supernal
region, as we sometimes imagine. The world to come, then,




THE NEW EARTH.                    211
or the o&ov/ll-rtv Tay vERAovwaa, as the apostle calls it, is nothing more nor less than this selfsame world of ours in its final
or millennial condition. This earth is not to be annihilated.
God never obliterates his own creations.  The dissolving fires,
of which Peter speaks, are for " the perdition of ungodly
men;" and not for the utter depopulation and destruction of
the whole world. They may consume cities, destroy armies,
and effect some important meteorological and geological
changes; but men and nations will survive them  and still
continue to live in the flesh.  The earth is to be renovated
and restored from its present depression and dilapidation, and
thus become " the new earth" of which the Bible speaks. It
is to pass through a " regeneration" analogous to that through
which a man must pass to see the kingdom of God; but there
will be a continuity of its elements and existence., just as a
regenerated man is constitutionally the same being that he
was before his renewal. It will not be another earth, but the
same earth under another condition of things. It is now
laboring under the curse; but then the curse will have been
lifted off, and all its wounds healed. At present, it is hardly
habitable, —no one being able to live in it longer than a few brief
years; but then men shall dwell in it forever, without'knowing what death is. It is now the home of rebellion, injustice
and guilt; it will then be the home of righteousness.  It is
now under the domination of Satan; it will then come under
the blessed rule of the Prince of peace. Such, at any rate,
is the hope set before us in the word of God; and this I hold
to be "the world to come" of which the text speaks.  It
cannot be any thing else. It cannot be what is commonly
called heaven; for the word oexouv/iisv cannot apply to heaven.
It is everywhere else used exclusively with reference to our
world. Neither can it be the present gospel dispensation, as
some have thought; for that began long before this epistle
was written, and could not, therefore, have been spoken of by




212                 THE LAST TIMES.
Paul as yet "to come."  We are consequently compelled to
understand it to mean our own habitable world in its millennial glory.  And as the prophecies concerning the Messiah's
eternal kingship are here referred to as having their fulfillment in the subjection of the millennial world to his dominion,
we are furnished with another powerful argument of Scripture in favor of the doctrine of Christ's personal reign as a
great Prince in this world. Indeed, the Bible is so full of
this subject, and its inspired writers are so constantly and
enthusiastically alluding to it, that I am amazed to find so
many pious and Bible-loving people entirely losing sight of
it. Ever and anon the Scriptures return to it as the great
and animating hope of the church in all her adversities and
depressions; and it does seem to me that we are depriving
ourselves of much true Christian comfort by the manner in
which we have been neglecting and thrusting aside that glorious doctrine. But, as I have already spoken on that subject
and given some idea of the manner in which the Scriptures
present it, I will not return to it now. My present object
is to show, from the Scriptures and by just inferences from
them, what sort of a world this " world to come" is, and to
describe, as far as I can, what we are to look for when once
this earth has been fully subjected to that divine King whose
throne is forever and ever, and the sceptre of whose kingdom
is a sceptre of righteousness.
That " the world to come" is a highly blessed world, and a
vast improvement upon the present scene of things, will be
inferred on all hands without argument. It could not be a
subject of hope if it were not.  The Savior himself exhibited a model of it when in the Mount of Transfiguration;
from which, perhaps, we may obtain as deep an insight of its
glories as from any other portion of Scripture. That he designed that scene as a miniature model of what his future
coming and kingdom is to be, is obvious. A week before it




ILLUStRATION FROM THE TRANSFIGURATION.   213
occurred, he told his disciples that "the Son of man shall
come in the glory of the Father, with his angels or messengers
with him;" and that there were some standing there when he
made the declaration who "' should not taste of death till they
saw the Son of man coming in his kingdom."  This coming
in his kingdom, which some of the disciples were to live to
see, is not the final advent; for the disciples are all dead, and
the final advent is still future. Neither is it the destruction of Jerusalem; for but one of the apostles lived to see
that catastrophe, and the Son of man did not then come in
his kingdom. And yet some of the apostles were to have
ocular demonstration of the Son of man's coming in his kingdom before tasting of death. Search through apostolic history as we will, we shall find nothing but the transfiguration
to which the Savior's words will apply. That, then, was, in
some sense, the coming of the Son of man in his kingdom. It
was not, indeed, the coming itself, but it was an earnest and
picture of it. It was the coming of the Son of man in his
kingdom, as the bread and wine in the Eucharist are Christ's
body and blood. Peter says " the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ" are not " cunningly-devised fables." He
declares that he was certified of their reality by the testimony
of his own senses. We were eye-witnesses, says he, 1" when
we were with him in the holy mount."  We thus have clear
inspired testimony that the scene of the transfiguration was a
demonstrative exhibition of the coming of Jesus in his kingdom.
Hence, whatever we find in the descriptions of that scene, we
may confidently expect to be realized in that " world to come
whereof we speak." As Christ appeared in that glorious
scene, so he will appear when he returns to this world. As
he was then personally present as the Son of man, so he will
be personally present in the millennial kingdom. And as he
was there attended by different classes of persons, so will his
glorious kingdom consist of similar classes. The first will be




214                  THE LAST TIMES.
the risen and glorified saints, represented by Moses; the
second will be the transformed saints, represented by Elijah
who was caught up without tasting of death; and the third
and most numerous class will be those who shall live in the
body, represented by Peter, James and John, as they bowed
before his mighty power, and looked with transport and wonder
on his ineffable glory.
Let us, then, endeavor to draw out before us some of the
more striking features of " the world to come," and, by the
contemplation of its attractiveness, endeavor to school our
hearts into more ardent thirst to participate in its blissful
scenes.
I do not wish to depreciate in the least those gracious
arrangements of heaven under which we now live. It is a
blessed thing to have the Bible, and to attend properly on the
means of grace, and to enjoy the renewing and comforting
influences of the Holy Ghost. In giving to us these things,
God has endowed us with mercies for which we never can be
sufficiently thankful. But he authorizes us to look for greater
things than these. The present economy is only preparatory
to something higher and more blessed.
" We're now but in creation's vestibule,
And acting the mere prelude unto joy
Immortal, universal."
There is another and more exalted scene of things to follow
after the present. If we are faithful to our Lord, there remains for us " a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
And one of the most remarkable and sublime features of that
" new earth" is, that it is to have in it the personal, visible
and illustrious presence of the Son of God, its great King.
It was the presence of Jesus in his glory that made Peter
wish to stay in the mountain rather than return again into
the cold and heartless world below. That glorious presence




MANR'S DESIRE TO BEHOLD GOD.            215
was more than all earth beside. We may thus gather some
idea of the preciousness of that promise that "the pure in
heart shall see God."  The mere vision of Christ in his
glory will be heaven to the soul that leans on him as the
Redeemer.
There is no thirst in man more craving than the desire to
behold God. All the images in heathen temples, and all the
idolatries of the world, are but expressions of this perpetual
sigh of humanity.  Moses himself coveted most of all things
to see Him who was accomplishing such wonders by his hand.
And very few, if any, can pray without first forming to the
mind some image of God. We are creatures of sense. Abstract spirit is a cold and uninviting conception. All our
deepest impressions, and all our ideas, are received by means
of the outward senses. And there is no glory of God of which
we can conceive that can possibly be so satisfying and transporting as that of beholding him, and for ourselves seeing his
glory. All Christ's sublime teachings did not so impress and
rejoice the hearts of Peter, James and John, as that one
short vision of the Savior, as he was transfigured before them.
Not all the sublime experiences of Moses so satisfied him, as
when God gave him some visible manifestation of his glory.
When John'sums up the highest prospects of believers, he
makes their fullest satisfaction and rapture depend on seeing
Jesus as he is. And Peter, when he came to his strongest
reason for holding Christianity to be a reality, referred to what
he had witnessed on the holy mount. It was a glad thing to
see Jesus, even in his humiliation. We sometimes wish that
we had lived in those days, that we might have looked upon
his face and heard the tones of his voice. If we could refer
to but one slight glimpse of him, we would treasure it as a
blissful thing. We would ever recur to it with pleasure. If
there were now a spot on earth where we could see him even
as he then was, millions would spare no expense or pains to




216                THE LAST TIMES.
gain a look upon him, and multitudes would throng to the
place, crying, "Sirs, we would see Jesus!" And if it would
be a high and lawful gratification to see Christ as he once lived
on earth, how sublime would be the portion of seeing him in
the glory of his kingdom! Would it not afford a certainty to
our faith, and a rapture to our hearts, worth living for? Look
at the case of the queen of Sheba, when she came to see the
glory of Solomon,- the type of the greater than Solomon.
She had "heard of his fame concerning the name of the
Lord," as we have heard of Christ and his glory; but there
was an air of romance about it which made her doubtful, just
as many even Christian people are with respect to revelation.
There was something wanting to complete her enjoyment.
She needed yet to see the reality of which she had heard. To
secure this, a journey of months through exposure and dangers she deemed of small- account.  "And when she had seen
all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and
the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the
standing of his ministers, and their apparel, and his ascent by
which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more
spirit in her;" she fainted for very ecstasy. Now she could
say that it was a true report which she had heard, and that
the half had not been told her. Never could she have forgotten that visit. Never could that vision of Solomon's glory
have passed from her delighted memory. Never did it cease
from being a sunny spot in her recollection to which to recur
as the happiest event of her life. And if the sight of the
glory of the mere human type of the Messiah was thus transporting and overpowering, what a joy would it be for the
Christian to see the blessed Jesus himself in the glory of his
ineffable kingdom? If to see Solomon's grandeur was an
event worth living for, who shall estimate the heavenly rapture
of beholding the Savior on his high throne of glory, clothed
with light as with a garment, crowned with all the sublime




BLISS OF THE MILLENNIUM.                217
beneficence of heaven, thousands ministering unto him, ten
thousand thousands standing before him, and multitudes of
celestial spirits ever shouting to his praise, "Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty!"  Would it not be a high privilege to
see all this?  Would it not fill out the believer's joy, and
establish him in the certainties and raptures of his faith, as
nothing else can.? Would it not set his whole nature in a
glow with heavenly inspiration, and consecrate him as a new
apostle just from the third heaven? Would it not impart a
richer pleasure, and a more satisfying joy, than all the gifts
of Pentecost?
From this we may, then, infer something of the bliss of
millennial times, when Christ shall be upon earth, arrayed in
all the glory of his kingdom. Then we shall see hinm, as he is.
The glorified saints shall ever be near hia, in the closest communion with him, for he is their brother as well as their Redeemer and King. And those who live in the flesh shall not
be excluded from near visions of his glory and rapturous
approaches to his person and presence. The ransomed nations
shall continually send up their streams of worshippers to Jerusalem, where they shall "see the King in his beauty," and
receive his communications, and be made glad in his favors.
Then, with overflowing hearts, shall men say, "It was a true
report which we heard; our eyes now have seen; and, behold,
the half was not told us!" Doubt and unbelief will then be
no more. Harassing fears will be cast out. Christ's existence,
triumphs and unspeakable glories will then be visibly demonstrated, and the world shall be lifted out of the grave of its
darkness and misgivings into the glorious light and liberty of
the sons of God. For if Christ's presence in the transfiguration converted the rugged mount into all that Peter could
-desire of heaven, his sublime and gracious presence in his
kingdom cannot make this world less than a paradise of
God.
19




218                 THE LAST TIMES.
"Oh, the delights, the heavenly joys,
The glories, of the place
Where Jesus sheds the brightest beams
Of his unveiled face i"
A second great feature of the " new earth," or "world to
come," is the exaltation, presence and ministrations of the
church of the first-born. Paul tells us, that when Christ
comes, the holy dead shall be raised, and the pious living
changed, and both these classes together enter into their high
and peculiar estate. These will the Savior bring with him, and
have associated with him in the princedom and sublimities of
his glorious empire. They shall then have spiritual and glorified bodies, like the glorious body of their Lord. They will
not return to the earthy life which they once lived in the
flesh; but they shall live a life like that which Jesus lives.
They shall be in the closest union with Christ, for they constitute his Bride, and are to " be ever with the Lord." His
delight shall be in them, and their delight shall be in him.
They will share in his glories, and be partakers of his throne.
They are to "reign with Christ."  They are to judge angels
and judge the world. The twelve apostles are to have twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Having overcome, and kept the Savior's sayings to the end, they shall
have power over the nations. He that has been faithful over
five talents shall have dominion over five cities; and he that
has been faithful over ten talents shall have dominion over
ten cities; every man according as his work has been. And
so "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the saints
of the Most High." They are to sit on thrones, and judgment shall be given them, and they shall be priests of God,
even of Christ, and shall reign with him the thousand years.
They are to wear crowns Qf righteousness, which God the
righteous Judge will give unto them at that day. Having




THE EXALTATION OF THE SAINTS.            219
exercised meekness, they shall inherit the earth; and, by the
righteousness of faith made "heirs of the world," they shall
enter upon their inheritance. Jesus is the heir of all things,
and the saints are joint-heirs with him. Having suffered with
him, they shall be glorified with him. They shall have a city
of habitation becoming their high nature,-"a firmly-founded
city, whose builder and maker is God." They are to eat and
drink with Christ, at his table, in his kingdom.  "They shall
see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads, and
they shall reign forever and ever." They shall neither marry,
nor be given in marriage, but shall be as the angels of God.
" Oh, what untried forms of happy being, what cycles of revolving bliss, await the justl  Conception cannot reach it, nor
experience present materials for the picture of its similitude;
and though thus figured out with the choicest emblems, they
do no more represent it, than the name of Shepherd describes
the watchful guardianship of Christ, or the name of Father
the unspeakable love of God." " It doth not yet appear what
we shall be."  What shall be the precise nature of the
authority, priesthood, heirship and glory of the saints, cannot now be told. But this "we know, that when he (the
Savior) shall appear, we shall be like him, and shall see him
as he is." A world of wonders is in every word of this promise. But how great shall be the believer's happiness, what
his peculiar circumstances, how large his possessions, and
what the exact nature and dignity of his employments, tongue
cannot tell, nor heart conceive. We cannot understand the
soul's faculties now; and they shall be greater hereafter.
Sublime are the Christian's relations now; and they shall be
sublimer then. Wonderful are the offices and mission of good
men now; and they shall be a thousand times more wonderful
then. A thoroughly-converted and enlightened man, even
whilst in the corrupt flesh, is a noble object to behold. Even
the angels are not ashamed to become ministering spirits to




220                 THE LAST TIMES.
him.  What then shall be his glory when he shall come to
occupy his throne with the adorable Jesus in the dignity of
eternal empire!
That the glorified saints will, to some extent, mingle with
those who live in the body, and at times unveil their radiance
to them, I think there is reason to believe.  Their offices
would seem to imply it. If they are to govern, direct and
minister to those in the flesh, it is natural to suppose that they
will also be visible, at least occasionally. Angels, in the performance of similar offices, have often been manifested to
living men; and why should it not be so with Christ's servants, in the wonderful administrations of his glorious kingdom?  The earth will then be much nearer to heaven than
ever it was before, and the intercourse between them will
doubtless be much mnore free and intimate. Glorified or spiritual bodies are, perhaps, in their nature, invisible to our
earthly senses.  Christ, after his resurrection, was not visible
except at certain times when he manifested himself. The
angels are invisible, and yet we have many instances in which
they were revealed to the view of mortals. And in that new
world in which the glorified saints are to be enthroned, and
commissioned, as the ministers of Christ the great King, to
execute his orders and administer his government' over the
nations, we may reasonably expect that they will often appear,
and converse with those who live in the flesh; and that intercourse between them and those in the body will be as real,
familiar and blessed as that which Adam enjoyed with heavenly beings in Paradise
But whatever may be the specific nature of the kinghood
and priesthood of the glorified saints, or in whatever way they
may discharge their sublime ministrations, we may rest assured
that their relation to the world will be for good and blessing.
Christ will thus associate them with him in his kingdom only
the more gloriously to fulfill his grand designs of love and




OFFICE OF THE CHURCH.               221
mercy.  He came into this world to seek and to save that
which was lost.  He came to reveal God to man, and to lift
up man into harmony with God.  He came amidst the groveling, the selfish and the earthly, to tell a tale of disinterested
love at which selfishness might hang its head. He came
amidst the guilty, the wretched and the lost, to reveal a design of mercy at which angels rejoice with exceeding joy, and
before which the aching and the burdened heart may throw
off the load under which it labors. He suffered, died, rose
again, now lives in heaven, and will soon return to earth, all
to cast out the evil which has come upon man, and to bring
this world back to the Paradise it once was. And this espousing to himself of an elect, ransomed and glorified church can
be for no other purpose than that which he has already manifested in his wonderful doings hitherto. Much of the great
plan of redemption yet remains unfulfilled; and this church
of the first-born is exalted to its high place, not only for its
own glory and the Savior's praise, but as another great link in
the chain of agencies and administrations by which the entire
world is to be yet restored to the high sphere for which it
was destined. These children of the resurrection are to constitute an elect and immortal college, connected with the
Savior's own glorified humanity, that he may thus consummate his wonderful designs in the ultimate and entire repeal
of the curse under which the earth groans, and the recovery
forever of the lost heritage of man. Why does he call and
constitute the church as we now have it? Certainly not only
that those who enter it may be justified and accepted. There
is another object. It is that he may work in and through the
church, and carry light, civilization, truth and hope to the
children of men. And Christians are not done with this
world when they die. When this elect church shall have
been completed, and its members come to be priests and kings
with Christ in the glorious Messianic kingdom, the same
19*




222                 THE LAST TIMES.
general calling which they now fill will continue. These
sublime princedoms of the eternal empire are a part of God's
great plan to let forth his love, wisdom and blessing upon
earth's future generations. Blessed, blessed, shall it then be
for the world, when once the saints shall be installed with
their promised dominion, and sit with Christ upon his throne!
Another characteristic of the millennial world will be the
entire absence of all the confederations and powers of wickedness. When the Savior comes, Antichrist, in all its shapes, will
be destroyed. The wild beast and the false prophet, and all
their supporters and adherents, are to be taken and cast into
the bottomless abyss.  The last renovating fires which are to
be kindled in the day of the Lord shall carry all the confederates in usurpation and wrong to their merited perdition.
The dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, even Satan,
shall then be seized, and bound, and confined in the pit, to
deceive the nations no more till the thousand years be fulfilled,
and after a brief release consigned to eternal death.  Instead of despotism and tyranny shall be justice and charity.
Those that now corrupt and destroy the earth will then have
been destroyed. The filthy dreamers, who despise government
and speak evil of dignities, will then have passed away.  The
raging waves of popular revolution, foaming out their own
shame, shall have been stilled, to rise no more. Those wandering stars in church and state, by whom so much disturbance
is now experienced, will then have gone to the blackness of
darkness appointed for them. Might shall not then trample
any more upon right. The course of nature, now set on fire
of hell, shall then be made to flow in all the smoothness and
tranquility of heaven. " The Son of man shall send forth his
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire."  False prophets and false teachers,
with all their "damnable heresies," shall then have gone to




OF THE HEBREW  NATION.                 223
their destruction. Nations shall cease their fierce' works of
war, and armies no more butcher each other upon the bloody
field of battle. Violence will no more be heard in the land,
nor wasting and destruction within its borders  Satan will be
deprived of his power to stir up rankling passion, and the
sway of oppression and iniquity will be ended. The greatest
of the world's burdens will thus be lifted off, and the mill-stone
that has weighed it down so long will be loosed from its neck
forever.
A fourth feature of the millennium, or new earth, will be
the great exaltation, piety and glory of the Hebrew nation,
and of the world through them. I have shown that this
people is to be restored to Palestine; that Jerusalem is to be
rebuilt in more than its former glory;' that the throne of David
is to be re-established; and that the Prince Messiah is to be
their King.  "For lo!, the days come, saith the Lord, that I
will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,
and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their
fathers, and they shall possess it.  And they shall serve the
Lord their God and DAVID THEIR KING, whom I will raise
up unto them:" (Jer. xxx. 3-9.)  "They shall all of them
be righteous, and shall inherit the land forever."  Their land
that was desolate shall become like Eden, and even its desert
like the garden of Je'hovah. "In that day shall the branch
of the LorC be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped'
of Israel.'And he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth
in Jerusalem, shall be called holy."  God says of the house
of Jacob, "The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all
kings thy glory.  Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand
of the Lord, and a royal diadem  in the hand of thy God.
Ye that make mention of the Lord, give him no rest till he
make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. Say to the daughter
of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh. And they shall call




224                THE LAST TIMES.
them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord."  "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her; for thus saith
the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and
the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream." " At that
time they shall call Jerusalem THE THRONE OF THE LORD;
and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name
of the Lord, to Jerusalem."  1"I the Lord will be their
God, and my servant David a prince among them. And I
will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing.  And I will raise up for them a plant of renown. Thus
shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and
that they, even the house of Israel, are my people."  "I will
be as the dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily, and cast
forth his roots; his branches shall spread, and his beauty shall
be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon."  "And many
nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his
paths; for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem." Jesus himself shall descend among
them, and be their King. He shall fight for them in the day
of battle, and slay all their enemies. For "God shall give
unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign
over the house of Jacob forever," and "before his ancients
gloriously."
These are glowing promises. Well may they cause the
Jew to be hopeful amid all his long-continued spoliations, and
to sing still, "If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning! If I do not remember thee, let my
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!" And when these
glad predictions shall be fulfilled, all the nations shall share in
the sublime exaltations of God's ancient people and their
glorious King. Then all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed in Abraham's seed.  "Israel shall blossom and bud.




SCRIPTURE PROMISES.                225
and fill the face of the earth with fruit."  "The remnant of
Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the
Lord, and as showers upon the grass." " They shall be called
the priests of the Lord; and men shall call them the ministers
of our God." When Zion, the city of the Lord, shall arise
and shine, the Gentiles shall come to its light, and kings to the
brightness of its rising. When the New Jerusalem appears,
" the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light
of it."  In that day, Israel's King, even "the Lord, shall be
King over all the earth." "All people, nations and languages shall serve and obey him." "The heathen shall be
given to him for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth for his possession."  "Kings shall fall down before
him, and all nations shall serve him."  "He shall reign and
prosper, and his rest shall be glorious."  "The world to come,
whereof we speak," has been put into subjection unto him.
The kingdoms of this world are to be his kingdoms. Every
knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is Lord. He
must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet.
Morally, spiritually and politically, all people must be eventually subjugated unto him.  "For the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea."
All these are God's own revelations. They are full of mystery, but full of hope. How they are to be fulfilled may be a
subject of wonder; but that they will be fulfilled is as certain
as the existence of God. It may not all be done at once. It
will be an achievement of moral force, and not of mere arbitrary coercion. It may require years upon years to accomplish
all; but He who has promised knows how to perform what he
has uttered. The new, august and momentous personal manifestations of Christ for which we are taught to look, the enlarged gifts of the Holy Ghost which are yet to be bestowed,
the appointment of other, better equipped and more efficient
P




22(6                THE LAST TIMES.
ministerial agencies, the probable revival of miracles, the
shaking of the nations with the terrors of corning judgments,
the increased power of the Bible derived from the fulfillment
of its prophecies, and the removal of Satan and all his treacherous opposition, certainly will leave it no difficult task to make
a speedy conquest of all the great nations to the glorious
dominion of the Son of David, come down from heaven to be
their King and Lord forever.  At all events,"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more."
But the new earth has yet another blessed characteristic.
It is to present the glorious spectacle of the entire repeal of
the curse of sin.  It is true that the complete and entire
repeal of the curse will not be consummated until the end of
the thousand years, when all wickedness and the wicked shall
finally be cast out from the earth forever. But, from the time
Christ comes and takes dominion of the world with his glorified saints, every thing will advance closer and closer until it
reaches this final and transcendent consummation.  His coming is styled "the regeneration,"-" the day of the restitution
of all things,"- the time when God shall "make all things
new,'-" the manifestation of the sons of God," for which the
creation groans and waits,- the day of redemption, when " the
creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
Christ is the Redeemer and Lord of the whole creation, as
well as of the human soul. When God made man, he said to
him, "Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, aened over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
This dominion Adam lost. The rebellion of the soul against
God brought with it the rebellion of the flesh against the




SCRIPTURE PROMISES.                227spirit, and of nature against the entire man. Discords, antipathies and a thousand evils ensued. Christ is the second
Adam, and by subverting the empire of Satan he regains the
dominion which Adam lost, and carries his'redemption as far
as the consequences of the fall have reached. Otherwise, the
entire breach is not healed, and salvation is imperfect. The
whole earth under the Messiah must then ultimately become
all that it was under Adam, and what it always would have
been if Adam had never sinned. The curse that was put
upon the ground for Adam's sin, filling it with thorns and
thistles, infusing sweat and pain into all our participations of
its products, must be taken off. The evils and confusion
which sin has brought into the world must be driven out.
And this is exactly what is promised under the reign of Christ
and his saints. "The Spirit shall be poured from on high,
and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be
counted a forest. And the work of righteousness shall be
peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance
forever."  "The mountains and the hills shall break forth
into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their
hands.  Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it
shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that
shall not be cut off."  "Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unjstopped. Then
shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the
dumb sing; in the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become
a watered place, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the
habitation of dragons there shall be grass, with reeds and
rushes."  "And the in7habitants shall not say, I am  sick."
There shall be no more thence any dying in infancy, or of
men who have not filled out their days.  "They shall build
houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and




228                 THE LAST TIMES.
eat the fruit of them. They shall not labor in vain, nor
bring forth for trouble. The wolf and the lamb shall feed
together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox: and dust
shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain:" (Isa. lxv. 17-25.) "The waters
of the Dead Sea shall be healed." Trees shall grow which'
shall "yield their fruit monthly, and the leaves thereof shall
be for the healing of the nations." "They shall not hunger
nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them."  " AND
THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE."  "And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes; AND THERE SHALL BE NO
MORE DEATH."  "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is
death."  He may linger through a brief and feeble existence
in some of the outskirts of the millennial world; but he must
be entirely destroyed.  "Then shall be brought to pass the
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up, of victory;"
and earth's redeemed and undying generations shall take up
the song, "0 death! where is thy sting?, 0 grave! where is
thy victory?  Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory,
through our Lord Jesus Christ!'
Such, then, is the glorious consummation to which the
works of Providence and grace are tending. Such is the
finishing of the mystery which God hath spoken by the mouth
of all his holy prophets. This battle-field of hell and heaven
shall rise up out of all its desolations. The bliss of Paradise
shall yet dwell in its valleys and the glory of God shine on
all its hills. Though a lazar-house for so many ages, it shall
be the home of righteousness and peace and a temple of
blessing and glory, whose vaulted dome shall echo forever
with redemption's songs. Things may look unpromising
now; but everywhere heaven is pouring into it. Tyranny,
war, distress and wickedness may seem to be triumphant; but
their end is near, and the Desire of nations approaches.
Satan and his emissaries may struggle in their desperation;




MILLENNIAL GLORY.                      229
but they shall not be able to keep the world from the resurrection to which it is moving. The sore travail of the Savior's
soul shall yet be seen in an everlasting equation between it and
heaven. Jesus himself shall set up his throne in it and
brighten it with the glories of his ineffable personal presence.
The holy ministries of the children of the resurrection shall
cover it-with a mantle of peace and light. Satan and all his
works shall be rooted out of it forever. All its long-erring
nations shall be reclaimed, and all its discordant elements
recovered to harmony and rest. Over all this place of graves
the flowers of immortality shall bloom. Insteadoof the coffin
shall be Elijah's chariot, and in place of the death-struggle
shall be Enoch's rapture. And from all God's great universe
shall break forth the song of joy and praise over a world that
was lost but is found; over this blasted earth made new again
and glorious forever.
Region of life and light!
Land of the good whose sweaty toils are o'er!
Nor frost nor heat way blight
Thy vernal beauty, fertile shore,
Yielding thy blessed fruits for evermore!
There, without crook or sling,
Walks the Good Shepherd. Blossoms white and red
Round his meek temples cling;
And, to sweet pastures led,
His own loved flock beneath his eye are fed.
He guides, and near him they
Follow delighted; for he makes them go
Where dwells eternal May,
And heavenly roses blow,
Deathless, and gathered but again to grow.
He leads them to the height
Named of the infinite and long-sought Good,
And fountains of delight;
And where his feet have stood
Springs up, along the way, their tender food.
20




230                    THE LAST TIMES.
"From lips divine flow forth
Immortal harmonies, of power to still
All passions born of earth,
And draw the ardent will
Its destiny of goodness to fulfill.
"Might but a little part,
A wandering breath, of that high nclody,
Descend into my heart,
And change it, till it be
Transformed and swallowed up, 0 Christ, in thee I
"YET A LITTLE WHILE."
Beyond the smiling and the weeping
I shall be soon;
Beyond the waking and the sleeping,
Beyond the sowing and the reaping,
I shall be soon.
Love, Rest, and Home!
Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Beyond the blooming and the fading
I shall be soon;
Beyond the shining and the shading,
Beyond the hoping and the dreading,
I shall be soon.
Love, Rest, and Home!
Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
Beyond the parting and the meeting
I shall be soon;
Beyond the farewell and the greeting,
Beyond this pulse's fever-beating,
I shall be soon.
Love, Rest, and Home!
Sweet hope!
Lord, tarry not, but come.
H. BONAR.




TENTH DISCOURSE.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH - SUMMARY OF OUR DOCTRINEOERINTHUS-THE ANABAPTISTS-MILLER-IMPROPRIETY OF CLASSING
US WITH THESE PARTIES-TRUE CHURCH TESTIMONY-BARNABASCLEMENT - PAPIAS - JUST IN MARTYR - IRENiEUS - TERTULLIANCYPRIAN — ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AS TO THE FAITH OF THE EARLY
CHURCH-HOW MILLENARIAN DOCTRINE WAS SUPPRESSED-ORIGEN'S
SYSTEM-REVIVAL OF THE PRIMITIVE FAITHII-LUTHER-MELANCTHON
-THE FRUITS OF OUR BELIEF —DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EARLY
AND PRESENT CHURCH.
DEUT. xxxii. 7: Remember the days of old, consider the years of
many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy
elders, and they wzll tell thee.
THE past is one of our best teachers. History is one of
the storehouses of wisdom. "Not to know what transpired
before we were born," says a classic author, "is to remain
children."
In matters of religious faith it is particularly important to
recur to the testimony of those who lived before us. Novelty
is sometimes the best proof of heresy.  That cannot be
Christianity which cannot stand the test of history. Antiquity
alone is no evidence of orthodoxy. A creed niay be old and
yet be false; but it cannot be new and yet be true. The
Christian religion is a written tradition, just as complete at its
first delivery as it is now. All the advances of science,
though they may have assisted in preparing men the better to
appreciate it, have not added to it a single jot. In some
231




232                 THE LAST TIMES.
things the children may be accounted the fathers, and the
fathers the children; but even in those instances "the child
is father of the man." We cannot be independent of what
has gone before us.  In every thing wisdom bids us " remember the days of old."  Yea, "TIhus saith the Lord, Stand ye
in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the
good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls."
I propose, therefore, to make some inquiry into the testimony of Christians of former ages respecting the doctrines
which I have been putting forth in these discourses. If the
church in its first and purest periods held them as the teachings of the Scriptures, that fact must go very far to confirm
them as the truth of God. The saying of Tertullian, that
"'whatever is first is true; whatever is later is adulterate,"
may not always hold good.  Neither are we to rest our
faith upon the mere opinions of men, whether ancient or
modern.  "The Bible, the Bible alone, is the religion of
Protestants;" and upon the Bible do I rest for the truth
of what I have been teaching.* But it is not very likely
that the most enlightened Christians who were the pupils
and hearers of the inspired apostles and their immediate
successors were mistaken as to what are the hopes which
Christianity presents.  If it can be satisfactorily shown
that they believed and taught the Scriptures as I have
been interpreting them, it will be hard for a reasonable
man to conclude that I am wrong.  Whilst, then, we take
the Scriptures as our only and infallible standard, and accord
to every man the right to examine and decide for himself
as God shall judge him, the light of antiquity cannot be
discarded as useless. It is one of our helps to a right
understanding of God's revelation, which we are not safe
in despising.  And  though we are  not to receive the
testimony of anybody where that testimony conflicts with
- See pp. 365-380.




SUMMARY Of DOCTRINE.               288
the Bible, we will do well to "remember the days Of old,"
and to "consider the years of many generations."  The
fathers had some advantages which we have not. Let us
then avail ourselves of these advantages in our search for
truth.  Let us ask them, and they will show us, and inquire
of the elders, and they will tell us.
The principal points which I have thus far presented, as
my apprehension of God's revealments concerning "the last
times," are as follows:
1. That Christ Jesus, our adorable Redeemer, is to return to
this world in great power and glory, as really and as literally
as he ascended up from it.
2. That this second advent of the Messiah will occur before
the general conversion of the world, while the Man of sin
still continues his abominations, while the earth is yet full
of tyranny, war, infidelity and blasphemy, and consequently
before what is called the millennium.
3. That this coming of the Lord Jesus will not be to
depopulate and annihilate the earth, but to judge, subdue,
renew and bless it.
4. That in the period of this coming he will raise the holy
from among the dead, transform the living that are waiting
for him, judge them according to their works, receive them
up to himself in the clouds, and establish them in a glorious
heavenly kingdom.
5. That Christ will then also break down and destroy all
present systems of government in church and state, burn up
the great centres and powers of wickedness and usurpation,
shake the whole earth with terrific visitations for its sins, and
subdue it to his own personal and eternal rule.
6. That during these great and destructive commotions,
the Jewish race shall be marvelously restored to the land of
their fathers, brought to emnbrace Jesus as their Messiah and
King, delivered from their enemies, placed at the head of
2,0




234                THE LAST TIMES.
nations, and made the agents of unspeakable blessings to the
world.
7. That Christ will then re-establish the throne of his
father David, exalt it in heavenly glory, make Mount Zion
the seat of his divine empire, and, with the glorified saints
associated with him in his dominion, reign over the house of
Jacob and over the world in a visible, sublime and heavenly
Christocracy for the period of "the thousand years."
8. That during this millennial reign in which mankind
are brought under a new dispensation, Satan is to be bound
and the world enjoy its long-expected Sabbatic rest.
9. That at the end of this millennial Sabbath the last
rebellion shall be quashed, the wicked dead, who shall all
continue in Hades until that time, shall be raised and judged,
and Satan, Death, Hades, and all antagonisms to good,
delivered over to eternal destruction. And10. That, under these wonderful administrations, the earth
is to be entirely recovered from the effects of the fall, the
excellence of God's righteous providence vindicated, the whole
curse repealed, death swallowed up, and all the inhabitants of
the world thenceforward forever restored to more than the full
happiness, purity and glory which Adam forfeited in Eden.
Such is my learning of the Scriptures, and such is my
solemn belief upon these momentous themes. Some may be
disposed to brand it as the old heresy of Cerinthus; some
may classify it with the doctrines of the seditious Anabaptists
of Luther's day; and not a few may stigmatize it as " Millerism."  But, call it what you please, with my present light
it is my faith; and I propose to show you that such was the
faith of the universal orthodox church in the purest periods
of its history. But, lest it should be derided with names
which it does not deserve, let me make an observation or two
with regard to the parties just named.
Cerinthus was the contemporary of the Apostle John. It




THE ANABAPTISTS.                  235
is a question now, among learned men, whether he ever did
teach the carnal notions which are ascribed to him. It is
recorded of him, however, that he " falsely pretended to wonderful things, as if they had been shown him by angels, asserting that after the resurrection there would be an earthly
kingdom of Christ, and that the flesh, (or man again united
with flesh,) again inhabiting Jerusalem, would be subject to
desires and pleasures;" that, " being an enemy of the divine
Scriptures, he said there would be a space of a thousand
years for celebrating nuptial festivals;" that "' he taught that
Christ would have an earthly kingdom, and, as he was a
voluptuary and altogether sensual, he conjectured that it
would consist in those things that he craved in the gratification of appetite and lust." If these things are true, which
is very questionable, it has been well for Christians that they
never permitted themselves to be carried away with such gross
and plainly unscriptural carnalities.  The kingdom of heaven
is not meat and drink, marrying or giving in marriage.  The
children of the resurrection are never to return to this fleshly
and sensual life, but are to have spiritual bodies, and inhabit
a city " not made with hands," and be kings and priests unto
God, blessed and holy forever.*
The Anabaptists were a fanatical and seditious people, with
whom  no sound Christian can sympathize.  Mosheim  says,
" They gave themselves out for the messengers of heaven, to
lay the foundations of a new government, and to destroy and
overturn all temporal rule and authority,-all human and
political institutions. Having turned all things into confusion
and uproar in the city of Miinster by this seditious declaration, they began to erect a new republic conformable to their
absurd and chimerical notions of religion, and committed the
administration of it to John Bockholt, a tailor by profession!"
Milner says, " They taught the people to despise their lawful
rulers, and the salutary regulations by which all communities
* See Note E, pqage''35.




236                 THE LAST TIMES.
exist. Everywhere it was the cry of these enthusiastic visionaries, No tribute; all things in common; no tithes; no magistrates; the baptism of infants is an invention of the devil!"
From such delusion, fanaticism and blasphemy may the Lord
ever preserve us! And yet with such people we are often
classed when we undertake to declare the real gospel doctrine
of Christ's coming and kingdom.
The late Mr. Miller, of whom we heard so much a few years
ago, was doubtless a simple-minded, honest and pious man.
But he was comparatively illiterate, imaginative and enthusiastic. He did not fully grasp the sweep, order, consistency
and grandeur of God's purposes as they are presented in the
Scriptures. He believed that this world was to be burned up
and depopulated of all its present orders of inhabitants.  He
taught that none were to exist on the earth after Christ's
coming but the church of the first-born in their glorified state,
who should return to a physical form of life. He also held
that the Gog and Magog rebellion at the end of the Millennium refers to the resurrected wicked. He had no consistent
views of Christ's reign over the nations, and denied probation
after Christ's coming. He was carried away, too, with certain
calculations of prophetic dates, upon which he relied too confidently. He was disappointed in some of the leading particulars upon which he gained his notoriety. But neither
prophecy nor the students of prophecy are responsible for his
mistakes.  And to make all deductions from prophecy bear
the odiumn and ridicule excited by the vagaries of uninformed
and credulous, men is neither sensible, pious, nor respectful to
the word of God.  We have nothing to do with the crudities
and wild imaginings of a sensual Cerinthus, the fanatical Anabaptist, or the injudicious Father Miller. Our business is
with what God has written for our learning and with the
interpretations of those who were the least likely to be mistaken in regard to the leading features of God's revelations.




THE TESTIMONY OF THE CHURCH-BARNABAS.   237
Let us, then, proceed with our task, and endeavor to ascertain the views and teachings of the early Christians with regard to the doctrines of these discourses.  What expectations
were formed of the Messiah at his first coming, and how
Christ and his apostles proceeded respecting those expectations, I have already set forth. In other words, I have given
you the inspired Scriptures for every thing that I have thus
far said. This alone is, or ought to be, sufficient. But as
there is disagreement as to the manner in which those passages are to be understood, I will give you the proof that the
best Christian authority is in favor of the interpretations
which I have maintained.
The first witness I produce is Barnabas, a Levite of the
country of Cyprus, and one of those who sold their possessions
and laid the money at the apostles' feet. Luke says that
" he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost." He was
the companion and fellow-preacher with the Apostle Paul.
He has left an epistle which learned men think was written
before the Epistle of Jude or the writings of John. Some
have considered it apocryphal; but Vossius, Dupuis, Cave,
Mill, Clarke, Whiston, Wake, and others not incompetent to
judge in the case, esteem it the genuine production of Barnabas the Levite, so honorably mentioned in the Scriptures.
At all events, it belongs to early Christian antiquity, and is a
competent witness as to what were the views then entertained.
In the thirteenth chapter of this epistle we find it written:"God made in six days the works of his hands, and he finished
them the seventh day, and he rested the seventh day and
sanctified it. Consider, my children, what that signifies: he
finished them in six days. The -meaning of it is this: that
in six thousand years the Lord will bring all things to an end.
For with him one day is a thousand years, as himself testifieth.  Therefore, children, in six days-that is, in six thousand years-shall all things be accomplished. And what is




238                 THE LAST TIMES.
that he saith, And he rested the seventh day?  He meaneth
this: that when his Son shall come, and abolish the season of
the wicked one, and judge the ungodly, and shall change the
sun, moon and stars, THEN he shall gloriously rest in, that
seventh day..... Behold, he will then truly sanctify it with
blessed rest, when we (having received THE RIGHTEOUS
PROMISE, when iniquity shall be no more, ALL THINGS BEING
RENEWED BY THE LORD) shall be able to sanctify it, being
ourselves first made holy."
In these words it is plainly taught:1. That Christ is to come again personally to our world at
the end of the six thousand years.
2. That the wicked one and his domination will remain in
existence until Christ comes.
3. That the seventh thousand years of the world is to be
a millennium of holy rest, in which the saints are to inherit
their promises and iniquity be done away; and4. That this millennium of glory is to be introduced by the
personal coming of the Messiah to abolish the empire of the
wicked one, judge the ungodly, change the present constitution of things and renew the world.
Such, then, is the testimony of one, said to have been the
companion and fellow of the Apostle Paul.
A second witness is Clement, whom Paul mentions among
his "fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life."
In such high repute were his writings held that they are
found included in one of the oldest collections of New Testament writings as a part of the sacred canon. He does not
refer to our subject as directly as Barnabas; but there can be
no doubt of his having entertained the same views.  Dr.
Hamilton of Strathblane, in a work against the students of
prophecy, puts him down as evidently a millennarian; that
is, one who believes in the personal reign of Christ with his
saints on earth.  He connected "the great and glorious




PAPIAS AND JUSTIN MARTYR.             239
promises" made to the people of God with the promise that
" the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord."
He taught that "we shall come to judgment in the flesh, and
so also in the flesh receive the reward." IIe also identified
the coming of the kingdom of God with " the day of God's
appearing," and exhorted his readers hourly to expect, wait
and pray for it, that they might "enter into his kingdom and
receive the promises."  And if there is any weight to be
attached to his apprehensions of divine truth, it goes decidedly
in favor of our doctrines.
The next witness is Papias, the disciple of the Apostle
John and a companion of Polycarp. Eusebius speaks unfavorably of his judgment in one place; but elsewhere pronounces him "eloquent and learned in the Scriptures."  He
himself says that he had most assiduously collected all that
could be gathered of the teachings and sayings of Christ and
the apostles. He certainly had every opportunity of knowing
the truth. And he has recorded it as his belief, and as contained in what he had collected from the fountains of Christian doctrine, that " there will be a certain millennium AFTER
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, when Christ will reign
BODILY (personally) upon this very earth."
We come now to Justin the martyr, who was born ten
years before the death of the Apostle John. Mosheim calls
him " a man of eminent piety and learning, who, from a pagan
philosopher, became a Christian martyr." In his Dialogue
with Trypho, he says, "I, AND AS MANY AS ARE ORTHODOX
CHRISTIANS, do acknowledge that there shall be a resurrection
of the body, and a residence of a thousand years in Jerusalemn
rebuilt, adorned and enlarged, as the prophets Ezekiel, Isaiah
and others do unanimously attest..... Moreover, a certain man
among us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ,
in a revelation made to him, did prophesy that the faithful
believers in Christ shall live a thousand years in the New




240                THE LAST TIMES.
Jerusalem, and AFTER THAT shall be the general resurrection
and judgment."  Not only does Justin here declare himself
a believer in our doctrines, but, as Semisch (in Herzog's
Cyclopedia) says, he "distinguishes that belief as the keystone of orthodoxy."
The testimony of the distinguished Irenmus is also of particular value. He was the disciple of Polycarp, the pupil of
the Apostle John. It has justly been said that, " for learning,
steadfastness and zeal, he was among the most renowned of
the early fathers."  Mosheim says that his writings are " the
most precious monuments of ancient erudition." His tutor,
Polycarp, was one of those " angels" to whom the Savior addressed one of the seven episdes recorded in John's revelation. He was a most diligent collector of all that was to be
known of what Christ and his apostles taught.  IrenDeus
regarded him with peculiar veneration, and says of his
teachings, " I remember his discourses concerning the conversations he had with John the apostle and others who had seen
the Lord; how he rehearsed their discourses, and what he
heard them say of our Lord and of his miracles and doctrine."  Irenmeus, therefore, had good means of knowing
what ideas the sacred writers attached to their own writings,
and what ideas and hopes the Spirit through them inculcated
respecting God's great purposes.  Hear, then, what this
learned and devout man has said concerning our doctrine:" In whatever number of days the world was created, in the
same number of thousands of years it will come to its consummation. God, on the sixth day, finished the works which he
made; and God rested on the seventh day from all his works.
This is a history of the past and a prophecy of the future; for'the day of the Lord is as a thousand years."' Here is a
distinct announcement of the millennial Sabbath. As to
where it is to be celebrated, he is equally clear.  "It is
fitting," says he, "that the just, rising again at the appear



IRENAEUS AND TERTULLIAN.                241
once of God, should, in the renewed state, receive the promise
of inheritance which God covenanted to the fathers, and
should reign in it; and that then should follow  the final
judgment.  For, in the same condition in which they have
labored and been afflicted, and been tried by sufferings in all'
sorts of ways, it is but just that in it they should receive the
fruits of their sufferings, so that where, for the love of God
they suffered death, there they should be brought to life again;
and where they endured bondage, there also they should reign..... I say it is becoming that the creation, being restored
to its original beauty, should, without any impediment or
drawback, be subject to the righteous. This the apostle makes
manifest in the Epistle to the Ro.nans..... Thus, therefore, as God promised to Abraham the inheritance of the earth,
and he received it not during the whole time he lived, it is
necessary that he should receive it, together with his seed, that
is, with such of them  as fear God, and believe in him, IN
THE RESURRECTION  OF TMIE JUST.....  They will undoubtedly receive it at the resurrection of the just: for true
and unchangeable is God; wherefore he also said, Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit THIE EARTH."
Four things are here asserted: first, that Christ will really
appear at the end of the six thousand years; second, that the
millennium comes after the Savior's advent; third, that there
is to be a resurrection of the just at the beginning of the millennium; and, fourth, that Christ is to reign with his saints
in this world. Such is the testimony of Irenoaus, the pupil
of Polycarp and Papias, the disciples of the Apostle John.
We come now to Tertullian, the eminent contemporary of
Irenveus, a man of eloquence and learning, who, with all his
faults, had many excellencies.  His testimony is equally conspicuous and positive.  " We also confess," says he, "that a
kingdom is promised us on earth, AFTER THE RESURRECTION;
for it will be for a thousand years in a city of divine workQ                     21




242                 THE LAST TIMES.
manship, viz.: Jerusalem brought down from heaven, which
city Ezekiel knew, and the Apostle John saw.  This is the
city provided of God to receive the saints in the resurrection,
wherein to refresh themselves with all spiritual good things,
in recompense of those which in the world we have despised
and lost."  He also testifies that it was the custom of his
times for Christians to pray that they might have part in the
first resurrection; thus showing that this was the general and
firm belief of his time.
Clement of Alexandria, the contemporary of Tertullian,
whom Eusebius designates as an " incomparable master of the
Christian philosophy," also refers to the mystic sanctity of the
seventh day, as pointing in the estimation of both Hebrews
and Greeks to the final revolution of the world and the renovation of all things.
Cyprian, the great bishop of Carthage, who sealed his faith
with his blood, also alludes to the subject in a way leaving no
doubt that he apprehended the Scriptures in the same manner. "In the divine arrangement of the world," says he,' seven days were at first employed, and in them seven thousand years were included." This implies the doctrine of the
millennial Sabbath; and, taking it in connection with his expectation of the future honors of the martyrs, and his declaration that in this world "things evil and adverse shall increase until the end come as foretold," we cannot suppose that
he differed on this subject from the distinguished teachers
who went before him and whose disciple he claimed to be.
We have now brought down our list of testimonies to the
end of the second century after Christ. I have given you the
language of the most pious and distinguished Christian teachers who lived during that time. And without one dissenting
voice among them, we here have, as their unanimous apprehension of the Scriptures and of what Christ and his apostles
taught,



THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANS MILLENARIANS.   243
1. That there is to be a millennial Sabbath at the end of
six thousand years from the creation of Adam, in which the
world shall joyfully rest from its long week of turmoil and
disorder.
2. That the personal and final advent of Christ, and the
resurrection of the holy dead, shall occur at the commencement of the millennium.
3. That Christ is to reign with his saints in glorious empire
upon this earth. And,4. That all sublunary things, embracing the entire lower
creation, are to undergo a universal renovation, and be restored
to their original excellence and glory.
Nor was there any acknowledged Christian, until The time
of Origen, in the middle of the third century, that ever
recorded any other faith upon this subject.  We may safely
challenge all the research of the world to produce one single
orthodox opposing testimony prior to the days of Origen, than
whom, Milner says, " no man not altogether unsound and hypocritical ever more injured the church of Christ." Indeed,
the evidence that these views were a vital and prominent part
of the faith of Christians for the first ages is so clear and
conspicuous that I do not know that any scholar has ever ventured to contradict the fact. Let me submit to you some
statements of learned men upon the subject.
The well-known infidel historian, Edward Gibbon, has this
statement:-" The ancient and popular doctrine of the millennium was intimately connected with the second coming of
Christ. As the works of the creation had been finished in
six days, their duration in their present state, according to a
tradition which was attributed to the prophet Elijah, was fixed
to six thousand years. By the same analogy it was inferred
that this long period of labor and contention would be sue
ceeded by a joyful Sabbath of a thousand years; and Jhat
Christ, with the triumphant band of the saints and the elect




244                THE LAST TIMES.
who had escaped death, or who had been miraculously revived,
would reign upon earth..... The assurance of such a millennium was carefully inculcated by a succession of fathers
from Justin Martyr and Irenveus, who conversed with the
immediate disciples of the apostles, down to Lactantius, who
was preceptor to the son of Constantine. IT APPEARS TO
HAVE BEEN THE REIGNING SENTIMENT OF THE ORTHODOX
BELIEVERS."
This Lactantius, to whom Gibbon refers, lived in the early
part of the fourth century.  Mosheim pronounces him "the
most learned of the Latin fathers." He was known in his
time as "the Christian Cicero." His sentiments upon this subject deserve to be presented among our testimonies. " When
God shall come to judge the world," says he, "and shall
restore unto life the just that have been since the beginning,
he shall converse among men a thousand years, and rule them
with a most righteous government..... And they that
shall be raised from the dead shall be over the living as judges.
And the Gentiles shall not be utterly extinguished; but some
shall be left for the victory of God..... About the same
time the prince of devils, the forger of all evil, shall be bound
with chains, and shall be in custody all the thousand years of
the heavenly empire under which righteousness shall reign over
the world."  Such, then, according to Gibbon, were "the
reigning sentiments of orthodox believers" for more than
three centuries of the Christian era.
The celebrated Chillingworth says, " That this doctrine (of
the millennium and Christ's personal reign on earth) was by
the church of the next age after the apostles held true and
catholic, I prove by these two reasons:-first, whatever doctrine is believed and taught by the most eminent fathers of
any age of the church, and by none of their contemporaries
opposed or condemned, that is to be esteemed the catholic
doctrine of the church of those times; but the doctrine of the




CONCURRING AUTHORITIES.                245
millenaries was believed and taught by the most eminent
fathers of the age next after the apostles, and by none of that
age opposed or condemned; therefore IT WAS THE CATHOLIC
DOCTRINE OF THOSE TIMES."
Mosheim says, " The prevailing opinion, that Christ was to
come and reign a thousand years among men before the final
dissolution of the world, had met with no opposition previous
to the time of Origen."
Burton says, "It cannot be denied that Papias, Irenaeus,
Justin Martyr, and all the other ecclesiastical writers, believed, literally, that the saints would rise in the first resurrection, and reign with Christ upon earth previous to the
general resurrection."
Munscher says, " How widely the doctrine of millenarianism prevailed in the first centuries of Christianity, appears
from  this, that it was universally received by almost all
teachers."
Gieseler says of the first centuries, "Millenarianism  became the general belief of the time."
Newton says, " The doctrine of the millennium was generally believed in the three first and purest ages."
Semisch says, "The ancients expected a kingdom  in this
world, in which Christ, after his coming, should reign with
his risen and glorifiedesaints; that he would visibly return in
order to establish a terrestrial theocracy as the centre of a
dominion over the world; that he would destroy the kingdom
of Antichrist, and subjugate such worldly powers as are susceptible of being fashioned for the divine kingdom; that
there would be a distinction in the resurrection, first the resurrection of the saints for the divine kingdom, and afterwards the rest of the dead at the final judgment; that there
would then be perfect happiness of soul and sense, and the
glorified saints reign together over unglorified humanity."
But I will not trouble you with needless repetitions. What
91W




246                 THE LAST TIMES.
these authors have said is just what multitudes of others
equally learned and disinterested have declared. Russel, and
Bush, and Lardner, and Whitby, and Neander, and Mede, and
Kitto, and Maitland, and Taylor, and Milner, and Barnes, the
encyclopedias and reviews, friends and enemies, ancients and
moderns, admit and declare the fact, that the church of Christ,
for the first two centuries after the inspired apostles, was universally millenarian, and that she substantially believed and
taught all that I have brought forward in these discourses. I
have not been preaching novelties, as some have been disposed
to think. I have been giving you only what I find in the
blessed Bible,-what those believed and taught who made the
Bible,-and what all the true believers in the revelations of
God, for more than two hundred years after Christ, accepted as
the teaching of that holy book. And if I have not proven to
you that the millenarian faith was the orthodox faith of primitive Christianity, there is no weight in testimony. Ask the
fathers, and they will show you-the elders, and they will tell
you. And if the church of our day is to keep to the simplicities of those early times after which she professes to pattern,
she must hold to the personal reign of Christ with his saints
on earth as one of her sublimest hopes.
It is a sad fact, however, that from the fourth century until
the sixteenth this doctrine gradually lost its hold upon the minds
and hearts of professed Christians, and went down into almost
absolute neglect. But with it went down the great doctrine
of justification by faith, and nearly every thing that is distinguishing in gospel religion. IT FELL ONLY AS POPERY
ROSE; and it is only as it rises again that popery shall shrink
and quail. So long as men think they see and hear Christ in
the pope, and believe that they are worshipping and honoring
Christ by serving and obeying hierarchies regarded as jure
Hivino, we need never expect them to believe that Christ will
ever reign here in person. The two ideas are. fundamentally




HOW MILLENARIANISM  DECLINED.             247
antagonistic.  If Christ is himself to reign here in universal
empire, he has not given that empire into the hands of a vicar;
and if he has made the pope the supreme lord of the world,
it is settled that he will never reign here otherwise than by
the pope. Either proposition confutes the other. The two
cannot live together. And this puts into our hands the key
to the true explanation how the church has come to lose sight
of the primitive and apostolic faith upon this subject.
The processes by which millenarian doctrine was gradually
reduced to disrepute and neglect are at once curious and
deplorable.  Mosheim says that "its credit began to decline
principally through the influence and authority of Origen,
who opposed it with the greatest warmth, because it was incompatible with some of his favorite sentiments." So, then,
there was something sinister in the very,root of anti-millenarianism. And yet Origen could not bring himself to
renounce the primitive belief altogether. "We do not deny,"
says he, "the purging fire of the destruction of wickedness
and the renovation of all things.... If any man shall preserve the washing of the Holy Spirit, he shall have his part
in the first resurrection..... Wherefore, let us lay the
Scriptures to heart, and make them  the rule of our lives;
that so, being cleansed from the defilement of sin before we
depart hence, we may be raised up with the saints, and have
our lot with Christ Jesus." After all, then, it was more
the wild caricatures of our doctrine than the doctrine itself
upon which the burden of his opposition fell.  And just so
Augustine says, that the first resurrection and reign of the
thousand years "would indeed be tolerable, if it should be
believed that spiritual delights should redound to the saints
in that Sabbath by the presence of the Lord; for we also ourselvesformerly were of that opinion." What induced him to
change his mind we know not. Perhaps he also had some
favorite notions to support! Even Jerome, that " unmerciful




248                 THE LAST TIMES.
scoffer" (as Ward calls him) at our doctrine, is obliged to
admit somile of its leading features, and acknowledges that he
A" durst not condemn it, because many ecclesiastical persons and
martyrs affirmed the same."
There are, as I apprehend, three great causes to which we
are to attribute the decline and fall of ancient millenarianism.
The first and greatest was that mystical and allegorical method
of interpreting the Scriptures which Origen set on foot, and
which has done more mischief to the cause of evangelical
religion than all the assaults of its enemies. Mosheim says
that this "unhappy method opened a secure retreat for all sorts
of errors that a wild and irregular imagination could bring
forth. Believing it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to
defend the sacred writings when interpreted literalcly, according to the real import of the words, he had recourse to the
fecundity of a lively imagination, and maintained that the
Holy Scriptures were to be interpreted in the same allegorical
way thact the Platonists explained the history of the gods."
Who would have supposed that the boasted spiritualizing
method of modern theologians had its origin in paganism and
heathen mythology?  "Origen alleged that the words of
Scripture were, in many places, absolutely void of sense! and
that the true meaning was to be sought in a mysterious and
hidden sense arisingy fromn the nature of things in themselves."
That is to say, in plain English, we must first form our conclusions from philosophy, or from our preconceptions as to
how things ought to be, and then interpret the Scriptures
according to these a priori conclusions! A beautiful system,
truly, for ascertaining the meaning of God's revelations! The
results of its adoption may easily be imagined. There are
some rich specimens of its operation upon record. One man
found hidden meaning enough in the interjection "0!" to
serve him for seven sermons! Another argued eighty-two
particulars concerning the Bride of Christ from the hroses of




ORIGEN' S METHOD OF INTERPRETATION.         249
Pharaoh's chariot! Origen himself gives the meaning of the
history of Moses thus:-" The king of Egypt is the devil;
the nmale and female children of the Hebrews are the rational
and animal faculties of the soul; the midwives are the Old and
New Testaments. Pharoah's daughter is the church; Moses
is the law; the ark and flags in which he was found are the
absurd and carnal glosses of the Jews," &c. &c.
I am thus particular in showing what was Origen's allegorical or spiritual method, because, as Mosheim says, " it was
followed by a prodigious number of interpreters in that and
the succeeding ages, and overflowed the church;"-a system
which, to this hour, more or less palsies and disgraces our
hermeneutics.  Well has Dr. Clarke said that "every friend
of rational piety and genuine Christianity must lament that a
man of so much learning and unaffected godliness should have
been led to countenance, much less to recommend, a plan of
interpreting the divine oracles, in many respects the most
futile, absurd and dangerous that can possibly be conceived;
and by which the sacred writings may be obliged to say any
thing, every thing, or nothing, according to the fancy, peculiar
creed, or caprice of the interpreter." And Milner declares
that "a thick mist for ages pervaded the Christian world,
supported by Origen's allegorical manner of interpretation.
The learned alone were considered as guides, implicitly to be
followed; and the vulgar, when the literal sense was hissed off
the stage, had nothing to do but to follow their authority
wherever it might lead them."
This, then, was, the system, "pernicious," "unhappy,"
"mischievous," "lamentable  to  every friend  of genuine
Christianity," injurious beyond every thing else, casting dark.
ness over the whole field of inspired truth, throwing uncertainty over all Christian hope, and, in the hands of its own
author, making the Bride of Christ the daughter of the devil!
THIS was the system by which the glorious anticipations




250                 THE LAST TIMES.
of the primitive church were declared mere fable!  Turs is
the system which modern Christians may thank for striking
from their creed the sublime hopes of this world's ultlinate
renovation and Christ's personal reign over it in eternal peace!
I should think that the school of spiritualizers have nothing
to boast of in the line of their paternity.
But there was another matter relating to this period, the
influence of which gradually increased and spread through
succeeding ages, prompting men to lay hold of any artifice
or device to get rid of the primitive millenarian doctrine.  I
refer to the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, and the
consequent elevation of the church to the patronage of the
civil government.  "It was the constant and uniform opinion
of the church previous to this period," says Brooks, "that
Rome would become the seat of A1ntichrist; that the empire
would be divided into ten kingdoms; that then Antichrist
would be revealed and prosper for a time; and that, after the
reigning power should have suffered a signal discomfiture, the
dominion should be altogether taken from the Eternal City.
Such a notion could not be palatable to the Roman emperor,
if known to him; and the less so if it was further understood
that some had already mused in their hearts whether the
emperor himself were not personally the Antichrist.  These
things must have been very perplexing to those ecclesiastics
now mingling with the court who were of a compliant and
secular spirit: which may be judged of, when we find an
honest, bold and godly man like Lactantius expressing himself on these topics with avowed reluctance.... The convenient explication, however, was soon discovered and adopted
by many, that Antichrist was pagan Rome, and that from the
date of Constantine's conversion the m illennium commenced."
A strange millennium and binding of Satan that, which comprised the rancorous dissensions, bickerings, persecutions and
mischievous strifes that originated in the Arian controversy!




PERVERSIONS OF OUR DOCTRINE.            251
Yet able men maintained the foolish idea.  Others betook
themselves to the work of raising questions to obscure the
divine authority of the Apocalypse, in which the doctrine of
the millennium is taught. And all to make the Christian
creed agreeable to the pride and vanity of a Roman emperor!
After a while, when the Bishop of Rome came to be elevated to the high rank of universal father, the embarrassment
became still greater.  "The inconvenience of explaining
Rome to be the capital city of Antichrist was more sensibly
felt than ever, and could not be asserted without giving
occasion for the very obvious conclusion that the bishop of
Rome would some day apostatize, together with the church of
which he was the head. Accordingly, from the time of Justinian, efforts were both openly and clandestinely made to get
rid of the doctrine altogether, by removing or corrupting the
evidence in its favor, or by affixing to it the stigma of heresy.
Pope Damascus endeavored peremptorily to put it down by a
decree. And some works of the fathers which were in favor
of it were successfully suppressed, and others were altered or
interpolated to make them  read as was desired." (Brooks'
Elements of Interpretation, pp. 48-60.)
You will thus perceive how sycophancy, villany, corruption
and vanity combined with Origen's pernicious obscurations
of holy writ for the suppression of the primitive and apostolic doctrine of the millennium.
There was yet another particular which was made to contribute materially to the process of cheating the church out
of its ancient hopes. Like all other doctrines of the Bible,
this respecting the millennium  has suffered in the hands of
some of its advocates.  Some of its early believers spoke of it
in a manner liable to perversion, or connected it with fancies
or fables which have nothing to do with it.  Cerinthus was a
heretic; and yet he had advocated the doctrine of Christ's
personal reign on earth, and arrayed its scenes in the fancies




252                 THE LAST TIMES.
of his own carnal heart. Here was a fine chance to stigmatize the whole thing as a sensual and heretical dream, which
was not suffered to pass unimproved. Irenmus had also put
upon record a floating story that the earth, in the millennuim,
will be so productive that "a grain of wheat will produce ten
thousand heads; and each head will yield ten thousand grains;
and each grain will yield ten pounds of flour; and other fruits
will yield seeds and herbage in the same proportion!" &c.
That the earth will be extraordinarily fruitful in the good
days to come, is distinctly declared in the Scriptures.  Joel
says, "The mountains shall drop down new wine, and the
hills flow with milk." Yet the excessive exaggerations of the
matter by some enthusiastic persons were precious morsels for
those who wished to destroy the millenarian hopes. On other
subjects, wild caricatures furnished no ground for their rejection; but upon this no allowances could be made. And then,
as now, these innocent extravagances were most unjustly, but
still effectively, paraded around by the opposers of our doctrine,
to bring it into disrepute, and to defame it as a mere fancy of
over-credulous and weak people.
Such, then, were the processes, facilitated by the growing
corruptions of the times, by which the doctrines of the primitive church on this subject were suppressed and branded as
heresy.  Can any man do justice to himself, or to the revelations of his God, and not appeal from a decision thus brought
about, and recoil from it with indignation and abhorrence? It
was the decision of sycophancy, deceit and unholy degradations and perversions of the law and the testimony. And yet
the Christian world, to this day, has not recovered from it.
But God did not leave himself without witnesses.  From
the times of Origen to Augustin, and down into papal ages,
we can still find many distinguished names whose authority
was distinctly given in favor of millenarian views. Among
these were Apollinarius, Lactantius, Victorinus, many of the




THE VIEWS OF LUTHER.                 253
members of the Council of Nice, Epiphanius, Paulinus, Crispold, Norbert and others. But the ages of darkness came.
Star after star went out, until the world was'at its cloudy midnight. And the hope of the millennial rign, with all other
great doctrines of the Scripture, slept, until God called Luther, and the light of Christianity's renewal came.
What were this great man's views upon this subject, is nowhere specifically given. Yet he has left enough on record to
demonstrate that his sentiments differed materially from those
generally prevalent.*
1. His method of interpreting the Scriptures was the millenarian method.  On Deuteronomy he says, "I here once
more repeat, what I have so often insisted on, that the Christian should direct his efforts towards understanding the socalled literal sense of &Sripture, which alone is the substance
of faith and of Christian theology,-which alone will sustain
him in the hour of trouble and temptation,-and which will
triumph over sin, death and the gates of hell, to the praise
and glory of God.  The allegorical sense is usually uncertain,
and by no means safe to build our faith upon; for it depends
for the most part on human opinion only, on which if a man
lean, he will find it to be no better than the Egyptian reed.
Therefore, ORIGEN, Jerome, and similar of the fathers, are to
be avoided, with the whole of that Alexandrian school which
abounds in this species of interpretation."
2. He denied that there will be a millennium of universal
righteousness and  peace before Christ comes.  He says,
"They (the pope and his rabble) shall be preserved until the
coming of Christ, whose most bitter enemies they are and
ever have been."  He says that " the gospel shall continue to
be preached even to the end of time, but not so as that all
men shall repent and accept of it; for this shall never be; the
devil will not suffer things to be brought so far, and the world
without him is the enemy of the word, and will not be ad* See Note I, page 354.
22




254                THE LAST TIMES.
monished. There shall, therefore, be and remain in the world
manifold perversions of faith and religion." And again he
says, " The last days shall be days of unmeasured wickedness,
as Christ says,'When the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?"'
3. Luther taught that the earth shall be restored to its
original excellence, and that it shall be the residence of the
glorified saints. On 2 Pet. iii. 13, he says, " God has promised through the prophets, here and elsewhere, that he will
make heaven and earth new again.  How it shall be, we
know not, except that the promise is that heaven and earth
shall become such that no sin shall be in them, but righteousness only, and that they shall be the residence of the children
of God..... This text teaches that we shall live upon earth,
and that the entire heaven and earth shall become a paradise
of God."
4 Luther spoke of Christ's kingship in a way which can
be justified only on the supposition that he is to reign literally
and personally in this world. On the second Psalm he says,
" Christ was appointed King upon the holy Mount Zion. This
is particularly to be remarked; for the Holy Ghost mentions
the corporeal Zion, that we may be assured that this king is
divinely appointed, and is a real Man..... The Person and
the place are appointed and made known. The Person is the
Son of God, and he is King in Zion; that is, the Son of
David, and the heir of David; and he who was promised to
David to be the King over the circumcised people over whom
David reigned.  We are, therefore, to expect this man to
tesach in Zion, and to reveal himself in Zion, because he is appointed of God to be King of Zion..... The eternal Father
himself crowned him to be King of Zion, on Mount Zion, in
the city of Jerusalem...... He is the Son of God, yet born a
man corporeally, that he might receive the throne of his father
David, and rule in Zion." The present form of Christ's king



OF MELANCTHON.                  255
dom he describes as that in which he "reigneth no otherwise
than as master of a hospital amongst the sick, poor, and diseased," but; as to be followed by another " of glory and absolute felicity, in which sin with its attendants shall trouble
man no more."
5. Luther believed that the great purposes of God's mercy
would reach their consummation at the end of the six thousand years from the creation, according to the saying of Elias
and the belief of the primitive church.
6. Luther believed and taught that this consummation was
to be expected every day.  On Daniel xii. 7, he says, "I ever
keep it before me, and I am satisfied, that the last day must
be before the door; for the signs preaicted by Christ and the
apostles Peter and Paul have all now been fulfilled, the trees
put forth, the Scriptures are green and blooming. That we
cannot know the day, matters not; some one else may point it
out; things are certainly near their end." Again, "We certainly have nothing now to wait for but the end of all things."
Again, " Let us not think that the coming of Christ is far off.
Let us look up with uplifted heads, and with a longing and
cheerful mind expect our Redeemer's coming. Though the
signs may seem uncertain, yet no man can despise them without danger."  "I persuade myself, verily, that the day of
judgment will not be absent full three hundred years more.
God will not, cannot, suffer this wicked world much longer."
Melancthon taught in the same style. Ihe insisted that the
Mahometan empire and the papacy shall not be destroyed
till the time of the resurrection of the dead; that the world
would endure six thousand years in its present state, and then
enter upon a millennary Sabbath according to the saying of
Elias; and that "we may be sure that this aged world is not
far from its end."
Thus, with the dawn of renewed Christianity, we see the
glirmmerings again of the ancient faith upon this subject.




256                 THE LAST TIMES.
Gradually, slowly, and against various hindrances, it once more
came forth to the view of mankind.  Many of the English
Reformners were decidedly millenarian. In all reformed Christendom various men of God (such as Comenius, Jurieu, Serarius, Poiret, Mede, Burnet, Peterson, Spener, Lange, Bengel,
Boos, Oetinger, Stilling, Lavater, Sander and  Hofmiann)
rose up to defend and proclaim the hopes of Justin, Irenaeus
and Tertullian. Just as men studied the prophecies, and read
ttlem as God caused them to be written, the advocates of the
ancient faith increased, until now we can number some of the
greatest, wisest, holiest and most eloquent men upon earth
among the defenders of the sublime hopes of the millenarian
creed.
Nor is our doctrine that barren and useless thing which its
enemies have represented it to be.  Its influence, wherever
believed, has been salutary and comforting. Dodwell testifies,
"It was one principal cause of the fortitude of the primitive
Christians, who even coveted martyrdom in hopes of being
partakers of the privileges and glories of the martyrs in the
first resurrection." Bishop Newton endorses this statement
as "just."  Gibbon says that as long as this error (as he calls
it) was permitted to subsist in the church, it was productive
of the most salutary effects.on the faith and practice of Christians, who lived in the awful expectation of that moment
when the globe itself, and all the various race of mankind,
should tremble at the appearance of their divine Judge."
Bush, though an enemy to this doctrine, says, " We have no
difficulty in supposing the belief in the millenarian error was
calculated to produce, and did produce, results of a most
auspicious character, which a different construction of the
sacred oracles would have fa/iled to eftfct."  Such testimony,
from such sources, is sufficient. Grapes do not grow upon
thorns, nor figs upon thistles. "A corrupt tree cannot brling
forth good fruit."




PRIMITIVE AND MODERN FAITH.            257
Everywhere the Scriptures refer us to Christ's coming and
kingdom  as the great motive to repentance, holiness and
watchfulness. The Savior commands us to watch and pray,
because we know not what -hour the Lord cometh. Our mnoderation is to be made known unto all men, for the reason
that "the Lord is at hand."  Amid all the calamities and
disturbances that howl around us, we are to lift up our heads,
and stand unmoved, "for the day of our redemption draweth
nigh." And who does not see and feel that if we did really
believe the solemn truth that any day we may witness Christ's
final appearing, we would be much more circumspect, prayerful and diligent at our posts? The practical effects of such a
faith would be like a resurrection to our dead and slumbering
churches. It would be like a new Pentecost to the wilted
hopes of our degenerate Christianity.
Brethren, there is one thought more to which I must give
utterance in this connection.  It relates to the difference
between primitive and modern faith and hope. It would seem
as if the church had quite drifted away from her ancient
moorings. The early Christians dwelt upon no subject more
than that of the coming and kingdom of the Son of man.
But who among the great mass of living professors is looking
for that glorious advent which is to' consummate all the
gracious purposes of God?  Who is expecting Christ? Who
believes that his appearing is at hand? Who acts now from
the great idea of impending judgment? Who is not dreamino of a millennium first? If Christ were now to come, how
many of you could look up and say, "This is my Lord; 1.
have waited for him; blessed is he that cometh in the name
of the Lord!" Would not such an occurrence rather fill you
with dismay, and make you cry out in surprise and despair?
Such was not the mental condition of the first Christians, who
suffered, looking for the coming of the Savior. They looked
for him every day; most of you are not looking for him at all
R                  22*




258                 TlE LAST TIMES.
They looked for him with desire and hope; most of you nevef
think of his coming but with fear and dread. They thirsted
for it, and longed for the scenes it is to reveal; many of you
rather wish that Christ might never come, and would be more
comfortable if you could think that the whole thing were a
fable. They watched every turn in human affairs, in the hope
that the next would bring their Redeemer from the heavens
and give them the kingdom; but, amid the most wonderful
commotions in society that man ever witnessed, people now
stand callous and unmoved, as if they had nothing to hope for
and no interests to lose! Alas, alas! it would seem as if all
the hardness and unbelief of eighteen centuries were accumulating upon this generation.  "Ask thy father, and he will
shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee."
There is but one way of safety left. We must take the
gospel-the simple gospel as Christ has given it-and make it
reality in our experience and our hopes, or we must take death
and everlasting despair. The decree of the Eternal has gone
forth, and we must be hid in Christ or perish. We are
hemmed in to this, and there is no escape. All other dependence is vain.  The very ground beneath our feet is quaking
and gliding away.  And, unless we plant ourselves firmly and
at once upon the Rock of ages, we shall soon find ourselves
tossing upon the boisterous flood of a starless and rayless
eternity. Behold and wonder; but do not despise and perish.
Rise; call upon God.  What you do, do quickly.  And may
Jehovah be our portion, and helper, and everlasting friend!
A&men.
"HE LEFT NOT HIMSELF WITHOUT WITNESS."
Still, through decaying ages, as they glide,
Jehovah's faithful witnesses abide;
Sprinkled along the waste of years,
Full many a soft green isle appears:
Pause where we may upon the desert road,
Some signal is in sight to cheer us on to God.




ELEVENTH DISCOURSE.
WHEN SHALL CHRIST COME?-THE TIME NOT WHOLLY A SECRETRELATION OF CHRIST'S COMIING, IN POINT OF TIME, TO OTHER
THINGS PREDICTED IN THE SCRIPTURES-FIRST METHOD OF COMPUTING THE TIME, OR MILLENNIAL SEPTENARY-SECOND METHOD,
ORt 1260 YEARS' DOMINANCE OF THE PAPACY-THIRD METHOD, OR
TIIE VIALS OF WRATH.
JAMES V. 8: Stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord
draweth nigh.
IF, then, it is a truth that Christ the Lord shall return
again to this world, as the Scriptures so explicitly affirm, and
as is acknowledged in all the creeds, confessions and hymnnbooks in Christendom, one of the most stirring questions concerning it is, WHEN SHALL HE COME?
This question was again and again asked by the disciples
while he was yet on earth, and -must ever possess a lively
interest to every thoroughly Christian heart. But, of all
questions relating to our faith and hope, this is, perhaps, the
most difficult to be answered. Nay, so far as respects the
precise day or year, it cannot be answered by man or angel.
"The times and seasons the Father hath put in his own
power."'
It is true, however, that we need not remain in such total
ignorance on the subject as that that day must needs come
upon us unawares.  Daniel was indeed directed to "shut
up the woids and seal the book" of his visions concerning it;
but they were to remain " closed up and sealed till the time
259




260                THE LAST TIMES.
of the end" only; and he assures us that then "the wise
shall understand," though "the wicked shall not understand."
Jesus himself has described the signs which are to precede it,
by which we may as infallibly judge of the nearness of the
end as we judge of the proximity of summer by the budditg
of the trees. Paul says expressly that " the children of light"' are not in darkness, that that day should overtake them as
a thief." And in the Apocalypse, which is specially devoted
to the portrayal of the grand scenes of Christ's revelation
and the events which are to precede and accompany it, the
particular promise is given, " Blessed is he that readeth and
they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those
things which are written therein;" which certainly implies
the possibility of being able to understand these things with
some good degree of certainty if we will only investigate with
proper attention and prayerfulness. Hence Luther expressed
it as his belief that God would yet raise up some one who
should be able to reckon up the times, and with certainty hit
upon the very day. I hold, therefore, that, instead of rendering ourselves chargeable with irreverent prying into the
secrets of Deity by inquiring wheae Christ shall come, it is
our hopeful duty so to inquire; and that, if any man lack
wisdom to understand what the Scriptures have said upon
this point, he may ask God and expect it to be given him as
liberally as upon any other subject. It is noted, in commendation of the prophets, that they "searched what manner of
time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify;"
and why should not similar searching be commendable in us?
When the disciples asked the Lord, "Tell us when shall these
things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of
the end of the age," he kindly entertained their request; and
now that we are bordering so near upon the time, will he be
angry with us for pressing the same inquiry? And when the
Pharisees and Sadducees came to him with their tempting




WHEN SHALL CHRIST COME.               261
skepticism, did he not rebuke them  as hypocrites who could
" discern the face of the sky," but would not put themselves
to the pains to "discern the signs of the timnes"? Let us
beware, then, how we scout this question, lest we "fall through
the same example of unbelief;" and let us reverently approach
the holy oracles to learn what God has revealed to us, to ascertain our position in the calendar of prophecy and to make ready
for the solemn scenes that are before us. May the Lord aid
us in our inquiries!
Our question is, WHEN SHALL THE SON OF MAN COME?
I propose to consider it, first, relatively, by showing in what
connections with other predicted events the Scriptures place
the coming of Christ; and second, absolutely, by showing to
what period things are pointing as the time of the Savior's
coming.
1. The Son of man shall come in a period of abounding
apostasy, unbelief and wickedness. Such was the condition
of the world when God sent the flood; and Jesus says, "As
the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be." Peter says, " There shall come in the last days
scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is
the promise of his coming?"  Paul says of the coming of
the Lord Jesus, "That day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first;" and that "in the last days perilous
times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are
good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof."  Such statements need no comment.
Christ will come in a period of abounding guilt and faithless.
ness.
2. He shall come in a period of revolutionary troubles,




262                THE LAST TIMES.
political perplexities and gr-at national agitations.  Jesus
says, " There shall be upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves thereof roaring; men's
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things
that are coaling on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall
be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud, with power and great glory." According to the
Revelation of John, the final advent is to be immediately preceded by the outpouring of sundry vials of wrath in quick
succession, each one filling nations with trouble, anguish and
desperation. The Psalmist says of the same period that God
shall speak to the kings and rulers of the earth in his wrath,
"and vex them in his sore displeasure."  This point is also
sufficiently plain and well settled.
3. The Son of man shall come while the ten ultimate divisions or kingdoms of the Roman empire are still standing.
This is clearly revealed in Daniel's interpretations of Nebiuchadnezzar's dream of "the great image."  That image symbolized the four great monarchies that were to exist and succeed each other upon earth. The first was the Babylonian, or
golden head of the image, the lion with eagle's wings. The
second, or silver breast and arms, was the Medo-Persian, the
great-toothed devouring bear. The third, or brazen loins and
thighs, was the Macedonian or Alexander's kingdom, the
leopard with four wings and four heads. And the fourth,
or iron legs and feet, was the Roman empire, the dreadful,
terrible and mighty ten-horned beast which devoured and
trampled down every thing b'fore it. The ten toes, or ten
horns, are the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was
divided by the barbarian invasions, and which now stand as
the representatives of the old Roman empire. And Daniel
tells us that " in the days of these kings (denoted by the ten
toes and horns) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom."
He says that he beheld until these thrones were cast down,




HE WILL COME BEFORE THE JEWS ARE RESTORED. 263
and the time that the beast was slain was the time when the
judgment should sit, and "one like the Son of man came
with the clouds of heaven." The same is taught in the
visions of John.  The ten-horned beast of the thirteenth
chapter can be none other than the Roman empire, and its
ten horns its ten divisions. And, according to the nineteenth
chapter, it continues in existence, persecuting the saints and
warring against the Lamb, until destroyed by the personal
descent of him whose name is The Word of God, King of
kings, and Lord of lords.  This point, then, is also sufficiently established.
4. The Son of man shall come before the Jews as an entire
people shall be restored to Palestine. There will be a portion
of Jacob restored before the Lord comes, but not the entire
ragte. It is expressly said that when God assembles Jacob
and gathers the remnant of Israel, "their King -shall pass
before them, and the Lord on the head of them:" (Micah ii.
12, 13.) "The Lord will go before them, and the God of
Israel will be their rearward:" (Isa. lii. 12.) He must therefore be on earth before this general gathering of the Jews
takes place. It is further evident from the twelfth of Zechariah, the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth of Ezekiel, and the
eighteenth and nineteenth of Revelation, that Christ is personally present when the terrible destruction occurs to the
armies that invade Palestine; whilst it is plain from the sixtysixth of Isaiah that it is only after that terrific overthrow that
the great and triumphant assembling of Israel takes place. It
is those who escape that awful destruction that are to go to
the nations, Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, Javan, and the isles
afar off, and make known the wonders they witnessed; and
only then shall the Gentiles bring all the children of Israel out
of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and inFitters, and
upon mules, and upon swift vehicles, to God's holy mountain
Jerusalem, for an offering unto the Lord: (Isa. lxvi. 19, 20.)




264                 THE LAST TIMES.
It is also explicitly stated that the time of Israel's deliverance
is when Christ personally comes; not before. So Paul affirms
in Romans xi. 26, which he says is the teaching of the prophets. So the Psalmist says:-" When the Lord shall build up
Zion, he shall appear in his glory."  And so Zechariah declares, when God shall "pour upon the house of David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalemn, the spirit of grace and
supplication, they shall look upon himn whom they have
pierced."   Christ will therefore come before the general
restoration of Israel.
5. He will come while the papacy and the Man of sin still
live and continue in power. It.is now established, as well as
any interpretation of prophecy can be, that the "little horn"
in Daniel's vision (Dan. vii. 8-24) denotes the papal power.
And he says, " I beheld, and the same horn made war with
the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of
days came."  It must live on, then, until Christ comes —until' the judgment shall sit."  That the "Man of sin, the son of
perdition," in 2d Thessalonians, is a power closely akin to the
pope and his apostasy, is also pretty well agreed by Protestants.
But Paul describes him as pressing his work of deceit and
blasphemy until "destroyed by the appearing of Christ's own
presence." And in John's account of the doings of Jesus in
the great day when he shall come forth in his wrath, we find
this self-same monster still existing, still arrayed against God,
and only taken and destroyed by the administrations of the
great day of God Almighty. The Son of man shall therefore
certainly come whilst the papacy and antichrist still live.
6. He shall come in a period when a far-sounding cry shall
be raised in slumbering Christendom that his advent is at
hand.  The Savior tells us that il that period "the kingdom
of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins who went forth to
meet the bridegroom; but while the bridegroom tarried they
all slumbered and slept.  AnId at midnight there was a cry




HE WILL COME UNEXPECTED BY THE WORLD.   265
mnade, Behold, the bridegroom corneth; go ye out to meet him."
That this parable portrays the condition of the church in the
period of the advent, there can be no room for doubt.  Christ,
in the preceding chapter, was engaged in a description of his
coming and the end of the age. And this is but a continuation
of that discourse. " THEN," says he,-that is, in the time when
what I have said shall be fulfilled,-then shall the kingdom of
heaven-the community of professing Christians-be like the
ten virgins. They shall sleep with regard to this great subject. And while they sleep the announcement shall go forth
that the bridegroom is coming. The same thing is set forth
in the Apocalypse, where, in connection with the scenes of
the last days, the announcement of the blessed Savior is,
"Behold, I come as a thief; blessed is-he that iwatcheth!"
All this shows that in the period of the advent, a cry declaring his coming shall be poured upon the dull ear of Christendom.
7. But, notwithstanding the cry, Christ shall come when
but few will at all believe that his advent is near.  He says
himself, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith
on the earth?" "In such an hour as ye think not, the Son
of man cometh." "Evil servants shall say in their hearts,
My Lord delayeth his coming." Some will scoff and say,
"WVhere is the promise of his coming?"  People will be saying "Peace and safety," when sudden destruction shall come
upon them. "As in the days that were before the flood, they
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,"self-contentedly pursuing the vanities and pleasures of earth,
-" and knew not until the flood came and took them all away:
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
From these plain statements of the word of God, two things
may be remarked. The first is, that there certainly is to be
no thousand years of universal righteousness and peace previous to Christ's coming.  The second is, that we need fix
23




266                 THE LAST TIMES.
upon no other times for Christ's coming than the times in
which we live.
I proceed, then, to the second branch of the subject, in
which I proposed to bring forward what light can be obtained
for a somewhat more direct and categorical answer to- the
question, When shall Christ come? Nor is there as much
barrenness upon this line of inquiry as may be supposed.
There are sundry distinct and independent processes by which
information may be gathered. And if we should find upon
examination that these several processes harmonize in their
results, we may take them as mutually corroborative, the one
as sustaining the truthfulness of the other, whilst the combined testimony of all, if found to agree, must create a very
strong probability in favor of the period to which they
point.
The first method of computing the tinme I will introduce by
a quotation from Johnston, a distinguished writer on the prophecies.  "Through the whole Scripture, both of the Old and
New Testaments," says he, "there is a striking typical representation of some great and important Sabbath, as a great
septenary that has not yet taken place, and which evidently
appears to be the millenarian septenary, as the great Sabbath
of the whole earth. God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it. In the Decaloghue this peculiar distinguishment of
the seventh day, or weekly sabbath, was most solemnly renewed.
Every seventh year was appointed a sabbatical year. And the
commencement of the year of jubilee, which was every fiftieth
year, was to be fixed by the running of a septenary of sabbatical years.'Thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto
thee, seven years, and the space of the seven sabbaths of
years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.' The numbei
seven, because used in Scripture to complete all the sacred
divisions of time, was regarded by the Jews as the symbol of
perfection, and is used in this sense in Scripture. The ques



THE SEVENTH MILLENNIUM.               267
tion then arises, Is it to be supposed that all these events,
which are interwoven with the Mosaic dispensation, which was
itself symbolical or typical, and which are introduced into the
New Testament, and abound so much in the book of Revelation, have no antetype to correspond to them?-no great sabbatical septenary to which they all point and in which they
all shall be accomplished? Is it not highly probable that they
are all typical of the seventh millenary of the earth, which is
the great Sabbath?" To this I may answer that it is not
only probable, but the next thing to absolute certainty.
When we go back into antiquity, whether Jewish, heathen
or Christian, we find a general and deeply-seated belief that
the world shall endure six thousand years in its secular and
toiling state, answering to the six days of the creation; and
that then will follow a thousand years of holy rest, peace and
joy,-the millennial Sabbath, or golden period of the world.
Bishop Russell, of Scotland, says, "It is found in the most
ancient of those commentaries of the Old Testament whichvwe
owe to the learning of the Rabbinical school;" and that " there
is no room for doubt that the notion preceded by several centuries the introduction of the Christian faith." It is given as
a tradition of the house of Elias, and thought by many to date
back to the great prophet Elijah. Professor Bush, in his book
against the millennium, speaks of this tradition, and says, "It
is but fair to admit, that, as there is nothing in the Scriptures
which directly contradicts it, it may be well founded." According to Plutarch, the Chaldeans had a similar belief.
Zoroaster also taught it. Daubuz says that the Tuscans held
it, and that it is retained among the Persians to this day. The
Magi entertained it. We saw in a previous discourse that it
was held and inculcated, as a branch of Christian truth, by
Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Papias, Irenmus, Tertullian, Cyprian,
and all orthodox Christians for the first centuries of the Christian era.  Luther entertained it.  Melancthon wrote it on the




268                THE LAST TIMES.
fly-leaf of the Bible, as a matter not to be disputed. Thousands
of divines since his time have received it as part of their
faith. And when we come to place together certain statements of the Scriptures, there seems to me to be a weight of
testimony in its favor sufficient to warrant us in regarding, it
as sacred truth.  Look at these sentences:"In six days the.Lord made heaven and earth."
"On the seventh day he rested and was refreshed."
"One day is with the Lord as a thousand years."
"THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST — aafaiarclo'o, a
KEEPING OF SABBATH -TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD."
I have shown that Christ will come before the millennium,
not after it. The millennium is the seventh thousand years,
or great Sabbath, of the world. Now then, if we can ascertain in what period of the world's age we live, we may form
some idea of the time when the Son of man shall come. To
ascertain this with certain accuracy is impossible; but we may
approximate the truth with some degree of reliability. The
holy Book, to which we are indebted for what else we know
upon this subject, has not left blank the department of dates.
The births and ages of the ancient patriarchs, both before
and since the flood, have been so particularly and circumstantially recorded that we can readily measure the period
through which they lived by summing the united lengths of
time occupied by the several generations. There are also
various important records by which to measure the duration
of the servitude in Egypt, of the wandering in the wilderness, and of the reign of the Judges, by whom Israel was
governed to the institution of the kingdom under Saul. From
that on to the Babyl6nian captivity the name of every king
is given in succession, with the length of time each one
reigned. And from the time of the captivity to the present,
records, both sacred and profane, are such as leave but little
room for uncertainty.




OPINIONS OF CHRONOLOGISTS.           269
The commonly received chronology, which is usually found
printed in the margins of our Bibles, is no part of the inspired record. These dates are inserted from a system framed
by Archbishop Usher, and others. It is now agreed that it is
defective in many particulars. According to that, it would
yet be about one hundred and thirty-five years to the end of
the sixth thousand. Capellus reduces this one year; Kennedy, Bedford, and Ferguson, 3 years; Playfair and Walker,
4; Rheinhold, 16; Pererius and Jarvis, 17; Langius, 37;
Spondanus and Torniellus, 47; Salianus, 49; Maimonides
and Blancarnus, 54; Riccioli, 58; Chinese Jews, 75; De
Pontac, 84; Genebrard, 86; Ribera, 91; Lidyat, 99; Browne,
117; Vignier, Bowen, and Elliott, 124; Shimeall and Saville
about 130; and Tynes, Clinton and others reduce the time to
still shorter limits. Having looked somewhat into these chronological matters, I am satisfied that it would be wrong to
rely with too much confidence upon either of these or any
other like reckonings. There is un certainty about them all.
In the general, however, those are in every way the most reliable which leave but little of the six thousand years unexpired. I have been led to believe that we now are, most probably, in the 5994th year of the world since the creation of
Adam; which would bring us, at the present, (1863,) within
some seven years of the Sabbatic Millennium and the glorious
epiphany of our Lord. At any rate, we may be pretty confident that we shall reach the consummation before the end of
this century.*
We pass, then, to another method of computation on this
subject, to see whither it will conduct us.
The "little horn" described in the steventh of Daniel, the
prophet declares, "made war with the saints, and prevailed
* See Note K, page 356.
23:,




270                 THE LAST TIMES.
against them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgimrent
was given to the saints;" that is, until the coming of Christ.
He also tells us the duration of the period in which the saints
are thus to be afflicted. " They shall be given into his hand
until a tlime and times, and the dividing of time," or three
years and a half. These are of course prophetic or symbolical years, in which each day stands for a year; as in Numb.
xiv. 13; Ez. iv. 4-6; Rev. ii. 10; Dan. ix. 24; where this
matter is sufficiently explained, a day standing for a year. So
Melancthon and the Magdeburg centuriators understood them.
Professor Stuart says, " The great mass of interpreters in the
English and American world have, for many years, been wont
to understand the days designated in Daniel and the Apocalypse as the representatives or symbols of years. I have found
it difficult to trace the origin of this general, I might say,
almost UNIVERSAL cIustom." Professor Bush says, " In taking
a dlay as the prophetical time for a year, I believe you are
sustained by the soundest exegesis, as well as fortified by the
high names of Mede, Sir Isaac Newton, Faber, Scott, Bishop
Newton, Keith, and a host of others..... If the old yearday is wrong, not only has the whole Christian world been
led astray for ages by a mere ignis-fatuus of false hermeneuties, but the church is at once cut loose from every chronological mooring, and set adrift on the open sea, without the
vestige of a beacon, lighthouse, or star by which to determine
her bearings or distances from the desired millennial haven
to which she had hoped she was tending."
Three years and a half, as men anciently reckoned, contain
twelve hundred and sixty days. Twelve hundred and sixty
years, then, is the length of the period from the giving of the
saints into the hand of the little horn to the judgment and
coming of the Ancient of days.  Hence, if we can ascertain
when the saints were given into the hand of the little horn,
we may judge of the time when Christ is likely to come.




1260 YEARS OF THE LITTLE HORN.           271
I have said that this little horn denotes the papacy. It may
have other applications, but this, without doubt, must be included.
The terrible beast on which it grew certainly represents the
Roman empire; and the papacy arose upon the Roman empire.
It grew up among ten other horns of this beast, which are
ten kings or kingdoms; the papacy sprung into being from
among the ten separate but closely-related powers into which
the old Roman empire was divided by the barbarian invasions.
Before this little horn, three of the other horns were
plucked up; the papacy possessed itself of the Gothic kingdom of Odoacer, which fell in 493, the Ostrogothic kingdom
of Theodoric, which fell in 554, and the Lombardic kingdom
of Alboin, which fell in 774; and thus, as proclaimed in the
bull against Queen Elizabeth, he subdued three kingdoms.
This little horn was " diverse from the first," or other ten;
the papacy is an ecclesiastico-political establishment, altogether
different in its elements from the other kingdoms in which it
sprung up.
"In this (little) horn were eyes, like the eyes of a man."
The papacy claims to be a universal overseer, and is full of
cunning, subtlety and far-sighted plans.
It had also "a mouth speaking. great things"-" great
words against the Most High," and "his look was more stout
than his fellows." The papacy has ever been characterized
by its pompous, arrogant, sacrilegious and blasphemous assumptions. There never has been a king or potentate on
earth who has ventured upon such pretensions as the pope of
Rome.
The little horn "thought to change times and laws."
Since the times of Julius Caesar, none but the papacy has ever
arrogated the right to regulate the calendar, or to dictate and
annul the legislation of the world.
This little horn prevailed against the saints, and wearied
them out, and had them in his hand. The papacy is the




272                TwE LAST TIMES.
power from which the humble confessors of Jesus have suffered more thah from Nero and Caligula.
In every particular the prophetic description fits the papacy,
and must in some sense refer to it.
The giving of the saints into the hands of the papacy was
the investiture of the popes with universal jurisdiction, oversight and dominion over the church. Clothing them with
such power was most literally and effectually giving the saints
into their hand. Let us inquire, then, when this occurred.
History presents two dates, at which different interpreters
have thought they could trace the act which gave the saints
into the hands of the papacy. The one is the year 533 or
534, when the Emperor Justinian gave the pope precedence.
of all his episcopal brethren; the other is the year 606,
when the Emperor Phocas declared the pope head of all the
churches, and sole universal bishop." Newton has mentioned
other dates, such as the years 727, when the pope and the
Romans finally broke their connection with the Eastern emperor; 755, when the pope obtained the exarchate of Ravenna; 774, when he acquired the kingdom of Lombardy;
and 787, when the worship of images was first established,
and the pope's supremacy endorsed by the second Council of
Nice. But neither of these dates mentioned by Newton answers to the case before us; and Newton himself does not
venture to say upon which of them we are to rely. And the
earlier date which goes back to the time of Justinian seems
equally inadequate to answer to that for which we are inquiring. The truth is, that the papal power was not the product
of a single day or year. It grew. But the great and effective
act which made the pope lord of Christendom, and thus
gave the saints into his hand, was the decree of Phocas in
A.D. 606.  It is to this date that the great mass of the most
accredited interpreters refer us in connection with this subject.
Taking this as the date, then, when the papacy obtained its




SUNDRY AUTHORITIES.               273
power, and adding twelve hundred and sixty years, the given
period of its dominancy, we are carried down to the year 1866
or 1867 as the time when Christ shall come and the judgment
sit,-the exact date which Bowen and others have hit upon
by an entirely different process.
The authorities sustaining this computation are very numerous, and include some of the weightiest of names. I will
refer to a few.
Baronius, in his ecclesiastical annals, and other Romish
historians, have referred to the decree of Phocas in 606, as
the first effective official acknowledgment of the pope's supremacy.  Mosheim says, "The most learned writers, and those
who are most remarkable for their knowledge of antiquity, are
generally agreed that Boniface III. engaged Phocas, that
abominable tyrant, to take from the bishop of Constantinople
the title of ecumenical or universal bishop, and to confer it
upon the Roman pontiff; and thus was the papal supremacy
first introduced."
Luther alludes to the year 606 as a notable commencing
papal epoch. Osiander, one of his first disciples, has done
the same. Flacius, also a pupil of Luther and Melancthon,
represented the twelve hundred and sixty days as having commenced in 606, and by consequence as running out in 1866.
Robert Fleming, about one hundred and fifty years ago, in
his little book on the Rise and Fall of Papacy, said, "We
may justly reckon that the papal head took its rise from that
remarkable year, 606, when Phocas did in a manner devolve
the government of the West upon him, by giving him the title
of universal bishop. From which period, if we date the twelve
hundred and sixty years, they lead us down (as I said already)
to the year 1866."
David Simpson, a divine of the last century, says, " Some
begin to reckon (the twelve hundred and sixty years) from
the year 606, when the proud prelate of Rome was declared
S




274                THE LAST TIMES.
universal bishop. If this be right, (and he seems to be
strongly of that opinion,) then the Pope of Rome will be completely destroyed about the year 1866," and Christ of course
come; for the papacy is to stand till Christ comes.
Scott, the commentator, says, " The beginning of the twelve
hundred and sixty years must be placed subsequent to the
four first trumpets, on the subversion of the Western empire
in 566. This made way for the pope. He became universal
bishop in A.D. 606."
The learned George Stanley Faber, who examined very
deeply into these subjects, says, "The year which I have fixed
upon for the date of the twelve hundred and sixty years, is
the year 606, —a year marked by so singular a combination of
circumstances, that I know not how any other can with equal
propriety be selected. If, then, I be right in my opinion, we
are now removed but little more than sixty years from the
commencement of the end of the vintage of God's wrath."
This was written in 1805, and fixes 1866 as the time when
things shall come to the scenes of their consummation.
But I have not the time to multiply quotations. Chytrteus,
Pareus, Whiston, Cogswell, Bryant, Elliott, Cumming, Junkin,
Berg, and many more, have taken the same dates.  This
method of computing the time of the end is, therefore, not a
mere conceit, but a thing commanding the belief of some of
our ablest interpreters, and claiming our particular attention.
I will only add the testimony of Luther, who, not long before
his death, said, "I persuade myself verily that the day of
judgment will not remain absent full three hundred years
more;" according to which we are now living in the very
period of the judgment. I would not be understood as holding or teaching that Christ will certainly come in three years
from the present time. I do not feel authorized to fix upon
any one specific date for that great event. But here we have
two distinct and independent processes, sustained by the best




THE SEVEN VIALS.                 275
authorities on the subject, and both of which concur in the
representation that the day of Christ's coming is near at hand,
and lies within the limits of this present century. Well may
we then take up the language of the text and say, "THE
COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETH NIGH!"
But there is still another method by which light may be
thrown upon this mysterious subject.
In the sixteenth chapter of Revelation we read of seven
angels having seven vials of the wrath of God, which they
pour out in quick succession upon the inhabitants of the
earth. These vials are called " seven plagues," and evidently
relate to "the last times."  It is under the pouring out of
the sixth vial that the coming of Christ is announced. And
if we can identify the fulfillment of these plagues, and ascertain under which of them we are now living, we may form
some idea of our probable nearness to the time of the Savior's
coming. Let us then enter upon this inquiry.
" And the first (angel) went and poured out his vial upon
the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon
the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them
which worshipped his image."
This, and what follows in the vision, is of course symbolic,
and is to be interpreted by the laws which apply to symbolic
language.  "The land or earth, when distinguished from the
sea, rivers, fountains and heaven, denotes the population of
an empire under a settled government.  The ulcer denotes an
analogous disease of the mind, a restlessness and rancor of
passion exasperated by agitating and noxious principles and
opinions, that fill it with a sense of obstruction, degradation
and misery, resembling the torture of an ulcerated body."
Accordingly, the best interpreters apply this vial to the first
or incipient stages of the French Revolution.  As Lord
remarks, "No synAbol can be conceived more suited to repre.
sent the restlessness under injury, the ardor of resentment,




276                THE LAST TIMES.
hate and revenge, the noxiousness and contagion of false
principles and opinions, that marked the commencement of
the political disquiets and agitations of the European states
toward the close of the last century.... France received its
first and largest tempest.  But the angel, scattering a shower
on Belgium, Holland and the Valley of the Rhine, crossed
the Alps, steeping heights and recesses in the bitter flood,
drenched the vales and plains of Italy, swept around over the
German empire and the British isles, and finally dashed the
vengeful dregs on the peninsula of Portugal and Spain and
the distant southern shores of this continent."
-"And the second poured out his vial upon the sea, and it
became as the blood of a dead man; and every living thing
died in the sea."
" This denotes the second great act in the tragedy of the
French Revolution, in which the people slaughtered one another in feuds, insurrections and civil wars, and exterminated with the dagger, the bayonet and the guillotine, all the
influential ranks,-king, queen, nobles, prelates, civil magistrates, priests, military commanders, soldiers, persons of illustrious descent, of distinguished reputation, of talents, of wealth,
and demagogues, political chiefs, who rose to conspicuity and
influence by their acts as revolutionists." Every living soul
in any way distinguished died in the sea of deadly blood! So
Lord, Faber and Cunninghame understand this vial.
"And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers
and fountains of waters; and they became blood."
" This symbol denotes the vast bloodshed in other Apocalyptical kingdoms in the insurrections and wars which sprung
out of the French Revolution.  It commenced in Austria in
1792, and soon extended to Holland, Sardinia, Russia, Italy,
Spain, England, Prussia, Switzerland, Denmark and Portugal,
and continued with little intermission for more than twenty
years,. in which the blood of millions of the French was




FOURTH AND FIFTH VIALS.              277
poured out on the soil of other kingdoms, millions of other
nations in resisting their aggressions, and vast multitudes of
both sexes put to death in the violence of revolution, the
siege and sack of cities and the repression of insurrections."
Lord, Faber, Cunninghame, Keith and Elliott.
"And the fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun;
and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And
men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name
of God, which hath power over these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory."
The sun, in the language of symbols, denotes the civil
power, or those who exercise government in a kingdom or
state. This plague is accordingly interpreted of those oppressions and spoliations which resulted from previous wars and
troubles, and with which the revolutionary rulers of France
and contemporary authorities of other countries scorched and
devoured their subjects. Alison says that a war of plunder,
confiscation and slaughter was waged against the rich from
mere envy and avarice, and thousands of families were reduced from affluence to beggary. Time would fail for an
enumeration of the distresses inflicted by the mad worshippers of reason and liberty, and even by Napoleon himself.
History hardly contains a parallel to those times of wo. And
yet the people repented not of their sins.-Lord, Faber, Cunninghame, Keith, and others.
"And the fifth angel poured out his vial on the seat of the
beast; and his kingdom  was full of darkness; and they
gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of
heaven, because of their pains and sores, and repented not
of their deeds."
This plague is so much like the first that it can only be
applied to similar revolutionary scenes, in which thrones are
made to totter, their power obscured and kingdoms thrown into
confusion and distress. The mention of the sores and pains
24




278               THE LAST TIMES.
of the first vial shows that these plagues overlap and run
through each other, and that they have respect, at least for
the most part, to the same people. The wild beast is the civil
power of the ten kingdoms occupying the place of the old
Roman empire. The pouring of the vial on the seat of the
beast shows the troubles with which their authority should be
assailed, and the extreme peril to which their power should be
subjected. And to what could all this more forcibly apply
than to those scenes of revolution which, in 1848, jostled
every throne and threatened the utter destruction of every
government in Europe?  Look back and think over that
year of wonders. Consider how the spirit of liberty, poisoned
and fouled by many sad commixtures, rose up to shake and
darken the world. Convulsion rushed upon the heels of convulsion, until it became difficult to keep pace with the swift
shiftings of the fearful diorama. The first cry came from the
sunny plains of Lombardy.  The Milanese were in open rebellion. Sicily next felt the mighty movement. The imbecile
and cruel Bourbon King of Naples stood powerless before his
indignant subjects.  The Dukes of Tuscany, Parma and
Modena beheld themselves suddenly shorn of their old authority.  Paris saw another revolution, and the dynasty of
Orleans went down forever.  Stern and formal Germany
rocked from one extremity to the other. The throne of the
great Frederick seemed to turn to ashes before the driving
wind. The imperial crown fell from the old master of Austria
before the brave Magyar, and its wearer driven as a fugitive
to the mountains of the Tyrol. Rome shook from centre to
circumference, and threw off in horror that pontiff who claims
to be the vicar of Christ and the lord of all Christendom. England herself was filled with uneasiness, not knowing at s8at
moment her proud fabric might lie level with the'~st.
Every thing was tossed hither and thither with the black
storms of revolutionary fury. The vial of the wrath of God




THE SIXTH VIAL.                  279
was poured out upon the seat of the beast, and threatened
the whole system of European politics with utter destruction.
But the tide soon turned. The time for the end had not
yet come. Despotism and tyranny have since entrenched
themselves in their former seats in redoubled strength. And
disappointed hope lies festering in the bosoms of subdued or
exiled revolutionists, whilst they gnaw their tongues in the
pains of unvented ire and blaspheme God for their sores and
want of success. The fifth vial, then, has been entirely and
but recently fulfilled.
"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great
river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that
the way of the kings of the east might be prepared."
Numerous expositors apply this to the Turkish empire, and
the gradual disappearance of that persecuting power. If this
be true, the prophecy is most rapidly fulfilling. Isaac Taylor
says, "Mahometan empire is decrepit, Mahometan faith is
decrepit; and both are ready to vanish away." Lamartine
says, "Turkey is perishing for want of Turks."  Lieutenant
Lynch, from what he saw there, says, "The dispassionate observer can already predict the downfall of the Ottoman empire. The handwriting is on the wall, and it needs not a
Daniel to interpret it."   Cumming has collected a great
number of most remarkable testimonies to the same effect.
But it seems to me that this is not the correct application
of this prophecy. The river here mentioned is connected
with the mystic Babylon, just as the literal Euphrates was
related to the literal Babylon that was built upon it. The
mystic Babylon is the combination of nationalized hierarchies
or churches; and the mystic Euphrates must therefore refer
to the popular support from which these establishments
derive their sustenance and riches, just as the literal Euphrates was the source of the supplies of the literal Babylon.
And as ancient Babylon was destroyed by the kings of the




280                 THE LAST TIMES.
East by diverting the Euphrates from its proper channel, so
these state-church establishments shall be destroyed by the
diversion and withdrawing - drying up - of their present
supports. It is in this sense that Lord, Winthrop and others
understand this prophecy; and I see no reason to dissent from
them. If this, then, be the true application of this vial, the
evidences are before us, and increasing every day, that it is
beginning to be fulfilled. The withdrawment of a large body
of ministers and people from the Scotch national church, the
extensive secessions from the Romish churches of Germany,
the resignations of many ministers in Switzerland, are recent
events which accord exactly with this symbol. Thousands
upon thousands are coming out of these establishments every
year by immigration to our own country. Thousands in
Ireland are relinquishing the old system and embracing the
simple gospel.  In Italy and parts of Germany, the great
mass of the population is literally infidel, and ready at any
moment to murder every priest and to rifle every church.
Sardinia is in arms against the ecclesiastical exactions under
which she has suffered. In Mexico, government has turned
its hand to seize upon the hoarded wealth of the church..
Every day the ranks of secessionists and dissenters are growing
and swelling i-n France, in Scotland, in England, in parts of
Germany.  Taxation for the  support of lordly and lazy
bishops who revel on their thousands per annum is beginning
to grind hard upoh men who cannot believe that such luxurious
parasites are the exclusive successors of the makers of tents
and the menders of nets.  Church hierarchies and state
religious establishments are falling into less and less repute
every day. The waters of the Euphrates are drying up;
they are turning from their channel, and soon shall the
destroyers enter this den of spiritual harlotry, and great
Babylon shall fall to rise no more.
The first part of this vial, therefore, is fulfilling.  Upon




~" SPIRITUALISM."                281
the second part I am not so confident.  John says, "I saw
three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of
the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of
the mouth of the false prophet. For they are nsvuarva
aac.u!vwo-demon-spirits, — working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to
gather them to the war of that great day of God Almighty."
This evidently refers to some new and strangely-successful
turn in the affairs of the kingdom of darkness. Wonders are
to be wrought. Demons are to be the agents. The movement is to combine the elements of paganism, European politics, and the false religion of the papists.  Its effect shall be
to marshal the powers of the world for their last conflict.
And it is not at all improbable that we have the beginning of
all this in the strange, infatuating, and widely-spreading
abomination called "SPIRITUALISM." Paul most solemnly
assures us that "The Spirit (of God) speaketh expressly, that
IN THE LATTER TIMES some shall depart from  the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and W3aanxaA2a(  aa(ioov(wv —
TEACHINGS OF DEMONS —speaking lies in hypocrisy:" (1 Tim.
iv. 1, 2.) I cannot dwell upon this now; but I am convinced
that a careful investigation of this system of demonism will
show many and strong points of correspondence to what Paul
and John have here written. It is yet in its incipiency.
Time will reveal the truth. But enough is plain to show that
we are now living in the period of the sixth vial. The fifth
reached its acme eight years ago. The sixth certainly has
begun. And it is in connection with this sixth vial that
Jesus says, "BEHOLD, I COME."*
My brethren, look at it, and put not the solemn truth away
from you. Here are three wholly different and independent
methods of ascertaining something as to the period when our
blessed Lord shall come; and each of the three, according to
our very best information on the subject, gives forth the
* See Note L, page 362.
24*




282                  THE LAST TIMES.
distinct and firm testimony that we are at this moment
treading the very margin of the great consummation.
There is still another method of learning when the final
advent is -near, the presentation of which I will reserve for
another discourse. But, look in whatever direction we may,
we shall only find the evidence thickening that the time has
wellnigh come.
"The -tide of pomp
That beats upon the high shore of this world,"
is ebbing fast. Soon shall those great solemn words be
spoken,-" IT IS DONE!"
"Six thousand years of sorrow have wellnigh
Fulfilled their tardy and disastrous course
Over a sinful world; and what remains
Of this tempestuous state of human things
Is merely as the working of the sea
Before a calm that rocks itself to rest....... The world appears
To toll the death-bell of its own decease,
And by the voice of all its elements
To preach the general doom!"
And after gathering together all the light within my reach,
I say to you, in all seriousness and honesty, that I believe
there are some listening to me now who will never taste of death
till they see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory. You may consider me beside
myself if you will. You may take heed to my announcement,
or you may despise it as folly. You may be wise, and prepare
to meet God, or you may take the opiates of unbelief, and say,
"No danger! no danger!" But, in the name of that Jesus
whom I believe to have sent me to you as his ambassador, I
declare to you that "THE COMING OF THE LORD DRAWETIr
NIGH!"
What, then, is to be done?  Shall we turn aside from our




THE DUTY OF CHRTSTIANS.               283
avocations and give ourselves up to dejection or the silly conceits of wild enthusiasts? No, no, no. We niust only stand
the firmer to our posts. The command of Jesus is, " OccuPY
TILL I COME." We must keep steadfastly to the duties of
our places, and do with our might what our hands find to do,
and work and wait, and wait as we work, until Christ shall
call to us from the heavens, " Well done, good and faithful
servants; enter ye into the joy of your Lord!" He never
meant that the promise of his coming should frighten us, or
depress us, or make us unhappy. He meant it for the comfort
of his people in their trials, to inflame their zeal, to inspire
their hopes, and to serve as a sort of present compensation for
their toils and sufferings. Instead of being disconfited, then,
as we see the time drawing near, let us rather be joyful, and
lift up our heads, and press for the crowns that are drawing
so close. The faithless and the impenitent may well be
alarmed and be moved to cry for mercy; but for those who
have laid up their treasures in the world to come, the scenes
at hand are full of gladness.
The admonition of the text is, "Stablish your hearts."
That is, we are to grasp firm hold of the exceeding great and
precious promises of Jesus, and rest confidently upon God's
sublime covenant of mercy, and make up our minds to stand
or fall clasping the cross, and we shall be safe.  We must
settle our souls upon Him who is able to save to the uttermost,
and give ourselves fully up to be his followers and servants,
and he will not disown us in that great day. Though we may
have been slumbering long upon Delilah's lap, if we will only
rouse up and keep to our duty in Christ Jesus we shall have
strength against all our foes and all our dangers.
Let me exhort you, then, by the stirring solemnities of this
theme, to be up and doing. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and
arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." If you
have been prayerless hitherto, begin at once to call upon that




284                   THE LAST TIMES.
Savior who has never yet despised the cry of a sincere suppliant. If you have never avowed yourself a disciple of Jesus,
do it at once, and put yourself within the range of that proffered grace which God has declared to be sufficient for you.
"Be not afraid; only believe."   And if you are depressed,
burdened, or cast down at the prospect before us, listen to the
sweet voice of the Savior, as he tenderly says to you and to
all, "COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOR AND ARE HEAVY
LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON
YOU, AND LEARN OF ME, AND YE SHALL FIND REST UNTO
YOUR SOULS."
WAKE! AWAKE!
Wake! awake! the call is flying,
From watchmen on the ramparts crying,
Awake! awake! Jerusalem!
While the midnight is prevailing,
These voices clear all souls are hailing:
Virgins, where are ye, virgins pure?
The Bridegroom comes! awake!
The wise their torches take!
HALLELUIA!
Haste to prepare
The feast to share;
The time has come to meet him there I
Zion hears the watchmen singing,
Their hearts with joy and rapture springing.
She wakes, she boundeth from her gloom.
Comes her friend from heaven all-glorious,
In grace, how strong! in truth victorious;
Her Star ascends, her Light is come!
Appear, thou crowned One,
Jesus, God's only Son!
SAVE US, 0 LORD!
We follow thee
Till heaven we see,
And at thy banquet sup with thee.
PHILIP NIKOLAI, 1597.




TWELFTH DISCOURSE.
RECAPITULATION -FOURTH METHOD OF ASCERTAINING WHEN CHRIST
SHALL COME, OR THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES -THE SENTIMENTS OF
DISTINGUISHED MEN RESPECTING THE NEARNESS OF THE END-THE
INTENSE DESIRABLENESS OF THE SAVIOR'S COMING-CONCLUSION.
LUKE xxi. 28: And when7 these things beginm to come to pass, then
look up, and lift tup your heads: for your redemrntioz drauweth
nigh.
IT is now three months since I commenced discoursing to
you upon the holy prophecies concerning "The Last Times."
And though I have announced this as my last discourse in
this series, I find that I have not uttered the half that I
originally contemplated. I have presented only some fragments of the grand system of God's purposes, as I think I
see it revealed in his holy word. I regret that I have not
been able to say more and to say it better. Nevertheless,
under the divine blessing, what I have said may not be
in vain. It may serve to set you upon trains of thought and
investigation, and thus conduct you to a knowledge of what is
coming on the earth, which perhaps you would not otherwise have reached. I thank God that he has preserved my
life and health to pursue these studies thus far, and that so
many have given me their serious attention, notwithstanding
the obstacles interposed by a winter of unwonted severity.
The pleasure and profit which these efforts have given me
more than repay for the toils they have cost, whilst I have the
further comfort of knowing that they have been blest to the
285




286                THE LAST TIMES.
good of immortal souls.  Prophecy was "written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
Scriptures might have hope;" and in fulfillment of this end
have I thus been engaged upon it. I preach for no other
purpose than to render you wiser, better and happier. I
stand here only to help you to become more heavenly in
your thoughts, more angelic in your affections and more
Christ-like in your character. And if ever I should lose sight
of this great aim of my office, I should fear that my tongue
would cleave to the roof of my mouth.
It is, perhaps, the greatest failing of the Christians of this
generation that they are too speculative and imitative in their
religion. We are too easily satisfied with floating notions of
what the Scriptures teach, without searching and verifying
for ourselves. We are too prone to think it enough to
comply with popular religious customs, and to assent indefinitely to the belief current among those around us. We do
not draw our ideas and our hopes with sufficient directness
from the fountains of truth, nor bring the teaching of revelation home to our hearts with the proper practical earnestness. We are orthodox enough, but too undevout. We
assent to the revealments of God, but we do not drink them
in, and imbed them in our souls, and wrap them up in the
warm embrace of our affections, as we should.  Dr. Chalmers
once said, " I have all my life viewed the truths of Christianity
too much in the way of speculation, and as if at a distance. I
have not closed with them; I have not laid hold of them; I
have not apprehended them. I have been persuaded of the
truth of the promises, but not embraced them. With the
exception of an occasional gleam of light and comfort from
the freeness of the gospel, I have had no steady, habitual,
personal sense of that freeness.  I have abundantly acknowledged it, but have not used it."
This is a sad confession, and a statement too true of many




LUKEWARMNESS OF MODERN CHRISTIANS.    287
modern Christians even of the more reputable sort. What
we need is a new baptism in the faith which appreciates the
power of divine truth and sees and feels its reality. We
need some spiritual solvent to reduce our knowledge to wisdom and our intellectual assent to a hearty consent. We
need a more vivid and abiding apprehension of what God hath
said, that we may live more in and upon his word. Nor is
this anywhere more needed than upon the thrilling themes we
have been considering. Though there is not a doctrine of our
holy Christianity more largely treated in the Scriptures, more
definitely asserted in all the creeds, more touchingly celebrated
in our sacred songs, or more constantly acknowledged in our
sermons and our prayers, than the coming again of Christ;
yet there is hardly another article of faith so coldly, remotely,
indefinitely and fruitlessly apprehended. Though it involves
all our sublimest hopes, and is the basis of our most precious
expectations, how few ever advert to it as a reality, or have
any clear conceptions of it! Though it is the culmination of
human hope and destiny, to how many is it a mere dead letter,
awak'ening no emotion, exciting no concern and making
no impression! Though nobody disputes it, yet who feels it
or lays hold of it as a literal truth? As a vital thing, it has
wellnigh dropped out of the creed. Its practical influences
upon men's hearts and lives have become so feeble as to be
almost imperceptible. When Christianity was pure, this doctrine was among the most vivifying of the faith. Men believed it, and it quenched the fear of death and made martyrdom a thing to be coveted; but now it stands upon our books
like a superannuated fable. Then it beamed forth a light and
life which lifted the soul up in sublime and joyous anticipations; but now it has become like the mute letters in the
spelling of certain words, which, for IlI practical purposes,
might as well be omitted as retained. These are deplorable
facts. They speak badly for our experience in divine things,




288                THE LAST TIMES.
and tell a mournful tale for modern Christianity. Who, then,
can mistake the plain duty of a faithful minister in such a case?
The subject is too momentous to be trifled with. Our responsibilities are too solemn for us to be unconcerned. Hence, in
much weakness, but with honesty of purpose, I have endeavored to raise my voice in serious warning, and made it my
studied aim to give no "uncertain sound." Firmly believing
that " He that shall come will come, and will not tarry," I
have labored hard to advise you of his approach, and to have
you wide awake, that that day may not overtake you unawares.
I have accordingly gone back to the original fountains of
information upon the subject. I have tried to show where
and how it is presented in the Scriptures. I have called your
attention especially to Christ's own great predictions respecting
it, and endeavored to brush away some of the cobwebs of a
perverted erudition with which modern commentation has
obscured and defaced it, and shown that the Savior means
exactly what he says.
I have proven to you, in the second place, that Christ's
coming is not to be a thousand years hence, at the end of a
fancied millennium of universal righteousness, liberty and
peace; that sin, oppression and antichristianism shall prevail
in the world until he comes; and that only his personal
presence and administrations on earth will make the millennium, or impart to this lower creation the redemption for
which it sighs.
In the third place, I showed that the prevailing notion that
when Christ comes it will be to depopulate, destroy and annihilate the earth, is the mere dream of poets, without foundation in the word of God. This earth shall endure forever,
and in the light of its sister worlds roll on to all eternity.  It
will be changed in its fashion, but not destroyed. It will be
renovated, but not depopulated. It will be restored, not annihilated.  It will yet be the bright dwelling-place of righteous



RECAPITULATION.                   289
ness and peace. The will of God shall yet be done here as it
is in heaven. It will be the perpetual home of a saintly
population, reflecting the glory of its Maker and rejoicing
forever in his smiles. All that is vile in principle or impure
in effect will be purged away; but its firm substance, its
splendid scenery, and its impressive images of the Creator's
power and the Redeemer's love, shall never end. After Christ
shall come and set up his throne here, as Chalmers says,
"There will be a firm earth, as we have at present, and a
-heaven stretched over it, as at present; and it is not by the
absence of these, but the absence of sin, that the abodes of
immortality will be characterized. There will be both heavens
and earth in the next great administration, with only this
specialty to mark it from the present one, that it will be-a
heavens and earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."
I next explained the resurrection, showing that the resurrection for which we are to aim and hope is an eclectic resurrection,-a resurrection of them  that sleep in Jesus from
among the dead at Christ's coming, and that "the rest of the
dead" shall not live again until the thousand years are
finished.
I have also exhibited the Scriptural evidences of the great.
fact that the Messiah's reign is to be in this world in a universal and eternal kingdom of bliss and glory.
I have endeavored to expound to you the mysterious doctrine and administrations of the coming judgment: how it
now exists, how it will be manifested at Christ's coming, and
how it will affect the various classes concerned.
I have unfolded to you the destiny of the Jewish race:
their restoration, their sanctification, their blessed condition in
the millennium, and the good that is yet to come to the world
through them.
I have placed before you something of the world to come,
where Christ's sovereign and personal rule is to be revealed, —
T                    25




290                  THE LAST TIMES.
that new earth, in which the entire creation shall again return
to its pristine loveliness, and where, as Heber sings,
"On David's throne shall David's offspring reign,
And the dry bones be warm with life again,
Ten thousand harps attune the mystic song,
Ten thousand thousand saints the strain prolong,-' Worthy the Lamb! Omnipotent to save,
Who died, who lives, triumphant o'er the grave!"'
I have further shown you that these are no mere dreams,
now for the first time broached, or found only in the rhapsodies of enthusiastic minds. I have proven to you that such
were substantially the hopes of the church before Christ came
as the child of Mary; that Jesus and his inspired apostles
spoke of these hopes as deeply founded in the purposes and
promises of God; that they were entertained, preached and
gloried in by those who received their instructions from
apostolic lips, and by the Luthers, and Arndts, and Paleys,
and Baxters, and Wesleys, and Halls, and Edwardses and
Chalmerses of the first three hundred years of the Christian
church; that no Christian ever disputed them previous to the
time of Origen; and that they are now held and proclaimed by
hundreds and thousands among the purest, the most eloquent,
the most learned, and the most useful of the children of God on
the face of the earth. How the church came to lose sight of
these hopes I have also indicated. It was popery that obscured
them and cast them into darkness. First came Origen's fanciful method of interpreting the Scriptures, casting uncertainty
upon the clearest statements, and introducing a way of exposition which all men unite in lamenting and condemning.
Then came the desire to render the Christian faith palatable
to a Roman emperor, and then to the papal usurper, leading
to a repudiation of a part of the Bible and the mutilation and
interpolation of the writings of the fathers. And thus, as the
joint work of Origen's vagaries and the sycophantic spirit




RECAPITULATION.                 29.
and corrupt principles of some who came after him, a disposition was made of these great anticipations from which every
good man should recoil with horror.  It was a stroke of Satan
to cheat the Bride of Jesus out of her sublimest dowry. To
this day the church is more or less under the influence of that
deception. Nor can we do duty to ourselves or to the truth
of God, and yet patiently acquiesce in a decision brought
about in a way so unchristian and unwarrantable. Nay, I feel
confident that when once we have fairly examined this whole
matter, the pure millenarian doctrine will be held and
preached as one of the most glorious articles of our most holy
faith.
But I have gone further than all this. I have not only
maintained that Christ will come again to this world to judge,
subdue, renovate and reign in it forever, but that he will
come very soon. I have ventured to proclaim my fixed belief
that his coming is near at hand. I do not know the day or
the year; but I have shown you, as I think, that God does not
mean that we should remain in total ignorance of the period
of his coming. In every other great event that he has
brought about in human affairs, he has given pre-intimations
of the time when it would be; and we cannot suppose that
the time of the great consummating event of all is shrouded
in such perfect secrecy as that we can know nothing till it
comes. We accordingly find various dates and signs described
in the Scriptures, from which we may learn enough to prevent
our being surprised by it.
In my last I gave three different methods by which light
may be thrown upon this subject. First, the Scriptures furnish a system of septenaries, or sevens, from which we learn
that Christ will come at the end of six thousand years from
the creation of man; which period, according to our best
information, will run out within the next twenty or forty
years. We next find the duration of the papal dominancy,




292                 THE LAST TIMES.
which is to be destroyed only when Christ comes, limited to
twelve hundred and sixty years, which term  must needs
expire within ten or twenty years from the present date.  In
the third place, we find a description of the seven last plagues,
in connection with the sixth of which Christ's coming is
announced, and all of which up to the sixth have clearly been
fulfilled, whilst we are now entering upon the sixth. These
three processes of computation, independent but harmonious,
unconnected yet mutually corroborative, are sufficient to prove
to us that we are treading close upon the time when all God's
purposes shall be fulfilled.
There is, however, still another method of gaining information upon this point, to which I will direct your attention.
The Scriptures very minutely describe certain signs which are
to precede the final advent, and direct us to look for those
signs, and assure us that "when these things begin to come to
pass" we may know that the great event is near, even at the
door.  Let us then trace some of these signs, and look to see
whether they have as yet appeared or not.
1. The Scriptures very distinctly tell us that the period of
Christ's coming shall be a period of abounding apostasy, skepticism and wickedness. I need not again repeat the passages
on this point.  "As the days of Noe were, so shall it be also
in the days of the Son of man."  As Milton says, "the first
peculiar sign (of the second advent) is an extreme recklessness and impiety, and an almost universal apostasy." And
what a distressing agreement to this do we find in the characteristics of the present times!  Look at Christendom itself.
About one-half of those who profess and call themselves
Christians are wrapped up in the foul embrace of Popery,
where it is the fashion, if not the law, to put aside the Scriptures as dangerous, to trust to the word of the priest for forgiveness, to pray to Mary as the great intercessor, to adore the
pope as the vicegerent of God. to hold for doctrines the mere




PRESENT DEPRAVITY OF THE WORLD.            293
commandments of men, and to look for admission into heaven
through human works.  The millions in the Greek and Oriental churches are scarcely any better in regard to what concerns the vital matters of evangelical godliness. Look even
at Protestantism,-how fearfully corrupt in some of its
branches! How divided and torn by the low bickerings of
sect and schism! What vast numbers are in our churches as
well as in papal churches who are nothing more than baptized
infidels! How many who commune at our altars are not half
persuaded of the truth of the professions which they make!
Look at the moral and religious condition of the nations at
large, even those the most enlightened and Christian.  See
how crime flourishes and infidelity vaunts itself. What are
our secular newspapers but registers of depravity, avarice, ambition, lawlessness and sin? See the inefficiency of law or
gospel to restrain the violence of passion, or to keep under the
brazen iniquity which rears its head aloft on every side. Behold your crowded infidel clubs, your besotted revolutionary
combinations, and your hardened and daring propagandists of
falsehood, treason and all forms of social disruption. See with
what popular favor the basest of men set themselves up as
God's oracles, claiming inspiration from heaven whilst preaching death to the church and to the state, and listened to
with admiration by thousands who still wish to be considered
virtuous and even Christian. See with what readiness people
reputed intelligent take up with the lowest delusions, and stand
forth as the abettors and defenders of some of the foulest
emissions of hell.  Behold how even great men, professed
theologians, editors, professors, lecturers and men in high
places of influence, adopt, advocate and preach theories of
pretended science and philosophy which unsettle the very
foundations of piety and faith. What contempt for Christianity, and disrespect for its ministers, and callousness to its
great truths, do we everywhere encounter! And may we not
25 




294                THE LAST TIMES.
conclude, with the great Luther, that "God will not, cannot,
suffer this wicked world much longer?"
2. Another sign of the Savior's coming is to be found in
great revolutionary troubles, political perplexities and vast
national agitations. The Savior himself, and all the prophets,
have taught us this. And never have the universal political
heavens been so shaken as in our day. When were human
politics so confused, contradictory, perplexing and threatening
as now? Look at them from one end of the world to the
other. Who among the great ones of the earth can tell where
he stands? Behold the strange alliances, the deep, sudden
and mysterious antipathies, the unforeseen combinations of
events, and the unknown tendencies of mighty inscrutable
movements, which have been manifesting themselves all over
the world in these last days. Who can tell what shall be
next?  If it is war, who knows where it will end?  If it is
peace, who is sure that it will not prove as disastrous as war?
In either case, mighty dangers everywhere threaten.  Democracy, republicanism, autocracy and military despotism have
about equal chances; and neither has any rational hope. As
things now are, no conceivable human arrangements can steer
clear of the mighty maelstrom which seems to have drawn
all the nations within the circle of its awful whirl. Men of
wisdom, men of Ahithophel astuteness, are at their wits' end,
and the prudent and the far-sighted are growing wild with
amazement and fear. With all that can be done, things refuse
to bend to any mortal control. The ship answers no more to
the helm. There is not a government on earth that is not
quaking with commotion. Every thing is moving, but whither politicians cannot tell.
3. A third sign of the nearness of the end is a stir and
inquiry among many respecting the subject, leading to the
conviction that Christ is at; hand. This is set forth in two
passages, the one in Daniel, the other in the Lord's prophecy




THE SPIRIT OF INQUIRY AWAKENING.          295
in the twenty-fifth of Matthew. The passage in Daniel is,
"0  Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even, to the
time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased." That is, in the period of the end, as
Michaelis interprets, "many shall give their sedulous attention to the understanding of these things;" or, according to
a marginal note in an old English Bible, " many shall run to
and fro to search the knowledge of these mysteries."  Dr.
Gill thus explains the passage:-" Towards the time of the
end appointed, many shall be stirred up to inquire into these
things delivered in this book, and will spare no pains or cost
to get a knowledge of them; and, with the blessing of God
upon them, the knowledge of this book of prophecy will be
increased, things will appear clearer and plainer the nearer
the accomplishment of them."  Luther's rendering of it is as
follows:-" And now, Daniel, shut up these words, and seal
this book, until the last times; when many shall come over
it, and find great understanding." Coke, Clarke, Henry and
Duffield understand the passage in the same way. It is about
equivalent to that other declaration in the same chapter and
concerning the same period of the end,-" The wise shall understand." And as the result of all this inquiry and enlightenment on the subject of prophecy, the Savior tells us that
"then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which went out to meet the bridegroom, and there was a
cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him."
And how evidently and significantly has this mark of the
end been manifesting itself within the last fifty years! Though
the multitude still turn from prophecy as from a sealed book,
yet what a stir, anxiety and study has it awakened in many
earnest minds! I have counted more than one hundred
authors who have written and published nearly twice as many
volumes on the subjects of unfulfilled prophecies since the




2960                THE LAST TIMES.
present century began, and most of whom have advocated and
proclaimed substantially the same views presented in these
discourses. Many of them differ with each other; but they
differ mostly as the clocks of the same city,-only in minutes,
not in hours. Their leading conclusions are the same. In
every denomination, and in every Christian country, the subject is being studied and agitated. Everywhere there are
men of God proclaiming the great doctrine of Christ's speedy
coming to reign with his saints upon the earth. In England,
in Scotland, in France, in our own country, in Germany, in
Norway, in Russia, in India, in the isles of the sea, the cry
has been raised, "BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH; GO
YE OUT TO MEET HIM!" Never, never, since the days of
the early Christians, has there been so much earnest longing, expecting, preaching, believing and praying upon the
subject of the nearness of Christ's coming. The interest, the
study and the faith are by no means as general as they
should be, but general and intense, enlightened and earnest
enough to warrant us in saying.that this sign of the end has
appeared.
4. Another indication to which the Scriptures refer upon
this subject is the general shaking and crumbling of social
order.  "In the last days perilous times shall come."  There
shall be "dreamers who despise dominion, and speak evil of
dignities, and of those things which they know not." God
says, " I will shake all nations, and the Desire of nations shall
come."  " Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also
heaven."  "I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, until he
come whose right it is; and I will give it himln."
And how manifestly are these signs fulfilling! What is
now the leading watchword that is convulsing the whole earth
from  the equator to the poles?  Reform, reform, reform!
The church must be reformed; government must be reformed;
every thing must be reformed. Nothing is any longer right




THE PASSION FOR REFORM.               297
or adequate for dotard humanity. Laws, creeds, politics, theolory, worship, venerable customs, all are found fault with by
the restless spirit that is abroad, and must be revised, changed,
recast, and reconstructed on other models which cannot be
agreed upon. The fathers of old have become mere infants;
the intellectual giants of other times have dwindled into
dwarfs; the great emancipators of the world have degenerated
into dreaming schoolboys, who knew nothing of humanity's
wants, and never comprehended the will of God or the good
of man.  Suddenly it has been discovered that our domestic
institutions are wrong, that our marriage-laws are wrong, that
our entire legislation is wrong, that the wisest cabinets are
composed of fools, that our church arrangements are imbecile,
that old-fashioned religion is mere hypocrisy and cant, and
that whatever is, is wrong. Protestantism must needs have a
new foundation, and men are tinkering to effect it.  Catholicism must have an addition to its creed, and a special convention was just called to inaugurate the miserable absurdity.
And we must have new recensions, and new liturgies, and new
interpretations, and new distributions of powers in church
and state, and even new gospels, until every thing rocks and
totters in the throes of approaching dissolution.  Young
America, and young England, and young France, and young
Italy, and young China, and the ruling spirit even where
things have been stagnant for ages, now cry, "Down with
the world's old props! Down with the rickety regime of other
days i" And everybody is in the intensest earnest. As Carlyle says, "The age of shams is past."  Every sect, party,
clique, club and faction, and every individual man, seems to
be determined that his own way shall carry.  There is no
yielding, no compromise, no ear open to the counselings of
moderation or entreaty.  All is being unsettled, canvassed,
distracted and rendered impotent, except in that direction in
which the wave may for the moment dash. Never before




298                    THE LAST TIMES.
were such mighty conflicting forces at work in our world.
Never before has there been such a deep and universal agitation upon all that.respects the interests of man.  Governmenlts the most powerful, ideas the most potent and customs
the most firmly rooted are becoming mere playthings in the
hands of remorseless and determined revolution.  Surely the
signal for the end has come. This loud cry from every quarter for reform, change and something new, only proves that' SOCIETY IS SICK" and nearing its dissolution, and yet, like
the sick man, imagines that if its bed were changed it would
be well. Alas, alas, for the projects and dreamy hopes of
modern reformers!
"The world is grown old, and her pleasures are past;
The world is grown old, and her form may not last;
The world is grown old, and trembles for fear,For sorrows abound, and judgment is near!
The sun in the heavens is languid and pale,
And feeble and few are the fruits of the vale,
And the hearts of the nations fail them for fear,For the world is grown old, and JUDGMENT IS NEAR!
The king on his throne, the bride in her bower,
The children of pleasure, all feel the sad hour;
The roses are faded, and tasteless the cheer,The world is grown old, and JUDGMENT IS NEAR!"
Only look abroad, my brethren, and see how thrones,
powers, governments, superstitions, and all the old stabilities,
are creaking, —haking, crumbling, dying.  Behold  how  vain
the help of man is. Consider how implacable is human dissatisfaction. Mark how the mind of the world is expecting
some great, speedy, mysterious change, such as has never yet
been.  And is it not certain that"the old
And crazy earth has had her shaking fits
More frequent, and foregone her usual rest,
And nature seems with dim and sickly eye
To wait the close of all"?




DARKNESS BEFORE LIGHT.              299
I have read somewhere, in a very sagacious writer, that when
happy changes are contemplated most people erroneously turn
to the quarters of light for the signs of its approach.  This
has ever been man's mistake when looking for the fulfillment
of God's great'purposes, and is the mistake of many now.
People are looking for the setting up of Christ's kingdom, and
the introduction of millennial glory by reforming and rebaptizing present modes of effort and thought. But so it will not
be. God's method of progress is to make darkness the way
to light, death the prelude to life, despair the introduction to
salvation, apd corruption and confusion the road to order and
glory. It is not in what seems hopeful, but in what seems
gloomy and untoward, that we are to look for the signs of the
speedy forthcoming of God's wonder-working goodness. It is
the stirring upon the face of the dark waters that gives prognostic of the breaking forth of light, life and beauty. The
bursting glories of spring come directly out of the bleak winter.
It is from the corrupting seed that we obtain the harvest.
The darkest hour is said to be that which immediately precedes
the day. The period most hopeful is that when the apparent
motives for despondency are most overwhelming. The stress
of the controversy between hope and fear always falls upon the
eve of triumph. Those dim hours of dismay to the scattered
followers of Christ at his crucifixion were but the preludes to
the bringing in of light and immortality for man. The
bloody persecutions under the Roman emperors which threatened the extinction of Christianity were the immediate precursors of its victory over even the throne of the Cmesars.
And so the Scriptures teach that it will be in the ushering in
of the great consummation. The sun must darken and the
moon withhold her light, and then shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.
People think they see signs of promise in the movements of
reform. They think to give the church a better shape, and




300                 THE LAST TIMES.
the state a better government, and the world a freer Bible, and
that thus the millennium will come.  I have no confidence in
any such hopes.  I see more of promise in the darkest features of the times than in all these pious and patriotic dreams.
I look around me, and find men uniting, oft unconsciously, in
pronouncing past experiments inadequate to accomplish what
was expected of them.  Once it was thought that Protestantisni would soon regenerate the world; and yet so little progress has it made in two hundred years that some of its own
distinguished children, in every department of it, are proclaiming in many ways that it will not do without mending.
Some thought that the great Bible, Tract, Sunday-school and
missionary movements would soon win the nations to faith in
Jesus; and yet the world is perhaps more wicked now than it
has been since Noah's flood. Skeptics in the church, and
skeptics out of the church, are rising up to pronounce all our
boasted efforts a failure.  Many are losing confidence in the
Bible and that simple evangelism in which they hoped, and
are going back to Rome, to unbelief, to "spiritualism," or to
some other low ism of natural. or Satanic religion. I deplore
the facts, and mourn that people should have so little faith,
and reason so illogically. And yet in this very darkness I read
the promise of coming light. In this very misgiving, desperation and gloom, I see the argument for the speedy springing
forth of glorious and unfading hopes, not as human reason
calculates, but as God purposes. I behold in it the rapid
winding up of the present dispensation to give place to that
better state of things of which the prophets all have spoken.
Statesmen and churchmen see in it the unmistakable evidences
of unprecedented changes, though they widely differ as to
what those changes are to be. I go to the "sure word of prophecy," and there I find the mystery explained. That holy
book which is the world's great light on so many important
things does not fail me here.




OPINIONS OF EMINENT WRITERS.            301
Sir Robert Peel has said, "Every aspect of the present
times, viewed in the light of the past, warrants the belief that
we are on the eve of a universal change." Dr. Arnold, in his
Lectures on History, says, "Modern history appears to be not
only a step in advance of ancient history, but the last step; it appears to bear marks of the fullness of time, as if there would be
no future history beyond it...  We have the full amount of
earth's resources before us, and they seem inadequate to supply
life for another period of human history." Professor Robinson says, "Before another half-century shall have rolled away,
there will be seen revolutions in the Oriental mind, and the
world, of which no one now has any foreboding. The time is
short: the crisis rushes on." The London Quarterly says,
"The long pent-up winds are beginning to break loose; and
the sudden bursts of tempest that have swept over Europe
these few years past are precursors of the world's last desolating storm." Bishop Chase asks, "Are not these signs and
prognostics of the speedy coming of our Lord to judgment?"
And when I look at all these things:-the six thousand years
nearing their close; the period of Popery's dominancy expiring; the sixth vial pouring out; the earth exhibiting all
the features that are to characterize the last days; the nations
distressed and their leaders tremulous with fear; history closing
up; all the old landmarks of society invaded and simultaneously giving way more or less before resistless innovation;
the predicted cry, Behold, he cometh, ringing through every
land; the whole world becoming like a magazine, where a
single spark may produce a universal explosion that must
carry all existing things to desolation; our great men, and
devout men, and nearly all thinking men, proclaiming the presence of some unknown change; and the book of God, which
I have taken as my guide, telling me that when these things
begin to come to pass my Savior and his kingdom are at hand:
-would I not deserve to be classed with infidels and scoffers
26




302                 THE LAST TIMES.
if I did not believe, and merit the condemnation of a hypocritical and faithless watchman if I did not declare, that so it
is, and that "THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND"?
That many will give neither heed nor credit to these statements, is to be expected. It was so in Noah's day.'When
Lot warned Sodom, "he seemed as one that mocked." And
Christ and his prophets have foretold that it will be so again.
But, if people will not examine into these things, and, as a
consequence, are found unready when the Savior comes, they
will have themselves to thank for their calamities. For my
own part, I will believe and preach that the Day of the Lord
is at hand, and would rather encounter the sneers and vulgar
taunts of all mankind and be found ready when my Savior
comes, than to be accounted the most sober of theologians and
enjoy the fame of the most revered favorite of popular laudation, and have that day find me unfaithful to my duty and
unprepared for my change. I have been unable to fix upon
any precise time. Some profess to know it; I do not. Christ
may come in three, seven; or ten years; or not so soon. A
few developments maymake the matter certain. But I wish
to bear my distinct testimony, that I believe his coming is at
hand, and that we ought to.be ready and expecting it any
and every day.
Nor am I alone in these convictions. "The Lord cometh!".
says Krummacher. "Never did the church witness such a con.
stellation of signs of the near coming of Christ as now." That
"ripe scholar and profound student of prophecy," Dr. Elliott,
says, " We are come so near to the day of the Son of man, that
the generation now living shall very possibly not have passed
away before its fulfillment; yea, that perhaps our own eyes may
witness, without the intervention of death, that astonishing
event of the consummation."  Pym says, "Upon us the ends
of the world are come; and this generation shall witness the
advent of the Lord in glory to introduce the millenary reign




FURTHER CONFIRMATORY OPINIONS.           303
of righteousness and peace." Cunninghame says, "All the
events of our own times,- the growing disorders of the body
politic,-the fears and expectations of men,-the deep persuasion of an impending convulsion inrooted in every thinking
mind,-the solemn and awakening declarations of Scripture,the clear and unequivocal voice of prophecy,-every sign,
every promise, every testimony,-unite in announcing his
(Christ's) approach." Habershon says, "The time undoubtedly is near at hand when the redemption of the body shall
be experienced, and when these bodies of our humiliation shall
be fashioned like unto his glorious body." "It is reasonable
to conclude," says Faber, "that the time is not very far distant when the personal Word shall begin to tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."  Cumming says, " We are led from all signs to infer that the meeting-place of all the lines of God's providential work on earth
is very near.... it is very remarkable that all the great times
and dates of prophecy meet and mingle about the year 18646.... I do feel, that if that be not the close of the age that
now is, and the commencement of a better one, it will be a time
unprecedented since the beginning." Brooks says, " The sins
of the second advent in the state of the world at large are
such as to impress my own mind with a deep persuasion that
we are on the eve of events of immense-immense importance
to mankind."  "From whatever dates we reckon," says Bickersteth, "we cannot but consider that the time of the end is
drawing near, and that awful events of judgment and mercy
are before us." "The happy hour is not far hence," says
Taylor.  "It is near, and hasteth greatly.... This generation
and century will witness his glorious epiphany!"  "Almost
all writers on prophecy," says Cox, "who have studied its
mystic numbers, make them terminate at periods towards
which we are rapidly approaching. However different these
views and schemes, they agree in this, that within a few




304                 THE LAST TIMES.
years from the present time some of the greatest events ever
witnessed will take place."  I might give many more such
statements.
Let it not be said that these are fanatic ravings, or loose
vociferations of ignorant people. They are the deliberatelyformed conclusions of our most competent, most pious, and
most profound investigators of God's holy revelations.  Men
of the highest order of mind, scholars of the profoundest
erudition, Christians of the most enlightened piety, after years
and years of patient, laborious, prayerful, and independent
study, and in the face of a speedily-appearing Judge, have
thus solemnly proclaimed to the world that we are now standing upon the very eve of the Savior's coming. And he who
can rise up and pronounce their testimony false, must, under
the circumstances, assume a daring, assurance and responsibility at which a pious heart should be appalled.
Neither is it a useless or unimportant thing to have the
solemn truth distinctly and pointedly brought before the
people of both the church and the world. The subject of the
speedy coming again of the Lord is one of the intensest practical value and of comfort to the believing heart.  It need
effect no one but for good.  It may be awful to think of it;
but it will be vastly more awful to have to encounter those
scenes unprepared. Nor can there be any just reason for any
one to dread the subject.  It is the master-theme of the gospel and the final chorus in which all the harmony of the
Scriptures concentrates add combines. People regard it as
only terrific, whereas the Scriptures commingle with it the
fulfillment of all man's sublimest joy. Jesus says, " Wthei these
thirlgs begin to. come to pass, thein LOOK UP AND LIFT UP
YOUR HEADS: FOR YOUR REDEMPTION  DRAWETH NIGH."
Hear and consider, 0 ye of little faith. " Are you so enamored
of sickness that you have no longing for the resurrection-body
and the beauteous robes of incorruption and immortality?




DESIRABLENESS OF THE END.              305
Are you so enamored of aches, and ills, and losses, and bereavements, and pains, and battles, and famine, and plague,
and pestilence, that you do not wish them to be done with?
Why, every statement in this blessed book leads us to the
otherwise-delightful conclusion that the nearer the great issue
comes the happier God's people should feel. The sound that
rings sweet and audible from the skies amidst the crash of
nations, the overturning of thrones, the dissolution of dynasties, and wars and rumors of wars, is, Lift'up your heads,your redemption is near!  And if I should be able only to
point out a few weeds floating upon the sea that indicate
we are approaching the great continent of glory,-if I should
be able only to give an Alpine flower here and there, however
fragile, yet a sweet messenger of the coming spring,-every true
Christian ought to rejoice and be glad that there are tokens
of a day when a genesis shall pass upon the earth better and
brighter than the first, and a paradise come in as the coronal
of time more glorious than that which *as its dawn."  So
discourses one who, from Covent Garden, is warming more
hearts with these momentous themes than any other living
nlan. And many have expressed themselves to the same
effect.
Luther once held in his hand a necklace of agates, and said,
"I would readily eat up this to-day for the judgment to come
to-morrow."      "Blessed consummation of this weary and sorrowful world!" says the eloquent Irving; " I give it welcome,-I hail its approach,- I wait its coming more than
they that watch for the morning. Over the wrecks of a world
I weep,-over broken hearts of parents,-over suffering infancy,-over the unconscious clay of sweet innocents,-over
the untimely births that have never seen the light, or have
just looked upon it and shut their eyes until the glorious light
of the resurrection-morn.  0 my Lord, come away! Hasten
with all thy congregated ones! My soul desireth to see the
U                       26*




306                THE LAST TIMES.
King, in his beauty, and the beautiful ones whom he shall
bring along with him."  " Come forth out of thy royal chambers, O Prince of all the kings of earth!" says England's
greatest poet.  "Put on the visible robes of thy imperial
majesty. Take up that unlimited sceptre which thy Almighty
Father hath bequeathed thee. For now the voice of thy
Bride calls thee, and all creatures sigh to be renewed.",
"How cheering the hope," says Cox,-" how cheering the
hope, amidst the din of war, the shouts of false joy, the
yell of idolatry and the groans of creation, that a period
is hastening when peace shall stretch its shady wings over
the sons of men, when rivers of joy shall water this vale
of tears, when cherubim to cherubim shall cry, HOLY, HOLY,
HOLY IS THE LORD GOD OF HOSTS; THE WHOLE EARTH IS
FULL OF HIS GLORY!"  "Oh that Christ would remove the
covering, draw aside the curtains of time and rend the heavens
and come down!" says Rutherford.  " Oh that shadows and
night were gone, that the day would break, and that He who
feedeth among the lilies would cry to his heavenly trumpeters,
Make ready, let us go down and fold together the four corners
of the earth!"  "Hasten, O my Savior, the time of thy
return," says Baxter.  "'Send forth thine angels, and let
that dreadful joyful trumpet sound. Delay not, lest the living
give up their hopes; delay not, lest earth should grow like
hell and thy church be crumbled to dust..... Oh, hasten that
great resurrection-day, when the seed that thou sowest corruptible shall come forth incorruptible, and graves that received but rottenness and retain but dust shall return thee glorious stars and suns. Thy desolate Bride saith, Come. The
whole creation saith, Come, even so, come, Lord Jesus!"
And why should not every believing heart look up and respond with rapture, "AMEN, AND AMEN"?  View the untold
glories which Christ shall bring with him for every waiting
soul. Consider the sublimities of happiness which that great




NEARNESS OF THE ADVENT A SUBJECT OF JOY. 307
consummation shall spread forever upon this smitten world.
And why should we start back from  the conviction that it is
near?
"Thrice blessed hope,
If home like this await the weary soul!
Look up, thou stricken one! Thy wounded heart
Shallkbleed no more at sorrow's stern control."
When the blessed Savior was about to leave this world, he
said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And, if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you
unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also." And
hardly had he reached the threshold of his Father's sublime
and holy habitation until he shouted back, " SURELY I COME
QUICKLY." Nor does the church enter into the rapture of
her hopes until she brings herself to respond with John,
"AMEN; EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS!"  Therein lies our
highest joy.  All that is dear and precious is linked with that
glorious coming. And when He who is our life shall appear,
then shall we also appear with him in glory. Then all wrongs
shall be righted, the long-severed united and long-deferred
hope be fulfilled. Every thing now is disjointed, depressed,
sickly and sad. We are surrounded with funerals, graves,
diseases, crimes and tears. There is no home so happy, and
no heart so joyous, but it has in it the deep undertones of
sorrow and trouble.
"There is no flock, however watched and tended,
But one dead lamb is there;
There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,
But hath one vacant chair.
The air is full of farewells of the dying,
And mournings for the dead;
The heart of Rachel for her children crying
Will not be comforted."
But when the expected Savior comes, these woes and griefs
shall have an end. Then shall the buried babe and slumbering




308                THE LAST TIMES.
boy of promise awake from the cold dark sleep of years, no
more to writhe under fierce disease, or to be torn from parental love. Then shall those loved forms on which the clods
are pressing, and over whose damp resting-places many a winter's snow has lain and many a summer's flower bloomed, come
forth to light and life never again to fall under the power of
corruption. Then shall the broken and scattered household
be regathered to separate no more. Then shall be the coronation-day for them that have labored and suffered for Jesus.
Then shall the martyr receive his drown and the saint his
ineffable portion. Then shall tears cease to flow and sadness
to depress. Then shall the exile reach his happy home and
the toiling pilgrim find his everlasting rest. Then shall the
worshipper look upon the face of his God and the faithful
servant receive the transporting commendation and welcome
of his Lord. Then shall earth's long-predicted sabbath come
and the eternal jubilee of the redeemed begin. Then shall
the mystery of divine compassion be consummated, and this
prodigal orb of ours, restored once more to her Father's
smiles, take her place in the sisterhood of unfallen worlds,
reflecting in richer lustre and celebrating in grander songs
the praises of Him who made it and the mercies of Him that
redeemed it with his blood.
No, no, no; the doctrine of the Savior's speedy coming is
not a thing of gloom and sadness.  It is gospel,-pure gospel,
-nothing but GOOD NEWS. If it has any thing distressing
in it, you yourself must put it there by your hard-heartedness,
your prayerlessness and unforsaken sin. If you have fixed
your heart and faith on Jesus as your prophet, priest and
king, you have naught to fear and every thing to hope.
They that put their trust in him shall never be put to confusion. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the
Lord encampeth round about them that fear him. Hath he
not said, " He that confesseth me before men, him will I also




CONCLUDING EXHORTATION.              309
confess before my Father, and before his holy angels"?  Is
not the immutable covenant made and sealed, pledging all
the sublime attributes of God for the believer's safety?  If
he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up freely for us
all, will he not with him also freely give us all things? The
only question is, Have you submitted to Christ?  Have you
given up to do all your duty as he enjoins it?  Have you
accepted of him as your Savior and your hope?  Have you
identified yourself with him in the fellowship of his church?
Is he your alpha and your omega?-your all in all? Then fear
not. Only be faithful a little longer, and the day will come
which will be to you a gladder day than ever you thought it
possible for you to see. ~And as you behold the fig leaves putting forth as the heralds of its approach, "look up and lift up
your head; for your redemption draweth nigh."
But God forbid that I should cry peace where there is no
peace, or encourage hope where there is no hope. If any of
you are yet prayerless, without submission to Christ, loving
self or the world more than God, and standing aloof from the
gospel-way of life, you may well be alarmed and tremble at
what is before you. The day of the Savior's revelation will
be a day of fearful vengeance upon them that know not God
and obey not the gospel of his Son. And better, a thousand
times better, that you should now be filled with all Belshazzar's
terror, if it will lead you to repentance, than to go on in carnal
comfort and meet your coming Judge with hearts unreconciled and sins unforgiven. And yet you need not tremble
with utter despair. You are not where the rich man called
for help but found it not. The door of salvation still is open.
The proclamation of forgiving mercy still rings in your ears.
Wicked and negligent as you have been, you may yet come
and share in the sublimest joys Christianity has to give.
Your injured and weeping Redeemer still stretches out to you
his hands and bids you Come. The Spirit and the Bride say




310                 THE LAST TIMES.
Come. And whosoever will, let him come. Oh, how great is
the mercy which some of you have abused, and the compassion and privileges which you have set at naught! Nevertheless, here I am to-day, with authority from God in heaven
to offer to you a free forgiveness and eternal life, if you will
but accept the gift upon the plain and easy terms therewith
annexed: —"Turn yourselves and live."  Will you do it?
You, prayerless, careless father, mother, child, reviler, prodigal, blasphemer, scoffer, neglecter of God, will you do it?
Your time is growing short. Your day of grace will soon be
over. Your summer-time of hope will soon have passed away.
Will you now start to be a child of God and heir of heaven?
There is room enough; will you come and occupy it? The
robes, and palms, and harps and crowns of righteousness and
life are soon to be distributed; will you come and put in your
application? Oh, let those stiff necks bend, those hard hearts
relent, those stubborn wills surrender; and send up your
prayers to the mercy-seat now ere it is changed to an inexorable judgment-throne. Gracious God! pity poor sinners,
and spare them yet a little, and plead mightily with them that
they may repent and live! Oh, suffer them not to perish forever; but so move them by thy good Spirit that they may
seek thy face and come with all thy saints into the joys of
that nearing world for which we long and wait. And then
and there we will ever sing, "UNTO HIM THAT LOVED US,
AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD,
AND HATH MADE US KINGS AND PRIESTS UNTO GOD, TO
HIM  BE GLORY  AND  DOMINION  FOREVER  AND  EVER.
AMEN."
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and
the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with you all, now, henceforth, and evermore. Amen.




THE NEW  JERUSALEM.                     311
Zeje go   JerusaI1em
O MOTHER dear, Jerusalem,
When shall I come to thee?
When shall my sorrows have an end?Thy joys when shall I see?
O happy harbor of the saints!
O sweet and pleasant soil!
In thee no sorrows can be found,No grief, no care, no toil.
In thee no sickness is at all,
No hurt, nor any sore;
There is no death, nor ugly sight,
But life for evermore.
No dimming cloud o'ershadows thee,
No cloud nor darksome night;
But every soul shines as the sun,
For God himself gives light.
There, lust and lucre cannot dwell,
There, envy bears no sway;
There is no hunger, thirst, nor heat,
But pleasures every way.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Would God I were in thee!
Oh that my sorrows had an end,
Thy joys that I might see!
No pains, no pangs, no grieving grief,
No woful night, is there;
No sigh, no sob, no cry is heardNo well-a-day, no fear.
Jerusalem the city is
Of God our King alone;
The Lamb of God, the light thereof,
Sits there upon his throne.
O God! that I Jerusalem
With speed may go behold!
For why? the pleasures there abound
Which here cannot be told.




312                    THE LAST TIMES.
Thy turrets and thy pinnacles
With carbuncles do shine,
With jasper, pearl, and chrysolite,
Surpassing pure and fine.
Thy houses are of ivory,
Thy windows crystal clear,
Thy streets are laid with beaten gold —There angels do appear.
Thy walls are made of precious stone,
Thy bulwarks diamonds square,
Thy gates are made of Orient pearlO God, if I were there!
Within thy gates nothing can come
That is not passing clean;
No spider's web, no dirt, no dust,
No filth, may there be seen.
Jehovah, Lord, now come away,
And end my grief and plaints;
Take me to thy Jerusalem,
And place me with thy saints.
Who there are crown'd with glory great,
And see God face to face;
They triumph still and aye rejoiceMost happy is their case.
But we that are in banishment
Continually do moan;
We 4Jgh, we mourn, we sob, we weep,
Perpetually we groan.
Our sweetness mixed is with gall,
Our pleasures are but pain,
Our joys not worth the looking onOur sorrows aye remain.
But there they live in such delight,
Such pleasures and such play,
That unto them a thousand years
Seem but as yesterday.
O my sweet home, Jerusalem!
Thy joys when shall I see?




THE NEW  JERUSALEM.                     313
Thy King sitting upon his throne,
And thy felicity?
Thy vineyards and thy orchards,
So wonderfully rare,
Are furnish'd with all kinds of fruit,
Most beautifully fair.
There David stands, with harp in hand,
As master of the choir;
A thousand times that man were bless'd
That might his music hear.
There Mary sings "'Magnificat,"
With tunes surpassing sweet;
And all the virgins bear their part,
Singing about her feet.
"Te Deum," doth St. Ambrose sing,
St. Austin doth the like;
Old Simeon and Zacharie
Have not their songs to seek.
There Magdalene hath left her moan,
And cheerfully doth sing,
With all blest saints whose harmony
Through every street doth ring.
Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Thy joys fain would I see;
Come, quickly, Lord, and end my grief,
And take me home to thee!
Oh, paint thy name in my forehead,
And take me hence away,
That I may dwell with thee in bliss,
And sing thy praises aye!
Jerusalem, the happy homeJehovah's throne on high!
O sacred city, queen, and wife,
Of Christ eternally!
O comely queen, with glory clad,
With honor and degree,
All fair thou art, exceeding bright,
No spot there is in thee.
27




814                     THE LAST TIMES.
I long to see Jerusalem,
The comfort of us all;
For thou art fair and beautiful,None ill can thee befall.
In thee, Jerusalem, I say,
No darkness dare appear;
No night, no shade, no winter foul, —
No time doth alter there.
No candle needs, no moon to shine,
No glittering stars to light;
For Christ, the King of righteousness,
Forever shineth bright.
A Lamb unspotted, white, and pure,
To thee doth stand in lieu
Of light,-so great the glory is
Thine heavenly King to view.
He is the King of kings, beset
In midst his servants' sight;
And they, his happy household, all
Do serve him day and night;
There, there the choir of angels sing;
There the supernal sort
Of citizens, which hence are rid
FMtm dangers deep, do sport.
There be the prudent prophets all,
The apostles six and six,
The glorious martyrs in a row,
And confessors betwixt.
There doth the crew of righteous men
And nations all consist;
Young men and maids that here on earth
Their pleasures did resist.
The sheep and lambs that hardly'scap'd
The snare of death and hell
Triumph in joy eternally,
Whereof no tongue can tell;
And though the glory of each one
Doth differ in degree,
Yet is the joy of all alike
And common as we see.




THE NEW  JERUSALEM.                     315
There love and charity do reign,
And Christ is all in all,
Whom they most perfectly behold
In joy celestial.
They love, they praise,-they praise, they love;
They "Holy, holy," cry;
They neither toil, nor faint, nor end,
But laud eternally.
Oh, happy thousand times were I,
If, after wretched days,
I might with listening ears conceive
Those heavenly songs of praise
Which to the eternal King are sung
By happy wights a~bove,By saved souls and angels sweet,
Who love the God of love.
Oh, passing happy were my state,
Might I be worthy found
To wait upon my God and King,
His praises there to sound.
0 mother dear, Jerusalem,
When shall I come to thee?
When shall my sorrows have an end?Thy joys when shall I see?
Yet once again I pray thee, Lord,
To quit me from all strife,
That to thy hill I may attain,
And dwell there all my life,
With cherubims and seraphims,
And souls of holy men,
To sing thy praise, 0 God of hosts,
Forever, and amen.
DAVID DICKSON.




316                THE LAST TIMES.
ottcs and 3bbitionaX  0bhtrbations.
NOTE A. FIRST DISCOURSE, P. 10.
OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED MEN AS TO THE TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE.
Luther, in his lifetime, said, "I am persuaded that verily
the day of judgment is not far off; yea, will not be absent
three hundred years longer. The voice will soon be heard,'Behold the Bridegroom cometh!'"  (See Chap. I. of his
Ta;e-T(alk.)  Luther died in 1546.
Archdeacon Browne, of England, in 1835, said that he was
"strongly impressed with the conviction that our lot has fallen
under the solemn period emphatically designated in Daniel as
the time of the end!"
Dr. Duff, of Scotland, recently said, "Surely the present
crisis is constraining us to arise, and that with our whole heart.
Surely it looks as if in response to the sighing of the whole
creation groaning in uneasiness and pain, through long bygone ages, for the times of the restitution of all things, —surely
in answer to the plaintive cry of the myriad martyrs from
under the altar, who age after age have been uttering their
longing cry,' How long, -0 Lord, how long?' —He who is
seated on the throne on high is now indicating, by no ordinary
signs, that he is to arise and assume his great power, and to
manifest himself as really King and Governor among the
nations.  Surely, in the language of one of old, the great
Messiah is about to come forth from his royal chamber,about to put on the invisible robes of his imperial majesty,




OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED MEN.          317
and to takle up the unlimited sceptre which his Father hath
bequeathed to him. Even now, in the ear of faith, and almost in the ear of sense, we may hear the distant noise of the
chariot-wheels of the mighty Saviour-King, coming forth conquering and to conquer, amid the shaking of the nations from
pole to pole. Every nation has of late been upheavilg from
its ancient settled foundations; and there will be mightier
upheavings still, and that right speedily,-all preparing the
way for the new heavens and the new earth, in which righteousness will forever dwell!"
MIacaulay, the essayist, wrote, in 1831, "Many Christians
believe that the Messiah will shortly establish a kingdom on
the earth and reign visibly over all its inhabitants.  Whether
this doctrine be orthodox or not, we shall not inquire. The
number of people who hold it is very much greater than the
~number of Jews residing in England.  Many of those who
hold it are distinguished by rank, wealth, and ability; it is
preached from pulpits both of the Scottish and of the English Church.  Noblemen and members of Parliament have
written in defence of it, —who expect'that before this
generation shall pass away, all the kingdoms of the earth
will be swallowed up in one Divine Empire.' "-Essays on
the Jews.
Ir. N. L. Rice says, "The world is now rapidly approaching another great epoch, the most important in the history of
our world."  "We live in an eventful day."  "The time cannot be distant when great chances are to take place among
the nations. It is our wisdom, therefore, both to examine
carefully and prayerfully the prophecies whose fulfilment is
yet future, and to watch passing events, which throw light
upon these prophecies.  It is a great misfortune to mistake
the character of the age in which we live, and to fail to understand the signs which God gives, that his people may act
with him their part." —Sgns of the Times.
27*




818                THE LAST TIMES.
Rev. HIollis Read, author of "God in History," says, "'TWe
are living in a very remarkable period of the world's history.
A very general impression obtains in all reflecting minds
that we are on the confines of another of those signal crises
which mark the history of our race. The signs of the times
are strangely significant."  "There is a feeling in the human
breast that despotism, bloodshed, fraud, oppression, and unbridled lust, have, in defiance of Heaven, rioted long enough,
and that a righteous God will soon rise in his wrath and make
a short work. This prophetic yearning for deliverance-this
instinctive prophecy of the human heart-is not peculiar to
the Christian: the Hindoo, the Mohammedan, the Papist,
feels it. The world waits the coming change."-The Coming
Cisisis of the World.
Dr. Stephen H. Tang says, "Whatever may be the will
of God, who keeps the times and seasons in his own power, in
prolonging the days, of which we can know nothing, we may,
and must, still say, that all the lines of prophecy meet in this
designated year 1868, as the time of the glorious coming of
the Son of Ilan,-the manifestation of the Lord Jesus in the
glory of his kingdom, according to the testimony of Scripture."-Articles on Tl/e Kingdcm of God.
Dr. Bai;rd, in Rochester, 1852, remarked that "no wellinformed man can look upon the world as it is, without
coming to the conclusion that some great consummation is
about to take place."
Dr. Iitc(hcoclk, of Amherst, says, "In a very short timefar shorter than we imagine-all the scenes of futurity will be
to us a thrilling reality!"- The Future Condition and Destinly
of the Earth.
Dr. G. B. Cheerer writes, "It is impossible to look upon a
more sublime spectacle than that which rises to the mind
of a spiritual observer at the present crisis.  A voice like
the archangel's trumpet is crying,' Cast up, cast up the high



OPINIONS OP DISTINGUISHED MEN.            319
way; gather out the stones; lift up a standard to the people!'
Event rolls on after event.  As the purposes of God are advancing nearer to their completion, ten thousand significant
events sweep onward in the train. The convergency of all
things to the point becomes more and more rapid.  Meaning
begins to appear in events before shrouded in mystery. An
omnipotent plan, it is manifest, is in operation, and the trains
laid with Divine wisdom are fast completing."- Grant's Nestorians, p. 360.
Prof George Bush says, "If we take the ground of right
reason, we must believe that the present age is one expressly
foretold in prophecy, and that it is just opening upon the
crowning consummation of all prophetic declarations."
Dr. Bogie said, in 1839, "Reflect what mighty changes
have occurred in Europe in less than thirty years; what
rapid revolutions have taken place within the last six years;
changes which no one ten years ago could have imagined
he would live to see. The next generation will behold more
wonderful things, and may see the commencement of the
thousand years."-Cr?'isis, p. 309.
These are the declarations of Chr1'stians. The Jewish mind
has been brought to like convictions and anticipations. Rabbi
Carillon, of Jamaica Island, affirms that " there is every
reason to believe that the latter days are not far off: let us,
therefore, be on the watch and in continual prayer."  It is
said by a European writer, that "'Jews who never before
thought of a Messiah begin now to say,'These are the days
of travail which precede HIis coming.'   Solomon Herschel,
Rabbi of the chief synagogue of the Jews in London, is represented as saying that his people, after close investigation
of the subject, think, with him, that the Messiah's advent
cannot be delayed beyond 1863.  And it was announced in
the public journals in 1852 that there were then thousands
of Jews in Jerusalem all anxiously expecting the Messiah.




320                 THE LAST TIMES.
And what divines have uttered as their learning of the
Scriptures, statesmen andl philosophers have also declared as
their reading of the indications of events.
Hon. Rufus Choate remarked, in 1851, "It has seemed to
me as if the prerogatives of crowns, and the rights of men,
and the hoarded-up resentments and revenges of a thousand
years, were about to unsheath the sword for a conflict, in
which blood shall flow, as in the Apocalyptic vision, to the
bridles of the horses, and in which a whole age of men shall
pass away, in which the great bell of Time shall sound out another hour, in which society itself' shall be tried by fire and
steel, whether it is of nature and nature's God or not."
Sir Robert Peel said in Parliament, in 1842, "Every aspect of the present times, viewed in the light of the past,
warrants the belief that we are on the eve of a universal
change."
Louis Kossuth not long ago said, "I say this prophetically.
I have already read it in the book of Providence, which is
made to be a revelation to mankind. The destiny of' mankind has come to the turning-point of centuries. There is a
cry of alarm upon the ostensible approach of universal danger.  The despotic governments of Europe feel their approaching death. The decisive struggle is near. It will be
the last in mankind's history."
Dr. Arnoldl observes, "Modern history appears to be not
only a step in advance of ancient history, but the last step;
it appears to bear marks of the fulness of time, —as if there
would be no future history beyond it. My sense of the evils
of the times that are coining, and of the prospects to which I
am bringing up my poor children, is overwhelming." —Modernn
History, p. 38.
The Living Age says, " We stand at a great starting-point
in the history of the world. Old things are about to pass
away, and we know not what shall be the new. The conti



OPINIONS OF DISTINGUISHED MEN.           321
nent of Europe, startled by the warning trumpet of 1848, has
cowered into silence; all faces gather blackness, and men's
hearts fail them for fear of what is comling on the earth."
And the spirit of the Press generally is to the same effect.
The Presbyterian Expositor says, "We live in a day of unprecedented excitement and agitation; and the minds of all
intelligent men are looking for great events. No wonder that
some are expecting the second coming of the Son of God to
subdue to himself all kingdoms and reign on earth a thousand years.  Beyond a question, we are on the eve of great
events."
The New York E'angelist, in 1848, remarked, "Had the
present state of Europe been prophesied fifty years ago, would
any have credited the prophecy?  We believe that in this
year we have seen the beginning of the end."
The Christian Lm.natry says, "This truly is an age of
wonders, changes, and revolutions.  No thinking man can
open his eyes upon the great events that are passing before
us, without being impressed with the signs of the times, and
constrained to admit that important scenes are about to be
opened to the view of an astonished world. The seals are
opening; the trumpets are sounding; the nations are shaking;
signs are seen in the heavens and on earth."
A writer in The C/hristian Reiview says, "I am  strongly
persuaded that the present generation of men stand upon the
very eve of the mightiest revolution that the annals of time
record."  "A silent, rapid, irresistible preparation has tbeen
making, —making, perhaps, for a sudden, subversive, and universal change. What will it be?"
And The Scientific Mechanic affirms, "No man now living
has ever witnessed, nor has any historian recorded, so interesting a position of the world and the nations thereof, as is
presented at the present time.... MIen are looking upon the
present convulsed state of the world as portending great poliV




322                THE LAST TIMES.
tical reforms; but, in view of certain facts which cannot be
d:sputed, we think it reasonable that faithful Christians should
look for something more important.  The world is now just
about six thousand years old  Viewing the fact in connection
with the unprecedented tempests, inundations, earthquakes,
and famines which have occurred within the last few years,
and the present extraordinary perplexity and commotions
among the nations, we cannot avoid the anticipation of events
incomparably more important than any that have been prognosticated by the secular press."
Church of England Quarterly Review. —" We live in times
when the Christian and the Infidel, the statesman and the
divine, seeml to agree in the expectation that some great crisis
is at hand. The public mind, both at home and abroad, is
held in the calm of a feverish suspense. New and strange
blasphemies are coming to the birth; the foundations of the
State are loosing, and the Church of God is beset and assailed
on every side.... All eyes are fixed with an eager gaze upon
the dark and conling filture."
Lorad Shaftesbury, at a recent meeting for promoting
Christianity among the Jews, said, "The signs of the times
are really unparalleled and most wonderful.  And I think it
does not proceed from any spirit of fanaticism, if we say that
we really believe they are tending to some final consummation."




THE WORD GENERATION IN MATT. XXIV. 34.   323
NOTE B. FIRST DISCOURSE, p. 29.
ON THE MEANING OF yevea ("GENERATION") IN MATT. XXIv. 34.
BOTH the Syriac and the German versions render the word;rzca, in this place, by terms which signify a continuous race,
rather than the people living within one limited period of
time.
The annotators in the Berlenberg Bible also understand it
to refer to "des Jtidischen Volks, die Nachkommen mitgerechnet."-in loc.
Flacius Illyricus takes the Savior's declaration as equivalent to "gentum Judaicam non interituram prorsus."-Scrip.
Clatv., art. Generatio.
Joseph Mede, one of the most learned men of his age,
says, "rzx ~a signifies not only wtas, but gens, natio progenies;
and so ought to be here taken, viz.: that the nation of the
Jews should not perish till all these things were fulfilled."
Dr. Clarke renders the phrase, Matt. xxiii. 36, ",Errc A-;r'vea'y'auvrv, upon this race of men, viz.: the Jews." On
Matt. xi. 16, he renders the same phrase the same way, and
says, "so the word remva is often to be understood in the
Evangelists."   On Matt. xii. 39, he says, further, that this
word should be taken as denoting a race of people, and that
so it "should be translated in most other places in the Gospels; for our Lord, in general, uses it to point out the Jewish
people.  This translation is the key to unlock some very obscure passages in the Evangelists." And in the passage in
question he explains the Savior's declaration to mean that
"this race, i.e. the Jews, shall not cease from being a distinct
people, till all the counsels of God relative to them and the
Gentiles be fulfilled. Some translate 7 revea aurn, this generation, meaning the persons who were then living, that they




324                 THE LAST TIMES.
should not die before these signs, &c. took place; but... I
think it more proper not to restrain its meaning to the few
years which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem; but to
understand it of the care taken by Divine Providence to preserve them as a distinct people, and yet keep them out of their
own land and from their temple-service."
Edward King remarks, "rseva, in its true etymological
signification, means surely much rather this race of mankind,
or this mode of men's existing upon earth in the present life,
than this one particular generation, according to the vulgar
acceptation."-Morsels of Criticism, vol. i. p. 405.
" The expression, this generation," says Dr. Auberlen,
"which has caused so much discussion, means here, not this
present generation, but this unbelieving Jewish people.  For
it has not only been proven with much erudition by Dorner
"(in his Dissertatio de Oratione C(lristi eschatologica) that the
expression revsa may be also used of a people; but, even
taking the word literally, Christ often uses it with somewhat
of an undercurrent of reproach. It is impossible to think
that the expression refers to the term of human life." —On
Daniel & Rev., p. 354.
Dr. Stier finds a parallel in Matt. xxiii. 36, where, he says,
"not merely the then present, last, generation was meant, but,
including backwards the entire race as one stock and lineage,
the entire people who are judged in the last generation; so
the term  here has the same signification pointing forwards.
Just because the children are like the fathers, r/sza passes
beyond the species into the idea of the yer!os, and this is the
proper sense of this expression when it is used concerning
Israel.... What further reference, then, does rrza include,
if not the wondrous continuance of Israel even to the end for
which it is spared?"-in loc.
Dorner has stated the conclusion of his learned investigation of the subject in these words: "Quare omnes reor con



THE WORD GENERATION IN MATT. XXIV. 34.   325
cessuros, vocem reYza, si earnm vertas vatas, multas easque
plane insuperabiles ciere difficultates, contexturm vero et orationes progressuin flagitare significationem  gentis, nempe Judweorum."-Stier, iii. 291.
Calovius also understands the reference here to be to the
Jewish nation.-Lange, in loc.
Dean Alford refers to Jer. viii. 3 in LXX.; Matt. xxxiii.
36, 35; Matt. xii. 45; Luke xvii. 25; Matt. xvii. 17; Luke xvi. 8;
Acts ii. 40; Phil. ii. 15; and says, " In all these places r'era is
equivalent to yreo-, or nearly so; having, it is true, a more pregnant meaning, implying that the character of one generation
stamps itself upon the race, as here in this verse also.... The
continued use of 7rapepoaae in verses 34, 35, should have
saved the commentators from the blunder of imagining that
the then living generation was meant, seeing that the prophecy
is by the next verse carried on to the end of all things, and
that, as a matter of fact, the apostles and ancient Christians
did continue to expect the Lord's coming after that generation had passed away."- Greek N. Test., in loc.
The same interpretation of this word in this passage is
given also by Pareus, Jansenius, Wolfius, Du Veil, Dr.
Sykes, Towers, Barnes, Buck, and Ryle. It is without doubt
the true interpretation. And, if so, it entirely does away with
the alleged necessity of applying the discourse in which it
occurs, to the destruction.of Jerusalem, and shows that the
great burden of the prophecy relates to the last times, and the
proper coming of Christ at the great consummation.
28




326                THE LAST TIMES.
NOTE C. SECOND DISCOURSE, P. 57.
THE AUGSBURG AND HELVETIC CONFESSIONS AGAINST THE MODERN
IDEAS OF THE MILLENNIUM.
THE words referring to the subject, in the Augustana, are
found in the Seventeenth Article: —"Item, hie werden verworffen etliche jiidische Lehre, die sich auch jtzund eriiugen,
das vor der Auferstehung die Toden, eitel heilige, fronume
ein weltlich Reich  haben, und  alle gottlosen  vertilgen
werden." The Latin version reads, "Damnant et alios, qui
nunc spargunt judaicas, quod ante resurrectionum mortuum
pii regnum  mundi occupaturi sint, ubique oppressis impiis."
A very good translation is given in Hall's "' Harmony of C(onfessions," in these words:-" They condemn others also, wlhich
spread abroad Jewish opinions, that, before the resurrection
of the dead, the godly shall get the sovereignty in the world,
and the wicked be brought under in every place."
With this harmonizes exactly the eleventh chapter of the
Latter Confession of Helvetia, where it is written, "Moreover, we condemn the Jewish dreams, that before the judgment there shall be a golden world in the earth, and that the
godly shall possess the kingdoms of the world, their wicked
enemies being trodden under foot; for the evangelical truth,
Matt. xxiv. and xxv., and Luke xxi., and the apostolic doctrine in the Second Epistle to Timothy iii. and iv., are found
to teach far otherwise."
These quotations give the highest Confessional authority in
modern Christendom, and they are clearly against the doctrine of a Millennium of universal triumph for Christianity
and the Church previous to the coming of Christ and the
resurrection of the dead.




THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION ON CHILIASM.   327
NOTE D. SECOND DISCOURSE, p. 57.
DOES THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION CONDEMN CHILIASM?
IT has been asserted by many, that the quotation in the
preceding note condemns all Chiliastic or Millenarian teachings. (Vide Knapp, Theol. 2, p. 637; Schmid, Dogmatic,
p. 520; Schott, Aug. Conf. p. 109; Schmucker, Mlanual,
p. 196; Moehler, Symbolism, p. 430; et cetera.)  It is a
statement, however, which has been made without the proper
discrimination, and which cannot be maintained. That there
is a kind of Chiliasm which is condemned by the Augsburg
Confession, is admitted. That those are in error, who say that
a temporal kingdom (weltlich Reich) will be possessed by the
saints and the godly, and that by them the ungodly will be
rooted out of the earth, or subdued to servitude, we sincerely
believe.  With equal heartiness do we refuse to assent to
those who teach that the partakers of the first resurrection
shall spend their millennial reign upon earth in all sorts of corporeal gratifications. There have also been people, who have
been more or less identified with Chiliastic teachings, whose
views on other subjects, and whose manner of life, have been
so reprehensible that we can by no means acknowledge fellowship or sympathy with them.  From  such notions and
teachers the Confessors thought it necessary to separate themselves in this article, in which we fully subscribe to their testimony.  But that all C(hiliasm, or that Chiliasm per se, is
here condemned, we do not believe, and urge in support of
our view the following considerations:- 
1. Chiliasm, or Millenarianisim, is not at all named in the
Confession, nor anywhere in the Lutheran symbols. This,
we suppose, will not be disputed. By name, therefore, it certainly is not condemned.
2. The description of the opinions condemned does not




328                 THE LAST TIMES.
describe proper Millenarianism.  It is no doctrine of Millenarians that the pious are to have a separate kingdom to
themselves "BEFORE the resurrection of the dead."   The
kingdom and administrations for which they look and hope
are AFTER the resurrection. The Millennium and personal
reign which Papias taught the Church to expect, he distinctly
put "AFTER the resurrection."  (Euseb. Hist. 3, cap. 39, p.
126.)  Justin Martyr said there must first be a rising from
the dead at the return of Christ. (Semisch's Life and Times
of Justin, 2, p. 371.) Irenaeus expressed himself plainly to
the same effect.  (Dodgson's Tertullian, Oxford, Note D, p.
121.)  Tertullian wrote, "We do indeed confess that a kingdom on earth is promised us, before the time of heaven, but
in another state, because in a city the work of God, Jerusalem
brought down from heaven, AFTER the resurrection." (See
Greswell on Parables, 1, p. 306.)  Lactantius says, "When
God shall come to judge the world, and shall restore unto life
the just that have been since the beginning, he shall converse
among men a thousand years, and rule them  with a most
righteous government.... And they that shall be raised from
the dead shall be over the living as judges."  And so all
Chiliasts in all ages, who can in any reason be classed with
those members of the Church to whom that designation properly belongs, have believed and taught, viz., that an essential preliminary to the instalment of the saints in their future
blessed kinghood and priesthood is, their resurrection from
the grave to immortality, and that it is only AFTER the resurrectionathat they are to reign with Christ. Either, then, the
Confessors knew not about what they were speaking, or Chiliasm, as such, and as set forth by its only acknowledged
teachers, is not the subject of condemnation in this article.
3. It is plain from the words themselves, that the Confessors here referred to a class of errorists living and active at
the time the Confession was made.  These were evidently




THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION ON CHILIASM.    329
the Anabaptists, who are named in another part of the
Article, and who well deserved all the censure that was thus
passed upon them.  But they were not Millenarians, at least
in the sense that the Church Fathers were. Chiliastic doctrines were professed by some of them at first, but they were
soon merged in enthusiastic and wicked extravagances, which
presently extinguished them  altogether.  They denied the
sufficiency of the Bible for man's spiritual enlightenment,
claimed to be inspired, and put their utterances on a footing
with the teachings of prophets and apostles. They taught,
indeed, the speedy setting up of a kingdom, which they
called the kingdom of Christ, but assigned it a character of
outwardness and earthiness, and other features, as much at
variance with Millenarians as with spiritualizers. They repudiated all human laws and magistrates, and set themselves
to subvert all existing institutions, in order to realize the
kingdom of their dreams, which can in no case be laid to the
charge of Church Chiliasts. Instead of leaving to Christ to
establish his own kingdom in his own time and superhuman
way, as we teach, they themselves undertook to establish it
with fire and sword, and took a certain tailor, John Buckholdt, and set him up as "Kingo of Zion," in the name and
place of Jesus, regarding him as the representative of God
himself, the Lord of all the earth, by whose administrations
all worldly powers were to be rooted up, the wicked exterminated, and a kingdom of saints established in this world, without having to wait the time of "the resurrection of the just."
(Vide Mosheim, Ch. Hist., vol. i. p. 78; Ranke, Hist. Reform.,
3, chap. 1; Hardwick, On Refbrm., pp. 273-280; Milner, Ch.
Hist., 2, pp. 341, 409-441, 632; Moehler, Symbolism, pp.
429-444; Knapp, Thleol., art. 15, sec. 154; Walch, Luther's
Works, 15, pp. 2366-2367; also, vol. 5, p. 1400.)
That these were the people whose teachings and doings the
Confessors meant to condemn, is shown by the terms they
28



330                 THE LAST TIMES.
use, and all the surroundings of the case. That of which they
meant to purge themselves and warn mankind was Munster
Anabaptism,-a base furor of designing or deceived people,
with which Christian Chiliasm has less in common, perhaps,
than Mormonism with the teachings of Jesus, or Mohammedanism with the Church of Christ.
4. The best authorities on the subject also lead us to believe that it was the seditious and infamous Judaizing doctrines, and the perverted ideas of the kingdom of God, held
and disseminated by the Anabaptists, which the Confessors
here intended to disown and condemn, and these alone.
The very highest authority is, of course, Luther himself.
His understanding of the matter has been very well reproduced in a work called Lutherius Re(divivus, published in 1697,
which professes to give authentically the opinions of Luther
upon every Article of the Augsburg Confession. On page
384, he is thus made to speak upon the points before us:"As no one can better say than myself what the Augsburg
Confession means by Jewish doctrines, in that I myself made
the first draft of this Confession, I here give you this account:
The Jews desire nothing more of their Messiah than that he
should be a Cltocab and worldly king, who will slay us Christians and heathen, divide the earth among the Jews, and make
them lords and princes, and finally, also, die like other kings,
as also his children after him.  For so says a Rabbi,'Thou
art not to imagine that it will be different, or go otherwise,
in the times of the Messiah, than as has been arranged from
the beginning of the world;' that is, there will be day and
night, years and lunations, summer and winter, seeding and
harvests, rearing of children and dying, eating, drinking,
sleeping, growing, digesting, &c., every thing as it is now,
except that the Jews are to be the rulers, possess the gold
and goods, joy and pleasure of the world, whilst we Christians are to be their slaves."




THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION ON CHILIASM.    331
And as to these notions being put forth again at the time
the Confession was written, he is made to say, further, "Tlhe
celestial prophets, against whom I have written, also teach
and hold, that they are to reform Christianity, and rebuild it
after this fashion: they are to strangle all princes, and the
ungodly, in order to make themselves lords upon earth, and
live upon earth among none but saints. Such things, and
much more, have I myself heard from them.  And as, at the
time, among other calunlnies, this blame was also cast upon us,
as though the gospel taught and encouraged rebellion and undutifulness towards authorities, wce had, by these words of the
Confession, to free ourselves of such imputations."
The passages referred to in Luther's works as authority for
putting these words into his mouth are (Altenburg edition)
Tom. VILI. fol. 268 b, IX. fol. 306 b, 1511 b, III. fol. 52 a,
V. fol. 745 b.  We have referred to these passages, and have
found them in every important particular nearly word for
word as connected in the above extract.
The next highest authority in the case is Ilelancthon, who
was the writer of the Confession as it was finally present,.d.
He certainly should be presumed to know what was intended
by the words in question.  Referring, then, to his Variata,
of 1531, we find an explanatory amplification of this Article,
in which he presents two propositions as containing the whole
truth over against the errors therein condemned.  They are
these: first, that Christians are bound to be obedient to the
government under which they live; and second, that the Church
in this life is never to attain, to a position of universal triumplh
and prosperity, but is to remain depressed, an d subject to cfflictions and adversities, until the period of the resurrection of the
dead.*
a "Scimus enim quod pii debeant obedire proesentibus magistratibus,
non eripere eis imperia, non dissipare politias per seditionem, quia Paulus
precipit, Omnis anima magistratui suo subdita sit.  Scimus item, quod




332                  THE LAST TIMES.
The first of these propositions was denied by the Anabaptiss; but, so far from  being rejected by Millenarians, it is
held and taught by them in common with all true Christians;
and the second is a characteristic element of the Miillenarian
faith over against the vast majority of their opponents. According to MIelancthon, therefore, the subject of condemnation
in this Article is not Millenarianism  at all, but rather the
views of its modern opposers, and that which has no sort of
connection with it.
A concurrent account of the meaning of this article of the
Confession is also given by Dr. Semisch, in Herzog's Encyclopedia, where he says that, although it may be taken as
preclusive, yet, properly, it rejects as Jewish dreams only that
caricature of true (Chiliasm put forth by the Anataptists, who
abrogated the magistracy and the ministry, and set up a Zion
of their own, with community of goods and wives. (Vide
Art. Chtiliasmus, p. 663.) The same author affirms that the
Church never dlid reject Chiliasm  in its (Grundgedanken)
essential ideas, but only in its Ebionistic or Juldaic perversions.
It is ably maintained also by a recent writer (Das Tausendjdhrige Reich gehlirt nicht der Vergangenheit, sondern der Zukunft an: Giitersloh, 1860) that the Symbolical Books of the
Lutheran Church do not condemn Chiliasm properly so called,
but rather antichiliasm of every sort.  Floerke, too, (in his
Lehre vom  tausendjuhrigen Reiche, Marburg, 1859,) takes
the same ground, and remarks, that the Confession itself
limits its condemnation on this point by the words qui NUNC
spargztnt; so that no Chiliasm  is symbolically condemned
but that only which was putting itself forth at the time, and
with which we have no part. —See pp. 4-9.
Ecclesia in hoc vita subjecta sit cruci, et primum post hanc vitam glorificabitur, sicut Paulus inquit, Oportet nos similes fieri imaginis filii Dei;
Quare Anabaptistarum amentiam et diabolicum furorem damnamus et
execramur." —Corpus Reforrmatorum (lielanlch. Op.), vol. 26, p. 361.




THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION ON CIIILIASM.    333
5. It is also a fact, which is not without considerable bearing upon the point, that some of the most intelligent, pious,
and conscientious theologians of the Lutheran Church, who
were sworn by their ordination vows to every Article of the
Augsburg Confession, and who claimed to be faithful to those
vows to the end of their lives, were Millenarians, and preached,
published, and defended Millenarian doctrines.
Pre-eminent among these was that distinguished prelate
and scholar, John Albert Benygel, one of the clearest-minded
critics that the Church has produced, who was a most
decided Millenarian, and who not only claimed to be tiue
to the Confessions on this point, but says, in his preface
to his Gnomron, "No one as yet has called my orthodoxy in
question."
In the same list belongs the revered name of Doctor Philip
Jacob Spener, "the Protestant Fenelon," to whose piety and
teachings the Lutheran Church in this and all other countries
owes much, and who, though severely assailed by dogmatists
for his cherished expectations of the better times to come,
maintained, to the satisfaction of his judges, that he taught
nothing contrary to the Confession.which he subscribed,
and that what the Confessors condemn as Jewish dreams
did in no way include what he preached as the glad hope of
the Church in these its days of affliction.
Another was the excellent Christian Augustus Cirusius,
Professor and Primarius of Theology in the University of
Leipsic, who wrote the 14ypomnemata ad Theol. Prop heticarm,
in which Hengstenberg and Delitzch find so much to admire
and commend.
Another was the great Swabian theosophist, Frederick
(Ohristoph Oetinger, whom Auberlen characterizes as a profound thinker, and concerning whom Schubart has said that
an academy of learning and science expired with him.
Still another was the pious MlJagnus Frederick Roos, whom




334                THE LAST TIMES.
Delitzch speaks of as "the great investigator of Scripture,
full of quiet depth."
And to the same class belong Philip Frederickl Iiller, one
of the most prolific and admired of Germany's sacred poets;
Joachim Lange, the able theologian of Halle; and Dr. J.
G. Schmucker, one of the most pious and learned divines of
the Lutheran Church of this country, whose work on the
Apocalypse, setting forth the twofold resurrection, and the
personal reign of Christ on the earth, also bears the recomimendation of Drs. Ilelmuth, Lochman, and D. Kurtz, who
were among the most learned, pious, and devoted Lutherans
on this continent.
WTith these also might be named numbers still living, eminent as Christians, theologians, and adherents to the Confessions of the Church, who yet hold and teach Millenarian
doctrines.
It is hard to presume that such men and scholars were so
foolish as not to know to what they subscribed as their creed,
or so hypocritical as to profess to hold to what they did not
receive,-one or the other of which we are bound to believe
if the Augsburg Confession condemns Chiliasm.
6. And then, again, who can conceive of the blessed Reformers and Confessors as sitting in judgment upon Barnabas,
and Papias, and Justin Martyr, Irenoeus, Tertullian, Clement
of Alexandria, Cyprian, Lactantius, and at least the great
body of the orthodox Church for hundreds of years, and condemning themn all as errorists of a class with the Zwickau
and Munster prophets? Though refusing, as all Christians
should refuse, to be bound in their faith to any thing but the
inspired word, they still held the ancient fathers in high
esteem as witnesses to the truth, and encouraged the careful
study of them. (Vide Walch's Luther, vol. 22, p. 2050, vol.
14, p. 420.) Even with reference to some who lived much later
than those named, Luther averred that he would rather die




SPIRITUALITY OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.           335
first, yea, that the day of judgment itself' must come, before
he would reject or condemn them.  (Ibid. vol. 16, p. 2638.)
And as the ancient Fathers, with others who succeeded them,
certainly were Millenarians, we are forced either to assign to'the Confessors the absurd position of holding those to be pious
and worthy Christians whom they at the same time denounce
as pernicious heretics, or to conclude that it was not Millenarianism, as such, that they here meant to condemn.
Upon these considerations, we hold it to be a mistake to say
that Chiliasml of all forms has been rejected by the Augsburg
Confession.  It is a mere assumption, made without proper
discrimination in the first place, and repeated by the enemies
of Millenarian doctrine without proper scrutiny.  We have
sought in vain for adequate vouchers for its truth, and have
not seen the first tittle of evidence that it is any thing more
than a prevalent misapprehension.
NOTE E. FIFTH DISCOURSE, P. 119.
MILLENARIAN VIEWS' OF THE SPIRITUALITY OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.
IT is sometimes insinuated to the discredit of Millenarians
that they deny the spiritual reign of Christ over the heart,
and look only- for a carnal heaven and a sensual paradise. As
they insist upon the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures in
a plain, every-day manner, it is presumed that they ignore the
proper spirituality of religion, and that their anticipations for
the future must necessarily exclude the idea of spiritual good
as the leading characteristic of the kingdom  to come.  So
Origen, and Jerome, and Augustine after him; and so Corrodi, Seyffarth, and many of the modern writers and preachers
against our doctrines.  But nothing could be more uncandid
and unjust. Though it may evince wit, it displays very little




336                 THE LAST TIMES.
of that quality of mind and heart which is most to be
coveted in view of the solemn judgment to come. We do
not deny that there may have been some fanatical and carnal
people who have taught certain forms of Millenarian doctrine, as there have been such to accept, caricature, and disgrace the doctrines of every school of religious belief. But it
is very questionable whether, as a class of Christian believers
in the Church, there has ever lived a more earnest, spiritualminded, and devout body of men, or any who have more uniformly and stringently insisted on repentance, conversion, and
real heart-obedience to the Savior, than Millenarians.
Ireneus speaks of the saints who are to "reign in the
earth" as "growing by the sight of the Lord," and "habituated to receive the glory of God the Father," and that they
" shall in the kingdom receive a conversation and communion
and unity of spiritual things with the holy angels."  He says,
further, that they shall "truly be practised for incorruption,
and shall be enlarged and strengthened in the periods of the
kingdom, so as to become capable of receiving the glory of
the Father," and in the new heaven and new earth "shall
abide ever new, and having intercourse with God."
Ju:tin MIartyr says, " They from every nation, slaves or free,
who believe in Christ, and know the truth in his words and in
those of his prophets, know that they shall be with him, and
shall inherit things eternal and incorruptible;" and that
" they who repent not shall inherit nothing in the holy Mount;
but the Gentiles which have believed in him, and repented of
their sins, these shall inherit with the patriarchs, and the prophets, and the righteous who are sprung from Jacob.  They
shall inherit the holy inheritance of God."
It is written of Melito, Bishop of Sardis, an acknowledged
Millenarian, that, so far from being a carnal man, indulging
himself with carnal dreams, " he had his whole conversation
in the Holy Ghost."




SPIRITUALITY OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.          337
Tertullian distinctly locates the joys of the children of the
resurrection in all spiritual good things.  Speaking of the
glorious city, he says, "This, we say, is provided by God for
receiving the saints upon the resurrection, and refreshing
them with the abundance of all spiritual good things, in compensation for those which in the world we have either despised or lost."
Dr. Greswell remarks, "If I can form any reasonable conjecture about the sentiments of the advocates of the Millennium, in ancient times, from such of their writings as have
come down to us,-if I know any thing of the opinions of
the most rational and sober-minded of its supporters still,and, in particular, if I am not altogether ignorant of my own
views and expectations concerning it,-I cannot hesitate to
affirm that they are very greatly mistaken, or very grossly
pervert and misrepresent our conceptions of the nature and
purposes of this dispensation, who charge us with entertaining
a sensual and carnal idea of the kingdom of Christ, and attempt to raise a prejudice against us on that account."
And who that has himself any practical acquaintance with
the spirituality of religion will ever think of charging Mede,
or Spener, or Bengel, or Roos, or Durant, or Farmer, or
Lange, or Goodwin, or Bickersteth, with denying that grace
must rule in the heart, or with teaching that the world to
come is to have its joys made up of eating and drinking and
carnal gratifications, because they anticipated a future manifestation of the kingdom on the earth, to which all that has
been thus far is merely preparatory?  Nor would it be difficult to name scores, if not hundreds, of men now living, who
are acknowledged to be among the most faithful, pure, and
useful Christians on the face of the earth, to whoim the Millenarian faith presents the dearest hopes they cherish.
It was once remarked by Thomas Hartley that, "Among
the many arts practised in order,to bring any truth into disW                    29




338                 THE LAST TIMES.
credit, none is more popular than that of exhibiting it to
public view joined with the absurd tenets of some that have
espoused it, and which is not improperly called dressing up
truth in a fool's coat on purpose to make it appear ridiculous;
and this often succeeds with the undiscerning vulgar, who
judge only by the outward appearance of things." It is this
art which has been practised for the most part by the enemies
of Millenarian doctrine, and that, too, with a goodly degree of
success. It is to be hoped that the time is at hand when men
will deal with the subject with some degree of that candor
which it really deserves.
NOTE F. FIFTH DISCOURSE, p. 121.
ON THE DECLARATION OF THE SAVIOR (JOHN xvii.,36) THAT HIS
KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
THERE is no passage more dwelt upon by anti-Millenarians
in opposition to our doctrines than this.  Indeed, it is about
the only text on which any show of scriptural objection can
be raised. But it is, after all, nothing but show. If they
take it to prove that the kingdom of Christ is within, —a reign
over the heart by the Holy Spirit,-we maintain this equally
with themselves. If they take it to prove that the kingdom
of Christ is not of earthly derivation, or of an earthly nature,
this, too, we hold with unyielding firmness, insisting that it is
neither derived, constituted, nor administered after the fashion
of the kingdoms of this world. If they take it to prove that
the kingdom of Christ is confined and limited to the Spirit's
rule in men's hearts, and that it consequently is and always
will be without outward manifestation and visible form, we
dispute that there is any thing of the -sort in the passage, and
insist that they have the Scriptures everywhere against them.




THE KINGDOM NOT OF THIS WORLD.            339
That kingdom even now embraces the organized Church,
which is a visible assembly, with outward sacraments and
bonds of union, and with external manifestations as real as
any of this world's kingdoms. And if they take it to prove
that the kingdom of Christ is not located on earth, they undertake to make it prove a manifest falsehood. Take the
kingdom spoken of in what sense we please, whether as Christ
reigning in the heart by his Spirit, or as Christ operating for
the salvation of men through the administrations and ordinances of his Church, its location is in this world, and in
none other. Nor do the Savior's words imply, by any fair,
grammatical construction, that his kingdom ever will be
located otherwise than upon the earth. It may not be without service to quote here a few authorities on the subject.
Tholuck makes this criticism: " He does not contradict the
assertion that he has a kingdom; nay, he speaks of his kingdom and of his servants. If we are to affirm any thing with
regard to the kingdom of Christ, we must not content ourselves with merely saying that the kingdom of Christ is not
of this world; we must add that, although his kingdom is
not of this world, yet it is nevertheless in this world, and will
advance more and more in this world. Yes, God be praised!
we can say, with joy, that although the Lord's kingdom is not
of this world, still it is in this world, and, so long as the world
exists, IT WILL NEVER PASS OUT OF IT."-Light from the
Cross, p. 171, in loc.
Stier has this observation: —"This renunciation is by no
means to be put in opposition to the true prophecies of the
kingdom of the Son of man, to whom already power is given,
and whose kingdom finally will bring all other power to
naught: it is very far from renouncing the world, and all
external and earthly manifestation and confirmation of his
heavenly power. It does not, as superficial expositors dream,
(here and verse 37,) refer the kingdom of Christ to the in



340               THE LAST TIMES.
visible region of the heart. Had he not said already before
Caiaphas,'From this time forth ye shall see him coming in
his power'? The observation of Von Gerlach is good, that a
purely internal dominion which did not control and subordinate to itself the external, would be no true kingdom, and
would have none of the reality of dominion."- Words of
Jesus, in loc.
~So, too, Krummacher: —" He does not deny that he came to
establish a kingdom: he only repels the groundless suspicion
of his having intended -to overthrow the existing authorities
and to establish a new political state. He does not say that
his kingdom makes no claim eventually to the government
of the whole world, or he would have denied more than was
consistent with the truth.  He only asserts that his kingdom
was not of this world, and clearly intimates, by laying the
emphasis on the word'this,' that another acwe than the present would certainly see his delegates seated on thrones, and
his word and gospel the magna charta of all nations."Sf/euring Savior, p. 248.
Trench also describes the point of meaning to be, "not the
unfolding of any powers which already existed in the world,a kingdom not rising, as those other kingdoms,'out of the
earth,' but a new power brought into the world from above."
On the Parables, p. 160.
Alford also interprets the declaration as conveying "no
denial that this kingdom is over this world, —but that it is to
be established by this world's power."
"Christus sagt nicht: Mein Reich ist nicht hienieden,
sondern: Nicht von dannen."-Lutherus Redivivus, p. 386.
Edward King says of this declaration of the Savior, " It
might be translated, or at least should be paraphrased, lny
kingdom is not derived from any powers or authority in this
world."-Morsels of Crit., vol. 1, p. 421.




THE PERSONAL ANTICHRIST.             341
NOTE G. SEVENTH DISCOURSE, p. 179.
THE PERSONAL ANTICHRIST-IS IT LOUIS NAPOLEON?
THAT there is to be some great, blaspheming, despotic military power, under which the Roman Empire is to be in some
sense revived, which is to exercise a most cruel tyranny over
the whole civilized world, and which is to lead forth the combined armies of nations to a scene of unprecedented disaster
in connection with the reappearance of Christ, is plainly
taught in the prophecies of Daniel, Paul, and John, and held
by all the best interpreters of the prophetic word. It is
this power which is styled by eminence " The Antichrist,
that denieth the Father and the Son." It is also the growing
belief of expositors that this power is the Napoleonic headship of the Roman dominion, especially as that headship has
been revived in the present Emperor of the French, Napoleon III. The general grounds upon which this belief rests
may be stated somewhat as follows:1. He answers to the description which makes this great
blaspheming power the septimo-eighth head of the sevenheaded and ten-horned beast of the great Roman dominion.
The seven heads of this beast were not only "seven mountains," upon which the centre of Roman dominion was seated,
but also "seven Kings" or regencies. These seven regencies
are the seven distinct forms under which the Roman dominion was embodied and administered.  These were kings,
consuls, dictators, decemvirs, military tribunes, and emperors.
Of these, "five" had "fallen" when John wrote; one was,
and one was "not yet come."  That which then was, was the
Roman imperial, which in one way or another, as history
shows, continued down to Francis II. of Austria, A.D. 1806,
when the power of Europe was seized by Napoleon Bonaparte,
and the old imperial succession was destroyed. In this Napo29




342                THE LAST TIMES.
leon, then, a new and distinct head was set up, whilst there
was yet such an assumption by him of the old iron crown, and
such an acknowledgment of his authority by the Pope of
Rome in his coronation, that it was still to be regarded
as the same old Roman dominion simply passed to another
form or head. He was, therefore, that seventh head which
was to come.  "And when he is come," said the angel,
"he must continue a short space." The period of Napoleon's
imperial rule was eleven yecrrs, when he was overthrown, and
his empire destroyed forever, as it appeared. But it was not
effectually destroyed.  He is described in the vision as "the
beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Though "as it were
wounded to death, his deadly wound was healed." The Napoleonic headship ceased with the fall of Napoleon I., but it
was soon marvellously revived in his nephew, and now is
again, in the present Napoleon III.  He is "of the seven" by
his relation to the Napoleon family, and by his assumption
of the same dynasty and principles represented by Napoleon
I.; but the:manner of his coming into power, and various
peculiarities in the constitution of his dominion, present
features of distinctness from his uncle's headship, showing
that he is in some sense also a headship of his own kind. Ho
is consequently the seventh, and yet in some sense the eighth,
so answering to the description of a septimo-eighth head or
embodiment of the great Roman dominion, which was to bo
the Antichrist.  (See Faber's ATapoleon III.)
2. Napoleon III. corresponds also with the prophetic portrait of the Antichrist in his prowess, ambition, and military
power. In Rev. xiii. 3, 4, as soon as the beast's wounded
head is healed, he appears as the wonder and astonishment of
the world; which has been very remarkably verified in the
surprise and amazement which the career of Louis Napoleon
has excited since 1852. And with 750,000 trained troops,
furnished with the best arms in the world, with a fleet




THE PERSONAL ANTICHRIST.              343
of iron-clad war-steamers inferior perhaps to none now afloat,
and with his deep and inscrutable policy and ambition, it may
very well be said of him, at this moment, "Who is like unto
the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"  Nor is it
difficult to anticipate, from the present condition of the world,
and his position in it, that it would not take any great length
of time to fulfil the words of the prophet, in which it is said
that "power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues,
and nations."-(Rev. xiii. 7.) His rapid ascension to power
and dominion have startled the world, and his influence and
authority are augmenting still in all quarters of the globe.
He is at this moment the most daring, the most ambitious,
the most powerful, and the most dangerous man on earth.
The Crimean War put him at the head of European affairs.
His interference in the war of Austria and Sardinia shows
with what a controlling hand he is competent to dispose of
the disputes of nations.  His annexation of Savoy and Nice
to France is another illustration of his growing pre-eminence.
The recent war with China, and the French occupation of
Syria, have planted his power in Asia. The north of Africa
is his. Mexico seems ready to fall into his hands. The defeat of his uncle at Waterloo he regards it his solemn destiny
to avenge. He is now virtually the possessor of Rome. The
prospect is that he will presently have the Jews completely
enlisted in his favor. Jerusalem is at this moment stirring
throughout its desolations under the influences of his power.
Palestine seems as if preparing to open her gates to him.
Greece, now in revolution, seems to be ready to accept a
member of his family as her king. His monetary resources
are g reater than those of any power on earth. His desire to
interfere in the terrific schism which has occurred in the
United States needs only to await the opportunity to put the
tottering Republic under his control. All of which would
seem to foreshadow, as clearly as may be, the fulfilment to




844                THE LAST TIMES.
him of what is written in Rev. xvii. 13, 17, xiii. 7; and Dan.
xi. 36-39.
3. His name also has peculiarities which appear to fall in
very remarkably with the predictions that apply to this last
great scourge of the world. It is argued, by some, that the
king spoken of in Rev. ix. 11 is also in some sense this wilful
king of the last days. And it is there said that "his name
in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue
Apollyon," —which comes nearer to Napoleon than many of
the New Testament versions of the ancient Scripture names.
In Rev. xiii. 18, it is written, "Here is wisdom. Let him
that hath understanding count- the number of the beast, for
it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred
threescore and six."   And in Rev. xiii. 17 and xv. 2
this number is further described as "the number of his
name;" which is usually taken to mean the number in numerical value of the letters which compose his name. And,
giving the name Louis in its Latin form, Ludovicus, we have,
as the total numerical value of the letters, 666. So, too, by
putting the name Napoleon in its Greek form, as if inscribed
upon a monument, NarroReovrt, the total numerical value of the
letters is again 666. Thus:
L stands for          50      N  stands for          50
V    "    "            5      a    "    "             1
D    "    "          500       r    "    a"          80
o         "            0      o    it   CC           70
V    "  "C             5,A    c                30
I   "    "             1      e    "    i'            5
C    "    "          100      o    it    "           70
V    "    "            5      y      "    "          50
S         "            0           "    "           300
-     v "        10
Total,  666
Total,     666




THE PERSONAL ANTICHRIST.              345
It is true that this number can be found in other names,
and in some which apply to this beast in some of its earlier
forms; but it is very remarkable that this number should be
found in both names of the present French emperor, in whom,
if these prophecies do apply to him, is to be concentred every
form and attribute of all the antichrists which have been
before him.
4. The connection of the Antichrist with the apostate Church
power, first supporting it, using it, and then despoiling it altogether, also seems to point to Napoleon III. as the man. When
yet President of France, in 1849, he sent French troops to
support the Pope in Rome, and has not withdrawn them to
this day. Yet of late he'has been allowing all sorts of damage
to befall the papacy, is at present in disagreement with the
Church authorities, and in various ways is giving symptoms
which look greatly like preparation for that part of prophecy
which says that the beast, with his ten subordinate kings,
shall "hate the whore, and make her desolate, and naked,
and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." He has also permitted a pamphlet to be issued in which it is proposed that
the papal power should be given him, and the political and
religious sovereignties united in his own person,-a thing not
unlikely to be consummated at no distant day; which would
fully invest him with the very attributes which underlie the
predictions of Paul in 2 Thess. ii. 8-12.
5. The mysteriousness which characterizes him, his taciturn disposition, his protestations and general policy, and
his deep cunning and sagacity, also seem to answer to the
predictions made concerning the Antichrist. In Daniel viii.
we find a vision of a little horn, which waxed exceeding
great,-the Mohammedan power, perhaps, but ultimately the
Antichrist,-who (in verses 23-25) is described as "a king
of fierce (shameless, imperturbable, unawed, impenetrable)
countenance, and understanding dark sentences," who "shall




346                 THE LAST TIMES.
destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall
destroy the mighty and the holy people," and "through his
policy also shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and magnify himself in his heart, and byi peace shall destroy many,"
and "shall also stand up against the Prince of princes."
He is also described as the king who "shall do according to
his will, and shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above
every god." Nor can it fail to strike the reader how well this
language applies to a man of whom a personal friend of his,
who laboriously attempted an analysis of his character, has
said, "Frigidly affable, and repulsively polite, he avoided
either offence or familiarity, but seemed instinctively to coil
up his nature from observation.  In phrase and demeanor
all that became his birth,'still the man was perfectly inaccessible...  There was much of peculiarity, much of contrast,.abstract yet vigilant, inquisitive in every thing, but studiously
incommunicative, diligent in acquiring all men's knowledge,
retentive of his own, cold and impassive, but full of latent
energy, cautious in decision, but, having decided, prompt,
rapid, and impetuous.  Almost intuitive in grasping opportunity or detecting weakness; improved by study, steeled by
adversity, disciplined for every vicissitude of fortune, he has
inestimable qualifications for his own position.... Marvellous as his character appears at present, it is, in my judgment,
as yet very partially developed. The resel've, however, in
which he habitually shrouds himself may not now be violated.... Few can see, in the taciturn recluse, the talents,
attainments, and accomplishments which he undoubtedly
possesses."-(Phillips on Napoleon IlI.)  Madden also very
pointedly, confirms this well-drawn portrait, and further
says that "This man-mystery, the depths of whose duplicity no CEdipus has yet sounded, is a problem even to those
who surround him. I watched his pale, corpse-like, imperturbable features, not many months since, for a period of




THE PERSONAL ANTICHRIST.              347
three hours. I saw 80,000 men in arms pass before him, and
I never observed a change in his countenance, or an expression in his look, which would enable the bystander to say
whether he was pleased or otherwise at the stirring scene that
was passing before him on the very spot where Louis XVI.
was put to death. He did not speak to those around him
except at very long intervals, and then with an air of nonchalance, of ennui, and eternal occupation with self." "Dark,
mysterious, impenetrable, inscrutable in his designs," says
the author of Armageddon; "concealing every passion of his
heart within the innermost depths of his soul; of great personal courage and inflexible will, conjoined with cool deliberation and consummate prudence; entirely devoid, apparently,
of any real religion or moral principle; impelled, guided, protected, as he announces himself to be, by his uncle's shade;
with the subtlety of that'more subtle than any beast of the
field,' has he hitherto defeated all his opponents, and reached
by craft a pinnacle which his uncle could only attain by the
sword. Striking not until his quarry be certain, or (as the
author of the Last Vials well expresses it) never uncoiling
himself to seize his prey until sure of his victim; daily increasing in power and influence over the nations; and bringing the eyes of an astonished world to contrast with wonder
his past and present career; all in relation to him seems to
be after a superhuman working that none can fathom."
6. His rise from obscurity, the contempt in which all men
once held him, the manner of his ascent to the throne and
his great dominion, as well as his remarkable control of the
precious metals, are also of a character answering to the predictions concerning the Antichrist.  He was described in
Dan. xi. 21 as "a vile person [one despised], to whom they
shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he shall come
in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.".. Also it
was further said "he shall have power over the treasures of




348                THE LAST TIMES.
gold and silver." And before Napoleon III. obtained the
emperorship, there was hardly a man in the world upon whom
more contemptuous epithets and opinions were passed than
upon him. He was supposed to be without understanding,
an idiotic dreamer, as short of brains as he was of friends and
means. But from that obscurity and contempt he has risen
to imperial power; and the kingdom which no one would
have been willing to confer upon him, he yet managed, in the
name of liberty and democracy, and with daring adventures
in the name of peace and the people, to obtain and hold.
It is also a marvellous fact that he has not only succeeded
in securing all the money needed for the extraordinary cost
of carrying on his government and immense improvements,
but in the years 1855, 56, and 57, he coined more gold than
both England and the United States together.
7. It would also seem to be impossible for another power,
such as the Antichrist is to be, to arise and mature itself in
the unexpired time which chronological prophecies place between the present and the great consummation.  A dozen
different lines of calculation seem to converge and run out
within the limits of the next ten years, each of which is supposed to extend to the epoch of the consummation. Seven
years, or three and a half years at least, is the period in which
the Antichrist, as such, is to continue; which would leave only
some half a dozen years for the incoming, establishment, and
maturement of the predicted power, of which the earth as yet
has no signs apart from Napoleon III.
Without undertaking, therefore, to decide positively that
Louis Napoleon is the personal Antichrist of the last days, we
have no hesitation in saying that we are strongly inclined,
with some of the most sober and learned of prophetic expositors, to believe that he is. Events will very soon show
whether this supposition is correct or not. And one of the
first testis will be the formation of a league or covenant be



THE TWO STAGES OF THE TRANSLATION.    349
tween Napoleon III. and the Jews, in which they will accept
him as their great protector and help in their reinstatement into their land and the restoration of theirAemple services. When this covenant is once made, it will then be but
seven years to the descent of Christ in the clouds of heaven,
and the great consummation.  (See Dan. ix. 27; xi. 23.)
"Blessed is he that watcheth!"
NOTE H. SEVENTH DISCOURSE, pp. 108, 181.
ON THE TWO STAGES OF THE TRANSLATION.
THi opinion that there is to be a duality in the translation
of the saints (as also in the resurrection of them that sleep in
Christ) seems to me to have strong supports in the Scriptures.
1. In the description of the great woes which are to attend
the close of the present dispensation, there is a command
given to "watch and pray always," that we " may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and
to stand before the Son of man." It is here implied that
there will be persons living when these troubles come, who, by
peculiar earnestness in their expectancy of the Lord's return,
shall obtain entire exemption from them; and that this exemption will consist in some peculiar introduction into the
immediate presence of the Son of man, that is, by being
caught up to him in the clouds. Something of the same sort
is intimated in Isaiah xxvi. 20, where God's peculiar people
are represented as called up into some peaceful pavilion, where
they are at rest while the waves of divine indignation are
rolling over the world. But in Rev. vii. 9-14 we read of a
great multitude of the redeemed, who are represented as
having had to suffer these very woes, and as having reached
30




350                 THE LAST TIMES.
heaven through them. It is specifically said, "These are they
which came out of the great tribulation,"'-nt out of tribulation in gendeal, but some specific and pre-eminent tribulation,ex ~r~  OAOecwsq -r'  -AeroA2, out of the tribulation, the great one,
-which we find described in Dan. ix. 27, xii. 1; Matt. xxiv.
21, 22; Luke xxi. 24. Now, as some are accounted worthy
to escape these things, and escape by their removal to the
presence of Christ, and as others only reach their places before the throne of God by passing through the great tribulation, there must needs be two stages in the removal of the
Church, that is, two distinct translations.
2. Again, in Rev. xiv. 1-5, we read of a certain number
of the "redeemed from among men," who have reached the
heavenly state in the presence of the Lamb, and who are
called "the first fruits unto God."  There is a difference between the first fruits and the general harvest, not exactly in
kind, but in the order of their gathering, and in the purposes
to which they are applied. There is always an interval between the gathering and lifting up of the one, and the general
reaping of the other. And, answering in this respect to the
first fruits described in the first part of the chapter, we have
an account of the reaping of the great harvest in a subsequent
part, (verses 15, 16.)  Those that constitute the first fruits,
of course, cannot be the same as those who constitute the
general harvest.  The one is a distinct class from the other,
and is separated from it especially as to the precise time of
the gathering, whilst, nevertheless, the gathering is of the
same kind in both. And as both classes are made up of persons redeemed from among men, and " caught up in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air," we must conclude that there is
to be a twofold translation.
3. There seems also to be an intimation that even Christ's
coming is to possess two distinct stages,-which would again
correspond with the idea of a twofold translation. He is to




ON THE TWO STAGES OF THE TRANSLATION.   351
come "as a thief in the night;" but he is also to come "in
the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory," "taking
vengeance on them that know not God," and to be "admired
in all them that believe." In the one case he is seemingly
invisible, removing as by stealth those who are waiting and
ready, and fulfilling those words of his, "In that night there
shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other
left," &c. In the other case, "every eye shall see him," and
he rides forth upon his celestial chariot as a mighty conqueror, crushing down before him all his foes both great and
small, and gathering to himself the great totality of them that
believe on his name. Both these comings, or stages of his
manifestation, cannot occur at one and the same time, and so
would involve a twofold translation.
4. To this also agrees the account given in Matt. xxiv. 4251; where we read of a servant who is "faithful and wise,"
whom his Lord finds at his post, and at once receives to
blessedness; but also of another servant, as really a servant
as the first, who is deficient in fidelity and worldly in his
temper, and whom his Lord when he comes severely punishes
(8'%OwTojuw) by assigning him a portion with hypocrites, who
are to suffer the great tribulation. The words do not at all
imply that the one is saved and the other lost, but simply
that the one reaches blessedness at once when the Lord
comes, whilst the other, not being prepared by proper watchfulness, is "left," and punished with such temporal judgments as are then to befall the earth, and only saved "so as
by fire," at a subsequent period.
5. So, too, the parable of the ten virgins, (Matt. xxv. 1-13.)
Those virgins are the whole company of the saints, and are
all true Christians and real believers; but only a portion of
them go in with Christ to the marriage, whilst the rest are
"left" to improve their virtues under the afflictions attending
a loss of their place among the first fruits and Church of the




352                 THE LAST TIMES.
first-born, and to receive their redemption at some later stage
of the Savior's manifestation.-See my Discourses on The
Parable of the Ten Virgins.
6. So, too, in the parable of the pounds, (Luke ix. 1127,) we have some faithful and industrious servants who improve their trusts well, and who when the Lord returns are
at once welcomed into the sublime rewards of their exertions.
But there is another class, so timid and unfruitful in - their
occupancy that, when the Lord comes, they are not honored
as the others, but stripped of the trusts they had received, and
left to suffer for their unfaithfulness. They are not lost.
They are not slain, as the malignant " citizens" who would not
acknowledge Christ's rule over them. They simply lose their
rewards, and their places among those who obtain rulership,
and are made to endure the tribulation judgments.
7. To the same effect is the 12th of Revelation. We there
read of "the woman's seed," which may be taken first as
Christ himself, but, for that reason, as the whole body of his
people upon earth. In verse 5, this seed, as intended to "rule
the nations," is represented as "caught up unto God, and to
his throne." Here, then, is one ascension. But in verse 17
we still read of a "remnant" —Aoet7ro-a remaining portion
-of this same woman's seed, which must certainly denote
Christian people; for they are such as "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ," and
are still upon earth suffering the dragon's wrath. And as all
must needs be glorified in due time, there must be a second
translation to embrace these. They suffer additional persecutions to their brethren, and so are not taken at the same time
with them, but are saved only by passing through the great
tribulation, which the more devout and watchful escape by
means of an earlier translation.  Compare also Matt. xxiv.
28, 31, and Luke xvii. 34, 37.
8. The fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation also evi



ON THE TWO STAGES OF THE TRANSLATION.   353
dence the same thing. A scene in heaven is there depicted.
The elders and living creatures in that vision must represent
saints in the glorified state. They address a song to Christ, in
which they say to him, "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood." We know of no redeemed by
Christ's blood but men. They were not, therefore, heavenly
orders or angels proper, but ransomed human beings from the
earth. Nor were they the saints who rose with Christ; for
those appear to have been Jews: these are "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." They are also
already "kings and priests," and have their " crowns," —which
could not be said of the saints of the old dispensation, for
they have not yet received the promises.   The coronation time is at the coming and consummation.  (Heb. xi.
13, 40; 2 Tim. iv. 8; 1 Pet. v. 4; Col. iii. 4). The vision
must, therefore, refer to a state of things in the heavenly state
of the glorified saints in connection with what is said in
1 Thess. iv. 17. It is remarkable, however, that whilst these
are in the heavenly glorified state, and have already received
their crowns, the preliminary judgments of the seals are only
about to begin. And as the great tribulation occurs only in
connection with the opening of these seals, the translation by
which they are brought to their rewards must precede the
great tribulation; whilst, according to Matt. xxiv. 29-31,
there is another gathering of the elect "immediately after the
iribulation;" thus making two stages in the translation. Compare Ps. xxvii. 5, 6, xxxi. 20, xxxii. 6, 7, xlv. 14.
The doctrine of the Scriptures seems to be, that only those
who are devoutly looking and waiting for the Savior's return
shall be taken at first, whilst all others are left to suffer the
great tribulation, which will continue at least three years and
a half. See Heb. ix. 28; and Rev. xii. 13, 14, xiii. 5, xi. 3.
X                     30*.




354                 THE LAST TIMES.
NOTE I. TENTH DISCOURSE, p. 253.
LUTHER ON THE MILLENNIUM.
THE authority of Luther is sometimes quoted as decidedly
against all expectations of a Millennium yet to come. —(See
Dr. Seyffarth's Chiliasm Critically Examined.) The evidence
relied upon for this representation of the great Reformer is
taken from the marginal notes to Luther's German Bible,
Rev. x. 2, 3, where he is made to say that "the thousand
years must have commenced at the time the Apocalypse was
written; mainly because the Turk came a thousand years
after that time." Unsatisfactory as this quotation is, it is the
only passage from'the works of Luther which anti-millenarians
have been able to find by which to array the Reformer on
their side. The worth of it in such a connection may be estimated from the following observations.
Concerning these marginal notes in general, we have to
say, with Fabricius and others, that they have not always
been the same in the various editions of Luther's German
Bible; that many of them were changed, even by himself;
that manifold alterations were made in them before, and still
more after, his death; that it is uncertain to what extent they
are to be attributed to Luther; and that, whilst some of them
furnish much light and information, there are others of which
"it must rather be said that they savor of erroneous opinions'
once held by Luther, which, in justice to him, must be received with reference to the condition of the times in which
they were uttered; on which account liberty has long ago
been taken to alter very materially some of them, as also to
muster them out." —See Fabricius's Centifolium, pp. 168, 169;
also Walch's Luther, preface to vol. xii.; also Irmischer's
Luther's Werke, vol. 64, preface.
As to the particular note to which reference has been made,




LUTHER ON THE MILLENNIUM.              355
whilst it may have come from Luther, we have to say that it
was not contained in the edition of 1522, neither in the edition of 1524. Besides, it relates to a department of inquiry
in which Luther elsewhere expresses himself as for the most
part doubtful. In his preface to his little treatise on Chronology, he says, "It matters nothing to me, indeed, whether
this little book shall stand or not. Neither do I inquire with
much anxiety whether others shall look with favor upon
these reckonings or not."-(See Walch's Luther, xiv. 1111.)
Whilst at the end of that same treatise he distinctly avows
himself a believer in the tradition of the house of Elias,
which certainly puts a millennial Sabbath at the end of the
six thousand years from the creation of Adam.
Dr. Hengstenberg also pronounces it "an over-estimate
of the authority of Luther" to assign this note any value in
the direction for which anti-millenarians have cited it. If it
really gives Luther's opinion at the time, it was simply an
opinion, bearing upon its face the plain evidences of having
been very loosely made up, and one upon which its author
laid no particular stress, grounded no doctrine, placed no confident reliance, and actually contradicted in other portions of
his writings.
It does not appear that Luther ever directly took up the
subject of the Millennium and its related doctrines in connection. They were not much involved, at least not much
brought to the surface, in those controversies and points of
exposition which monopolized his attention and energies. His
was the sublime work of unchaining the simple word of God,
and the establishment of the great doctrines of the right of
private judgment and justification by'faith.  His department
was theology and soterology, rather than eschatology and prophecy. And though the greatest of mere men, and next to
the apostles in his own sphere, he is about the last man among
great theologians to whom to betake ourselves for a guide




356                THE LAST TIMES
in the interpretation of the Apocalypse,-a book which he
evidently had not at all mastered. The great mass even
of his most ardent admirers and followers have long since
agreed to surrender his Apocalyptical views as in many points
untenable, and as given by himself in a way which deprives
them altogether of the weight which attaches to his authority
on other subjects. And when we have laid aside this note
on Rev. xx. 2, 3, we find his writings generally far more in
harmony with the views and spirit of millenarian interpretation than in favor of those who would fain crush us with the
majesty of his great name.
NOTE K. ELEVENTH DISCOURSE, p. 269.
THE SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD.
YEARS.
From the creation of Adam to the birth of Seth........ 130
"Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and
begat a son,... and called his name Seth."Gen. v. 3.
From the birth of Seth to the birth of Enos.............  105
"Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat
Enos."-Gen. v. 6.
From the birth of Enos to the birth of Cainan...........  90
"Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan."Gen. v. 9.
From the birth of Cainan to the birth of Mahalaleel.,  70
"Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel."-Gen. v. 12.
From the birth of Mahalaleel to the birth of Jared....   65
"Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat
Jared."-Gen. v. 15.




SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD.    357
YEARS.
Brought forward.................................  460
From the birth of Jared to the birth of Enoch........? 162
"Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and
he begat Enoch."-Gen. v. 18.
From the birth of Enoch to the birth of Methuselah...   65
"Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah."-Gen. v. 21.
From the birth of Methuselah to the birth of Lamech,  187
"Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven
years, and he begat Lamech."-Gen. v. 25.
From the birth of Lamech to the birth of Noah.........  182
"Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years,
and begat a son: and he called his name
Noah."-Gen. v. 28.
From the birth of Noah to the flood.......................  600
"Noah was six hundred years old when the flood
of waters was upon the earth."-Gen. vii. 6.
The duration of the flood....................................    1
"It came to pass, in the six hundred and first year,
in the first month, the first day of the month,
the waters were dried up."-Gen. viii. 13.
From the flood to the birth of Arphaxad..................    2
"Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the fiood."-Gen. xi. 10.
From the birth of Arphaxad to the birth of Salah....   35
"Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat
Salah."-Gen. xi. 12.
From the birth of Salah to the birth of Eber............   30
" Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber."-Gen.
xi. 14.
From the birth of Eber to the birth of Peleg............   34
"Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat
Peleg." —Gen. xi. 16.




358                THE LAST TIMES.
YEARS.
Brought forward............................... 1758
From the birth of Peleg to the birth of Reu............  30
"Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu."-Gen.
xi. 18.
From the birth of Reu to the birth of Serug............  32
"Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug."
-Gen. xi. 20.
From the birth of Serug to the birth of Nahor..........  30
"Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor."Gen. xi. 22.
From the birth of Nahor to the birth of Terah..........  29
"Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat
Terah."-Gen. xi. 24.
From the birth of Terah to his death.....................  205
"The days of Terah were two hundred and five
years."-Gen. xi. 32.
From the death of Terah to the covenant with Abraham,    2
"Abraham... dwelt in Charran; and from thence,
when his father was dead, he removed him
into this land, wherein ye now dwell."-Acts
vii. 2-4. "Abram was seventy and five years
old when.he departed out of Haran [Charran]."
-Gen xii. 4. Then intervene the events of
his life, recorded in Gen. xii. 5 to Gen. xiv. 24;
which could not have occupied less than two
years. Then comes the Covenant in Gen. xv.
1-21.
From the making of the Covenant to the giving of the Law  430
"The Covenant... the Law, that was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul."
-Gal. iii. 17.
From the giving of the Law to the return of the spies..   1
Compare Exodus xix. 1, and Numbers x. 11.




SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD.    359
YEARS.
Brought forward.................................. 2517
From the return of the spies to the apportionment of
the land.................................... -.....45
Compare Numbers xiv. and Joshua xiv. "And
now the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said,
these forty and five years, even since the Lord
spake this word unto Moses."-Joshua xiv. 10.
From the apportionment of the land to Samuel the
prophet................................................   450
"And after that he gave them judges about the
space of four hundred and fifty years, until
Samuel the prophet."-Acts xiii. 19, 20.
From the raising up of Samuel to Saul's death..........   40
"And afterwards they desired a king; and God
gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of
the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty
years." —Acts xiii. 21.
From the death of Saul to the end of David's reign....   40
"And when he had removed him [Saul], he raised
up unto them David."-Acts xiii. 22.  "And
the days that David reigned over Israel were
forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron,
and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem."-l Kings ii. 11.
From David to the end of Solomon's reign..............   40
"And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all
Israel forty years."-2 Chron. ix. 30.
From Solomon's death to the end of Rehoboam's reign,   17
"So King Rehoboam... reigned seventeen years
in Jerusalem."-2 Chron. xii. 13.
From Rehoboam to the end of Abijah's reign............    3
"Abijah... reigned three years in Jerusalem."
-2 Chron. xiii. 1, 2.




360                THE LAST TIMES.
YEARS.
Brought forward.................................  3152
From Abijah to the death of King Asa...................  41. "And Asa died in the one and fortieth year of his
reign." —2 Chron. xvi. 13.
From Asa to the end of the reign of Jehoshaphat......  25
"He reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem."
-2 Chron. xx. 31.
From Jehoshaphat to the end of Jehoram's reign......   8
"He reigned in Jerusalem eight years."-2 Chron.
xxi. 20.
From Jehoram to the end of Ahaziah's reign............    1
"He reigned one year in Jerusalem."-2 Chron.
xxii. 2.
From Ahaziah to the end of Athaliah's usurpation......   6
"And he [Joash] was with them hid in the house
of God six years: and Athaliah reigned."2 Chron. xxii. 12.
From Athaliah's usurpation to the end of Joash's reign,   40
"Joash... reigned forty years in Jerusalem."2 Chron. xxiv. 1.
From Joash to the end of Amaziah's reign...............  29
"He reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem."
-2 Chron. xxv. 1.
From Amaziah to the end of Uzziah's reign...............    52
"He reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem."2 Chron. xxvi. 1.
From Uzziah to the end of the reign of Jotham..........  16
"He reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem."-2
Chron. xxvii. 1.
From Jotham to the death of Ahaz........................  16
"Ahaz... reigned sixteen years."-2 Chron.
xxviii. 1.
From Alfh'az to the death of Hezekiah.....................  29




SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD.             361
YEARS.
Brought forward.......................................3415
"Hezekiah reigned nine and twenty years."-2
Chron. xxix. 1.
From Hezekiah to the death of Manasseh................   55
"iManasseh reigned fifty and five years."-2 Chron.
xxxiii. 1.
From Manasseh to the death of Amon.....................    2
"Amon... reigned two years."-2 Chron. xxxiii. 21.
From Amon to the death of Josiah........................   31
"Josiah... reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty
years."-2 Chron. xxxiv. 1.
From Josiah to the deposition of Jehoahaz...............    O
" He reigned three months." —2 Chron. xxxvi. 2.
From the deposition of Jehoahaz to the death of Jehoiachim.........................................   11
"Jehoiachim... reigned eleven years."-2 Chron.
xxxvi. 5.
From Jehoiachim to the deposition of Jehoiachin.......    0
"Jehoiachin... reigned three months and ten
days."-2 Chron. xxxvi. 9.
From Jehoiachin to the captivity under Zedekiah......   11
"Zedekiah... reigned eleven years."-2 Chron.
xxxvi. 11.
From the commencement of the Captivity to the decree
of Cyrus..............................................   70
"These nations shall serve the King of Babylon
seventy years."-Jer. xxv. 11: compare 2
Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23.
From the decree of Cyrus to the birth of Christ.........  536
Settled by the registers of the reigns of the Chaldean and Persian kings furnished in the royal
canon of Ptolemy, as agreed by all our best
chronologists.
31




362                 THE LAST TIMES.
YEARS.
Brought forward..................................... 4131
From the birth of Christ to the present................... 1863
From the creation of Adam to A.D. 1863..................  5994
Still necessary to complete the period of 6000...........    6
From the creation of man to the consummation......... 6000
which, according to this reckoning, will be reached in
1869 or'70, when the great Millennial sabbath, if
these dates be correct, is to set in. Other versions of
the Scriptures give some of them differently; but the
common version, which we have followed, and which is
the simple translation of the Hebrew, is quite as likely
to be the genuine as any other, and is generally accepted as the true. With our present knowledge of
the subject, we are willing to abide by it.
NOTE L. ELEVENTH DISCOURSE, p. 281.
PROBABLE DATES OF THE SEVEN LAST VIALS IN THEIR HISTORICAL
FULFILMENT.
VIAL.
I. The French Revolution, from the meeting of the StatesGeneral to the death of the king: —-A.D: 1789-1793.
II. The Reign of Terror, from the death of the king to the
establishment of the Directory:-A.D. 1793-1795.
III. The Wars of the Directory, from  the establishment of
the Directory of Five to the First Consulship of Napoleon I.: —A.D. 1795-1799.




PROBABLE DATES OF THE SEVEN LAST VIALS. 363
VIAL.
IV. The scorching and blasting career of Napoleon I., from
his appointment as First Consul to his abdication of the
empire: —A.D. 1799-1814.
V. Judgments upon the throne and kingdom of the Beast,
from the overthrow of Napoleon I. to the revolutions
of 1848, the overthrow of the Orleans dynasty, and
the rise of Napoleon III.: —A.D. 1814-1849.
VI. Wane of Babylon's resources and supports, and mustering of the nations for their finatl overthrow, from the
rise of Louis Napoleon to the emperorship to the
coming of Christ as the thief to remove the Church
of the first-born, or wise virgins, from the earth to
meet him in the air:-A.D. 1850VII. The great tribulation, unexampled earthquake, and
judgment of the nations, from the full development
of the personal Antichrist-most likely Napoleon III.
to the manifestation of Christ for his final destruction and the bindingof Satan; estimated by numerous
interpreters to date from A.D. 1865-6-1869-70.
These vials, however, are to have their literal and complete
fulfilment only within the last months before the descent and
manifestation of Christ and his grand saint-army, which
ushers in the time of blessedness for those who wait and come
to that day-the day for which the earth has been sighing
for wellnigh six thousand years.




364                   THE LAST TIMES.
THE HAPPY DAWN.
LIGHT of the better morning,
Shine down on me!
Sun of the brighter heaven,
Bid darkness flee!
Thy warmth impart
To this dull heart:
Pour in thy light,
And let this night
Be turn'd to day
By thy mild ray!
Lord Jesus, come;
Thou daystar, shine;
Enlighten now
This soul of mine!
Streaks of the better dawning,
Break on my sight,
Fringing with silver edges
These clouds of night.
Gems on morn's brow,
Glow, brightly glow,
Foretelling soon
The ascending noon,
Wakening this earth
To second birth,
When He shall come,
To earth again,
Who comes to judge,
Who comes to reign.
H. BONAR.




utihoritie,    ooh, and           qn
ON THE SUBJECTS TREATED IN THIS VOLUME,
WITH  SOME CRITICAL  OBSERVATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
ANALYSIS OF AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.
DR. AUBERLEN has remarked that Jesus, and all his
prophets and apostles, were Chiliasts. He has also said
that the doctrine of the Millennial kingdom does not rest, as is
often thought, upon an isolated passage in the Apocalypse,
but is essential to a right understanding of the entire body of
the Old Testament, and is the fundamental idea in the teachings of the New, in which the sum and substance of Messianic prophecy are concentrated. That these are correct representations, the following citations, carefully examined, will
help to show:1. REFERENCES IN THE TEACHINGS OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES
TO THE COMING AGAIN OF THE LORD JESUS IN PERSON TO THE
EARTH.
MATTHEW, xvi. 27, 28; xix. 28; xxiii. 39; xxiv. 3, 27, 3031, 37-39, 42, 44, 48-51; xxv. 6, 10, 13, 19, 31; xxvi.
64.  Also, allusions with less specific directness, vi. 10;
xiii. 24-30, 37-43, 47-50; xx. 20-23; xxi. 44; xxii. 11,
30, 44; xxvi. 29.
MARK, viii. 38; xiii. 26, 27, 35-37; xiv. 61, 62.  Also, by
way of allusion, iv. 29; x. 35-40; xiv. 25.
31s*                365




366               THE LAST TIMES.
LUKE, ix. 26; xii. 36-40, 43, 45, 46; xiii. 35; xvii. 24, 30;
xviii. 8; xix. 12, 13, 15; xxi. 27, 36; xxii. 69. Also,
allusions, i. 32, 33; xiv. 10; xix. 38; xx. 18, 35; xxii.
16, 18, 29.
JOHN, xiv. 3, 28; xvi. 16, 22. Also, allusions, i. 51; v. 25,
27, 28; vi. 40, 44, 54; xi. 52; xii. 12, 13; xvii. 24; xxi.
22, 23.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, i. 9 —11; iii. 19-21. Also, allusions, i. 7; x. 42; xvi. 31; xx. 31, 32; xxiii. 6; xxiv.
15, 25; xxvi. 6. 7.
PAUL TO THE ROMANS, xi. 25, 26. Allusions, v. 2, 9, 17;
vi. 8; viii. 17-25; xi. 11, 12; xiii. 11, 12; xvi. 20.
PAUL'S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, i. 7, 8; iv.
5; xi. 26; xv. 23, 24. Allusions, iii. 13; v. 5; vi. 2, 3;
xiii. 10, 12; xv. 28, 51, 52.
PAUL'S SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, allusions,
i. 14; iv. 17, 18; v. 10; xi. 2.
PAUL TO THE GALATIANS, allusions, iii. 29, v. 5.
PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS, allusions, i. 10, 14, 18; ii. 7;
iv. 30; v. 27; vi. 18.
-PATL TO THE PHILIPPIANS, i. 6, 10; ii. 16; iii. 20, 21;
iv. 5. Allusions, ii. 10; iii. 11, 14.
PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS, iii. 4. Allusions, i. 5; iii. 24.
PAUL'S FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS, i. 10;
ii. 19; iii. 13; iv. 13-18; v. 1-4, 23. Allusions, i. 3; ii.
12; v. 9.
PAUL'S SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS, i. 6-11;
ii. 1-8; iii. 5. Allusions, ii. 14, 16.
PAUL'S EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY, 1 Tim. vi. 14; 2 Tim. iv. 1,
8. Allusions, 2 Tim. i. 12; ii. 12; iv. 18.
PAUL'S EPISTLE TO TITUS, ii. 13.
PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, ix. 28; x. 37. Allusions, i. 13; ii. 5, 7, 8; iv. 9; viii. 10; x. 13, 25, 30; xi.
26, 35; xii. 14, 22, 27, 28; xiii. 14.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   367
JAMES, V. 7, 8. Allusions, i. 18; ii. 5; v. 9.
PETER'S FIRST EPISTLE, i. 7, 13; iv. 13; V. 4. Allusions,
i. 3, 5, 11; ii. 7; iii. 15; iv. 5, 7; v. 1, 10.
PETER'S SECOND EPISTLE, i. 16, 19; iii. 10, 11, 14. Allusions, i. 11; iii. 13.
JOHN'S FIRST EPISTLE, ii. 28; iii. 2. Allusions, iv. 17.
JUDE'S EPISTLE, 14-16. Allusion, 24.
JOHN'S REVELATION, i. 7; ii. 25; iii. 3, 11; xvi. 15; xix.
11-16; xx. 11; xxii. 7, 12, 20.  Allusions, i. 1, 3, 19;
ii. 26, 27; iii. 21; iv. 1; vi. 12-17; xi. 15, 17, 18; xii.
5; xiv. 1-4; xv. 4; xvi. 14; xx. 4; xxii. 10.
2. REFERENCES TO SOME REMARKABLE PASSAGES ON THE SAME SUBJECT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
NUMBERS, xxiv. 16-19.
JOB, xix. 25-27.
PSALMS, 1. 3-6; xcvi. 10-13; xcviii. 7-9; cii. 16.
ISAIAH, ii. 10-21; viii. 17; xxv. 9; xxvi. 21; xxxv. 4; xl.
10; xlii. 13; lxii. 11; 1xiv. 1-4; lxvi. 15.
JEREMIAH, xxiii. 5-7.
EZEKIEL, xxiii. 25-27.
DANIEL, vii. 13, 14; xii. 1, 2.
MICAH, i. 3, 4.
HABAKKUK, iii. 1-19.
ZECHARIAH, ii. 10-13; xiv. 3, 4.
MALACHI, iii. 1, 2.
Sir Isaac Newton has said that "there is scarcely a prophecy in the Old Testament concerning Christ that doth not,
in something or other, relate to his second coming."* The
above are but a few out of many which refer directly to the
subject. The allusions to it are multitudinous.'* "Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel," &c., p. 132.




368                THE LAST TIMES.
8. REFERENCES TO THE OBJECTS AND RESULTS OF CHRIST'S RETURN
TO THE EARTH.
As regards his true people,For the purpose of completing their redemption, Luke xxi.
27, 28; Rom. viii. 19-23; Eph. iv. 30; Heb. ix. 28.
For the purpose of raising them that sleep from their
graves, I Cor. xv. 22, 23; 1Thess. iv. 14, 16; Job
xix. 25-27.
For the purpose of changing those of them who shall be
found living upon the earth from mortal to immortality,
1 Cor. xv. 42-44, 51-54; Phil. iii. 20, 21.
For the purpose of receiving them to himself in some
aerial abode in glory, John xiv. 3; 1 Thess. iv. 15-17; 1
John iii. 2; Rev. vii. 15.
For the purpose of investing them with dominion and
authority, according to their works, Matt. xvi. 27; 1
Cor. iv. 5; 2 Cor. v. 10; Matt. xix. 28; 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3;
Luke xix. 13, 19; Rev. ii. 26, 27; xx. 4; Dan. vii. 21,22.
As regards his enemies,To destroy their power, Isaiah xxiv. 21-23; xxv. 9-12;
Rev. vi. 15, 16; Psalm ii. 1-9; Dan. vii. 9, 26; Isaiah
xiv. 24-26.
To destroy their armies, Zech. xiv. 3, 12-15; Rev. xvi.
14; xix. 19-21; Isaiah xxxi. 8, 9; Jer. xxv. 33.
To destroy their works, Matt. xv. 13; Jer. xxv. 37, 38.
To hurl their leaders to perdition, Dan. vii. 11; Ezek.
xxxviii. 22; 2 Thess. ii. 8-11; Rev. xvii. 11; xix. 20.
To visit terrible retribution on all the disobedient, Luke
xix. 27; 2 Thess. i. 8; Jude 15, 16; Rev. i. 7; xvi. 121; Isaiah lxiii. 1-4; lxvi. 15, 16; Dan. xii. 1; Joel iii.
9-16; Ps. i. 4, 5.
To destroy utterly some of the great centres of wickedness,
with their wicked inhabitants, Rev. xviii. 2, 8, 18;
2 Peter iii. 7.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   369
To bind and shut up Satan in the bottomless pit, Rev. xxx.
1-3.
As regards the Jewish people,To deliver them from the power of the armies brought
against them, Zech. xiv. 3-5, 12-16; Joel iii. 9-17;
Micah iv. 6-13.
To turn them from ungodliness to truth and righteousness,
Rom. xi. 26, 27; Isaiah lix. 20, 21; Zech. xii. 10-14;
xiii. 1, 2; Ezek. xxxvi. 23-39; Jer. xxxi. 33, 34.
To unite and establish them in their own land, Ezek.
xxxvii. 21, 22; xxxiv. 25-31; Isaiah xi. 11-13; lxvi.
6-20; Micah iv. 3, 4.
To make Jerusalem the seat of universal empire, Micah
iv. 1, 2; Isaiah lx. 14; Zech. xiv. 16; Luke xxi. 24;
Isaiah xxiv. 23; Ps. ii. 6.
To become their king forever, Rev. xi. 15; Isaiah xxiv.
23; ix. 7; Ezek. xxxvii. 24, 25; Luke i. 32, 33; Jer.
xxiii. 5, 6; Micah iv. 6, 7.
To make them a blessing to all nations, Gen. xii. 3; xxii.
18; Micah v. 7; Acts iii. 25, 26; Romn. xi. 15.
As regards the world at large,To subvert the empire of wickedness, Isaiah ii. 17-22;
xxxi. 7; Ps. lxxii. 7, 8; Zech. xiv. 20, 21.
To bring wars and violence to an end, Ps. xlvi. 9; Isaiah
ii. 4; lx. 18; Micah iv. 3.
To deliver the suffering creation from the bondage of corruption, Rom. viii. 19-21; Isaiah xxxv. 1, 2, 6, 7, 9;
Rev. xxii. 3.
To establish his glorious kingdom upon the earth, Dan. ii.
44; vii. 13, 14; Matt. xxv. 31; Isaiah ix. 7; Ezek. xxi.
27; Zech. xiv. 8; Rev. xi. 15; Matt. vi. 9, 10.
To make all things new, Isaiah lxv. 17-25; lxvi. 22;
Matt. xix. 28; Acts iii. 20, 21; 2 Peter iii. 10-13;
Rev. xxi. 1-5.
Y




370                THE LAST TIMES.
4. REFERENCES TO THE COURSE OF THINGS IN THIS WORLD UNTIL
CHRIST COMES.
As to the world in general, showing that wickedness will
abound till then, Matt. xxiv. 6-15, 37; Mark xiii. 6-13;
Luke xvii. 26-31; 1 Thess. v. 2, 3; 2 Tim. iii. 1-13;
2 Peter iii. 3, 4, 10; Jude 18, 19.
As to the great Gentile and antichristian powers, showing
that they shall not be destroyed till then, Dan. ii. 26-45;
vii. 1-28; viii. 2-27; xi. 2-45; xii. 1-3; 2 Thess. ii. 3-12;
1 John ii. 18, 19; Rev. xiii. 1-18; xvi. 1-21; xvii. 1-18;
xviii. 1-24; xix. 1-21.
As to the professed Church, showing that it will be under the
cross and imperfect till then, Matt. xiii. 24-30, 36-42;
xxv. 1-13; Mark xiii.; ix. 1-13; Acts xx. 29, 30; 1 Tim.
iv. 1-3; 2 Tim. iii. 1-5; 2 Peter ii. 1, 3, 12, 13, 17: Rev.
ii. and iii; xiii. 8, 14, 16, 17.
5. REFERENCES TO OUR DUTY WITH REGARD TO THE RETURN OF
CHRIST.
We are to watch for it, Matt. xxiv. 43-51; xxv. 13; Mark
xiii. 33-37; Luke xii. 35-37; xxi. 34-36; 1 Thess. v. 46; Rev. xvi. 15.
We are to pray for it, Matt. vi. 10; Luke xi. 2; Can. viii. 14;
Rev. xxii. 20.
We are to wait patiently for it, 1 Thess. i. 10; 2 Thess. iii. 5;
1 Cor. i. 7; Isaiah xxv. 9.
We are to expect it, and look for it continually, Phil. iii. 20;
Titus ii. 13; Heb. ix. 28; 2 Peter iii. 12,14; Rev. i. 7.
We are to love it, and anticipate it with cheerful and fond
desire, 2 Tim. iv. 8; Rom. viii. 23; 2 Cor. v. 2; Titus
ii. 13.
We are to keep ourselves in constant readiness for it, Matt.
xxiv. 44; Mark xiii. 33, 36; Luke xii. 35, 36, 40; xxi. 34;
Rom. xiii. 11-14; 1 Thess. v. 6; Rev. xvi. 15.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   371
We are to provide ourselves with oil in our vessels, Matt. xxv.
1-13.
To lay out our talents for the Master, Matt. xxiv. 14-30;
Luke xix. 12-17.
To be thoughtful of his afflicted people, Matt. xxv. 31-46.
To have on the wedding garment, Matt. xxii. 11.
6. REFERENCES TO THE SIGNS WHICH ARE TO MARK THE TIMES
IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE SAVIOR'S RETURN.
The gospel to be universally promulged, Matt. xxiv. 14;
xxviii. 19; Luke xxiv. 47; Acts i. 8.
Nominal Christendom to be fearfully apostate, Luke xviii. 8;
2 Thess. ii. 3, 4, 8-12; 2 Tim. iii. 1-5; iv. 3, 4; Matt.
xiii. 37-43; xxiv. 37-39; 2 Peter ii. 1-22; iii. 3, 4.
The world to abound with intense wickedness, Matt. xxiv. 3739; Luke xvii. 26-30; 1 Thess. v. 1-3; 2 Tim. iii. 13;
Jude 17-19; Rev. xiii. 1-17.
Great troubles and revolutionary disturbances to oppress the
nations, Isaiah ii. 10-22; v. 26-30; xxiv. 1-20; Jer. xxv.
15-29; Ezek. xxi. 24-27; Dan. xii. 1; Haggai ii. 7, 22;
Matt. xxiv. 21; Mark xiii. 19, 20; Luke xxi. 10, 25-27;
Ileb. xii. 27; Rev. viii. 1-13; xix. 1-21; xii. 12.
A wide-spread awakening among Christ's people to the subject
of his coming, Dan. xii. 9; Matt. xxv. 6; Hab. ii. 3.
The cessation of the oppressions endured by the Jews, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the commencement of the return of the people of Israel to Palestine, Luke xxi. 24;
Da* ix. 27; Rom. xi. 25; Lev. xxvi. 43-45; Isaiah i.
24-28; xi. 11, 12; lxii. 1-12; Jer. xvi. 11-21; xxiii. 3;
xxxi. 4-12, 35-40; xxxii. 37-44; xxxiii. 7-11; xlvi. 27,
28; Ezek. xxxvi. 8-36; xxxix. 25-29; Zech. viii. 2-15.
The mnultiplicatt'on of signs and portentous forebodings in
nature, Luke xxi. 11, 25, 26, 27, 31; Mark xiii. 8, 25;
Acts ii. 19, 20; Micah vii. 15, 16.




372                ~HE LAST TIMES.
Great violence of passion, anger, and blasphemy on the part
of nations, Luke xxi. 10; Mark xiii. 8; Ps. ii. 2, 3; Joel
iii. 9-12; Rev. xi. 18; xvi. 9, 10, 11.
The devil to manifest himself in the most potent and malignant forms, in the Church and in the world, Matt. xii. 43
-46; xxiv. 24; 2 Thess. ii. 7-12; 1 Tim. iv. 1-3; Rev.
xii. 12; xiii. 1-18; xvi. 13, 14.
7. REFERENCES TO THE MANNER IN WHICH CHRIST WILL COME.
He will come literally and personally as he ascended, Acts i.
9, 11; Heb. ix. 28; Rev. i. 7.
He will most likely come first invisibly to steal away his waiting and watching saints, when "two shall be in one bed,
the one shall be taken and the other left," &c.; at any rate,
"as a thief in the night," Matt. xxiv. 43; Luke xii. 39;
i Thess. v. 2; 2 Peter iii. 10; Rev. xvi. 15; Luke xvii.
34-36.
He will come suddenly, when people generally will not be expecting such a thing, Luke xxi. 34, 35; Mark xiii. 36;
1 Thess. v. 3; Rev. iii. 3.
He will come, as to his visible manifestation, in splendor and
great glory, Matt. xvi. 27; xxiv. 30; Luke ix. 26;
xxi. 27.
He will come in the clouds, Matt. xxvi. 64; Mark xiv. 62;
Acts i. 9; 1 Thess. iv. 17; Rev. i. 7.
He will be revealed from heaven as the lightning shineth,
Matt. xxiv. 27; Luke xvii. 24; Zech. ix. 14; 2 Thess. i. 8.
He will be revealed to every one's sight, Rev. i. 7;*umb.
xxiv. 17; Job xix. 26, 27; xxxiv. 26; 1 John iii. 2; Zech.
xii. 10; Rev. xxii. 4.
He will descend to the earth at the place from which he ascended, Zech. xiv. 4; Ezek. xliii. 2; Acts i. 11, 12.
He will come accompanied with the angel-saints, whom he will
raise from among the dead and steal away from among the




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   373
living for the purpose of having them with him, Jude 14;
Matt. xvi. 27; xxv. 31; 1 Thess. iii. 13; Deut. xxxiii. 2;
Zech. xiv. 5; Rev. xiv. 4; xix. 14. Compare, also, Matt.
xxii. 30.
He will come clothed with irresistible majesty and power,
Matt. xxiv. 30; xxvi. 64; Mark xiii. 26; Luke xxi. 27;
2 Thess. i. 7; Ps. cx. 2; Rev. vi. 17; xix. 15, 16.
He will come in connection with some very marvellous
heraldic demonstrations, 1 Thess. iv. 16. Compare Exod.
xix. 16; xx. 18; Isaiah xxvii. 13; Zech. ix. 14; Matt.
xxiv. 31.
8. REFERENCES TO THE TIME WHEN CHRIST WILL COME.
It will be in a period of abounding apostasy and unbelief,
Matt. xxiv. 37-39; Luke xviii. 8; 2 Thess. ii. 8; 2 Tim.
iii. 1-5; 2 Peter iii. 3, 4.
It will be in a time of revolutionary troubles and political
agitations and sufferings, Luke xxi. 25-28; Ps. ii. 1-5;
Ezek. xxi. 27; Heb. xii. 26; Rev. xvi. 1-15.
Christ will come while the Roman empire, under its last
head, and the ten kings under whom it is to be in a
sense revived, are still standing, Dan. vii. 9-14; Rev. xix.
11-20.
He will come before the Jews as an entire people shall return
to Palestine, Micah ii. 12, 13; Isaiah lii. 12; lxvi. 15-20;
Rom. xi. 26.
He will come when the Man of Sin is still in power, Dan. vii.
8, 24; 2 Thess. ii. 7, 8.
He will come at a time when an awakening cry has gone forth
announcing his nearness, Matt. xxv. 6; Mal. iv. 5, 6;
Rev. xvi. 15.
He will come when nevertheless there shall be great skepticism and indifference on the subject, Luke xxi. 34, 35;
1 Thess. v. 3; 2 Peter iii. 3, 4; Jude 14, 15, 18.
32




374                 THE LAST TIMES.
9. REFERENCES TO THE CONDITION OF THINGS ON THE EARTH
AFTER THE SAVIOR'S RETURN.
The world subjected to divine rule, Dan. ii. 44, 45; vii. 13,
14, 26, 27; Matt. xxv. 31, 34; Luke xxi. 31; Rev. xi.
15-18; xx. 4-6; Isaiah xxxii. 1, 17, 18; Jer. xxxiii. 5, 6.
The children of Israel all united again in one permanent
nationality, Jer. iii. 18, 19; xxiii. 3-8; xxx. 3-22; xxxiii.
12-26; Isaiah x. 20, 21; xi. 10-13; Ezek. xxxvii. 12-28;
Hos. i. 10, 11; Zech. viii. 3-23; ix. 12-17; x. 6-10; xii.
6, 7; Rom. xi. 25-27.
Christ the king, Luke i. 31-33; 2 Sam. vii. 12-16; 1 Chron.
xvii. 11-14; Ps. ii. 6-12; 1xxxix. 3,4, 29-37; Isa. ix. 6, 7;
Jer. iii. 17; xxxiii. 17, 20, 21; Hos. iii. 5; Ezek. xxxiv.
23, 24; xxxvii. 24, 25; 1 Cor. xv. 25; Zech. xiv. 9; Heb.
ii. 6-8.
Satan's power in abeyance, Rev. xx. 1-3; Isaiah xxvii. 1;
and finally destroyed, Rev. xx. 10.
Israel wholly righteous, and a great blessing in the earth, Jer.
xxxi. 33, 34; Ezek. xxxvi. 24-33; xxxvii. 23, 28; Rom.
xi. 26, 27; Heb. viii. 10-12; Gen. xii. 2; Isaiah lxvi. 6,
7, 19; Zech. viii. 21, 22; Micah iv. 1, 2.
Jerusalem the glorious metropolis of the world, Isaiah ii. 2-4;
xxiv. 23; Ix. 1-22; Joel iii. 16, 17, 20; Zech. xiv. 1721; Ezek. xxxix. 25; xliii. 7.
Christ reigning over all people, Ps. lxxii. 8-19; Micah iv. 1
-7; Zech. ix. 10; Rev. xi. 15.
The glorified saints share with him in the administration of
his sublime dominion, Exod. xix. 6; Ps. xlvii. 3; xlix. 14;
Isaiah xxxii. 1; Dan. vii. 21, 22; Matt. xix. 28; Luke
xix. 17, 19; xxii. 29, 30; 1 Cor. iv. 5; vi. 2, 3; ix. 25;
2 Tim. iv. 8; 1 Peterv. 4; Rev. i. 6; ii. 10,26, 27; iii.
21; v. 10; xx. 4; xxi. 7; xxii. 5.
The knowledge of the Lord fills the world, Isaiah xi. 9; Ps.
xxii. 27; Hab. ii. 14; Zech. xiv. 8, 9; Heb. viii. 10, 11.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   375
The curse is repealed, and the surering creation delivered,
Rev. xxii. 3; Rom. viii. 19-23; 1 Tim. ii. 15; Isaiah xi.
6-9; Hosea ii. 17, 18; Zech. xiv. 11, 20, 21.
All things made new, Isaiah lxv. 17-25; lxvi. 22; 2 Peter
iii. 10-13; Rev. xxi. 1-5; Matt. xix. 28; Acts iii. 20,021.
The Lord dwelling with men, Lev. xxvi. 11, 12; Ezek.
xxxvii. 27, 28; xliii. 7; xlviii. 35; Rev. xxi. 3.
The earth full of prosperity and blessedness, Ps. lxvii. 6, 7;
xcvi. 11-13; Isaiah lii. 9, 10; lv. 12, 13; xxxii. 15-20;
xxxv. 1-10; Amos xiii. 15; Joel iii. 18.
Death and all evil finally and completely destroyed, Isaiah
xxv. 8; Hosea xiii. 14; 1 Cor. xv. 26; Heb ii. 14, 15;
Rev. vii. 16, 17; xx. 14; xxi. 4; xxii. 1-5.
God all in all, 1 Cor. xv. 24, 27, 28.
10. REFERENCES TO THE USES MADE IN THE SCRIPTURES OF THE
REVELATIONS CONCERNING THE SECOND ADVENT.
They present it as the great hope of the Church, Titus ii. 13;
1 Peter i. 13; Job xix. 25-27; Isaiah xxv. 9; Col. ii. 4;
2 Tim. iv. 8.
They give it as a motiveto take up testimony for Christ, Luke ix. 26.
to heavenly-mindedness, Phil. iii. 20.
to moderation, Phil. iv. 5.
to mortification of the flesh, Col. iii. 4, 5.
to faithfulness in God's service, 1 Tim. vi. 14; 2 Tim. iv.
1, 2, 8; 1 Peter v. 4.
to soberness and godly living, Titus ii. 12, 13.
to perseverance, Heb. x. 37.
to patience, James v. 7, 8.
to holy conversation and godliness, 2 Peter iii. 10, 11.
to diligence and activity, Matt. xxv. 14-30; Luke xix. 13;
2 Peter iii. 14.
to hold fast what we have in Christ, Rev. ii. 25; iii. 11.




376                 THE LAST TIMES.
They give it as a motiveto carefulness in intercourse with the world, Rev. xvi. 15.
to fraternal affection, 1 Thess. iii. 12, 13.
to abide in Christ, 1 John ii. 28.
They refer to it as a subject of peculiar comfort under bereavement, 1 Thess. iv. 18; 2 Tim. i. 5, 7; ii. 12; Isa. xxx. 18.
They employ it as an encouragement to labor for souls, and as
a subject of solemn appeal in the charge to ministers,
1 Cor i. 4-7; 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20; 2 Tim. iv. 1.
They direct attention to it as a corrective of, and support
under, censoriousness and judging of others, 1 Cor. iv.
3-5.
They speak of it as a thing which should possess absorbing
importance and interest to all who desire to be prepared
for the eternal kingdom, Matt. xxiv. 42-51; xxv. 13;
Mark xiii. 33-37; Luke xxi. 34-36; 1 Thess. v. 4-6.
11. REFERENCES TO THE FUTURE DESTINY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE.*
They shall be gathered from all places of their dispersion and
brought into their own land, Isaiah xi. 11; xxvii. 12, 13;
xliii. 5, 6; xlix. 11, 12; lx. 4; Jer. iii. 18; xvi. 14, 15;
xxiii. 3; xxxi. 7-10; xxxii. 37; Zech. viii. 7, 8; x. 8,
9, 10.
They shall be helped, carried, and numerously joined by the
Gentiles, Isaiah xlix. 22; xiv. 2; lx. 9; lxvi. 18-20; ii.
2-4; Jer. iii. 17; xvi. 19; Ezek. xlvii. 22, 23; Zech.
viii. 20-23.
Great miracles shall attend their restoration, Isaiah xi. 15,
16; Zech. x. 11; Micah vii. 15; Isaiah xix. 20; xli. 19,
20; xliii. 19, 20; lxvi.- 18-22; Hosea xii. 9, 10; Isaiah
xxxv. 4-10; lii. 12; lviii. 8; Hosea i. 10, 11; Micah ii.
12, 13; Malachi iv. 5, 6.
* Mostly from Powel's Concordance, published in 1673.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   377
They shall again be formed into a state, with judges and
counsellors as formerly, Christ himself being their king,
Isaiah i. 25, 26; lx. 15-22; Jer. xxiii. 4; xxx. 9, 21;
Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24; xxxvii. 24, 25; Hosea iii. 5; Obadiah 21; Zech. xiv. 5, 9.
They shall have the victory over all their enemies, and the
pre-eminence of all the nations, Isaiah xli. 14-16; xlix.
23; lx. 8-14; Joel iii. 7, 8, 19, 20; Obadiah 17, 18;
Micah iv. 6-13; v. 5-7; vii. 16, 17; Zech. ii: 12, 13; ix.
13, 17; x. 5, 6; xii. 6-9.
Once restored, they shall live peaceably, and no more be
divided into two nations, Isaiah xi. 13, 14; Jer. 1. 4; Ezek.
xxxvii. 19, 22; Hosea i. 11.
They shall be numerous and multiply greatly, Isaiah xxvii. 6;
xliv. 3, 4; xlix. 18-21; liv. 1-3; lxi. 9; Jer. xxiii. 3;
xxx. 18-20; xxxiii. 10, 11; xxxvi. 37, 38.
They shall have great peace, safety, and prosperity, Isaiah
xxxii. 16-18; xxxiii. 24; liv. 13-17; lx. 18-22; Jer.
xxiii. 3-6; xxx. 10-22; xxxi. 34-40; xxxiii. 6-9; 1. 19,
20; Zeph. iii. 13; Zech. iii. 9, 10.
They shall be very glorious, and a blessing to the whole
earth, Isaiah xix. 24, 25; lxi. 9; Jer. xxxiii. 9; Ezek.
xxxiv. 26; Zeph. iii. 19; Zech. viii. 13; xii. 8; Rom.
xi. 15.
Judea shall be made extraordinarily fruitful and attractive,
Isaiah xxix. 17; xxxv. 1-9; li. 3, 16; liv. 12, 13; lx. 13
-17; lxv. 25; Ezek. xxxiv. 26, 27; xxxvi. 36; Joel iii.
18; Amos ix. 13, 14.
Jerusalem shall be rebuilt, and after the restoration of all the
tribes shall never be destroyed, nor infested with enemies
any more, Isaiah ii. 1-3; lii. 1; xxvi. 1, 2; lx. 10-20;
Jer. xxxi. 38-40; Joel iii. 17.
-'Immediately preceding, and in connection with, their establishment in Palestine, and especially their conversion,
32-*




378                 THE LAST TIMES.
there shall be great wars, confusion, and desolation throughout the earth, Isaiah xxxiv. 1-17; Jer. xxx. 17-10; Joel iii.
1-10; Ezek. xxviii. 24-26; Haggai ii. 21-23; Zeph. iii.
8; Zech. xiv. 2, 3, 12-15.
Their general restoration and conversion not to take place till
after the return of Christ, Zech. xii. 7; Isaiah xi. 1-16;
lii. 12; lxvi. 1-24; Micah ii. 12, 13; Zech. xii. 1-14;
xiv. 1-21; Rom. xi. 26; Ezek. xxxvii. 1-28; Ps. cii. 16.
Previous to the return of Christ, just one year-day week,
many of them will make a compact with the Antichrist, in
some sense accepting him as their protector and Messiah,
Dan. ix. 27; xi. 23; Matt. xxiv. 24.
Their land to be invaded, and their city to be once more partially destroyed, immediately before the revelation of Christ
on Mount Olivet, Zech. xiv. 2, 12; Dan. xi. 41-45; Ezek.
xxviii. 8-23; Isaiah lxvi. 18; Joel iii. 9-17; Rev. xvi.
14; Zech. xii. 9.
Their general conversion to be effected by the personal appearance of Christ, Zech. xii. 10; Rom. xi. 26. Allusion
to this seems also to be contained in 1 Tim. i. 16. Paul's
conversion was by the personal manifestation of Christ,
Acts ix. 3-5; 1 Cor. ix. 1.
12. REFERENCES TO THE ANTICHRIST OF THE LAST DAYS.
His names, 2 Thess. ii. 2, 8; Isaiah xiv. 4, 25; Ezek. xxviii.
2, 12; Dan. xi. 21; viii. 9, 23; Matt. xxiv. 15; Rev. ix.
11; xiii. 18.
His character for deceit and subtlety, Isaiah xiv.; Ezek. xxviii.
3-17; Dan. xi. 32; 2 Thess. ii. 9-11; Matt. xxiv. 24.
Is to utter marvellous things against the Most High, and deny
the Father and the Son, Dan. xi. 36; 1 John iv. 3; 2 John
7; Rev. xiii. 13.
Is to establish himself in Jerusalem, Dan. xi. 45; Ezek.
xxviii. 2, 14; Matt. xxiv. 15.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   379
Is to appropriate Divine honors and establish idolatry, Ezek.
xxviii. 2; Dan. xi. 36; Isaiah xiv. 13, 14; 2 Thess. ii. 4;
Rev. xiii. 15.
Is to take away the restored daily sacrifice of the Jews, Dan.
viii. 10-12; ix. 27; xi. 31.
Is to destroy and persecute the holy people, Dan. viii. 24;
Rev. xii. 13, 17; xiii. 7, 15, 16, 17; xx. 4.
Is to unite the armies of the earth in an expedition into Palestine, Isaiah xiii. 4, 5; xvii. 12-14; Dan. xii. 1; Joel
iii. 2; Matt. xxiv. 21; Rev. xvi. 16; perhaps, also, Ezek.
xxxviii. 8-19.
Is to be destroyed by the revelation of Christ in Palestine,
Isaiah xiv. 10-25; Ezek. xxviii. 7, 8; xxxviii. 21, 22;
Dan. xi. 25; 2 Thess. ii. 8; Rev. xix.. 11-20.
His greatness and fall specially described, Ezek. xxxi. 2-18;
Isaiah xiv. 4-25.
His rule and principal depredations as the Antichrist to continue only about three and a half years, Dan. vii. 25; ix.
27; Rev. xi. 3; xii. 6; xiii. 5.
Irenveus has this observation: —"When Antichrist, reigning
three years and six months, shall have laid waste all things
in this world, and have sat in the temple of Jerusalem,
then shall the Lord come from heaven, in the clouds, in
the glory of his Father, casting him and those that obey
him into the lake of fire."
13. REFERENCES TO THE GENERAL ORDER OF EVENTS.*
When the times of the Gentiles are passing away, (Luke xxi.
24, 25; Rom. xi. 25-32,) the Jews are recalled (Dan. ix.
27; Ezek. xx. 32-44; Isaiah xlix. 9-12) and replaced in
their own land, Ezek. xxxvi. 1-38; xxxvii. 20-23; Isaiah
* Mostly from Bickersteth's " Practical Guide to the Proph.," pp. 209-212.




380                THE LAST TIMES.
xi. 11, 12; lxii., 4; Jer. xxxi. 1-6; Deut. xxx. 4-6;
xxxii. 43.
The apostate Gentiles under Antichrist come against them,
Isaiah lxvi. 1-4; Jer. xxx. 1-9; Isaiah x. 20-27; Dan.
ix. 27; Isaiah xxxi.; xxxiii. 1-10; Ezek. xxxviii. 1-16;
Dan. xi. 41, 45; Joel ii. 1-20; Micah iv. 8-10; Dan. xii.
1, 2.
The signs in the sun, moon, and stars are manifested, Matt.
xxiv. 20-29; Luke xxi. 24-26; Heb. xii. 26-28; Hag. ii.
6, 7; Isaiah xiii. 9-11; xxxiv. 1-4; Joel iii. 12-15; ii.
31-32; Mal. iv. 1-6.
The sign of the Son of man appears in the darkened heavens,
Matt. xxiv. 29, 30; Luke xxi. 27, 28; Isaiah xviii. 3-7;
xi. 12-14; xxxi. 6-8; Dan. vii. 13-14; Matt. xxiii. 39;
Luke xvii. 24.
He raises the great company of the sainted dead, and changes
the great company of the sainted living, all of whom
ascend to him in the air, Matt. xxiv. 31; Rev. xi. 15-18;
1 Cor. xv. 51-54; 1 Thess. iv. 15-17; 2 Thess. i. 7;
Isaiah xxvii. 12, 13; Rev. iii. 10; Isaiah xxvi. 19-21;
Mal. iii. 17, 18; Rev. xiv. 16.
The beast, the kings of the earth, and their gathered armies,
in their rage, enmity, and blindness, propose to make war
against the Lord, and the armies which follow him, Matt.
xxiv. 30; Rev. xi. 18; xvi. 14; Isaiah viii. 8-10; x. 2426; xxiv. 21, 22; xxvii. 4; xxxi. 4; liv. 15; lxvi. 18;
Joel iii. 1, 2; Micah iv. 11-13; Zeph. iii. 9; Zech. xii.
2-5; xiv. 1-5; Rev. xix. 19.
Christ pours his judgments on Antichrist and his adherents,
pleading with all flesh by fire and sword, Matt. xxiv. 3639; Rev. xv. 1; xvi. 1; Dan. ix. 27; Isaiah x. 24, 26;
xiv. 24-26; xxiv. 21-23; xxxiv.; lxiii.; Rev. xix. 10-21;
Joel iii. 11-16; Nahum i. 9-15; Isaiah xxxiii. 27-33;
Ezek. xxxviii. 17-23; Dan. vii. 9-14; Mal. iv. 1-3; Matt.




AUTHORITIES FROM THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.   381
iii. 12; 2 Thess. i. 8; ii. 8; Rev. xix. 15-20; Isaiah
lxi. 16.
The character of the dispensation, discriminating, punishing,
and purifying, 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13; Mal. iii. 3; Zech. xiii. 9;
Mark ix. 42, 50; Jer. xx. 9; xxiii. 29; Psalm xcvii. 3;
1 Peter iv. 12; 2 Peter iii. 10-13; Rev. iii. 18.
Every man's work made manifest, for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire, the progress of which
accomplishes the predicted passing away of the heavens and
the earth into the new heavens and earth, and which, like
the Jewish tribulation, seems to have a crisis in the beginning (Ezek. xxxviii. 22;. xxxix. 6; Isaiah lxvi. 15, 16)
and another at the close (Rev. xx. 9) of the Millennial
kingdom, Matt. xxiv. 21; Luke xxi. 22-24; Dan. xii. 1;
Jer. xxx. 7; Rev. xix. 20; xx. 9.
The Lord descends visibly on Mount Olivet, with his glorified
saints, (Acts i. 11; Zech. xiv. 4, 5; Isaiah lxiv. 1; lxvi.
15; lx. 13; Ezek. xliii. 7-9,) in the sight of his people
Israel, Isaiah lxvi. 18, 19; Zech. xii. 10-14; Isaiah xxv.
9; Matt. xxiii. 29; Rom. xi. 26; Isaiah lix. 20; Zech. ii.
10-12.
These, humbled at length by their great affliction, and brought
to penitence by beholding their pierced Savior, welcome
his return, Zech. xii. 10-14; Jer. xxxi. 8-12; Acts iii.
19-21; Isaiah xii. 2-4; Psalm cvii.; cviii.; Rev. xix. 1,
3, 4, 6.
Satan is then bound, and our Lord proceeds to reward all his
faithful servants for every loss and sacrifice made for him,
begins his glorious Millennial reign with his saints over
the nations who have escaped those awful judgments
which have consumed his foes, Isaiah xxxii. 1; Dan. vii.
18, 27; xii. 4; Luke xxii. 28-30; John i. 51; Rev. xi.
18; xx. 4-6.
But, though the spiritual blessedness of this reign far exceeds




382                 THE LAST TIMES.
that of any former dispensation, and the new heavens and
the new earth begin in the heavenly reign of the saints,
and the glory of the land of Israel, (Isaiah lxv. 17-19,)
yet the spirit of rebellion still secretly lurks among the
nations, (Zech. xiv. 17-19,) which, after ripening for a
time, is permitted to display itself, by the loosing of Satan
for a little season, that it may then be put down forever,
Rev. xx. 9.
Our Lord reigns till he shall have completely put all enemies
under his feet; Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire;
the final judgment of "the rest of the dead" takes place,
and death and hell, and whosoever is not found written in
the book of life, are cast into the lake of fire, Rev. xx.
10-15.
The new heavens and the new earth being now perfected, and
there being no more sea, (Rev. xxi. 1,) the holy city descends, and the state of highest happiness arrives, when
God is all in all, and his saints reign for ever and ever,
Rev. xxi.; xxii. 1-5.
14. REFERENCES TO THE DUTY AND IMPORTANCE OF AN EARNEST
AND DEVOUT STUDY AND HANDLING OF THESE THINGS.
No scripture is useless, 2 Tim. iii. 14-17.
It is well to study prophecy, 2 Peter i. 19.
Special blessings are for those who attend to these revelations,
Hab. ii. 2, 3; Acts xvii. 11, 12; 1 Peter i. 10-12; 1 Cor.
ii. 9, 10; Rom. xv. 4; Dan. x. 11, 12; Rev. i. 1-3; xxii.
7; Luke xi. 28.
It is a special command to give attention to these things,
2 Peter iii. 1-3; Jude 17, 18; Acts xx. 25-27.
Solemn responsibilities are placed upon the ministers of
Christ with reference to these things, Ezek. xxxiii. 1-7;
Rev. xx. 8-10, 18, 19.
Participation in the honors of the kingdom are made depend



THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.  383
ent on the manner in which we are affected toward the
Savior's coming, Matt. xxiv. 42-51; xxv. 1-13; Heb. ix.
28; 2 Tim. iv. 8; Phil. iii. 20; 1 Thess. i. 9, 10; Titus ii.
11-13; 2 Peter iii. 11, 12; Matt. v. 17-20.
There is great danger of being drawn into a skeptical behavior
with reference to these matters, 2 Tim. iii. 4; 2 Peter iii.
1-4; implied also in the many commands to "watch."
CHAPTER II.
REFERENCES TO THE OPINIONS AND WORKS OF THE
FATHERS ON THESE SUBJECTS.
THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS, or those Christian teachers and
writers who immediately succeeded the apostles, have left but
little that has come down to us. But, even in that little, there
are evidences that they thought upon these subjects in substance as taught in this volume. We have definite knowledge
of but five of them; all of whom appear to have been Millenarians.
1. BARNABAS, quoted at p. 237, was the earliest. He is referred to in Acts iv. 36, 37, and ix. 24. He wrote about A.D.
71. We have from him  an epistle, called "The Catholic
Epistle of St. Barnabas," consisting of twenty-one chapters;
in the 15th of which he refers to the Millennium, the coming
of Christ to abolish the wicked one, the judgment of the
wicked, the renewal of all things, and the introduction of a
new order into the world. There can be no doubt, from this
chapter, that he understood the predictions of the Scriptures
in the Millenarian sense. For a translation of this Epistle,
see Wake's Apostolic Fathers, pp. 196-219; or Apocryphal
New Testament, pp. 90-104.  For the original, see Hefele's
Patrum Apostolicorum Opera, pp. 1-51.




384                 THE LAST TIMES.
2. CLEMENT, quoted at p. 238, was Bishop of Rome about
A.D. 91-93, and is supposed to be the same referred to in
Phil. iv. 3. We have from this father an epistle, called "The
First Epistle to the Corinthians," consisting of sixty paragraphs or chapters, (in the Apocryphal N. T., 23,) in which
we find statements, exhortations, and allusions which have
satisfied many that his views accorded with those of Barnabas
and were decidedly Millenarian.   See Wake's Apostolic
t'athers, or Hefele's Pat. Apos. Op., Clement's First Epistle,
latter part of XXIII. with XXIV., XXXIV., XXXV., L.
What is called the Second Epistle of Clement is referred to
a much later period, and is supposed to have been written by
a very different hand.  It is thought to belong to the fourth
century.  But, whenever written, or by whomsoever, it is
Millenarian in its tone and general conceptions. See Wake's
Fathers, Second Epistle of St. Clement, VII., IX., XII.;
or Hefele's Patrum Apostolicorumn  Opera, pp. 142, 144,
148.
3. HERMAS, generally allowed to be the same alluded to in
Rom. xvi. 14, is supposed to have written his work entitled
" The Shepherd" about A.D. 100. That he was a Millenarian
is evinced in various parts of the book.  In Vision I., latter
part of section 3, in Wake's Fathers, the doctrine of the reign
of the saints in the renovated world seems clearly to be
taught.  Vision IV. seems also to be framed, in divers particulars, to Millenarian anticipations.  For the original, see
Hefele, pp. 325, 342-344.
4. IGNATIUS, surnamed Theophorus, received his Christian
training under John and Peter, succeeded Peter at Antioch,
and died an illustrious martyr under Trajan, A.D. 107. He
has left seven epistles which have come down to us. He nowhere touches with much definiteness upon any points from
which his views on the Millennium might manifest themselves.
But his letters contain nothing in conflict with our doctrines,




THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   385
and refer frequently to the nearness of Christ's anticipated
return in a manner much more after the spirit of Millenarian teaching than any other. See his Epistle to Polycarp,
paragraph III., Wake's Fathers; or Hefele, pp. 236-239.
5. POLYCARP, also one of the disciples of John, and the
Bishop of Smyrna, supposed to be the person referred to in
Rev. ii. 8-11, lived to a great age, and died, a martyr, A.D
167. There remains to us from him but one brief letter,
called "The Epistle of St. Polycarp to the Philippians,"
where he incidentally alludes to the resurrection, and the
reign of the saints with Christ after his return, and to the
kingdom to be inherited by the truly pure, in a way which
seems as if he had conceived of these matters only as Millenarians do. See Wake's Fathers, Polycarp's Epistle, V., XII.,
or Hefele's Patrum Apost. Opera, pp. 262, 271.
THE PRIMITIVE FATHERS, or those who constituted the
next several generations after those who enjoyed the personal
instructions of the apostles, have, for the most part, given
very decided evidence of their earnest belief of Millenarian
doctrines.
1. PAPIAS, Bishop of Hieropolis, quoted on p. 239, was
the most ancient of them. Indeed, Irenaeus asserts that he
was one of St. John's hearers, and a personal friend of Polycarp. He is supposed to have written about A.D. 116. His
five books, entitled "An Explication of the Oracles of the
Lord," have been lost, with the exception of a few fragments
preserved by Eusebius. But enough remains to show unmistakably that he was a decided Millenarian, and that he
claimed to have received his opinions on this subject from
those elders who had been taught by the apostles themselves.
See Eusebius's Ecc. listory, III. 39; or Routh's Reliquie
Sacrae, I. pp. 7-14; or Lardner's Credibility of the Gospel
History, vol. 2, p. 107. Greswell's remarks in connection
Z                     33




386                 THE LAST TIMES.
with the testimony of Papias to the Millennium are much to
the point.  See his Parables, vol. 1, pp. 273-284.
2. JUSTIN the Martyr, quoted on p. 239, the next in the
order of time, was born A.D. 89, and martyred A.D. 163. He
was the cotemporary of Papias and Polycarp, and was a
learned and admirable Christian writer. Several works from
his pen still survive. He was not only a decided Millenarian,
but claimed that all orthodox Christians, and such as were in
all points right-minded, believed as he did on the subject;
thus also attesting the Millenarianism of Polycarp, with whom
he was cotemporaneous for about seventy years.  See Semisch's Lifre, Writings, and Opinions of Justin AMart2yr, vol. 2,
cap. 7, where full citations of this distinguished father's
words are given. See particularly Justini Martyris Dialogus
cum  Tryphone Judeo, cap. 80; Migne's Patrologixe, vol. 6,
col. 664-667.  There is a translation of this Dialogue into
English, by Henry Browne, 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1755.
3. TATIAN, a writer of numerous works, only one of which,
his "Oration against the Greeks," remains.  There is nothing in this from which to ascertain his views on the subject
of the Millennium.  But, as he was one of the disciples of
Justin Martyr, who regarded MIillenarianism as a test of orthodoxy, it is to be presumed, until evidence to the contrary is
produced, that he believed and taught upon this subject the
same as his preceptor.
4. MELITO, Bishop of Sardis, was also a cotemporary of
Justin Martyr, and is to be included among those orthodox
Christians to whose Millenarianism Justin testifies. He died
about A.D. 170, and was one of the most eminent bishops of
his time. He was distinguished for holiness, eloquence, and
learning. He is supposed by some to have been the person
addressed in Rev. iii. 1-6. Among a large number of works,
he wrote one on Prophecy and another on the Apocalypse.
None of his writings remain; but Guennadius, (De Doqm.




THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   387
Eccles. c. 52,) who seems to have been familiar with them,
quotes him as a Millenarian; and the annotator of the Oxford
translation of Tertullian, on the authority of Guennadius,
classes him with "the maintainers of the Millennium," (pp.
124, 125.) Jerome is also given as authority that he was a
Millenarian, (Taylor's Toice of the Church, p. 66,) and there
cannot be much doubt of it.
5. IREN:EUS, the eminent Bishop of Lyons, born about
A.D. 140, to whom reference is made on p. 240, was also a
decided Millenarian. Having been a disciple of Polycarp, he
was an earnest promulgator of the same views which his
teacher held. His great work "Against the Heretics" consists of five books. The original Greek, with the exception
of a few fragments, has been lost, but the contents have been
preserved in an ancient Latin translation. The whole of the
fifth book of this work, from chapter 25 to the end, (see
Migne's Patrologife, vol. 7, col. 1120-1224,) relates to the
subject of the unfulfilled prophecies in the book of Revelation, Daniel, &c., and supplies the clearest intimations that,
in the expectation of a kingdom of Christ yet to come in this
world, his opinions agreed with those of Papias and Justin
Martyr. Refer especially to cap. 33, sees. 3, 4, (Migne, col.
1213, 1214.) A good translation of this passage is given by
Greswell On the Parables, vol. 1, pp. 289, 290.
6. CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS, referred to on p. 242, was
also a distinguished teacher and writer in the early Church,
who flourished about A.D. 192. His works do not furnish
any thing very decided on the subject, but numerous expressions occur which intimate that he was a Millenarian on some
points at least. And as he was for many years cotemporary
with Justin Martyr, and was always regarded by the ancients
with great respect, the presumption is fair that he was one of
those right-minded and orthodox Christians all of whom Justin
declares to have been believers in the Millenarian under



388                THE LAST TIMES.
standing of sacred prophecy. He connected the belief of a
general renewal of the world with the seventh thousand years
from the creation of man, and believed that the kingdom of
heaven was to be introduced with judgments; which necessarily involves some of the most important points of the Millenarian faith.
7. TERTULLIAN, quoted at p. 241, was born about A.D. 160.
He was bred for the profession of the law, and was a man of
rare genius as well as fervent and active piety. Spanheim
assigns him "a place in the first rank of the Fathers, in erudition, acumen, and eloquence." He wrote an entire work on
the subjects involved in Millenarianism, entitled "De Spe
Fidelium," which has been lost.  He himself gives an account of it, and elsewhere informs us what was the nature of
the doctrines which he therein elaborated more at large. See
his work Adversus Marcionem, lib. 3, cap. 24; Migne's Opera
Tertulliani, tom. 2, col. 355-358. A good translation of this
passage is given by Greswell On the Parables, 1, pp. 305307. He here evinces his full accord with his distinguished
cotemporary Irenaeus. The same views are also presented in
other portions of his works. See his Apologeticus, cap. 48,
Migne's Oper. Ter., tom. 1, col. 520-527; De Spectaculus,
cap. 30, Migne's Op. Ter., tom. 1, col. 660-662; De Oratione, cap. 5, Migne's Op. Ter., tom. 1, col. 1158, 1159; De
Baptismo, cap. 19, Migne's Op. Ter., tom. 1, col. 1222; Adversus Judaeos, cap. 14, Migne's Op. Ter., tom. 2, col. 638642; De Anima, cap. 37, Migne's Op. Ter., tom. 2, col. 713
-715; De Resurrectio Carnis, cap. 22, 25, 35, Migne's Op.
Ter., tom. 2, col. 824-5, 831, 844-5.
There are some valuable remarks on Tertullian's testimony
on this subject, by Greswell, Parables, vol. 1, pp. 300-309.
APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH.Of course we do not refer to apocryphal works as authorities,




THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   389
for authorities they are not; but, as witnesses to the fact that
certain doctrines were actually current in the times of their
authors, no reasonable objection can be raised against them.
The doctrine of the Millennium we receive upon the testimony of the Scriptures alone; but the manner in which those
Scriptures were understood at the time certain apocryphal
books were composed may be learned as well from  such
apocryphal books as any other. They are a part of the history
of the Church. The references given below are not in proof
of the correctness of Millenarian views, but simply as corroborations of the fact that those views were held by the primitive Christians, and by themselves proclaimed as part of
their faith.
1.. THE BOOK OF ENOCH. This is an apocryphal production, often referred to by the Fathers, but which was supposed
to be lost, until Bruce brought it from Abyssinia, where he
found it still existing in an Ethiopic version. It was translated by Dr. Laurence into English, and published first in
1821, (3d edition, Oxford, 1838.) There is also a German
version, by A. G. Hoffmann, entitled Das Buch Henoch int
volstiindiger Uebersetzung, rmit Ciommentar-, Einleitung und Excztrsen; 2 Abth., Jena, 1833-38.  It was written some time
during the first century. Liicke places it in the time of the
Jewish war, probably after the destruction of Jerusalem;
Credner, in about the same time the Apocalypse was written;
and Greswell, between the Jewish war under Vespasian and
that under Hadrian.  Christian elements certainly are contained in it. The doctrine of a personal reign of Christ on
earth, and of a state of things analogous to what may be expected under the Millennium, occurs in various parts of it.
In the first chapter there is a plain allusion to the second
coming of Christ with the holy angels; and in the 24th, to
the personal residence of God on earth, whilst the saints
33*




390                 THE LAST TIMES.
enjoy authority and great peace. See chap. x. 20-29; xxiv.;
xxxviii.; xxxix. 1; xlv.; lxi. 11-18.
2. THE SECOND BOOK OF ESDRAS. This apocryphal production has been preserved through the Latin vulgate and an
Arabic version, the Greek original having been lost. An
English version of it is frequently bound in at the end of the
Old Testament, with other ancient non-canonical writings. A
critical edition of it was published by Dr. Laurence in 1820.
Laurence and Merkel fix the time of its composition about a
quarter of a century before the birth of Christ; but Corrodi,
Liicke, Gfrofer, Wieseler, and Greswell, with more reason,
argue that it was written, by a Christian hand, about A.D. 96.
It exhibits great familiarity with the writings of the New
Testament, and in some parts is but little more than a reproduction of them.  Its visions, predictions, and declarations
are largely of a Millenarian type. It tells of the return of
the hidden tribes of Israel in the time of the end, of great
commotions and tribulations preceding that restitution, of an
infidel antichristian contest at the end of this dispensation, of
a first resurrection, and of the reign of Christ with his saints,
or what is equivalent to it. See chap. ii. 10-24, 26-48; vi. 8,
9, 18-28; vii. 26-35, 42-44; viii. 50-52, 61-63; ix. 3-13;
xiii. 3-14, 23-58; and indeed the whole book.
3. THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. (Sybillinorum Oraculorum,
Servatius Galloeus. Amst. 1689, 4to.) The exact origin of
this production is not known. Some consider it a purely
Christian work, written in the time of the Emperor Hadrian,
and some regard it as a purely Jewish effusion, composed in
the second century before Christ. Others, again, consider it
of Jewish origin, but subsequently modified, interpolated, and
enlarged by some Christian hand. Bleek thinks that the
oldest portions of it date back two hundred years before
Christ, and that the latest of them originated four hundred
years after Christ. We are safe in referring the great mass




THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   391
of what are now known as the Sibylline Oracles to primitive
Christianity, written in all probability within twenty or thirty
years of the Revelation of St. John. It is just such a composition as would be likely, above all other writings of the
time, to gather up and set forth what were the expectations
and doctrines of the.primitive Christians with respect to the
future, and to those events which are yet to happen before
the end of time.  It has, of course, suffered much in its
transmission to us, and bears the appearance of a very illsorted and ill-connected composition; but still it contains a
variety of allusions sufficiently intelligible to bear witness to
the fact that the Millenarian faith existed at the times in
which it was written, and that this faith was a part of the comlmon Christian creed as then received and held. See especially
lib. 3, pp. 327, 465, 466-469, 473; lib. 2, pp. 289-293; lib. 5,
pp. 561, 592-593, 602-605, 618, 620, 621, 67 3, 674.
The reader will find these passages cited in full, with able
criticisms upon them, in Greswell On the Parables, (vol. 5,
part 2, pp. 176-236,) where the remark is made that there
is nothing extant of primitive Christian antiquity, either
apocryphal or non-apocryphal, and belonging strictly to this
period, in which the truth of the genuine' Millenarian doctrines is not illustrated and confirmed, and in which the same
belief is not, in one way or another, recognized.
Bishop Russell also testifies that "so far as we view the
question in reference to the sure and certain hope entertained
by the Christian world that the Redeemer would appear on
earth, and exercise authority during a thousand years, there
is good ground for the assertion of Mede, Dodwell, Burnet,
and other writers on the same side, that down to the beginning of the fourth century the belief was universal and undisputed." (Discourse on the Millen., p. 236.) Eusebius, too,
who flourished about A.D. 300, in what he says of Papias, and
his declarations concerning what he had heard from the




392                 THE LAST TIMES.
apostles, acknowledges that there were vAerz7Troe &~oL-VERY
MANY — Church writers who expected that there would be a
thousand years after the resurrection of the dead, when Christ
would reign personally on the earth. (Euseb. Ecc. Hist., lib.
3, cap. 39.) Upon which Greswell very justly observes,
" This admission virtually implies that the belief in the future
Millennium was the orthodox or catholic notion in the second
and third centuries." See other authorities on pp. 244, 245.
THE LATER FATHERS.-The fact that the primitive Church
was thoroughly, if not universally, Millenarian, must go very
far towards establishing the presumption that these doctrines
were derived from the apostles and Christ himself, as Papias
testifies that they were. The testimony of later teachers can
add nothing to the force with which this conclusion urges
itself upon an honest mind.  We refer to the later Fathers,
not in the way of proof of the correctness of our doctrines,
but as additional human testimonies, and as belonging to the
ancient literature of the subject.
1. HIPPOLYTUS, Bishop of Porto, flourished about A.D. 222,
was in early life a disciple of Irenmeus, and was evidently a
believer in the views so earnestly inculcated by his teacher.
Most of his works have been lost, and some directly on the
subject of the Millennium, the prophecies of Daniel and
John, the Resurrection, &c.  Some fragments from his pen,
however, remain.  His tract " De Antichristo," which is admitted to be genuine, is thoroughly Millenarian in its methods
of interpretation and in many of its statements.  Citations to
this effect are given by Greswell On the Parables, (1, pp. 331,
376;) and in Elliott's Hore Apocalyptice (4, pp. 283, 284.)
See Hippol. Opera, pars II., 13, 14, capp. 19. 20. There are
also some sentences from his exposition of Daniel preserved
in the British Museum, in Syriac, a translation of some of
which is given in The Journal of Sacred Literature, N. S.,




THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   393
vol. 8, pp. 348-354. In these sentences the succession of
worldly empires is regularly traced down to Antichrist, and
his destruction by the personal appearance of Christ, and the
setting up of "the kingdom of heaven" in their place, which
is to be enjoyed by all "them  that are worthy."  See also
Photius, cap. 202, where Hippolytus is represented as a
Millenarian.
2. CYPRIAN, referred to on p. 242, flourished about A.D.
248. He had the very highest regard for Tertullian and his
writings, and had no hesitation in ranking himself as one of
his disciples. He must therefore be regarded as a Millenarian, as his works also indicate that he was. See his Epistles,
Iviii. 8; lxi. 3; lxiii. 15, 16, (Oxford ed.;) Migne's Cypriani
Opera Omnia, col. 355, 388, 389; also Enist. 59, (Oxford
ed.,) and especially "De Exhortatio Martyrii," latter part,
where he shows his accordance with Barnabas, in referri'ng
the consummation of all things to the seventh Millennium
from the creation.
3. COMMODIAN, a cotemporary of Cyprian, and a poet,
wrote about A.D. 270.  Clarke (Sacred Literature, p. 194)
says of him that "he received the docrine of the Millennium,
which was the common belief of his time."
4. VICTORINUS, Bishop of Pettau, flourished about A.D.
290. In the fragment of his "Tractatus de Fabrica Celi,"
his concurrence with the primitive Church in the expectation
of a reign of Christ with his elect upon earth for a thousand
years, is amply manifest.  A translation of it is given by
Greswell, On the Parables, vol. 1, p. 333.  See Routh's Reliquixe Sacre, 3, pp. 455-461, 462; also Elliott's Hor- Apocalypticee, 4, pp. 286-295.
5. METHODIUS, Bishop of Tyre, flourished about the same
period. Neander says of his Symposium that it exhibits "a
decided leaning to Chiliasm," (Ec. Hist. 1, p. 721,) and refers in proof to Orat. 9, 75.  So also, in his "Feast of the




394                 THE LAST TIMES.
Ten Virgins," ninth discourse, he follows the Fathers generally in making the seventh day of the creation a type of tile
Millennial sabbath, to enjoy which there is to be a literal
resurrection of the saints, to be followed not by the annihilation of the world, but by its purification.
6. NEPOS, an Egyptian bishop, also of the third century,
was another decided defender of Millenarian doctrines.  He
wrote a book, entitled "A Confutation of the Allegorists,"
which was specially directed against the school of Origen,
which explained the Millennium figuratively.  This work has
not come down to us, but it is admitted to have been a work
of eloquence and ability, and decidedly Millenarian. Cave
pronounces Nepos a man skilled in the Holy Scriptures, a
poet, and a Millenarian. Even Whitby admits that he taught
that there shall be a kingdom of Christ upon earth a thousand years after the resurrection, in which the saints are to
reign with their Redeemer. And Mosheim states that the
book in which Nepos set forth these opinions was specially
admired, and excited great interest and pleasure. (Historic.
Comment. 2, pp. 249, 250.)
7. LACTANTIUS, referred to on p. 244, flourished about A.D.
300. He was a very eloquent and accomplished Christian
teacher, from whom we have more on this subject than from
any other of the Fathers. The clearness and decidedness of
his views on the Millennium  render it very probable that
Arnobius, from whom he had his Christian instruction, was
also of this way of thinking.  See especially his D)'v'n. Institu.
De Vita Beata, lib. vii. 14, (Lactanti Opera Omnnia, Lipsiae,
1698, pp. 524-532.) Refer also to lib. iv. 7, 12, 26; lib. vii.
2, 15; and Epitome.
8. APOLLINARIUS, Bishop of Laodicea, who flourished in
the first half of the fourth century, is also known to have
been an advocate of Millenarianism.  The testimony of Epiphanius (I. 1031, A. B. Dimoeritee, 26) on this point is con



THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   395
elusive. Jerome also puts him down as believing, with Tertullian, Lactantius, and Victorinus, that there is to be a personal reign of Christ upon the earth, (III. 952, ad prin. in
Ezech. xxxvi.)  See Greswell On the Parables, I. pp. 334336, where the passages are quoted and translated.
9. THE COUNCIL OF NICE, A.D. 325, composed of about three
hundred bishops of the Church from all sections of the world,
has also expressed itself upon this subject, in those forms or
models of doctrine which it set forth for the use of the clergy,
much in the way of the Homilies published in the reign of
Edward VI.  Mede (Works, p. 813) gives an extract from
one of these forms on the doctrine of the resurrection, as it
is recorded by Gelassius Cyzicenus, in his history of the Acts
of the Council of Nice, which explains the Scriptures in
favor of the Millennium, or a happy, triumphant state of the
Church on earth, in which the saints are to have a blessed
inheritance and reward under the reign of Christ our Savior.
The extract is also given in an English translation, by Thomas
Hartley, (Plaradise Restored, pp. 225, 226,) who observes
upon it that it is to be seen from it that "TiIS DOCTRINE
[OF THE REIGN OF CHRIST WITH HIS SAINTS ON EARTH]
STANDS UPON THE SAME AUTHORITY AS DOES THIAT OF
THE NICENE CREED; and that this Council interprets that
promise of our Savior, that the meek shall inherit or possess
the earth, into a confirmation of, and identity of sense with,
the same prophetical declarations to be found in many places
of the Psalms and Prophets. See, in particular, Ps. xxxvii.
11; lxix. 36, 37; cxlvii. 6; cxlix. 4; Isaiah xi. 4; xxvi. 6;
xxix. 19."
10. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, who lived about the middle of
the fourth century, also believed in the sa;ne doctrine, as may
be inferred from his Sacrw Historic, (ii. 4,) where he recounts Nebuchadnezzar's dream respecting the little stone.
Jerome also, in the passage referred to above, alludes to a




396                 THE LAST TIMES.
book from  him, called Gallus, in which he reports him  as
teaching on this subject the same as Lactantius, Irenaeus,
and Apollinarius. See Greswell On the Parables, vol. 1,
pp. 335, 336.
11. AUGUSTINE, the distinguished Bishop of Hippo, who
flourished about the end of the fourth century, by his own
confession was also once a decided Millenarian, though he
subsequently somewhat modified his views.  See his work
De Civitate Dei, liber 22, cap. 7. And a careful examination of his opinions will show that he never wholly relinquished his Millenarian ideas.  See his De Civ. Dei, lib. 20,
capp. 5, 14, 16; Homilies, vol. 1, pp. 43, 70, 83, 252, 358,
(Oxford ed.) He is usually rated as an anti-millenarian, as
he doubtless was, in some particulars, in the latter part of his
life; but his views do not harmonize at all with the doctrine
of the conversion of the world and a millennium of peace
and righteousness before Christ comes.
12. JEROME, even, held that the world would reach its
consummation in six thousand years, and that Christ would
come at the end of that period, though he looked for no reign
dn the earth. See his Letter (139) to Cyprian, on Psalm
xc. 4; also his comment on Micah iv. Nor could he rid himself of certain misgivings in refusing to accept the doctrine
of a literal Millennium, but on several occasions declared that
he did not dare to condemn it, because of the high authorities by which it is supported. See his Preface to Isaiah lxv.;
and his comment on Jer. xix. 10.
From the days of Jerome and Augustine, however, but
little is heard of the doctrine of the Millennium and the
personal reign of Christ with his saints on earth. As remarked by Professor Bush, "through the dreary tract of the
ages of darkness, scarcely a vestige of Millenarian sentiment
is to be traced." But this is a consideration which makes
much more in its favor than against it.  During that same




THE FATHERS, THEIR OPINIONS AND WORKS.   397
period there was hardly a doctrine of the gospel which did
not suffer a like eclipse. The Church had become corrupt
and vastly apostate, and the peculiarities which were most
prominent in the primitive faith were all overlaid and thrust
out of sight. It is enough to know that the doctrine of the
Millennium and personal reign was the orthodox and catholic
persuasion of the primitive Church; that it held its ground
as a vital part of the faith until heathen elements began to
affect and mould the persuasions of certain prominent Christian teachers; that it only began to wane as men began to
Platonize, allegorize, and explain away the Scriptures, and to
reject such portions as spurious which could not be made to
harmonize with the new philosophy; and that the days of its
greatest darkness and depression were the days when Popery
reigned, and which all men have agreed to consider "the
dark ages."
We close this chapter with a quotation from one of the
Lord Bishops of Bristol, who says, "The doctrine of the Millennium was generally believed in the three first and purest
ages; and this belief, as the learned Dodwell has justly observed, was one principal cause of the fortitude of the primitive Christians: they even coveted martyrdom, in hopes of
being partakers of the privileges and glories of the martyrs
in the first resurrection.  Afterwards the doctrine grew into
disrepute, for various reasons. Some both Jewish and Christian writers have debased it with a mixture of fables; they
have described the kingdom more like a sensual than a spiritual kingdom, and thereby they have not only exposed themselves, but (what is infinitely worse) the doctrine itself, to
contempt' and ridicule.  It hath suffered by the misrepresentations of its enemies, as well as by the indiscretions of its
friends: many, like Jerome, have charged the Millenarians
with absurd and impious opinions which they never held;
and, rather than they would admit the truth of the doctrine,
34




398                THE LAST TIMES.
they have not scrupled to call in question the genuineness of
the book of Revelation.  It hath been abused even to worse
purposes: it hath been made an engine of faction; and turbulent fanatics, under the pretence of saints, have aspired to
dominion and disturbed the peace of civil society. Besides,
wherever the influence and authority of the Church of Rome
have extended, she hath endeavored by all means to discredit
this doctrine; and indeed not without sufficient reason, this
kingdom of Christ being founded on the ruins of the kingdomn of Antichrist. No wonder, therefore, that'this doctrine
lay depressed for many ages, but it sprang up again at the
Reformation, and will flourish together with the study of the
Revelation."-Bishop Newton's Dissertations on the Prophecies, Analysis of the Rev., chap. xx. p. 527.
For authorities on the Millenarianism of the early Church,
consult the following:CHILLINGWORTH, An Argument drawn from the Doctrine of
the Millenaries against Papal Infallibility. See his Works,
Phila. ed., 1844, pp. 729-734.
MUNSCHER, DR. W., Iandbuch der christliche Dogmengeschichte, Marburg, 1817, pp. 408-434.
MOsIIEIM, DR. J. L., Historical Commentaries, New York,
1856, vol. 2, pp. 244-250.
HAGENBACH, DR. K. R., Ilistory of Doctrines, New York,
1861, vol. 1, pp. 213-217.
SEMISCH, C., Herzog's Encyclop., Art. Chiliasm. This article
is much abridged and enfeebled in Dr. Bomberger's translation: hence see the original.  Also The Life, fWrithilns,
and Opinions of Justin lIart yr, Edinburgh, 1843, vol. 2,
pp. 364-387.
CORRODI, Kritische Geschichte des Chiliasmus, Frankfurt and
Leipzig, 1781-3, 3 vols. 12mo. This work contains much
curious information, but is sarcastic, uncandid, and unsatis



AUTHORITIES ON THE EARLY CHURCH.            399
factory. It was written to expose Chiliasm, and to exhibit
it in the most unfavorable light possible.  It may, however,
be read with profit; though we dissent entirely from the
rationalistic spirit and principles contained in it.
WHITBY, DR. D., Treatise on the Millennium, &c. A strong
effort to weaken the evidence that the early Christians were
Millenarians, which, however, fails; as the author admits,
upon the testimony of Justin and Iren.eus, that there were
among the ancients "three sorts of men: 1. The Heretics,
denying the resurrection of the flesh and the Millenniumil.
2. THE EXACTLY ORTHODOX, ASSERTING BOTH THE
RESURRECTION  AND  THE  KINGDOM  OF CHRIST UPON
EARTH. 3. The believers who consented with the just and
yet endeavored to allegorize and turn into metaphor all
those scriptures produced for a proper reign of Christ, and
who had sentiments rather agreeing with those heretics who
denied, than those exactly orthodox who maintained, this
rcvijn of Christ on earth."  Chap. I. 61.
GRESWELL, DR. E., Exposition qf' the Parables, Oxford, 1834,
vol. 1, pp. 273-411. This is one of the fairest and clearest
presentations of the views and testimony of the Fathers on
this subject that we have anywhere seen.
KITTO'S Cyclopedia, Art. Mille nnium, furnishes some valuable references to the subject.
BROOKS, J. W., Elements of' Prophetical Interpretation,
chapter 3, contains a very full statement.
TAYLOR, D. T., Voice of the Church on the Coming and Reign
of the Redeemer; revised by Hastings, Phila., 1856.
TILLOTSON, DR. J., Works, London, 1820, vol. 10, pp. 392
-403.
BUCK, D. D., Harmony and  Exposition of Matt. xxiv.
Buffalo, 1853, pp. 439-442.
DODGSON, REV. C., Tertullianz Translated, Oxford, 1854, vol.
1, Note D, pp. 120-131.




400                THE LAST TIMES.
CHAPTER III.
CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO MORE RECENT WRITERS AND
WRITINGS ON THESE SUBJECTS.
1. COMMENTARIES OF MILLENARIAN COMPLEXION.
DIE BERLENBURGER BIBEL, 1726, Four large folio-volumes,
embracing an original German translation of the entire
Scriptures, with copious notes and comments, by pious and
learned German theologians of the time.  A very valuable
work, except in its taint of fanaticism.  It has contributed
largely to subsequent German commentaries.
GILL'S Exposition of the Old and NATw Testaments, six thick
large 8vo vols. Valuable, more especially for the extensive
acquaintance of the author with Rabbinical learning.
ALFORD, Greek Testament, with Prolegomena, and a Critical
and Exegetical C ommentary, 4 vols. thick 8vo.  One
of the most thorough and satisfactory works of the kind
that has been issued, especially the latest edition.
BENGEL, Gnomon of the XTVw Testament.  This is an old
standard, which still holds its place. The English translation, by Fausset, is published in 5 vols. 8vo, by Smith,
English & Co., Philadelphia.
OLSHAUSEN, Biblical Commentary on the New Testament.
Best edition in English is that -edited by Dr. Kendrick,
published by Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., New York.
STIER, The Words of the Lord Jesus, 8 vols. 8vo, German and
English.  A learned and highly approved work.
GRESWELL, Eaposition of the Parables, and of other parts of
the Gospels, 5 vols. 8vo.
KEACH, Exposition of the Parables of our Lord, in four
books, 1 thick vol. royal 8vo.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 401
COCcEIUS, JOHN, Commentaries on most of the books of
Holy Scripture, contained in his Opera Omnia, 12 vols.
folio, 1701, particularly the first six volumes. A man of
great distinction as a scholar, and "continually quoted and
applauded by Vitringa for his piety, learning, and ability
as an expositor of prophecy."
JARCHI, Commentarius Hebraicus, 5 vols. 4to, 1710.
KIMCHI, DAVID, Commentary on Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and the twelve minor prophets. A Spanish Jew, of great
erudition, who lived in the thirteenth century.
ABRABANEL, Commentarius in quatuor priores libros prophetarum, Lug. Bat. 1686.
CUMMINO, JOHN, Foreshadows: Lectures on our Lord's Miracles; also on Parables; also Readings on various books
of Scripture.
BONAR, A., Commentary on the Book of Leviticus, small
8vo; also Commentary on the Psalms, 8vo.
TAIT, WILLIAM, lileditationes Hebraicwe: A Doctrinal and
Practical Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in a
series of Lectures. 2 vols. 8vo.
STUART, MOSES, Commentary on the Apocalypse, 2 vols. 8vo.
In some of his writings (vide Hints on Interp. of Proph.)
a violent and bitter opponent of Millenarian views, but in
these volumes he concedes so much to them (particularly
with reference to the twofold resurrection, the literal resurrection of the martyrs at the commencement of the
Millennium, and the orthodoxy of Millenarianism with the
early Christians) as to entitle his work to be placed in this
list. The exposition is learned and able, the fruit of much
study, but not generally successful.
RYLE, J. C., Expositor7y Thoughts on the Gospels. Plain,
practical, impressive, and good.
SEISS, J. A., The Gospel i7n Leviticus, 1 vol. 12mo. Also,
Lectures on the Epistle to the Hebrews, 1 vol. 8vo. Also,
2A                   34*




402                THE LAST TIMES.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins, in six discourses, 1 vol.
12mo. Also, A Lecture on 2 Peter iii. 3-14, 12mo.
JONES, JUDGE JOEL, Notes on Scripture, 1 vol. large 8vo,
1861. A valuable book from the pen of the editor of The
Literalist.
LILLIE, JOHN, Lectures on the Epistles to the Thessalonians,
8vo, 1860. An able and instructive production.
SCHMUCKER, J. G., Prophetic Hist. of Christian Church; or,
Exposition of the Revelation of St. John; 2 vols. 12mo,
1817-21. Very clear on the doctrine of the Millennium,
but fanciful in his reckoning of dates. A pious and amiable Lutheran divine.
DAUBUZ, CHARLES, A Perpetual Commentary on the Revelation of St. John; best edition by P. Lancaster, London,
one vol. 4to, 1730.  An elaborate and very useful work,
to which later writers have been much indebted.
KoPPIus, or KOPPE, J. B. I., Corn. in Epist. ad Thessalonienses, at the end of which is an Excursus concerning the
kingdom of Christ. Latin. Also an English translation in
The Investigator of Prophecy, Vol. II.
ALTINGIUS, JACOBUS, C(om. in Jeremiam  Prophetam, fol.,
Amst., 1688. Also Spes Israelis; or Com. Eccles. in cap.
11 ad Rom., etc., 1 vol. 4to, 1676.
FRY, JOHN, Explanatory and Practical on Epist. to the
Romans, 8vo, 1816; also Canticles, new translation with
notes, &c., 8vo, 1811; also Lyra Davidis, a new translation and exposition of the Psalms, 8vo, 1842.
STRR, DR. J. DE ARCY, Notes on the Gospel of St. Luke, 1843.
WELLS, DR. ED. The Book of Daniel Explained, &c., 8vo,
Oxford, 1716. Also, A Commentary on the Book of Revelation, 4to, 1717.
BURROUGHES, JEREMIAH, Exposition of the Prophesie of
Hosea; new ed., with notice of the author, by Sherman,
imperial 8vo, 1843.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS.  403
PISCATOR, JOHN, Commentarii in omnes libros Veteris et Novi
Testamenti; 5 vols. in 3, Herb., 1646. A learned divine,
once a Lutheran, afterwards a Calvinist.
CARYL, JOSEPH, Exposition, with Practical Observations on
the Book of Job, 12 vols. 4to, London, 1647-66. "A
rich fund of critical and practical divinity."
GOUGE, WM., A learned and very useful C(ommentary on the
whole Epistle to the Hebrews, &c., being the substance
of 30 years' Wednesday's lectures, 2 vols. folio, London,
1655.
LANGE, JOACH., Commentatio de Vita et Epistoli Pauli, 4to,
Halse, 1718.
PASSAVANT, J. C., Versuch einer prakt. Auslegung des Briefes
Pauli an die Philipper, Basel, 1834; also, Auslegung des
Briefes Pauli an die Epheser, Basel, 1836.
SPENER, PHI. J., Pauli Epistolm ad Romanos et Corinth,
hormiletica paraphrasi illustr.; Francof., 1691.
COKE, THOMAS, LL.D., Commentary on the Old and New
Testaments, 6 vols. 4to, London, 1803.
D)EMAREST, JOHN T., A Translation and Exposition of the
First Epistle, of Peter, New York, 1851.
DELITZSCH, DR. FRANZ, Die Genesis ausgelegt; Leipzig,
1853. Das Hohenlied untersucht und ausgelegt, Leipzig,
1851.
NEWTON, SIR ISAAC, Observations upon the Prophecies of
Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John; Opera Omnia,
vol. 5, p. 297; also separate, 4to, London, 1733.
EBRARD, DR. J. H. A., Die Offenbarung Johannes erklcirt;
Kbnigsberg, 1853; also his comments on other portions
of the New Testament, in continuation of Olshausen's
Biblisches Commentar.
LIsco, FRIED. GUSTAV., Das Neue Testament, mit Erklirungen, Einleitungen, &c. Berlin, 1835; especially the appendix, Vom Reich Gottes.




404                THE LAST TIMES.
SKEEN, ROBERT, The Unsealed Prophecy: Lectures on the
Revelation of St. John, small 8vo, London, 1857.
HALDANE, ROB., ESQR., Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans; reprinted, New York, 1860.
2. COMMENTARIES DEVOTED MORE PARTICULARLY TO THE EXHIBITION
OF MILLENARIAN DOCTRINES.
MEDE, JOSEPH, Clavis Apocalyptica, Latin and English.
Also, Exposition on Peter.  "One of the profoundest
Biblical scholars of the English Church," died 1638. His
Expositions have been considered "invaluable, deserving
and repaying the closest study."
BRIGHTMAN, THOMAS, A most comfortable Exposition of the
last and most dificult part of the Prophecie of Daniel, 4to,
1644. Also, A Revelation of the Apocalypse, containing
an Exposition of the whole Book of St. John, 4to, 1644.
A  Puritan divine, who "obtained a high character for
learning, piety, and sweetness of telmper."
BENGEL, JOHN ALBERT, Exposition of the Apocalypse, containing a new version, with a running Commentary, prefaced with an Introduction giving a general view of the
whole prophecy, and followed by an Appendix of seven
sections, embracing —1. A table of the Chronology, (very
peculiar.)  2. An attempt to determine more accurately
the times of the Beast. 3. Characteristics of genuine interpretation. 4. An account of men's expectations from
age to age in reference to prophecy. 5. Prophetic exposition with respect to its influence on men's actions. 6. Examination of some other prophecies. 7. Salutary advices.
Most of this work was translated into English by John
Robertson. A very full analysis of it is given in Burk's
Memoir of the Life and Writings of Bengel.
Also, Sixty Practical Addresses (Reden fiir's Volk/.) on
the Apocalypse, with various Appendixes or Gleanings.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS.  405
Bengel was a Lutheran theologian "of profound critical
judgment, extensive learning, and solid piety," born 1687,
died 1752. He was one of the greatest of Apocalyptic
writers.
GOODWIN, THOMAS, An Exposition upon the Revelation, 1679,
contained in the second volume of his Works, 5 vols. folio,
London, 1681. A celebrated Dissenter, member of the
Assembly of Divines, and one of the two men whom Wood
calls "the two Atlases and Patriarchs of Independency."
LANGE, JOACHIM, Apokalyptisches Licht und Recht; I vol.
fol., 1735. Theological Professor at Halle, and one of the
fathers of the Pietistic school of Lutheran divines.
AUBERLEN, The Prophecies of Daniel, and the Revelation of
St. John, viewed in their mutual relation, with an exposition of the principal passages, German and English, 1 vol.
12mo.
ELLIOTT, E. B., Hor0e Apocalypticwe: A Critical Historical
Com. on the Apocalypse, 4 vols. 8vo. A learned and useful exposition, characterized by Cumming as "a noble and
precious work."  There is appended to 4th vol. a very
valuable and thorough "Sketch of the History of Apocalyptic Interpretation."
LORD, DAVID N., An Exposition of the Apocalypse, 1 vol.
8vo. An able work from the editor of the Theological and
Literarg Journal; contains a valuable presentation of the
laws of symbolization.
BUCK, D. D., An Original Harmony and Exposition of
hlatt. xxiv., I vol. 8vo, 1853. A clear and forcible book,
richly rewarding the reader.
CUMMING, JOHN, Apocalyptic Sketches: Lectures on the
Book of Revelation; 3 vols. 12mo. Eloquent and full of
interest.
FRERE, JAMES HATLEY, ESQ., A combined view'of the Prophecies of Daniel, Esdras, and St. John, showing that all




406                THE LAST TIMES.
the prophetic writings are formed upon one plan. Also A
minute Erplanation of the Prophecies of Daniel; 1 vol.
8vo, 1815. Also Notes on the Inzterpretation of the Apocalypse, 1 vol. 8vo, 1850.
PITCAIRN, DAVID, Zion's King: The Second Psalm  Expounded in the Light of History and Prophecy; 1 vol. small
8vo, 1851.
BLOOMSBURY LECTURES, 3d Series, (by error called 4th in
the preface,) 1845.  Duties and Privileges of Christians
ibn (onnection with the Second Advent, as unfolded in the
First Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians.
CARLETON, H., Analysis of the 24th Chapter of Matthew,
Windsor, Vt., 1851.
WVAPLE, ARCHDEACON E., "Book of Revelation  Paraphrased," 4to, 1715.
WOODHOUSE, DR. J. C., The Apocalypse, or the Revelation
of St. John, translated, with Notes, critical and explanatory, royal 8vo, London, 1805.
WICKES, THOMAS, An Exposition of the Apocalypse, 12mo,
New York, 1851.
BLISS, SYLVESTER, A Brief Commentary on the Apocalypse,
18mo, Boston, 1853.
Roos, MAG. FRED., An Exposition of the Prophecies of
Daniel, and a comparison of them with the Revelation of
St. John; (German,) Leipsic, 1770; second ed., 1795.
The same, translated into English by Dr. E. Henderson,
8vo, London, 1811. Also, Plain and Edjfying Di;scourses
on the Revelation of St. John, 1788. Also, A Familiar
Exposition of the Revelation of St. John, 8vo, 1789.  "A
great investigator of Scripture," says Delitzsch.
SANDER, FRED., An Attempt at an Exposition of the Revelation of St. John; Stuttgart, 1829 (German).
KOHILER, DR. AUG., Die Weissagungen Haggais erkldirt;
Erlangen, 1860.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 407
3. MISCELLANEOUS WORKS SETTING FORTH MILLENARIAN DOCTRINES,
ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED, ACCORDING TO THE NAMES OF THEIR
AUTHORS.*
ABBADIE, DR. J., Sutr la rwgne glorieux de Jesu Christ sur la
terre.  Sermons.
ABDIEL'S ESSAYS on the Advent, &c., 12mo, London, 1834.
ADVENT, SECOND, The Words of Scripture concern ling the,
London.
-     Connected Tiew of some of the Scriptural Evicences
of, &c., l2mo, Lond.
-     Review of Scripture in Testimony of Trutth of, &c.  By
a Layman, 8vo, 1819.
-  The True Iocpe of Believers, Dublin, 1833.
ADVENT TRACTS, 2 vols. 18mo, Boston, containing short
papers from  various authors, including  Miller, Himes,
Brock, Haldane,  Stewart, and  others in  Europe and
America.
ALABASTER, WM., D.D., Ecce Sponsts venit; seu tuba pulchritudinis, etc., 1 vol. 4to, London, 1633.  Also, Aparatius in Rev. Jessi C(hristi; 4to, Antw., 1607.
ALLEINE, WIM., The Mystery of the Temple andr City in the nine
last chaclters of Ezekiel unfolded, &c., London, 12mo, 1]677.
ALSTEDIUS, J. H., The Beloved City; or, The Saints' Reign
on Earth a thonlsand years asserted andl illustrated, from
sixty places of Holy Scripture, besides the judgment of
holy, learned men. Likewise thirty-five objections against
this truth answered; faithfully Englished (from the Latin)
by W. Burton; 4to, London, 1643.
I The asterisk ['] prefixed to names or works in this list is meant to
designate authors or publications which, in small space and popular form,
give the best presentations of the subject, and which are particularly commended to those who are beginners in the study, or who have not the time
or means to go into it more extensively. The main questions will be found
very clearly discussed in either of the authors or writings so marked.




408                THE LAST TIMES.
AMELOTE, PARE, Notes sur l'Apocalypse; a French Catholic
writer.
ANDERSON, WM., Apology for the Millennial Doctrine in the
form ip which it was entertained by the primitive Church.
Two parts, 1830-31, 1842. Also A Letter to the author
of "Millenarianism Indefensible," 8vo, 1834.  "An able
writer."
APOCALYPSIS RESERATA; or, The Rev. of St. John Explained: in three parts; (German,) 8vo, Christianopoli,
1653.
ARCHER, JOHN, The Personall Reigne of Christ qupon Earth,
showing that there shall be such a kingdom; the manner
of it; the duration of it; and the time when it is to begin;
1 vol. 4to, 1643. Scarce.
ARMAGEDDON; or, A Warning Voice from the Last BattleField of Nations; by a Master of Arts of the University of
Cambridge; 3 vols. 8vo, London, 1858. A diffuse but
able work, containing much information.
ATLAS OF PROPHECY, being the Prophecies of Daniel and
St. John, with a simple Exposition, and a series of fourteen
maps and charts exhibiting their fulfilment; 4to, 1849,
London.
BAuER, FR., Der sogenannte Chiliasmus; Einwort zur Verstandigung fur unsere Zeit; Nordlingen, 1860.
BAXTER, REV. M., Louis Napoleon, the destined Monarch
of the lWorld, and Personal Antichrist; 12mo, Philadelphia, 1863. Also several smaller works.
BAXTER, ROBERT, ESQR., Prophecy the Key of Providence;
large 12mo, London, 1861.
BAYFORD, JOHN, ESQ., Messiah's Kingdom; or, a brief inquiry concerning what is revealed in Scripture relative to
the fact, the time, the signs, and the circumstances of the
Second Advent; Lond., 8vo, 1820; also, Reply to Rev.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 409
J. E. Jones on Modern Millenarianism, 8vo, London,
1824.
*BEGG, JAMES, Connected view of Scripture. Evidence of the
Redeemer's personal return and reign, 12mo, 1831; Letters
to a Ml1inister on Matt. xxiii., xxiv., xxv., 12mo, 1831; Aryument for the Coming of the Lord at Commencement of Millennium, 12mo, 1844; The First Resurrection, 12mo, 1832.
BEN EZRA (LACUNZA), La Venida del Mesias ent Gloria
y Magestad; 4 vols. 8vo, 1816 (Spanish); also in English, translated by Edward Irving, 2 vols. 8vo, 1827.
BEVERLY, THOMAS, Pamphlets, thirty in number, mostly on
prophetic subjects, 4to, 1670-1699; also, Scripture Line
of Time drawn in brief from the Lapsed Creation to the Restitution of all Things, 4to, 1684.
*BICKERSTETH, ED., Practical Guide to the Prophecies, 12mo,
London, 1835. Also, The Restoration of the Jews, 12mo,
1841. Also, The Signs of the Times in the East, &c.,
12mo, 1845. Also, The Promised Glory of the Church,
12mo, 1844. A learned man, of a most amiable, candid,
and devout spirit.  Hi- writings are very useful.
BIENCHO, JAMES, The Signs of the Times, in two parts, 8vo,
1792-4; The Restoration of the Jews, the Crisis of all
Nations, &c., 8vo, 1800.
BIRKS, T. R., First Elements of Sacred Prophecy, 12mo.
The Four Prophetic Empires, 8vo. Also other works.
An attractive and able writer.
BLISS, SYLVESTER, Analysis of Sacred Chronology, &c.
Boston, 18mo, 1840.
BLOOMSBURY LENT LECTURES, 10 vols. 12mo, London.
First Series, 1843: The Second Coming, the lJuTdgmelt,
and the Kingdomn of Christ, by Villiers, Pym, Goodhart,
Dalton, Brooks, Birks, Dallas, Freemantle, Bickersteth, and
Stewart; with a preface by Bickersteth.
Second Series, 1844: The Second Coming of Christ
35




410                 THE LAST TIMES.
practically considered, by Auriol,Pym, Hoare, Birks, Brock,
Grimshawe, Marsh, Bates, Bickersteth, Philpot, and Villiers; with a preface by Villiers.
Third Series, 1845: The Hope of the Apostolic (3Church;
or the Duties and Privileges of Christians in connection
with the Second Advent, &c., by Bickersteth, Woodrooffe,
Niven, Goodhart, Bates, Lillingston, Barker, Birks, Brock,
Villiers, Marsh, and Dibdin; with preface by Birks.
Fourth Series, 1846: Israel's Sins and Israel's Hopes,
by Bickersteth, Goodhart, Birks, Dalton, Freemantle, Fisk,
Dallas, Brock, Pym, Lillingston, Villiers, and Stewart;
with preface by Dr. Marsh.
Fifth Series, 1847: Good Things to Come, by Dallas,
McCaul, Dibdin, Freemantle, Bickersteth, Pym, Cadman,
Birks, Stewart, Goodhart) Lillingston, and Villiers; with
preface by Pym.
Sixth Series, 1848: Lift up your Heads.  Glimpses of
Messiah's Glory, by Goodhart, Dallas, Stewart, Cadman,
Wilson, Freemantle, Pym, Noel, Philpot, Bickersteth,
Birks, and Villiers; with preface by Dallas.
Seventh Series, 1849: The Priest upon his Throne, by
Flreemantle, Auriol, Stewart, McNeile, Hoare, Goodhart,
Birks, Bickersteth, Philpot, Brock, Pym. and Villiers;
with preface by Stewart.
Eighth Series, 1850: God's Dealings with Israel, by
Freemantle, Goodhart, Reichardt, Villiers, Harrison, Hoare,
Holland, Wigram, Birks, McNeile, Nolan, and Cadman;
with preface by Dalton.
Ninth Series, 1851: Popish Darkness and Millennial
Light, by Cadman, McNeile, Ryle, Harrison, Hoare, Goodhart, Nolan, Freemantle, Birks, Dallas, Pym, and Villiers;
with a preface by Dalton.
Tenth Series, 1852: The Millennial Kingdom, by Pym,
Cadman, Birks, Stewart, Brock, Philpot, Goodhart, Hoare,




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 411
Woodrooffe, Freeinantle, Harrison, and Villiers; with preface by Freemantle.
*BONAR. A. A., Redemption draweth nigh, 12mo, London, 1847. Development of Antichrist, 12mo, London,
1853.
*BONAR, H., Coming of the Lord Jesus, small 8vo, 1849; Prophetical Landmarks, 12mo, 1859; Apostolicity of Chiliasm.
*BROOKS, J. W., Elements of Prophetical Interpretation,
12mo, 1836.  ABDIEL'S ESSAYS on the Kingdom  of
Christ, 12mo, 1834. A calm, impressive, and instructive
writer:
*BRYANT, ALFRED, Millenarian Views, with reasons for receiving them, &c., New York, 1852. "Excellently adapted
to remove misconception, disarm prejudice, and conciliate
faith."
BURGH, W., Lectures on the Second Advent, &c., 12mo,
1835; and various discourses and expositions.
BURROUGHES, J., Jerusalem's Glory breaking forth in the
world, &c. immediately before the Second Coming of
Christ; small 8vo, Lond., 1675. A member of the Westminster Assembly, and an eminent divine.
CHRIST'S SPEEDY RETURN IN GLORY, &C., London, 4th ed.,
1831.
CLAYTON, BISHOP ROBERT, Dissertation on the Prophecies,
&c., 8vo, Lond., 1749; also An Inquiry into the Time of
the Coming of the Messiah, 8vo, Lond., 1751. An author
deeply versed in Rabbinical learning.
COLEMAN, J. N., Sermons, Doctrinal and Practical, elucidating the doctrine of the Trinity, the Sovereignty of God,
the Power of the Devil in the world, the Duty of studying
Prophecy, the Intermediate State, the Knowledge of each
other in the Life to Come, the Millennial Reign of Christ
on Earth, &c., 8vo, 1827.




412                THE LAST TIMES.
COMENIUS, JNO. AMOS, Lux e Tenebris, etc., 4to, 1665.
COOPER, ED., The Crisis, &c., 8vo, London, 1825.
COSTA, DR. ISAAC DA, Israel und die TVWker, Frankfort,
1854; written originally in Hollandish; translated also
into English, and published by Nesbit & Co., London, under
the title of Israel and the Gentiles. A converted Jew, of
many rich gifts.
Cox, JOHN, The Millenlarian's Answer, to which is added a
brief History of Millenarianism, London, 1832; Thoughts
on the Coming and Kingdom of Christ, 1836; The Future,
&c., 12mo, 1862.
CRESSENER, DR. DRUE, The Jutdgments of God, &c., 4to,
1689;  Protestant Applications of the Apocalypse, 4to,
1690. A writer much commended.
CROOL, RABBI JOSEPH, Restoration of Israel.
CUMMING, JOHN, The End, 1 vol. 12mo; The Great Preparation, 2 vols. 12mo; The Great Tribulation, 2 vols.
12mo; Voices of the Day, and of the Night, 2 vols. 12mo;
and various other works. A prolific author, very eloquent
and impressive, but not always accurate and self-consistent.
CUNNINGHAME, W., ESQ., Dissertation on the Seals and
(Trumpets, 8vo, 1832; Conversion and National Restoration of Israel, 8vo, 1822; Scriptural Argument for the
pre-Millennial Advent, &c., 12mo, 1833; Political Destiny of the Earth as Revealed in the Bible, 12mo, 1834;
and various other works. An able and voluminous writer
on the prophecies.
DARBY, J. N., The Hopes of the Church of God, &c., 12mo,
London, 1849.
DAS TAUSENDJAHRIGE REICH gehort nicht der Vergangenheit, sondern der Zukunft an., Giitersloh, 1860.
DAVIS, WOODBURY, The Beautiful City and the King of
Glory; Philadelphia, 1860.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS.  413
DRUMMOND, HENRY, ESQ., Dialogues on Prophecy, 2 vols.
8vo, London, 1828.  Contain the sentiments of various
eminent modern writers on Prophecy, as delivered in private discussion or in their published works; also, Defence
of the Students of Prophecy, in answer to the attacks of
Dr. Hamilton, 8vo, London, 1828. Somewhat crude and
unsatisfactory in some of the presentations.
*DUFFIELD, DR. GEORGE, Dissertation on the Prophecies relative to the Second Corming of Jesus Christ, 12mo; Millenarianism Defended, l2mo; Reply to Stuart, 12mo, 1843.
A writer of ability and earnestness.
DURANT, JOAN, The Salvation of the Saints by the Appearances of Christ, &c., 8vo, 1653. "A delightful Millenarian writer."
EIGHT LECTURES ON PROPHECY, 12mo, Dublin; no date.
ELLIOTT, DR. E. B., Destinies and Perils of the Church as
predicted in Scripture, London, 8vo.
ENOCH, A small volume without name of the author, London,
1849.
ENQUIRY, AN, into the Second Coming of our Savior, &c.,
8vo, London, 1795. Also, by the same author, Further
Considerations on the Second Advent of CYhrist, &c., 8vo,
London, 1796.
EXTRACTS ON PROPHECY, chiefly the approaching Advent
and Kingdom of Christ, from Burgh, Anderson, Noel, Cunninghame, Irving, Begg, Mede, &c., 12mo, Glasgow, 1835.
A good volume on the subject.
EYRE, JOSEPH, Observations on the Prophecies relating to the
Restoration of the Jews; 8vo, London, 1797.
FABER, GEORGE STANLEY, Dissertation on the Prophecies,
2 vols. 8vo, 1806; also, Sacred Calendar of Prophecy;
3 vols. 8vo, 1828. A writer of much learning, pious and
35*




414                THE LAST TIMES.
able; his works are valuable, but not Millenarian on all
points.
FARMER, JOSEPH, A Sober Inquiry; or, Christ's Reign with
his Saints modestly asserted from the Scriptures. A small
volume, published in 1660; republished, New York, 1843.
"The spirit of this little piece of antiquity is admirable,
calm, candid, and Christian."
FIRST RESURRECTION, The Nature of, and the Character and
Principles of those that shall partake of it, with an appendix. London, 8vo, 1819.
FLEMMING, ROBERT, JR., The First Resurrection, Lond.,
1708; also other works bearing on Millenarian questions.
FLOERKE, W., Die Lehre vom Tausend"'iriche Reiche, Marburg, 1859.
Fox, JOHN, the famous martyrologist, Christus Triumphans:
Comosdia Apocaltyptica; Basel, 1556, London, 1672. A
very curious production, but very decided in its Millenarian
sentiments.
FRERE, JAMES HATLEY, ESQR., The Revolution —the Expiration of the Times of the Gentiles, 8vo, 1848; The Harvest
of the Earth, 12mo, 1846.
FREY, Jos. S. C. F., Judah and Israel; or the Restoration
and Conversion of the Jews and the Ten Tribes, 12mo,
New York, 1841. Also, Joseph and Benjamin; a Series
of Letters, 2 vols. 12mo, ninth ed., 1842.
FRIDAY EVENING: An Attempt to demonstrate that we are
now living late in the Sixth Day of the Millenary Week, &c.,
8vo, London, 1822.
FRIEDERICH, PASTOR, OF WINGERHAUSEN, A Look into the
Times of Antichrist, &c. (German).
FRY, JOHN, Second Advent, or the Glorious Epiphany of our
Lord Jesus Christ, &c., 2 vols. 8vo, 1822.  "Full of useful thoughts."




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 415
GASPARIN, MADAME DE, The Near and the Heavenly Horizon; New York, 1862.
GAUSSEN, M., Les Jurfs evangelists enfin, et re'tablis; a Discourse; Toulouse, 1855.
GILFILLAN, GEO., Christianity and our Era; a book for the
times, 8vo, Edinburgh, 1857.
GILL, DR. JOHN, Sernmon on the Glory of the Church of the
Latter Day; 1752.
GIRDLeSTONE, HENRY, The Hope of Israel, 12mo, London.
GREGG, DR. T. D., The Mystery of God Finished, &c., 8vo,
London, 1861.
GUERS, E., Isragl aux derniers jours de l'4conomie actuelle,
ou Essai sur la restauration prochaine de ce peuple, suivi
d'un fragment sur le Millenarisme; Paris, 1856.  Also
in German, Leipzig, 1860, entitled Israels Zukunft.
HABERSHON, MATTHEW, ESQR., An Historical Dissertation
on the Prophetic Scriptrures of the Old and New Testamen t,
&c., 8vo, 1840. Also Pre-Millennial 1Hymns, 18mo, 1841.
HAHN, J. M., Briefe  und Lieder iiber die OQfnbarung.
Works, vol. 5, Tiibingen, 1820.
HALES, W., New Analysis of Chronology and Geography,
History and  Prophecy, upon Scriptural and Scientific
Principles, &c., 4 vols. 8vo, 1830.
HALLET, JOSEPH, A free and impartial study of the Holy
Scriptures recommended; being Notes on some peculiar
texts, with discourses and observations on various subjects,
3 vols. 8vo, London, 1729-36. "An able work."
HARKNESS, REV. J., Messiah's Throne and Kingdom, &c.
1.2mo, New York, 1855.
HARTLY, THOMAS, Paradise Restored; or a testimony to the
doctrine of the blessed Millennium, small 8vo, London,
1764. This book was endorsed by John Wesley: see his
Works, vol. 6, p. 743.




416                THE LAST TIMES.
HASTINGS, H. L., Signs of the Times, 12mo, Boston, 1862.
HATHERELL, DR. J. XV., The Signs of the Second Advent
of our blessed Lord, 12mo, 1858.
HAWTREY, C. S., The Nature of the First Resurrection, &c.,
8vo, London, 1815.
HEATH, D. J., The Future Kingdom of Christ; or, Man's
Heaven to be this Earth. A solution of the Calvinistic atid
other chief difficulties' in theology, by distinguishing the
saved nations from the glorified saints; 8vo, London, 1852.
HENSHAW, BISHOP J. P. K., Lectures on Second Advent;
l2mo, 1842.
HESS, JNO. JACOB, Vom Reich Gottes; Ein Versuch iiber
den Plan der gottlichen Anstalten und Offenbarungen; 2
vols. 8vo, 1774; also other works.  One of the most eminent and learned divines of the Swiss Reformed Church.
HOFFMAN, DR. W., Maranatha: Predigten und Betrachtungen fiber die Weissagungen des neuen Bundes, 8vo,
Berlin, 1858.
HOFMIANN, DR. J. Cu. KON.; Weissagung und Erfiillung im
Alt. und IVeu. Test., 2 vols. 8vo, N6rdlingen, 1841-4.
HOLGATE, J. B., Conversations on the Present Age of the
World in connection with Prophecy, small 8vo, Albany,
1853.
HOMES, NATHANIEL, The Resurrection Revealed; or, the
Dawning of the Daystar, &c.; folio, London, 1654. Also,
Ten Exercitations: 1. That Chiliasm rightly stated is no
error. 2. The manner and measure of the burning world.
3. Touching Gog and Magog. 4. Concerning Covenants,
Adamic, Jewish, and Christian. 5. About the Liberty of
Man's Will. 6. Of the Two Witnesses. 7. The Character
of Antichrist. 8. Touching Hell. 9. The Groaning of the
Creaturle. 10. Scripture prognostics of the future state of
the Church. Folio, London, 1661.  A learned author,
who elucidates Scripture with great ability. A revised




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 417
edition of both these works, omitting matter thought unimportant, was published by the editor of The Investigator
of Prophecy, in 1 vol. 8vo, London, 1833.
HOOPER, JOHN, The Doctrine of the Second Advent, briefly
stated, 12mo, London, 1829; also, The Present (risis,
considered in relation to the blessed hope of the glorious
appearing, &c., 12mo, Lond., 1831; also, The Revelation
of Jesus Christ Explained, &c., 8.vo, London, 1846; new
ed., including Exposition of Daniel, 1847.
HORT, ROBERT, Sermon on the Glorious Kingdom of Christ
upon Earth, or the Millennium; reprinted, Dublin, 1748;
new ed., 8vo, 1821.
HUSSEY, JOSEPH, The Glory of Christ Unveiled; 4to, London, 1706. "An author of some distinction.'"
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PROPHECY, &C., first published in 1799;
the edition of 1828 is by Rev. W. Vint. It contains valuable extracts from various authors.
IMBRIE, C. K., The Kingdom of God; a Discourse, 1850.
Candid and forcible.
INGLIS, JAMES, The Destiny of the Earth under its Coming
King, 12mo, New York, 1854.
INVESTIGATOR OF PROPHECY, or 41y Expositor, 4 vols. 8vo,
London, 1831-5.
*IRVING, ED., The Last Days, &c., with preface by H. Bonar,
large 12mo, London, 1850. A work of marked ability,
"stamped throughout with irrepressible genius, yet breathing everywhere the spirituality and fervor of the man of
God."  Also, The Coming of MXessiah in Glory and Majesty, translated from the Spanish of J. J. Ben Ezra, alias
Emanuel Lacunza, a Spanish Jesuit, said to have been a
converted Jew; 2 vols. 8vo, 1827. A work which throws
much light on the subject of unfulfilled prophecy.
2B




118                THE LAST TIMES.
JANEWAY, DR. J. J., Hope for the Jews, &c., New Brunswick, 1853.
JERRAM, CHARLES, An Essay to show the ground contained
in Scripture for expecting a Restoration of the Jews, 8vo,
1796.
JEWISH REPOSITORY, afterwards Expositor and Friend of
Israel, 8vo, Lond., 1813-31.
JEWS, The Destiny of, &c., in a course of Lectures at St.
Bride's, Liverpool, by several clergymen; 12mo, 1841.
JOURNAL, THE, THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY, Edited by
David N. Lord, and published by Franklin Knight, New
York, 13 vols. 8vo, 1849-61. A valuable Review, devoted
mostly to prophecy.
JUKES, ANDREW, The Mystery of the Kingdom  of God,
London.
JURIEU, PETER, L'accomplissement des Propheties, ou la
d6livrance prochaine de l'Eglise, 2 vols. in one, 12mo,
Roter., 1686. Also the same in English, 8vo, London,
1687.
KEITH, DR. ALEX., The Land of Israel according to the
Covenant, 12mo, Edinburgh, 1843.  The Signs of the
Times, &c., 2 vols. 12mo, 1847.  The Harmony of Prophecy, &c., 12mo, New York, 1851.
KING, EDWARD, Morsels of Criticism, tending to illustrate
some few passages in the Holy Scriptures, &c., Lond., 4to,
1788; reprinted in 3 vols. 8vo, Lond., 1800; also Remarks
on the Signs of the Times.  A learned antiquarian.
KINGDOM  OF CIIRIST, here on Earth with his Saints, Survey
of; 12mo, London, 1699.
KIRKWOOD, ROBERT, Lectures on the Millennium, 12mo, N.
York, 1856.
KLETTWICH, SIMON PHIL., How long the present world will
continue, &c., (German), Miihlhaus. 1699. Also, Useful




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 419
Ilnfnrmation, concerning Pietism; or a statement of the
real faith and doctrine of the so-called Pietists, (German,)
4to, 1700; and sundry Tracts against Giblehr and Eilmar.
KNIGHT, DR. JAMES, On the Conflagration and Renovation
of the World, from 2 Peter iii. 10-13. London, 1734, 8vo;
reprinted, 1736.
LABAGH, I. P., Twelve Lectures on the Great Events of Unfulfilled Prophecy, &c., New York, 1859. A good presentation to the common reader of the subjects treated.
LAMBERT, LE PERE, Expositions des pre'dictions et promesses/faites d l'Eglise pour les derniers temps de la Gentilite;
2 vols. 12mo, Paris, 1806; also translated into German, by
Von Mayer, at Frankfort.  "A  striking testimony to the
premillennial advent, restoration of the Jews, and reign
of Christ, by a French Roman Catholic."
LANCASTER, P., Interpretation'of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel, 4to, 1722.  Also, Dictionary of Prophetic Symbols,
8vo, 1842, edited by Habershon.
LANGE, DR. JOACHIM, Gloria Clhristi et Christianism., etc.,
folio, Amst. et Lips., 1740.
LAVATER, JNO. C., Aussichten in die Ewigkeit, in Briefen
an Joh. Geo. Zimmerman, 3 vols. small 12mo, Zurich,
1773.
LEUTWEIN, C. F. P., Die Ndhe d. grossen allg. Versuchung,
u. der sichtbaren Ankunft unseres Herrn zur Errichtung
seines sichtbaren Reiches auf Erden. Tiibingen.
LEWIS, SETH, ESQR., The Restoration of the Jews, with the
political destiny of the nations of the earth, &c., New
York, 1851. A writer of strong sense, candor, and reverence for God's word.
LILLIE, JNO.,'he Perpetuity of the Earth, with Notes on
the Millenarian Controversy, 18mo, N. York, 1842.  A
clear and forcible argument.




420                THE LAST TIMES.
LITCH, JOSIAH, lMessiah's Tlrone and Millennial Glory,
Boston, 1855, 12mno.
*LITERALIST, THE, 5 vols. 8vo, Philadelphia, 1840-1841;
edited by Judge Jones, and consisting of republications
from Brooks, Woodward, McNeil, Noel, Bickersteth, Anderson, Cunninghame, Cox, Thorpe, Habershon, Sirr, and
others. A collection of Millenarian works of great value.
LOADER, THOMAS, The Millennium, or Joy and Salvation to
the World for 1000 Years; 8vo, London, 1812.
LOOKER-ON, A View of the late momentous events as connected with the Latter Days, &c., 8vo, London, 1830.
*LORD, D. N., ESQR., The Coming and Reign of Christ, 12mo,
New York, 1858. An able work.
LORD, N., The Improvement of the Present State of Things,
a Discourse to the Students of Dartmouth College; Hanover, 1853. Also The Millennium, an Essay read to the
General Convention of N. -Hampshire; Hanover, 1854.
MAITLAND, CHARLES, M.D., The Apostles' School of Prophetic Interpretation, &c., 8vo, London, 1849.
MANCHESTER, THE DUKE OF, The Finished jMystery, &c.,
8vo, London, 1847; also other works. A learned and able
investigator.
MANFORD, —, Apology for Millenarianism; small 8vo,
1809, 1843.
MARSH, DR. W., A few plain thoughts on Prophecy, &c.,
8vo, Colchester, 3d ed., 1843.
MATHER, INCREASE, A Discourse concerning faith and fervency in prayer, and the glorious kingdom of Jesus Christ
on earth, now approaching, 12mo, Boston, 1710.
MATON, ROBERT, Israel's Redemption, or the prophetical
history of our Savior's kingdom on earth, &c., 12mo, London, 1642. This work was assailed by Alexander Petrie,
which elicited from the author another work of much




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 421
greater magnitude, entitled, Israel's Redemption Redeemed,
or the Jews' general and miraculous conversion to the faith
of the gospel and return to their own land, and our Savior's
personal reign on earth, clearly proved out of many plain
prophecies of the Old and New Testaments; and the chief
arguments that can be alleged against those truths fully
answered; of purpose to satisfy all gainsayers, and in particular Mr. Alexander Petrie; in two parts, 4to, London,
1646. An able and acute writer.
I AYWAHLEN, DR. V. U., Intermediate State, or Christ
among the decad, the twofold Resurrection, and the twofold
coming of Christ; German; also in English; 12mo.
MCCAUL, DR. A., The Old Paths, &c., 8vo, Londofi, 1837.
The C(onversion and Restoration of the Jews, two sermons,
8vo, London, 1837.' Plain Sermons on subjects practical
and prophetic, 12mo, London, 1840. The Messiahship of
Jesus, &c., 8vo, London, 1852.
MCNEILE, REV. HUGH, The Times of the Gentiles, London,
1828; Prophecies relating to the Jewish Nation, 12mo,
London, 1840; Sermons on the Second Advent of the Lord,
l2mo, London, 1842. "Eloquent and pious; one of England's most gifted divines."
MEJANEL, PIERRE, Miniature Sketch of the Millennium, &c.,
24mo, Edinb., 1831.
MILLENNIAL CHURCH; or, Christ's Personal Reign upon.Earth, &c., by Clericus Dorcestriensis, 12mo, London.
Also, by the same, Christ's Coming to Judgment, 12mo,
London, 1834.
MILLENNIUM, A TENET OF; or, The First Resurrection to
the Reign of Christ upon the Earth, by E. L., 8vo, Lond.,
1813.
MILLER, WILLIAM, Evidence friom Scripture add History of
the Second Coming of Christ, &c.; a course of Lectures,
small 12mo, Boston, 1842.
36




422                 THE LAST TIMES.
*MOLYNEUX, C.,'The MWor'ld to Come, 8vo, 1853.  Israel's
Future, crown 8vo, 6th ed., 1860.
MULTUM IN PARVO; or Jubilee of Jubilees, &c., 8vo, 1732.
NEWTON, WM., Lectures on the First Two Visions of the Book
of Daniel, Phila., 1859.
NOEL, HON. & REV. G. T., An  In2uiry into the Prospects of
the (Jhurch of Christ, in, connection with the Second Advent;
8vo, London, 1828.
NOLAN, DR. F., The Chronological Prophecies, &c., Warburtonian Lectures, 8vo, London, 1837.
OGILVY, —, Popular Objections to the Premillennial Advelnt considered, 12mo.  Also, other works.
PAGANI, JOHN BAPTIST, Thle End of the World; or, The
Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 181lo,
London, 1855. A valuable testimony, by a Roman Catholic
priest.
PARADISE REGAINED; or, The Scripture Accounlt of the
Glorious Millennium, &c., printed for J. Buckland, 1772.
PENN, GRANVILLE  (grandson of the founder of Pennsylvania), A Christian surv'ey of all the primary events and
periods of the world fronm the commencement of History to
the conclusion of Prophecy; small 8vo, Lond., 1812; also,
The Prophecy of Ezekiel concernizng Gog, small 8vo,
Lond., 1814.
PERRY, W., Glory of Christ's Visible Kingdom, 12mo, 1721.
"Plain and practical."
PETERSON, DR. JNO. WM., A Scriptural exposition and demonstration, of the Millennial Reign and the First Resurrection to the Kingdom connected therew ith; (German) 4to,
Franckf., 1692. Also, WTarheit des herrlichen Reiches Jesu
Christi, 1693; and many other publications.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS.  423
PIRIE, REV. ALEX., ATn I~nquiry into the Prolphecies relating
to the conversion and restoration of the Jews; also Sermons and Lectures on prophetic topics; I'Vorks, 6 vols.
12mo, Edinb., 1805.  An acute writer.
POIRET, PIERRE, The Divine (Econtomy; or an universal
system of the works and purposes of God towards men demonstrated; written originally in French, 6 vols. 8vo, London, 1713.
PRE-3IILLENNIALISM, Proofs of, &c., with an Introduction by
Dr. R. Newton, Philadelphia, 1862.  A clear and convincing little book.
PURDON, REV., Last Vials; 16 small annual volumes,
published in monthly and semi-monthly tracts since 1846,
London. Still continued.
PURVES, JAMES, Observations on the Visions of the Apostle
John, compared with other sacred Scriptures; 2 vols.
Edinb., 1793.
*PYM, WM. W., Thoughts on Millenarianisms, 12mo, Lond.,
1829; corrected and enlarged, 1831. "Contains, in a small
compass, much valuable argument and extracts from the
Fathers."  Also, Restitution of all things, 12mo.
QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF PROPHECY, 1849-1855, London,
7 vols. 8vo. Among the contributors are Elliott, Keith,
Kelly, Forster, Hengstenberg, Cumming, &c.
*RAMSEY, DR. WiM., Messiah's Reign, or the Future Blessedness of the Church and of the World; small 8vo, Philadelphia, 1857. An able, calm, and exegetical treatment
of the subject.  Also, Second Coming of Christ, &c.
RANEW, NATH., Account concerning the Saints' Glory after
the Resurrection, &c., 4to, Lond., 1670.
READ, HOLLIS, The Coming Crisis of the World; or the




424               THE LAST TIMES.
Great Battle and the Golden Age, &c., with an Introduction by Dr. S. H. Tyng, Columbus, 1861, 12mo.
REIGN OF CHRIST ON EARTH noways repugnant to the Spirituality of his Kingdom, 4to, Lond., 1677.
REVIEW OF SCRIPTURE, in testimony of the truth of the
Second Advent, the First Resurrection, and the Millenniumn, with an Appendix on the Restoration of the Jews.
By a Layman, 8vo, 1819.
ROACH, R., The Great C}risis, &c., 8vo, London, 1825; also,
The Imnperial Standard of Messiah Triumphant, &c., 8vo,
Lond., 1727.
RUDD, SAYER, M.D., Anz Essay towards a new explication
of the doctrine of the Resurrection, Millennium, and Judgment; with three dissertations on 2 Peter 10-13; Rom.
viii. 19-23; Rev. xxi. 24; 8vo, Lond., 1734. Also, other
works.
SAVILLE, B. W., First and Second Advent, or the Past and
the Future, &c., 8vo, 1858.
SCHAEFFER, JNO. DAV., The Everlasting Gospel, or the doctrine of the Millennium and Reign of Christ and his Saints,
&c., 8vo, 1725; also in Latin, Doctrina de Reyno Millennario Christi. -
SCHULTZE, GOTTLOB, Drei Lebensfragen; Dresden, 1860. A
well-arranged little book, containing much useful exegetical and historical matter.
SCOTT, JAMES, A Catechism upon the Prophetical System of.
Scripture, &c., 12mo, Edinburgh, 1847.
SECOND COMING OF THE LORD, THE, the true Hope of Believers and only Triumph of the Church, &c., Dublin,
1833.
SEISS, J. A., The Threatening Ruin, &c., 12mo, Phila., 1861.
SERGENT, FRED., ESQR., AnL Essay on the personal and premillennial Advent of the Messiah; Lond., 1833, small 8vo.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS.  425
SEVEN, An Essay on this number, Lond., 8vo, 1754.
SHADOWS OF THE NEW CREATION, by W. S.
SHERWIN, WM., lUpopol-toc, the forerunner of Christ's peaceable Kingdom upon Earth, Lond., 4to, 1665.  Eeprjezxov,
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4to, 1665; Slupplement to the same; also, The Times of
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True News of the Good New lWorld shortly to come, &c.,
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SHIMEALL, REV. R. C., Our Bible Chronology, Historic and,
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SILLIMAN, ANNA, The WMorld's Juzbilee, N. York, 12mo, 1856.
*SIRR, DR. J. D'ARCY, The First Resurrection Considered
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SOBER INQUIRY, or Christ's Reign with his Saints a thousand
years, modestly asserted from the Scripture; 8vo, 1660.
SPENER, PHIL. JAC., A Defence of the Hope of Better Times
to come, &c., (German,) 12mo, Frankf., 1693.
SPES FIDELIUM, or the Believer's Hope; a dissertation proving the thousand years' Reign of Christ; by a presbyter
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STERRY, PETER, The Clouds in which Christ comes, 4to,
1643; also, Rise, Race, and Royalty of the Kingdom of God,
4to, 1683.
STEWART, JAMES HALDANE, Practical View of the Redeemer's Advent, 8vo, 1828. Also, Sermons to strengthen
Faith, &c., 8vo, London, 1828.
STILLING, JOHN HENRY JUNG-, Siegsgeschichte der christ.
36*




426                THE LAST TIMES.
lic7e Religion, 8vo, Nuremberg, 1798; also, Nachtrag,
1806; also parts of Der graue Mann, a periodical.
STRANGE, JUDGE TH. L., The Light qf Prophecy, 8vo, 1850;
also, Observations on J[ir. Elliott's Horse Apocalyptice.
TASK, THE; or, Scripture Texts connected with the Glorious
Advent and Millennial Reign; 18mo, London, 1847.
*TAYLOR, D. T., The Voice of the Church on the Coming and
Kingdom of the Redeemer; or a History of the Doctrine
of the Reign of Christ on Earth; 12mo, Phila., 1856. A
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THEOPOLIS, or the City of God, New Jerusalem, &c., 8vo,
Lond., 1672; Philadelphia, 1808.
THOMAS, J., M.D., Elpis Israel: an Exposition of the Kingdom of God, with reference to the end of time and the
Age to come; 8vo, N. York, 1851.
THOMPSON, JNO., M.D., The Judgment in Matt. xxv. conclusive of Messiah's Personal Advent and his Millennial
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THORPE,' WM., The Destinies of the British Empire, &c.,
8vo, London, 1831.
TILLINGHAST, JOHN, Generation- Work; or a brief and seasonable word, offered to the view and consideration of the
saints and people of God, &c., First Part, small 8vo, London, 1655.
Generation - Work; the Second Part, wherein is shewed
what the designs of God abroad in the world may in all
likelihood be, &c., small 8vo, Lond., 1655.
Generation- Work; or an Exposition of the Prophecies
of the Two Witnesses, &c., small 8vo, 1655.
Knowledge of the Times, &c., small 8vo, 1654.
Eight Last Sermons, small 8vo, Lond., 1656. "A superior writer, both in practical and evangelical sentiment,
and in prophetical knowledge."




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 427
TIME OF THE END, A Prophetic Period, &c., small 8vo, Boston, 1856, edited by Himes.  A  collection of matters
which will well repay perusal.
TOWERS, J. L., Illustrations of Prophecy, 2 vols. 8vo, 1796.
TYSO, JOSEPH, An Inquiry after Prophetic Truth, relative
to the Restoration of the Jews and the Millennium, &c.,
with various and beautiful maps and engravings; 8vo, London, 1831. "The work contains a clear exposition of the
eleven concluding chapters of Ezekiel, the fourteenth of
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TYSON, JOSEPH, A Defence of the Personal Reign of Christ,
12mo, London, 1841.
WAY, REV. L., Thoughts on the Scriptural Expectations.of
the Christian Church, 8vo, pp. 115; also a poem, entitled
Palingenesia.
WHISTON, WM., A New Theory of the Earth, from its original to the consummation of all things, 8vo, London, 1755;
also, An Essa2 y on the Revelation of St. John, 4to, Cambridge, 1706; also, The Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies, (Boyle Lecture,) 8vo, Camb., 1708; also, The Literal Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies, &c., London,
1724. A divine of great learning and abilities, but eccentric, and advocating some very peculiar opinions.
*WHITE, HUGH, Practical Reflections on the SecondAdvent,
12mo, Dublin, 1836; N. York, 1843.
WHITE, JEREM., Restoration of all Things, 8vo, Lond.,
1779, and 1809. "A loving and wise-hearted man," and
"a most excellent book." —Hartley.
WHOWELL, T., Epistles to the Christian Church on the Ere of
the Milleniniumln, &c., 2 vols. 8vo, 1830.
WILSON, JOHN G., Discourses on Prophecy, 8vo, Phila., 1858.




428                THE LAST TIMES.
WINCHESTER, ELHANAN, Lectures on the Prophecies that remain to e fulfilled, 4 vols. 8vo, Helston, 1813.
WINTHmROP, ED., Lectures on the Second Advent, 12mo,
1843; also, Premium Essay on Prophetic Symbols, 12mo,
1854; also, Letters on Prophecy, N. York, 1850.
WITHERBY, WM., ESQ., A Review of Scripture in testimony
of the truth of the Second Advent, the First Reslurrection,
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WOOD, LEUT. G. H., The Believer's Guide to the Study of
Unjfulfilled Prophecy; containing the Scripture testimony
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Christ, his personal reign on the earth with all his saints,
the restoration of the Jews, &c., with the testimony of the
Fathers and Reformers; Lond., 1831, 8vo.
WOOD, WALTER, The Last Things, London, 1852, 8vo.
WOODWARD, H. W., Essays on the lMillennium.
ZIPPLE, J. G., The World's Crisis, and the Restitution of all
Things, 12mo, London, 1854. A Moravian writer.
4. MISCELLANEOUS WORKS WHICH INCIDENTALLY SET FORTH MILLENARIAN DOCTRINES.
AMBROSE, ISAAC, Sermon on Doomsday; Works, p. 408.
BENSON, DR. G., Notes on Ps. xcvi. 10-13, and xcviii. 4-9.
BONAR, H., The Eternal Day, 18nlo, London, 1844. Also,
Man —His Religion and his World, 18mo, London, 1851.
Also, Hymns of Faith and Hope, 2 vols. 12mo, New York,
1862.
BAUMGARTEN, MICH., History of the Apostolic Church.
BLISS, SYLVESTER, Memoirs of' Win. Miller, Bost., 12mo, 1853.
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pp. 136, 163.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS.  429
BURNET, THOMAS, Sacred Theory of the Earth; Books III.
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literary excellence, but imaginative and erroneous in his
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BURK, JNO. C. F., Memoir of the Life and Writings of John
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CHALMERS, DR. THOMAS, On the New Heavens and the New
Earth, Sermon on 2 Pet. iii. 13; Works, Phila., 1833, p.
411. Also, Sabbath Scripture Readings.
CROSBY, THOMAS, History of English Baptists, vol. 2, Appendix 85.
CHARNOCK, DR. STEPHEN, Discourses on the Existence and
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COWPER, WM., Task, Book VI.
CLARKE, RICHARD, /ike Gospel of the Dai7y Service of the
Law, preached to Jew and Gentile, &c., 8vo, London, 1767.
CLAYTON, WM., Rural Discourses, 2 vols., London, 1814.
CARLYLE, DR. J., First and Second Advent; also, Latterday Pamphlets.
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ELIZABETH, CHARLOTTE, Judah's Lion, London, 8vo.
FLEMING, ROBERT, JR., Rise and Fall of the Papacy; also,
Christology, vol. iii, 8vo, 1708.
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on the Prophecies, dated 1775.
GILFILLAN, G., Alpha and Omega, vol. ii., chaps. 20, 21,
pp. 331-370; also, Bards of the Bible, pp. 345-351.




430                THE LAST TIMES.
GILL, DR. JOHN, Conmplete Body of Divinity; Prophet/cal
Sermons; and Commenltary.
GAUSSEN, MI., Daniel le Prophete, 3 vols. 2d edition, 1850.
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GLASS, JOHN, Works, Edinburgh, 1761, vol. 2, pp. 425-430.
HURD, DR. RICHARD, Introduction to the Study of the Prophecies, (Warburton Lectures,) vi., pp. 129-163.
HEBER, BISHOP R., PoeticalWorks, small 8vo, London, 1842,
especially his Hymns.
HARLAN, GENERAL J., A Memoir on India and Afghanistan, &c., 12mo, Philadelphia, London, and Paris, 1842.
HORT, ROBERT, Posthumous Works, 1805.
JOHNSON, REV. SAMUEL, Thirty-six Select Discourses, &c.,
2 vols. 8vo, London, 1740. Particularly the Preface.
KEBLE, JNO., The Christian Year, New York, 1850. For
Advent Season, pp. 17-37.
KLING, DR., DEAN OF MARBACH, Article on Eschatology in
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LUTHERUS REDIVIVUS, oder des fiihrnehmsten Lehrers der
Augsb. Confession, &c., 4to, 1697, pp. 386, 389.
LECHLER, —, Das Apost. und Nachapost. Zeitalter, p. 82.
LORD, ELEAZ., The Messiah in Moses and the Prophets, 12mo,
New York, 1853.
MILTON, JOHN, Paradise Lost, III. 333-338; XII. 531555. Prose Works, Conclusion of Essay on Reformation
in England.
MATHER, DR. COTTON, Thle Student and Preacher; or Directions for a Candidate for the Ministry. Also, his.Life,
pp. 141-144.




CLASSIFIED REFERENCES TO RECENT WRITERS. 431
NEWTON, BISHOP THOMAS, Dissertations on the Prophecies,
Diss. 22, 23, 24, 25, especially his Analysis of Rev. xx.
NISSEN, J., Unterredungen iiber den Kleinen  Catechismus
Luthers; Kiel, 1859, pp. 524-533.
OETINGER, FRIED. CHRISTOPH, Predigten, 5 vols. 8vo, Stuttgart, 1858; also Biblisches fWfrterbuch.
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POPE, ALEXANDER, The Messiah. See his Works.
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Festtags-Episteln, Leipzig, 4to, 1787. Also, Evangelisches
Denk-Spriiche, &c., Leipzig, 4to, 1783.
REINHARD, DR. FR. VOLKMAR, Dogmatik, sec. 189, where
he teaches the twofold nature of the Resurrection; also in
sec. 191, on the changes to be wrought in the world.
SHERWOOD, MRS., The Latter Days. See her Works, vol. ii.
pp. 289-455, New York ed.
SHARPE, DR. GREGORY, Defence of Christianity, 8vo, London, 1775, i. 140.
SPURGEON, C. H., Sermons, sixth series, and elsewhere.
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SCHLEGEL, FREDERICK VON, Lectures on the Philosophy of
History, delivered in 1828, at Vienna; translated into
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Augsb. Confession, &c., 4to, 1695, pp. 287-290.
SCHONER, JNO. G., Predigten iiber die Evangelien, 8vo,
Niirnberg, 1804.




432                THE LAST TIMES.
SPANG(ENBERG, BISHOP AUG. GOT., Exposition of Christian
Doctrine, as taught in the Church of the Unitas Fratrum,
London, 8vo, 1784, the last chapter. Also, Idea Fidei.
TOPLADY, AUGUSTUS M., Speech at the Queen's Arms, &c.;
also, Meditation for a New Year's Day; Works, London,
1861, pp. 428, 448.
TYNG, DR. STEPHEN H., Articles on The Coming Kingdom;
also, Lectures on the Five Universal Monarchies of the
Earth, and elsewhere.
THOMASIUS, at Nuremberg, Manual of Catechetical Instruction, sec. 33, 38.
TUPPER, MARTIN F., sundry Poems, especially "The Last
Time."
WATTS, DR. ISAAC, many of his Hymns and Psalms.
WESLEY, JOHN, Works, 7 vols. 8vo, New York ed., vol. v.
pp. 726, 727; also vol. vi. p. 743, where he fully endorses
Mr. Hartley's book, "Paradise Restored: a Testimony to
the Doctrine qf the Blessed, Millennium."  Also, his Notes
on the New Testament.
WESLEY, CHARLES, Hymns, 1762; for example, the one beginning, "I call the world's Redeemer mine."
WOGAN, WM., ESQ., Essay on the proper Lessons appointed
by the' Liturgy of the Church of England, 2 vols. 8vo,
Derby, 1841; especially on 27th Sunday after Trinity.
THE END.




INDEX.
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION, 22.           BABYLON, GREAT, 174; her doom, 175-177,
ADVENST THE, when to occur, 38, 39, 261-   279, 2S0.
282; signs of, 2J2-2)9, 371; is near at BAcoN on the nature of prophecy, 17, 18.
htand, 3.1-3)3; desirableness of, 301- BAIRD, DR.. 318.
308; the common expe'tation of the  BIARNABAS, 237, 238, 383.
Church, 15; to he expected from con-  BARONIus, 273.
siderations of reason, 31; great interest BAxTER, 306.
of, 32; first and se-ond, 37; is premil-  BEECHER, CHARLES, 32.
lennial, 40-60, 104, 105; the setting up  BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES, THE GREAT, have
of the kingdom  connected with 126-   not accomplished what was claimed for
1:30; practical value of the doctrine of,  them, 300.
256. 257; Ihow regarded by the prinli- BENGEL. Da., 333, 337, 400, 404.
tive Chlurch, 257, 258, 287; our duty in  BEs;G, 127.
view of, 283, 370; too much skepticism  BIBLE, THE, only authority in things of
and coldness with regard to, 15, 287; to   faith, 10, 11, 232; how some read it, 26;
have two stag's, 350, 351; references to    how it is to be interpreted, 116; will
the telchings of Christ and his apostles    become a new book in the light of fulon. 365-367; Old Testamnent on, 3ti7;   filled prophecy, 2J2; Luther's method
referenucs on the objects and results of,   of interpretilg, 253; ninch of it ig368-:370; the manner of. 372; uses mlade    nored by those who refuse to study
of, in the Scriptures, 375.              prophecy, 12; chronlogy of, 356-362.
AGE OF THE WORLD, 268, 269.              BIBLE, THE BURLENBURG, 400.
aewv, meaning of. 73.                    BICRERSTETH, 303, 409.
ALFORD, DEAN. 325, 340, 400.             BLESSEDNESS of the millennial world, 212ALL,;GORICkL METHOD, Origen's, 248, 240.   229.
ANABA.PTISTS, their fnmaticism, 235, 236,:329. BODY, THE, resurrection of, not impossible
A.N'.LOGY, argument from, on the perpe-   with God, 88; believed in by the Jews,
tuity of the earth, 71. 72.              90; identity preserved in, 91, 92; in the
ANTIC-IRST,  HE. 47. 311; is to be a French    glorified state, 218.
emperor, 178; to be destroyed by Christ BOGIE, DR., 319.
in person, 47-52; probably Louis Napo- BONAR, H., hymns by, 230, 361, 401, 411,
le;n is to be, 311-349; Scripture refer-   428.
ence to, 378, 379; referred to in Matt. BROOKS, 117, 250, 303, 399, 411.
xxiv. 15, 22.                          BROWNE, ARCHD.. 316.
ANTICHRISTIAN POWER.., when destroyed, BUCKHOLDT, JOHN, 235.
46-52; can be no Millennium while they  BURNET, DR. T.. 65, 429.
remain, 46, 47; shall not exist in the  BURTON, 245.
millennial world, 222.                 BUSH, 100, 142, 256, 267, 270, 319, 396.
ANTIOUIsI'  importance of, 231, 232.
APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS on the Millennium,.
388-332.
APOL!.IN.RIUS, 39 t.                     CALMET, 9A.
A POSTASY of last times, 42, 45, 57, 261, 292, CALVIN, 80.
371.                                   CARLYLE, 297.
ARNOLD, DR., 331, 320.                   CATHOLICISM. ROMAN, 2092, 297.
AUBERLEN, DR., 324, 365, 405.            CEL.ANO, DE hymn bty, 1.i9.
AUroSBURG CONFESSORS, 57, 326; do they  CERI.N'THU, errors imputed to him, 235;
condemn Chiliasm? 327-335.              his injury to millenarian doctrine, 251.
AUGUSTINE, 247, 396.                     CHABBO, 99.
-37                         433




434                                INDEX.
CHALMERS, DR. T., 286, 289, 429.         COMMENTATORS, on Matt. xxiv., 25-27; poets
CIIARNOCK, on the restoration of all things,   and painters as, 137.
80, 42..                              COMM )DIAN, 393.
CHEEV.:R, DR. G. B., 318.                CONFE SIONS, or creeds. referred to, 15, 57,
CHIILLINGWORTH, 214, 393.                  58, 287, 326.
CHI.ESE PHILOSOPHERS, 65.               C)NFI,AGRATION, THF, 75-79.
CHOAIE, RUFUS, 320.                      CoNsTANTINE,elevAtion oftheChurch under
CHRIST, spiritual or providential coming    him supposed to begin the Millennium,
of, 37, 59; claims oft for the gospel, 110;   250; his legalization of the Church the._
to reign as a great prince upon earth,   inlet of great evils, 91.
113-131, 20. 212; his reign eternal, 144; CONSUMMATION, THE, changes to be effected
the bliss of seeing., 215-217.           in, 82, 83; joy of 228, 307, 308.
CHRIST, TIIE RETUIN OF, certain, 15, 39, 31, CORON\TION  OF CHRIST as king of the
37; imrportance of, 32; few properly in-   world, 112.
fluenced by it, 15, 287; great original CORRODI, his work on Chiliasm, 398.
prophecy (in; 16; hymn o011,136; will be  Cox, 303, 306, 412.
as a thief, 152; imlpo tance of being pre- COxE, hymn by. 182.
pared for it, 156; bliss of seeing him, CREATION, THE, longing for the consum215-217; when it shall occur. how far    mation, 63, 79, 85.
made known, 259, 260; the time of. con- CHusIus, 333.
sidered relatively. 261; a period of apos- CRY. THE MIDNIGHT, beginning to go forth,
tasy and revolutionary troubles, 261,   296.
202. 371, 373; before the Jews are en- CUMMING, JOHN, 72, 303, 305, 401, 405, 412.
tirely restored. 2t'3: while papacy and  CUNNINGUAME, 303, 412.
antichrist continue, 264, 373; at a time  CURSE, THE, to be repealed, 79-81, 226of al:trm on the subject, 265, 371, 373;   228.
ibut while the multitudes scoff and dis- CYP1IAN, 242, 393.
believe, 265, 373; our duty with reference to, 172, 283, 370; is near at hand,
282, 291, 30'2. 3J3; the desirableness of,                D.
131-133, 3;4-308; want of faith in, 286, DANA, 76.
287: how to affect his enemies, 368.   DARKNESS the herald of day, 299, 300.
CHRISTENDOM, survey of, 232, 293.        DAuBUZ, 267.
CFI:iISTIsN, A, n11( sorroful thing to be, DAVID. tabernacle of, to be rebuilt. 192.
111; is safe, 181, 309; is not done with  DAY, often taken for a long period of time,
this world when he dies, 221.            141, 142.
CHRISTIANITY n,.t to triumph universally  DAYS. taken for years, 270.
till Christ coons, 53-56; Luther and  DEAD, THE. resurrection of, 88-92: comfort
Melancthon on the subject, 56-58; other    with reference to, 105-108; the judgtesti;lonies, 57, 58; a spiritual religion,   ment of. 16C; "the rest of," Rev. xx.;
119, 120.                                what is meant by. 95-98.
CHsRIsTocRACY, 113.                      DEATH, repulsiveness of 105; to what it is
CHIhISTS, FALSE, 19, 20, 23.               reduced under (hrist, 106; triumphs
CHIOSNOLOGY, different systems of, 269; of   over, in the resurrection, 107, 108.
the Bible. 356-362.                    DEMOCRACY, the spirit of the times, would
CHURCHES, THE, to be thoroughly revolu-   level every thing, 237.
tionized, 170-172; how to regulate our DEM NISM, 281.
present relations to, 172.             DICKSON, hymn by, 311.
CHURCIIES, THE NATIONALIZED, abomina- DISPENSATI)NS, overlap, 150.
tions of, 174, 175; the doom of, 176, 177; DOANE, BISHOP, hymn by, 35.
decay of, 280.                         DODWELL. 256.
CHURCH, PRIMITIVE, THE, how regarded  DORNER, DR., 324, 429.
the advent of Christ, 257, 258. 287; DUFt, DR., 316.
opinion of, on the Millennium, 383-338: DUFFIELD, DR., 413.
Apocryphal writings of, 388-392; authorities on the millenarianisln of, 398.                 E.
CHUIncH, THe, afflicted till Christ comes, 40,
41, 44,: Melancthon on this point, 56, EAGLES, the saints compared to, 24.
255; Henry and Whitefield on the same, EARTH, its perpetuity asserted in Scrip.
58; difference between its spirit now and    tures, 68-70: dreams of its destruction,
in primitive times, 257; removal of, when    67; its probable destiny if sin had never
Christ comes. 154, 162, 319-353.        touched it, 68.
CITY, THE IiE:VENLY, 207, 219, 311.      ELDERS, TEIE. in Rev. iv. 5, 353.
CLARKE, DR. A., 323.                     ELECT, THE. 23.
CLEMENT, 238, 384.                       ELIAS, tradition of the house of, 255, 267.
CLE.IENT OF ALEXANDRIA, 242, 387.        ELLIOTT, DR., 49, 302, 405, 413.




INDEX.                                   435
END OF THE WORLD, THE, what is meant by, HENRY, MATTHEW, on the mixed condition
73-75; nearness of, 282; opinions of    of the world till Christ comes, 58.
students of prophecy on the nearness  HERMAS, 384.
of, 302-304; really to be desired, 304- HILLER, P. F., 334.
R07.                                     1INDOSTANEE opinions on the world's fuENOu:H, BOOK OF, 389.                        ture, 65.
lrs'avet&, meaning of, 45.                HIPPOLYTUS, 392.
ER:NES1I, 116.                            HISTORY continually repeating itself, 17;
ESDRAS, second book of, 390.                one of the storehouses of wisdom, 231.
EUPHRATES, drying up of, 279, 280.         HITCHCOCK, DR., 318.
EVP.NTS, general order of, 379-382.        HODY, 101.:EXPECTATION of Christ's coming a charac- HOMEs, N., 416.
teristic of the early Church, 257, 287.    HOOKEP., 116.
IORN, THE LITTLE, 271.
F.                    IHORT, 65, 417, 4130.
HYMNS, "Even so come, Lord Jesus," 35;
FABER, G. S., 270, 274, 303, 342, 413.       "Another Admonition," 61; "Waiting
FAITH, great want of, 286; shall be feeble   for that day," 87; "Wird dos nicht
and scarce when Christ comes, 42.          Freude seyn," 111; "Maranatha," 136;
FALL, THE, consequences of, 62, 63.          "Dies Jra,," 159;'"Arouse for Duty,"
FARMER, JOS,;PA, 147, 337. 414.              182; "'lThe Day is Coming," 208; "Yet
FATHERS, THE, opinions of, on millenarian    a Little IWhile," 230; " lie Left not
doctrine, 237-245; Luther's respect for,   Himself without Witness," 258; " Wake,
334; references to their opinions and    Awake," 284;'-The New Jerusalem,"
works, 383-398.                            311; "The Happy Dawn," 364.
FIREA, THE,, spoken of by Peter, not universal, 76-79; Christ shall be revealed
in, 78.
FIRST-FRUITS, 350.                         IGNATIUS, 384.
FLACIUS, 273.                              INTERPRETATION, laws of, 116.
FLEMING, ROBERT, 49, 273, 414, 429.        IRENbEUS, 210, 241, 252, 336, 387.
FL(ERKE, 332, 414.                         IRVING, 305, 417.
FLOOD, THE, how it came, 155.              ISRAEL, exemptions of, in the judgment
FRENCH REVOLUTION, THE, 275, 276, 362.       times, 167; all to be saved, 187, 18o, 189;
FRENCH, THE, Emperor of, to be the per-   kingdom to be restored to, 190, 191; to
sonal antichrist, 178.                     return to Palestine, 193-196; to be thoroughly converted and sanctified, 202,
G.                       203; exaltation of, in the Millennium,
223, 224.
y~q, nowhere said to have an end, 73, 74;                     J.
is to survive the baptism of fire, 75.
~evea, meaning cf, 28, 323.                JEREMIAH XXV., 163, 164.
(ENT.ILES, THE. times of, 187.            JEROME, 247, 396.
GIBBOs, ED., 243, 256.                     JERUSALEM, 197,199; is to be the metropoGIESELER, 245.                              lis of the world, 204-206, 374; destrucGaTHE, his view of nature's ailings, 63.     tion of, 21; a type of the end 17, 18.
Go,DWIN, DR. T. 148, 405.                 JERUSALEM, the heavenly, 207, 311-315.
G.,SPEL. TIlE, preaching of, to all nations, Jews. THE, to remain a distinct people till
2%,, 371; our only hope, 258; its glorious    Christ comes, 28, 29. 323; their concepprolnises, 109.                            tiorrs of the Messiah, 117. 118; conGOVERNMENT, good; the greatest desidera-   tenlned by Imany, 118; are the living
tlnl. 131,134; all present formis of, to be    symbols of coming evil. 168, 169; shall
modified or destroyed, 170-172.            be concerned in the last great wars, 178;
GREEK CHURCH, 293.                           are to be converted, 183; are to be reCRE3WELL, D1)., 337, 3S8, 391, 392, 399, 400.   stored to Palestine, 184; objections answered, 184-186; referred to in the N ew,'I estalment, 16-192; proofs friom  the
Old Testament, 192-195; hi torical ficts
IIA.BErSHON. 3,3.                            bearing on the question, 196-19S; how
IIHLL, T:IOMAs, his argument that the Mil-   the return will begin, 199; will be eflennium  cannot precedeothe judgment,   f cted only in the judgment period, 201;
57, 58.                                    accompaniments and results of their
H.MILTON, DR., 197. 202.                     return. 202-2o7; future glory of, 223;
H:IARTLEY, Tu., 337, 338, 395, 415, 432.     God's covenant with them, 158. 189; reHEBBR, BDiHOP, 2930, 430.                    storation of the kingdom to, 190, 191;
HENGsTZNBERG, DR., 355.                      their restoration not merely spiritual,




436                                  INDEX.
193. 194; survey of their history and  KoSSUTH. Louis, 320.
condition, 196; their mnetropolis, 197, KIUMAMACHEIa, 302, 310.
201-20)6; lines on their restoration, 208;
mistaken views of, on Christ's kingdom,                     L
118-120, 330; their estimate of our
times, 319; ho)w  affected by Christ's  LOCTANTIUS. 214, 394.
coming 369; destiny of, 376, 38.         LAMBEI(T, 419.
JOHN. xviii. 36 often mlisquoted, 121; true  LAw governing the Divine operations, 71,
mlcaning of, 338-310.                     72.
JOHNSTON, 266.                             LORD, DAVID N., 77, 96, 193, 275, 405, 420.
J,)NArTHAN, the Paraphrast, 99.            LUTHER, his conception'of the gathering
JUI)GE, scriptural conception of a, 139,140.   of the ea.gles to the body, 21; his opinion
JUDGMENT, administrations of, with re-    on the question of the world's converspect to the dead, 143, 161; as respects   sion before Christ comes. 56; on the rethe living, 162-1t7; how they will be-   storation, 80, 354; his method of intergin to be felt. 169; general results of, in    preting Scripture, 253; denied that a
the world, 170-172w, more particular ef-   Millennium of righteousne-s would come
fects. 173-179; how these things should    before Christ comes, 253; how he spoke
impress us 178. 181.                       of the kingdomn. 251; believe.l that the
JUDGMENT, d:Ly of not a day of twenty-    end would c,)me in six thous:nd years
f,ur hours, 141; stretches thlrough the    fiomAd.mL 255,355; anticipated thetime
th,usand ye-trs, 1 t1-118; will be intro-    as nelr, 255; held that the till e wAis not
du el differ:ently firom what is generally    beyond Iluman knowledge, 250; refers
supposed. 14I-156; will have its morn-   to A.D. 606 as a notable conmmencing
ing and its evening, 114, 115, 160; ad-   epoch. 273; thought the end would c:-rmmnitions in view of, 157, 158.           tainly conie in about three hundred
JUDGM'ENT, THls, much misunderstood, 137;   years, 274. 316; on the desirableness of
certainty of. 138; not to be thought of    the end, 305; on the meaning of the 17th
as,an assize, 139; is the administration    Article of the Augsburg Confession. 330,
of the Divine governllent, 141; is pro-   331; respect f)r the fathers, 334; on the
gressive, 1.12. 143; connects with the    Millennium, 354-356.
persan:ti reign of Christ. 141-148; how  LYNcH, LIEUT., 200.
it will begin, 149-151, 155; hymn on, 15J.
JUSTINIAN. 272.                                               M
JUsTIN MARTYR, 239, 336, 386.
M \CAULAY. 317.
K.                     M.CDUFF, hymn by, 136.
MAGDEBURG C.NTURIATORS,, 270.
KARENS, their tradition, 65.               M.HOMITkNISNf, 15:3, 279.
KBLFE, hymn by, 61, 430.                  MAN OF SIN, his duration and end. 47-49.
KE:ITH, Di., 270.                          MARTYRS. their resurrection at the comKIMClI, IRABBI, 99, 401.                     mencement of the Millennium, literal,
KINGDOM, the Messiah's. 112; how  pre-    95, 96 97.
dicted in the Old Testament. 113-116; MATON, 115, 420.
the ideas elltertained of it by the Jews, MAT'rER not essentially corrupt, 72.
117, 118; how spoken of in the New  MIATTHEW XXiV. 16. true key to the meanTestament, 119-125; connected witl, the    ing of 17; an axiom  for its interpretasecond advent, 126-130; is not yet mani-   tion, 25; what it teaches, 30.
fested, 132-13t; is to be on eatrth, 120, MEDE, 66, 142, 118, 270, 323, 337, 395, 40L.
121, 121-131, 212,.333. 310; is to be  M,:LXNCTtI.IN, 40; his  opinion  on the
eternal 144; connects with the throne    Church's prospects in this dispensation,
of David, 114-116; is to be a li eral    56, 255; on the 17th Article of Augsburg
kingdl:m, 122-125. 127, 128, 131; is not    Confession, 331, 332.
from  this world, 130, 339, 310; coexists  MELITO, 336, 386.
with the world to come, 210; the glory  M1  siH, SI THE, prophecies concerning, 113
of, 133, 135, 226-228. 290; how spoken    -116, 122, 129.
of by Luther, 254; the spirituality of, METIiODIUS, 393.
119, 335-338.                            MILLEN'ARIANS, a summary of their docKING, ED., 321, 340, 418.                    trines. 233, 234; not Millerites, 236; the
KINGS AND P'RIESTS of the world to come,   fathers were, 237-246; how their doc218 —221.                                 trines came into disrepute, 241-252,337;
KINNEY, 76.                                  popery the great enelny of, 216, 25),
K.NAPP, 117.                                 251, 233; classified references to the
K:'ox, J.,HN, on the world's reform before    writinlgs of, 40,)-i32.
Christ comes, 56.                        MILLINNIUM, what it means, 38; common
xoca'o, meaning of, 73, 74.                  views of, criticized, 39; not to be till




INDEIX.                                  487
Christ comes, 40-60, 104; Scriptures  rapovsa-, meaning of. 43.
prom Ise no, before the advent, 4); no  PE: L, SIR ROBERT, 301.
place for. in the great prophetic dis-  P1ILO, 65.
c(ourse of Christ before his advent, 41, PH:,CAS,'272, 273.
45; no acknowledged creed places be- PLATO, 64.
fore the advent, 58; WhTtb'a  theory  PLUTARCH, 64, 267.
on, 94; Barnabas on, 237, 238; Papias  POETS, their foolish dreams, 67; very poor
and Justin Mariltyr on. 2:39; Irenzeus on.   theologians, 137.
210; Tertullian on, 2L1; Cyprian on, POLYCARP, 385.
212; Lactantius on, 214; Augsburg and  PouNeS, parable of. 352.
Helvetic Confessions on, 326.            PREPARATION, importance of 33, 34, 156.
MiLLER, WILLIAM, his views, 236. 421.      POPHo:CY, prejudices against the study
MI.LTONv, 43, 433J  on the Church's pros-   of, 11; a somewhat difficult subject. 13;
pects till Christ comes, 57; on the signs    is for our enlightenment, 3; our duty
of the advent, 292; prayer of, for Christ's   to study it, 12 13; a delightful subject,
conling, 3)6.                              14; of no private interpretation, 77, 78;
MO+HEIM, 235, 240, 215, 248, 273, 398.       nature of 18.
IsUNSCLHR, 215, 598.                       PROTESTANTISM, 293; hopes concerning, not
fulfilled. 300, 297.
N.                     PROVIDENCE, all things in the hands of, 180.
ievX-i, meaning of, 93.
NAPOLEON I., poem  on return of his re-  PYM, 32, 423.
mains to France. 208; affliction caused
by him, 277. 363; seventh head of the                       R.
Roman poster, 341, 342.
NAPOI.EON III., question of his being the  READ. TIOLTIS, 318.
antichrist presented, 341; his power, REFORM, the watchword of our times, 296
342;043; peculiarities of his namen 34 1;    -298.
relation to the Church power, 345; his  REIGN OF CHRIST AND HIS SAINTS, 113, 114,
character, 345-347; his rise from ob-   125, 130, 135, 141, 201, 210!-220, 374.
scurity. 317, 348; his resources, 348.   RENOVATION OF THE WORLD, by whom  exN v'rIoss. distress of, 169,170. 262 291. 371.   pected, 64,65; to be desired, 72; Luther,
N kTURE, how reduced and afflicted by sin,    and Calvin, and Charnock on, 80; Scrip62, C3; beauties of, still remanining. 72.   ture  statements  concerning, 80-84;
73; to be renewed, 81-85; illustrations    hynln on, 86.
from. on theresurrection. 89. 90; longeth  RESURRECTI N, THE, not impossible, 88;
for the consumma:tion, 63. 79, 85; shall   shadowed in ntture, 89; was believed
give forebodings of the time of the end,   in by the Jews, 90; has actually oc371.                                       curred in certain cases, 90, 91; identity
NE.ANDER, 117.                               preserved in, 91, 92; twofold character
NEBUCHADNEZZAR, dream of, 262.               of. 98-104; that of the saints eclectic
NEPOS. 331.                                  and invisible, 103, 154.
NEWSPAPERS, secular, 293.                  RESURRECTION. THE FIRST, not figurative,
NEWTON, Bistoi,, 215. 256, 270, 397, 431.    but literal, 93-98; an ancient belief, 98,
NE.WTON, Sit IsA.AC, 367. 403.               99; Scripture reasons for this view. 102
NICE. COUNCIl.,F. 253, 272, 395.            -104; joyfulness of, 106-111; will be inNIRoLAI, hymn by. 284.                       visible, 154: a peculiar blessing, 102.
No tr. moral aspect of his times, 45, 155; REVELATION XX. 4-i, literal interpretation
God's covenant to, 74.                     of, maintained, 93-98.
REVOLUTiONS. 1848 the year of. 278; to
O.                       connect with Christ's second coming,
32, 231. 262. 29 i, 371.
(ETrIGER, F. C.. 333, 431.                 RIdE, DR. N. L., 317.
OLKcovsEev?, 210. 211.                     Roos, M. F., 333, 331, 337, 406.
OLD TE:STAMENT of equal authority with  RUSSELL, BISHOP, 267, 331.
the New, 186.                            RUTHERFORD, 306.
ORIoEN, 65, 213. 217; his system of spiritualizing described, 248, 249, 290.                          8.
P.                     SAINTS THE, compared to eagles, 24; to be
raised and translated when Christ
PALESTINE, 198, 199. 201, 205.               comes, 106, 108, 154. 161. 162; are to
PAPACY, THE, its commencement and du.   live a glorified angelic life, 218; are to
ration. 271-274.                           have high official honors, 218; partake
PAPIAS, 239, 385.                            with Christ in his dominion, 219, 374;
PiazIsE to be restored, 80.                  shall have to do with those who shall
3'7r




438                                  INDEX.
continue to live in the flesh, 220; will TURKEY, 279.
not be usually visible to those in the  TYNG, DR. S. II., 318, 424.
body, 220; their ministrations to be for
thile general good. 220, 2 1; how affected                   U.
lwhlen (Christ comIses, 368.             UNTBELIEF a characteristic of the last times,
SClHAFF, DR., 117.                            42, 43, 261, 265; tile spirit of, too prevaSCHMUCcER, DR. J. G., 334, 402.               lent amlong modelrn Christians. 266, 300.
SCHUBERT on nature's yearnings. 63. 64.   UNSANC oIFID, THE, disconmfiture of, in the
Scrw EiNITZ  I1. C. VON, hynsis by, 111.     judgment, 156, 162-168.
SCIENCE. men of, do not stop on account USHER, ARCIIBlisOP, 49, 78, 269.
of difficulties 13. 14; what they tell us
of the interior of the earth, 75, 76; falsely                V.
so called, 293.
SEED. 1'HE WOMAN'S, 113. 352.              VIALS, the seven last, 275-281, 362, 363.
SEMuISCI, DRI.. 240. 245.j. 332, 398.      VICTORINUS, 393.
SEVENS, systellm of, in Scripture, 266, 291.  VIRINS. parable of the ten, 351.
SIBYLLINE ORACLES, 64. 39o.                VITRINGA, 116.
SlGNS of the Jlord's coming, 292-300, 371. VOLCANOES, irruptions of, described, 76
SII.R, DR. D'AICY, 425.
SKEPTICS multiplying, 300.                                     W.
SJCIETIES, Mlssion, Bible, Sunday-school,  WAITING for Christ's return, 87.
&c., 300.                                V.WARNING to the wicked and careless, 157,
SPENER. DR., 333, 337, 403, 425, 431.         3A;9.
SPIRITUALI-M, 2'].                          WESLEY, JOHN, 432.
SPIRITUALITY demanded by the gospel, 119. WHITBY, 91, 184, 309.
SPIRITUIL RESURRECTION. 93, 96, 103.        WHIlING, PR.rFr:SOR, 101.
STIER. DR., 324, 339, 400.                  WITNESSES, GOD'S. 258.
STlRABO, 65.                                WOLFFE, DR. JOSEPH, 65.
STUART. PROFESSOR, 116, 270, 401; on the  WORLD, THE, to abound with wickedness
twofold resurrectiol, 96. 99, 103, 104.     till Christ comes, 42; its population to
STUDY, when a pleasure, 14.                   be of good and bad till then. 45, 46; its
SULPICIUS S VERUS. 3j5.                       original estate, 62; its present condition,
SUMMARY  of the judgmnent scenes, 19-    63, 132, 134, lt:6; to be restored, t4, 65,
171; of siillenaritiLs  doctrines, 233, 234.   86, 211; is not to be annihilated 6b-70;
is to be reg(eerated. 71, 75; end of how
T.                        to be understood. 73. 74; is not to be
depopulated, 69; Christ's kingdom not
TARES, PARABLE OF THE, 45, 46.                fiomn. 121; kingdoms of. to be broken,
TATIAN, 386.                                  150; tCle, nations of, how affected by the
TAYLOR, D. T., 426.                           judgmesnt 151, 170; its prese t state to
ITEN KIN(IDOMS, THF. 173, 262.                endure six thousand years firoml Adam,
TERTULLI\N, 2;2, 241, 3::7. 388.             2:7, 255, 267; present aoe of 268, 269;
THA.\NKFULNESS due for the gospel, 110.       xvill be taken by dislsmaying surprise
TrioLUCiR, DR. 3:;9.                          whes  Christ conies, 156; Bible chroTILLINGHAST. his argument on the literal-   11ology of, 35E-3t)2; bow  aflected  by
ness of MIessiahs's kingdom  127, 128, 426.    Christ's cominr. 369.
TIMs of the return of Christ references  WOR.D TO COME, T-El. 210; is the present
to. 373; not entirely and perpetually    world in its renewed condition, 2L1,212;
conce;aled. 233-261.                        glory of exhibited oil the Mou t of
TIM:s immlllediately preceding the judg-    Transfiguration, 213; Christ to be p;ement, 1t:9-172; of the Savior's return      sent in it. 214-217; to have in it the
261, 2t;2, 292-234, 371; after Christ's re-    nlinistrations or the glorified. 218-221;
turn, 371.                thle powe: s of evil to be excluded from
TINiES OUR.. aspect of 10, 292,214: opinions    it. 2.2. 223; the Jews to have the preof distinguished men on, 301, 316-322.      eminesce in, 223, 224; the clrse to be
TRA.NSFrIURATION, TlIE, a picture of the    repealed, 226-228: lines onl, 229, 374,
kinglorn. 213.
TRANSLATION, THE. when  Christ comes,              ~           y
1t8, 109, 162; the two stages in, 34J-3.3.  YEAR-DAY systen  explained 270.
TRIULA.T ON, I'3I, 23 22, 23, 2, 25; some.ARS, the 1260, of the little horn, 271-274.
esc:pe it, 313; wh.) shitll suffer it, 351,                   Z.
352, 353; when it is to begin, 22.
TRUmPET, the last, 152, 153.                ZOROASTER, 267.
THE END.




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DR. SEISS
ON THE
PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS.
Opinions of the Press.
These sermons are strikingly original and forcible. Among all the
productions of the modern pulpit, we have seen few so likely to command
attention; and this, not from sensationalism of style, but from vigor of
thought. In doctrine they hold to an orthodox, but tolerant, Lutheranism.
-Episcopal Recorder.
Some of the interpretations in this interesting volume may startle the
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genuine Christians, and were not lost. The scope of the parable is
represented as generic, covering the Church on a grand scale, and opening
up the mysteries of our Lord's second coming. The positions of Dr.
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These sermons are written in Dr. Seiss' usual fluent and graphic style.
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with the book, and believe that much good would result from its general
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The interpretation given to the parable differs from the common one,
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one a larger knowledge of Scriptural interpretation and enable him to fix
more exactly and hold more firmly the precise doctrine of the New
Testament on the subject of Christ's second appearing.-Boston Recorder.
There is a great deal of original thought in this book, well worthy of
being read, even if we do not accept all its conclusions. These discourses
were preached in St. John's Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, last winter,
and seem to have attracted much attention. They are based on a kind
of millennial theory, or a peculiar view of "the world to come," as a new
dispensation or order of things on this earth,-a view which, in many
respects, is very fascinating. They are very well written.-Gospel Alessenger.
Dr. Seiss, of the Lutheran Church in this city, has won for himself
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and writer; as a diligent student of the Word, and of ancient and
modern biblical literature; and as a man of devout and evangelical
spirit. These characteristics appear in his recently published volume of
Discourses on the Parable of the Ten Viryins, which is a most readable
and, in the main, highly profitable work. His views involve the doctrine
of the literal second coming..... A sermon on the "Judgeship of the
Saints" is added. It is doubtless true that the clergy generally pay too
little attention to the eschatology of the Scriptures as an effective element
of preaching. Dr. Seiss' book is calculated to stir up their interest on
the subject.-American Presbyterian.
The views of the Doctor are presented with great clearness and maintained with plausibility and force. He always seems to speak with an
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He endeavors to excite in the minds of Christians a deeper interest in
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and suggestive, and no one can rise from their perusal without being
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442